Lab+4

Write five paragraphs, one on each stage of the 'materials economy', and define its interactions. (5 paragraphs/one stage each paragraph)

Materials Economy is made of five stages: extraction, production, distribution, consumption and disposal. All of the stages are interrelated. If one step is altered then the other stages are altered as well. Extraction is natural resource exploitation. We order to produce the goods we want to consume, raw materials must be extracted from planet earth. When we extract these recourses we hurt our planet. We chop down trees, bulldoze mountains, use massive amounts of freshwater, hurt animal habitats and animals. We are doing this at a rate so fast that planet earth cannot sustain people to live. This has happened in the United States (US). They have consumed most of their natural resources so they have gone to third world countries to destroy and use their resources. Production is when natural resources are mixed with toxic chemicals to make goods. Lots of energy is used in this step. There are over 100 000 chemicals used in manufacturing our goods in society. Not many of these chemicals have been tested to find out if they are bad for our health and environment. But we do know “toxics in= toxics out”. This means if we put toxins into the products we produce, the toxins are going to be in the everyday products we use. One of these toxins is brominated flame retardant, which is toxic to our brains. This toxin is used to make pillows. Breast milk contains the highest levels of toxins. This means even babies are being exposed to these harmful toxins. Factory workers in third world countries are also being exposed to these toxins. They have no other choice than to work in these factories because their natural environments and way of life have been destroyed by extraction of resources. Distribution is selling these goods very quickly by selling them for very cheap. In order to keep prices low, the costs are externalized. This means the actual costs of goods are not reflected in the store price. The actual cost of goods are put on natural resources, the air, children’s future education in third world countries, employee’s health insurance and the store workers. All of these costs are not factored in the store price. Therefore we are not really paying for the goods we buy. Consumption is the “Golden Arrow” that drives the entire system. In the US and Canada we are what we consume and this has become our primary value in society. Retailing analyst Victor Lebow and President Eisenhower’s Council of Economic Advisors Chairman after world war two came up with two plans (planned obsolescence and perceived obsolescence) to create a society based on consumption. Planned obsolescence is when goods are designed to become useless as quickly as possible so it can be thrown away and a new one will be purchased. Perceived obsolescence is when people throw away goods that are still useful but is “out of style”. And if you don’t have the latest styles in clothing, computers, phones then you haven’t contributed to the “golden arrow and you are not as valuable in society”. Advertisements contribute to this golden arrow. We are bombarded with more advertisements than ever. The media also keeps all the other parts of the material economy hidden, so all we view is shopping. There has been a vicious cycle that has formed. We watch television and the advertisements tell us we are not good enough so we go buy more goods. The goods either go out of style, are not good enough for our needs or break so we need to go buy more goods. Then we watch more television and the cycle starts again. Disposal is when all the goods we consume get put in the garbage and taken to a landfill or burned in an incinerator and then put into a landfill. This waste pollutes the air, land, water and contributes to climate change. Back in the production phase, toxins were added to the goods that were produced. These toxins are released into the air when the waste is burned. Dioxin is the most harmful man made substance and is produced when waste is burned in the incinerators. We put toxins into the products we made and then they are released into environment when they are disposed. Recycling helps eliminate the amount of waste put into landfill but it is not the solution.
 * Extraction**
 * Production**
 * Distribution**
 * Consumption**
 * Disposal **