Editing Consumer electronics (section)

=== Rare metals and rare earth elements ===
Electronic devices use thousands of [[Precious metal|rare metals]] and [[rare earth element]]s (40 on average for a [[smartphone]]), these materials are extracted and refined using water and energy-intensive processes. These metals are also used in the renewable energy industry meaning that consumer electronics are directly competing for the raw materials.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|title=The myth of the green cloud|url=https://www.eib.org/en/stories/digital-footprint|access-date=2020-09-17|website=European Investment Bank|language=en|archive-date=14 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210414035732/https://www.eib.org/en/stories/digital-footprint|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Infographic: The Carbon Footprint of the Internet – ClimateCare|url=https://climatecare.org/infographic-the-carbon-footprint-of-the-internet/|access-date=2020-09-17|language=en-GB|archive-date=5 March 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210305081930/https://climatecare.org/infographic-the-carbon-footprint-of-the-internet/|url-status=live}}</ref>