Module 6 - Stuff Stuff Footprints

? Our greenhouse gas emissions This graph shows us how much greenhouse gases various activities release. So if we want to really reduce our emissions significantly, then we need to concentrate on the things which release most greenhouse gases.

? Graph of the stuff we buy

? Victorian stuff In Victorian times, factories and industries grew all over Britain. Often they were dangerous places to work, and children had to work long hours in bad conditions. There was a lot of pollution from power stations and chimneys and chemical dyes in streams and rivers.

? Modern factory Today, a lot of the stuff we buy is made overseas because it is cheaper. So we no longer have child labour and polluting industries in Britain. But in many countries around the world, adults and children still work in dangerous unhealthy conditions in factories for long hours and low pay, because they have no choice. Many of these factories are polluting as well. These children are working in a factory to make clothes that we will buy on the high street.

? Cotton farming Some of the stuff that we buy seems natural. But it may have a hidden story! About a third of the worlds pesticides are used in the cotton industry. Cotton crops also need lots of water, causing drought in cotton farming regions. Many Indian cotton farmers commit suicide because they are not paid fairly.

? Copper quarry This is a copper quarry. A lot of the resources that we use to make things are finite – that means they will not last forever. Often we buy products made out of things we didn’t even know about. Copper is running out. Most mines and quarries cause a lot of local pollution. Sometimes people work in hazardous conditions. We use copper for many things, but particularly for electronic equipment.

? Electronic goods A lot of copper and other metals are used to make electronic goods. Sometimes you only need a tiny amount. A lot of energy and resources are used to make some of these things.

? Useless designs Some of the things we spend money designing, making and buying, are not useful at all!

? Recycling factories Even if we recycle all this stuff, it still uses a lot of energy to break it all down and re-make it into something new. That is why reducing the amount we buy is more important than recycling. Some of our recycling is sent to countries to be recycled in hazardous conditions. These children are separating old computers to find copper to re-sell.