St. Petersburg City Council member Steve Kornell introduced a resolution at the May 19 council meeting that would call on the city to use products made with conflict-free minerals.
Four of the minerals used to make electronics like cellphones and laptops—tin, tungsten, tantalum and gold—are mined in the Congo. Similar to the issue of blood diamonds, the mining of these minerals has been helping to fuel a war in the Congo since the late 1990s. Over 5 million people have died in the conflict.
This article appears in May 19-25, 2011.