Consumption

Consumption

Now we go to the store an buy stuff; for that we need money or a credit card. We need a job if we want to make that money.
Money makes consumption possible and currently drives the economy of the United States.
You buy what you want, but do you need what you buy?

Distribution

Once products are manufactured at factories, these products must be distributed to the stores where you can find them.
Products move between factories and stores through trains, trucks and ships. Imagine all the gas that is used to move these things around.

From the factories to the ship:

From the ship to the train.

From the train to the truck.

And from the truck to the store.

Have you seen any of these happening around you?

Production

Robots working on a car. How many people can you see in this video?

Production: Work must me done by people or machines

To make the stuff we use work must be done by people or machines.

Production: "Made in China"

An important ingredient when fabricating the stuff we use everyday is work. Work must be done by people or machines.

Map of the world: Where does stuff come from?

Try to find in this map:
Where was the class VCR made at?
Where were your shoes made at?
Which countries have we been hearing about in class and through our class videos?

Extraction: The consequences of mining

Minerals like gold, silver, diamonds, oil, aluminium, steel, platinum, etc. come from mines. Extracting these minerals from the mines can be very polluting. Remember pollution means poison.
Mines can contribute with water and air pollution.

Extraction Limitations

Forests not only provide with wood. They are home to people and many different species of animals, when forests are gone, so are the many different living communities they house.
What kind of animals live in trees?

Monkeys, squirrels, ants, bats, etc, etc, etc.

Trees also provide us with shade and weather stabilization. Trees prevent erosion too.
Erosion is the lost of fertile or productive soil.

Extraction limits deforestation

How long does a tree take to grow?
How long do we take to cut it down?
What is the problem here?

The living forest

Remember: Where do plants get their energy from?

Trees

Reforestation: When trees are gone we lose not only the oxygen they provide us with, but also all other services.
Trees provide us with shadow, weather stabilization, and they are also home for birds, monkeys, bats, ants, etc.

You can volunteer any day of the week planting trees in Oakland with:

Urban Releaf
Oakland Office

Urban Releaf
835 57th Street
Oakland, CA 94608

http://www.urbanreleaf.org/index.html

Extraction: Plastic

Extraction: Glass comes from sand

Extraction: Rubber Plant in Thailand

Extraction: Wood comes from trees

Extraction: Minerals come from mines

Sometimes mining means digging huge holes in the ground to access the minerals.

How big do you think this mine is?

The Story of Stuff - Ch.1: Introduction

The Story of Stuff - Ch.2: Extraction

The Story of Stuff - Ch.3: Production

The Story of Stuff - Ch.4: Distribution

The Story of Stuff - Ch.5: Consumption

The Story of Stuff - Ch.6: Disposal

The Story of Stuff - Ch.7: Another Way

Backwards Hamburger

Some fast food facts.

Digestion Video

Digestion: step by step

Digestion of protein, fats and carbohydrates

Try to find where every kind of food gets processed within your own body.