Essay # 2

The Store of Stuff

Introduction

Although all the matters apparently look completely nice in the world in this age of competition and consumption and the two important institutions of governments and corporations seem to work with each other to improve life of an individual, but if we pay attention to the complete process from extraction to disposal by filling out the blanks dark side of the picture can be easily seen.

Extraction

The process of extraction is actually good looking word for abuse of resources. It does not takes into account the fact that we are using the world national resources in a very cruel and alarming manner and we have already consumed one third of world’s natural resources in last thirty years. It also ignores the fact that the share consumed by the people of third world countries who are actual owners of these resources is almost equal to nil. The developed world is not only eating their share but also depriving them of clean and healthy environment which is equal to denying them the human right of “right to live”.

Production

Production is another process which is although now very wisely outsourced to third world and said to have given the people of these countries an opportunity to earn a good living but if the blanks of dangerous material they are dealing with every day is taken into account it is equal to killing them. Their voice is covered up by the law of ownership which states that if you don’t own lots of stuff your opinions do not matter and it creates a situation that many women of reproductive age are pushed to work and inflicted with hazardous materials to support era of consumption. 

Distribution

The process of distributing the stuff as fast as possible and getting rid of hazardous stuff by not only inflicting the society but the environment and the workers and thus externalizing the cost is one of the important aims of the game. Stuff is distributed from third world countries to developed world after polluting their environment and playing with their rights and taking benefit of concepts like economies of scale. The corporations have become so big that now no single government can control them rather they control governments often and thus their harmful activities are equally supported by governments and governments play a major role in distributing the hazardous material.

Consumption

It is a concept which had different meaning or was applied differently in the world just three decades ago as it meant consume what is needed rather than consume more and more by respecting your inhuman cycle triggered by TV ads. The corporations for their own benefit have designed disposable products so that the need to buy can be triggered as much as possible. Furthermore the consumer is made slave of the products and the need to buy more with the help of television ads which bombard their mind 24/7 more than ever so the need to shop has not only become a fashion but  innate need

Disposal

Fast disposal is a phenomenon which is helped by the fact that everything is made to be disposable is although marketed as a concept which has eased the life of a consumer but in real it is generating more profits for the corporations. The real affected ones of this disposal process again are third world countries as the waste is again sent to them to not only inflict them with environmental harm but the harm of health to the individuals of the society. Apart from dumping and making the soil unfit for anything the activity of burning the waste also creates some most hazardous toxics ever known to man and these make environment yet more polluted. 

Consumerism in UAE

Consumerism in UAE is the biggest threats to national identity. According to YouGov Siraj company 60 % of Emiraties said that they felt isolated and expatriate because the growing number of expatriates in UAE. In contrast the expatriates believe that “highly materialistic and consumerist society" is the greatest threat to Emirates Culture. However, both of the citizens and expatriates said that the main attraction factor in UAE is the safety record.    

Said Mohammed Saleh, director general of the Federal Electricity and Water that the rationalization of energy "consumption in the UAE has become a headline president of the work of the competent authorities in the state, particularly the Federal Authority for Electricity and Water "FEWA", which was announced on the twentieth of the month of June last year signed a contract of the national campaign to rationalize consumption of electricity and water in the Northern Emirates, and began preparing for the launch and implementation on the ground, in order to achieve a set of goals, especially the reduction of waste or waste in energy and contribute to meeting the growing demand in the UAE, which is estimated at 8% per annum" (Profusion of water in the UAE. Khaleej Times -Local News 2013).

Conclusion

Although the corporations and the concept of consumerism is making a mess there are government which play some role in minimizing these effects and then apart from government whose power is hampered by corporation itself there are environmentalists who keep on making efforts to minimize these effects and thus try to make world a livable place.

 

References

AlAwaam, B. (2012, September 9). Profusion of water in the United Arab Emirates. Khaleej Times - Local News . Retrieved May 27, 2013, from http://www.alkhaleej.ae/portal/5c100a44-949d-4938-a6de-b9949f38fb6b.aspx

Extraction - Definition and More from the Free Merriam-Webster Dictionary. (2013, January 1). Dictionary and Thesaurus - Merriam-Webster Online. Retrieved May 27, 2013, from http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/extraction

Gerson, J., & Richardson, A. (2008, October 4). TheNational. 'Consumerism and foreigners' greatest identity threats. Retrieved May 27, 2013, from www.thenational.ae/news/uae-news/consumerism-and-foreigners-greatest-identity-threats

The Story of Stuff - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. (2013, April 25). Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Retrieved May 27, 2013, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Story_of_Stuff

What is production? definition and meaning. (2013, January 1). BusinessDictionary.com - Online Business Dictionary. Retrieved May 27, 2013, from http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/production.html

Youtube. (2007, April 27). The story of stuff. Retrieved May 27, 2013, from  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9GorqroigqM

 

 

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