Essay 2 (project)

How Stuff Work

 

Introduction

 

The main goal of the story is to direct the attention of people to the process stages of the materials economy in which a lot of materials are consumed and a lot of wastes are disposed. The report will show about the process stages of the materials economy and will explain about materials process in more detail. In matter of fact, this system is not working efficiently. There are a lot of materials wasted and effects our environment and people. Also the report will include the consumerism in the UAE.

 

Extraction

 

The first step of the material process starts with extraction. Extraction is the process of releasing resources or valuable materials which are found on the surface of earth or which are found beneath the layers of earth. The resources are varied. Too much stuff is extracted with no need to them. “About one thirds of the world's resource base has been consumed in the last decade of the twentieth century..."(Downes, 2009). In the Amazon, 2000 trees are lost every one minute. In addition, "80% of the planet’s original forests are gone because of the excessive extractions. If people stay extracted stuff, resources are going to disappear...”( Story of Stuff (Summary & Review).2008)

 

Production

 

The second part of this process is called production. Production is the process of using energy and other resources to produce or manufacture products. Toxic chemicals are also mixed with natural resources to produce products such as computer peripherals. These products contain Brominated flame retardants (BFRs) which are very super toxic to brains and other organs of body. In the process of production, a lot of pollutants and toxic chemicals are released to the environment to cause environmental pollution. "It was found that pollution in the processes of production led to emitting of more than 4 billion pounds of toxic chemicals a year..." (Downs, 2009). When more products are produced, the erosion of environment will increase and people will have to live and work in toxic environment

 

Distribution

The third part of this process is called distribution. It is the act of distributing or portioning something out. Distribution also refers to externalizing the costs of products. Externalizing the costs means using someone else money to pay for products in order to make it cheap. For example, the cost of radio is $4.99. This cost is reached by using kids in the Congo to pay for their future. The loss of natural resource, the loss of clean air and the increasing of health problems such as asthma and cancer rates are included in the cost of products. (Kenin, 2010).

 

Consumption

The fourth and the major part of the process is consumption. It is the process of consuming resources and products.  Consumption is the heart of the process since people consume too much stuff over their needs. The excessive consumption is the reason that raised the attention of Annie Leonard to write the story of stuff. Planned Obsolescence pushes people to consume other products. Moreover, the advertisement participates in consumerism and overconsumption through Perceived Obsolescence. Advertisements convince people to throw away stuff that is still perfectly useful (Percy, B).

 

Disposal

The last step of the process is disposal. It is the process of getting rid of used products and goods. Disposal is the process of sending away stuff or wastes in landfill or in garbage.  The disposal of stuff is the main cause of air, land and water pollution. Anne directs the attention to the use of idea which calls for recycling, reducing and reusing in order to keep the environment clean (Haas, 2011).

 

Consumerism in the UAE

Consumerism is very high in the UAE. The UAE people are wealthy and therefore they consume too much. They have pressures to spend more money on buying a lot of products. The advertisements affect on their consuming behavior. Emirati people dispose old products and buy new products. A lot of products and goods are consumed every day. People dispose a lot of their wastes in landfill. UAE people should decrease their consumerism to save their resources. A lot of advertisements and campaigns have been organized to promote decreasing consumerism. (A Word a Day in the UAE, 2009).

 

    

Conclusion

In conclusion, the material process story of stuff story passes through main five steps of extraction of resources, production, distribution, consumption, and disposal of various products. It has a lot of bad effects on the environment. People should keep their resources by being environmental responsible. People also should participate in recycling, reducing and reusing to keep the natural resource. 

 

Words:753

References

A Word A Day (in the UAE): Consumerism. (n.d.). A Word A Day (in the UAE). Retrieved May 27, 2013, from http://word-a-day-uae.blogspot.ae/2009/02/consumerism.html

Haas. (n.d.). Design Thinking @ Haas | Design Thinking, Systems, The Berkeley Difference. Retrieved May 27, 2013, from http://divergentmba.wordpress.com/2011/04/11/the-story-of-stuff/

Kenin, W., & California, G. P. (n.d.). A review of The Story of Stuff by Annie Leonard | . Green Party of the United States | Homepage. Retrieved May 27, 2013, from http://gp.org/greenpages-blog/?p=2546

Percy, B. (n.d.). The Story of Stuff: How Our Problem with Overconsumption Is Trashing the Planet, Our Communities, and Our Health -- and What to Do About It   by Annie Leonard - Powell's Books. Used, New, and Out of Print Books - We Buy and Sell - Powell's Books. Retrieved May 27, 2013, from http://www.powells.com/biblio/9781439125663

Story of Stuff Project. (n.d.).  The Story of Stuff Project. Retrieved May 27, 2013, from http://dev.storyofstuff.org/

S. Downes., & 2009. (n.d.). The Story of Stuff - a Summary ~ Stephen's Web. Stephen's Web ~ Stephen's Web. Retrieved May 27, 2013, from http://www.downes.ca/post/53388

The Story of Stuff. (n.d.). ProfWork Home Page. Retrieved May 27, 2013, from http://profwork.org/eee/notes/stuff_notes.html

 

 

way, t. (n.d.). Story of Stuff (Summary & Review). Journey to Become Financially Independent. Retrieved May 27, 2013, from http://financialindependent.blogspot.ae/2008/08/story-of-stuff-summary-review.html