Variada de Geografia, por Pedro V, Zara, e Gabriela, Turma 9D by Pedro do Nascimento Visconti

Flashlight

pedrovisconti — 2024-04-11 11:21:10 UTC

Metal wire
A lot of copper
Battery
Light switch
Light bulb

1: Resource extraction

gabrielateixeira14 — 2024-04-11 11:24:36 UTC

To make flashlights, you need metals like lithium, cobalt, and aluminum (plastics) and semiconductor materials for LEDs, sourced through mining. However, mining has significant environmental consequences. Mining can lead to destruction, soil erosion, water contamination, and greenhouse gas emissions. In addition, petrochemical extraction contributes to air and water pollution, as well as climate change.

2: Production

gabrielateixeira14 — 2024-04-11 11:24:47 UTC

Metals (aluminum, copper), plastics (from oil), and light materials are gathered for flashlights and shaped into parts, then assembled by factory workers. Companies often make a special part of the product easily breakable so that the consumers will have to buy the same product again, bringing home more profit for the company. As said on the video "The Story of Stuff" 99% of the products bought in the USA are discarded in less than a month, again, mostly because the company makes it so that the product breaks in less than 6 months.

3: Distribution

gabrielateixeira14 — 2024-04-11 11:25:01 UTC

Flashlights are packaged at factories and shipped to distribution centers via various transport methods. Once they reach retail stores, they are carefully stocked and displayed to attract customers. Stores can also make advertisements and put them in big billboards like the ones in New York City, NY, to attract more customers, which brings more money to the company. Additionally, online marketing and social media promotions can boost sales by reaching a wider audience.

4: Consumption

gabrielateixeira14 — 2024-04-11 11:25:12 UTC

Consumers get flashlights from stores and use them for various tasks like camping. These flashlights are used until they break or need new batteries, affecting their lifespan. The batteries inside the flashlights are also part of the consumption process, depending on the battery used (alkaline, NiMH, etc), they have different use of energy, each type has different capacity of charge and discharge, their efficiency, their brightness, the battery power, etc.

5: Disposal

pedrovisconti — 2024-04-11 11:25:14 UTC

Once flashlights are no longer usable, consumers dispose them, maybe through recycling or collection points, but sometimes, consumers dispose of this item irresponsibly, affecting the environment and making the world a worse place. This highlights the need for us to prioritize sustainable practices and advertise responsible disposal methods to shorten the harmful impacts on our planet. By having a culture of environmental awareness we can work towards creating a cleaner, healthier world for future generations.

6: Environmental Impacts

zaraaboud — 2024-04-11 11:27:53 UTC

The alkaline batteries used inside the flashlight contain chemicals like cadmium and mercury. When disposed of improperly, they contaminate the soil, leading to contamination of animals, water, and plants. Similarly, the impacts of plastic are huge: it takes over 400 years to decompose, requires oil extraction for production, and contributes to air, water, and land pollution, as well as loss of biodiversity. Additionally, aluminum production and disposal also have environmental consequences, including an energy-intensive extraction processes, habitat destruction, and water pollution from mining activities.

pedrovisconti — 2024-04-11 11:29:25 UTC

Sources

zaraaboud — 2024-04-11 11:32:04 UTC

Article “The problem with outsourcing America's trash” -

https://www.nbcnews.com/think/opinion/us-reliance-china-waste-weak-supply-chain-link-rcna41394

Made by:

pedrovisconti — 2024-04-25 10:33:50 UTC

Pedro Visconti

Zara

Gabriela