portfolio # 2 essay 2

portfolio # 2 essay 2

                                            Materials economy

Introduction

“Have you ever wondered where all the stuff we buy comes from?”(Story of stuff, 2007). Stuff moves through a system from extraction which is when they get raw materials from nature. After getting the raw materials they send them to a production site. After production the raw materials are distributed to shops where consumers buy them. Consumers are people who buy stuff and get bored from them and they would like to change them and buy new other stuff. Did you ever know where old stuff is going?!It is disposed of which is throwing stuff away and It will be burned or dumped or recovered for recycling. Recycling can’t solve this issue because some materials are made by toxic chemicals which can affect our world. All together it’s called materials economy. In this essay I will speak about materials economy, and its parts, problems and solutions.

Extraction

General speaking, there are many steps of the material   economy. First step is extraction. Extraction is taking the resources of the earth and using it for materials Economy. Extraction causes many problems in our environment which causes to health problems.  Environment problems are caused by trashing the planet and wasting more resources more each year that can be renewed .In addition the change in climate and throwing waste and toxics to the water causes pollution which leads to air and water pollution which can affect our health. In the other hand, there are many ways which will make it less harmful to the planet. We can extract fewer resources and improve the extractive practices. ‘We can more equitably share the drastically reduced harms and the benefits of extraction” (Story of stuff, 2007).

 Production:

As a second stage, production is the use of Materials and adds toxic chemicals to the raw materials to make a product. Many of products which contain toxic chemicals can be harmful to human health and to environment. As long as we use toxins in our products, we will get toxics in our air, water and stuff, which will affect our health. There are many ways to avoid this pollution. Firstly is to make the product which will cost us more money but it will be harmless to our planet. Another way to solve our problem in production is to use renewable energy.

Distribution 
Thirdly, distribution includes transportation & selling stuff to shops in a cheap price. Their aim is to sell products cheap and keeping people to buy new stuff. This causes many problems in our environment and on our health. Distribution the stuff creates environmental effect. Transportation of stuff around the world needs energy and the energy cause pollution from the traffic and the energy used to open the mall lights. There are many approaches to improve the distribution of transportation of goods. A successful strategy to solve this issue is to embrace and include the fair trade certification to ensure that new business will benefit in the community. In addition, it will also benefit the green buildings, suitable land use, and local living economics which will build communities with a better and developed environment.

Consumption:

Fourthly, consumption is the purchasing and use goods and services by consumers. We can’t stop people from buying things and it not enough; we have to buy the least damage and affordable price, because it can affect our environment because of using more energy which causes more waste and more greenhouse gases. Having so many stuff doesn`t make you happy , sitting with family and spending time with them and going out with friends can replace your free time instead of going to buy stuff which will reduce the waste in the planet.

Disposal:

Fifthly, disposal, practically all the resources that flow through the economy of materials like waste at the end of the matter we should get rid of them in some place in our planet, And getting rid of them is by dumping them or burning them or use them for recycling. The capacity of waste is growing which recycling alone can’t solve this problem because disposal affects our environment and health. Dumping and burning the waste is causes pollution to our air and land. There are many ways to have a better and less pollution to our environment, “Combining Clean Production at the front end with Zero Waste approaches throughout the materials economy transforms wasteful” (Story of stuff, 2007). Another solution “better product design, composting, recycling and using less stuff overall” (Story of stuff, 2007). 

Consumerism in the UAE: 

Residents in the UAE are the highest consumers of water in the world, “consuming an average of 550 liters per day” (Gulf News, 2008).  The problem is that people is trying to find ways to save energy while the water is their least worry. UAE government is planning to reduce the usage of water to 350 liters per day over the next years, and a best solution for it is Water Masdar Plan which is trying to use resources without pollution, it’s managed by Abu Dhabi government.

Conclusion:

In conclusion, I think that we should save our environment from having air pollution and water which can lead to have a bad health  and destroy our wildlife, because the more the cheap products are sold , the more waste to our environment which recycling alone can’t solve this problem.so we have to produce products which are made with less toxics.

 

Words: 902

Name: Abdulla Mohammed Al Bakri CIQ

ID: H00207649

                     

                                           References

Consumption-The Story of Stuff Project. (2007, December 4).  The Story of Stuff Project. Retrieved May 17, 2012, from http://storyofstuff.com/movies-all/story-of-stuff/learn/consumption/

Disposal - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. (2007, December 4). Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Retrieved May 17, 2012, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disposal

Extraction -The Story of Stuff Project. (2007, December 4).  The Story of Stuff Project. Retrieved May 17, 2012, from http://storyofstuff.com/movies-all/story-of-stuff/learn/extraction/

Production -The Story of Stuff Project. (2007, December 4).  The Story of Stuff Project. Retrieved May 17, 2012, from http://storyofstuff.com/movies-all/story-of-stuff/learn/production/

UAE per capita water consumption 550 liters per day: surveyUAE - The Official Web Site - News. (2008, June 14). UAE News and information - United Arab Emirates. Retrieved May 17, 2012, from http://www.uaeinteract.com/docs/UAE_per_capita_water_consumption_550_litres_per_day_survey/30613.htm

APA formatting by BibMe.org.