Thursday St. Pete City Council could become first city to favor conflict-free products

Tags: Steve Kornell, St. Petersburg City Council, conflict minerals, Africa, John Prendergast, Eckerd College

St. Petersburg City Council member Steve Kornell (l) and Eckerd College student Samantha Fenwick talk about conflict minierals on Last Call.

photo by Maria Oliver/WMNF

Today we are going to talk about conflict minerals – natural resources that are extracted from war zones and the funds that come from their export perpetuating wars and atrocities, especially in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

In a moment we’ll hear from an Eckerd College Student, Samantha Fenwick and St. Petersburg City Council member Steve Kornell about an effort to get St. Petersburg to be a pioneer city in purchasing electronics that are conflict-free. They will vote Thursday.

But first, here’s a summary of the problem from a YouTube video featuring John Prendergast.