Do You Really Need a New Phone Every 2 Years?要每两年换部手机吗？

If you’re looking to replace or upgrade your smartphone in the coming year， take a beat and think it over. Do you really need a new phone， or do you simply have the urge to get the new， shiny tech？ There are some issues to consider besides the new device’s affordability.

如果你正打算来年更新换代你的智能手机，请先缓缓，好好想想。你真需要换个新手机，还是只是一时冲动，想要一款亮锃锃的科技新品而已？除了买不买得起，还有若干问题需要考虑。

In particular， our desire to always have the newest smartphone comes at a steep environmental cost.

要格外注意的是，我们总是追捧最新版的智能手机，这使环境付出了巨大代价。

The life of a smartphone begins in mines around the world， where critical minerals are extracted. Those materials get transported to factories where they’re refined， often using high temperatures and significant energy， and turned into components like batteries， wires， logic boards and motors. The components are then transported by fossil fuel-powered vehicles to yet more factories to be assembled into complete devices， before being shipped to consumers around the world.

智能手机的生产始于世界各地的矿山，关键的矿物原料要在那里开采。这些原料被运送到工厂，通常要消耗大量能源进行高温精炼，进而加工成电池、电线、逻辑板和马达等部件。然后，燃油车将这些部件拉到更多工厂组装，组装成整机后，才能送到世界各地的消费者手中。

As taxing as this manufacturing process is on the climate and environment， it’s made even worse by how frequently consumers replace their phones. And when tossed away， electronic devices pose toxic harm to the environment.

手机的生产过程已使气候与环境不堪负重，消费者对手机更新迭代的痴迷更使气候和环境雪上加霜。若被丢弃，电子设备还会对环境造成毒害。

“Smartphones seem so small and inconsequential， so unless you’ve studied the supply chains and realized everything that goes into creating [them]， you really just have no sense of how environmentally devastating these things are，” Cole Stratton， an associate instructor at Indiana University Bloomington， who has studied tech supply chains， previously told CNN.

科尔·斯特拉顿是印第安纳大学伯明顿分校研究科技供应链的副讲师，他此前接受美国有线电视新闻网（CNN）采访时表示：“手机看上去这么小，似乎无足轻重，如果没有研究过智能手机供应链，不了解生产手机的全过程，真的不会知道这些东西对环境的破坏这么大。”

The right to repair your stuff

手机坏了就修的权利

Unfortunately， manufacturers have historically made it difficult to repair devices， so much so， replacing them often looks like an easier solution than fixing them， further contributing to the already-dire climate crisis.

糟糕的是，设备维修历来都让生产商搞得困难重重，于是，相比修理，直接更换看起来就成了更容易的解决方式，而这进一步加剧了本已严峻的气候危机。

According to Swappie， which refurbishes and resells iPhones， 1.4 billion new smartphones forecast to be shipped this year will generate 146 million tons of planet-warming emissions， 83% of which come from manufacturing， shipping and first-year usage.

据翻新和转售苹果手机的思沃派公司介绍，预计今年新出智能手机14亿部，将产生温室气体1.46亿吨，其中83%源自手机的生产、运输及头一年使用。

“A lot of people don’t know the real impact that buying a new smartphone actually has on the environment，” Emma Lehikoinen， chief operating officer at Swappie， told CNN. “Now， when we look at refurbished devices， it’s a very different story.”

思沃派公司首席运营官埃玛·莱希科伊宁在接受CNN采访时说：“很多人不知道新买一部智能手机会对环境产生多少实际影响。现在，用上翻新手机，那就是另外一番景象了。”

That’s where the growing right-to-repair movement comes in.

这就是维修权运动方兴未艾的原由。

Right-to-repair advocates have been calling for laws to require device makers to release the tools， parts and repair manuals necessary to allow consumers to have their products fixed by independent shops， or to do it themselves.

维修权倡导者一直呼吁立法，要求设备生产商配备必要的工具、零件和维修手册，供消费者自行或寻找独立店铺维修其设备。

If consumers could more easily repair devices， advocates say they wouldn’t have to replace them as frequently， which reduces reliance on the resource-intensive and greenhouse gas-emitting production process and ultimately cuts down on electronic waste.

倡导者称，如果设备维修对消费者而言更简单，他们就不必再频繁换新，这将减少对消耗大且排放大量温室气体的生产过程的依赖，最终可以减少电子垃圾。

The climate footprint of an average refurbished phone from Swappie in 2021 was 78% less than an average new phone， the company reported.

思沃派公司报告称，2021年，公司翻新一部手机的气候足迹平均下来要比生产一部新机少78%。

“If we can’t repair our stuff， the consequences are we throw a lot more away，” Gay Gordon-Byrne， executive director of the Repair Association， a coalition fighting for the right to repair， previously told CNN. “We can’t cope with the volume anymore… We’re swimming in products that we can no longer recycle.”

维修协会是一家争取维修权的联盟，该协会执行董事盖伊·戈登-伯恩此前向CNN表示：“如果我们修不了自己的东西，后果将是扔得更多。我们再也应付不了那么多产品了……我们面对的海量产品都是无法再循环利用的。”

What you can do

该怎么做

▪ Resist the urge to upgrade. If your phone still works， get as much life as you can out of it. “The greenest smartphone is the one you already own，” Stratton said.

· 抵制升级冲动。如果手机仍然可用，那就尽可能用到坏为止。斯特拉顿说：“最环保的手机就是你现在用的这部。”

▪ Get it fixed. If your phone breaks， get it fixed directly by the manufacturer—like Samsung or Apple—or take it to a store like Micro Center， Best Buy or another local tech repair shop authorized to fix your phone brand. A broken or malfunctioning phone can often be fixed through easy repairs that could cost less than replacing it. Apple this year opened its self-service repair store， providing manuals and parts for consumers seeking do-it-yourself fixes for their iPhones.