Lesson video

Hello, my name's Ms. Gilyeat, and I'm going to be your geography teacher for today.

Today, we are going to be learning about the global transportation of goods, which is the fifth lesson of the global trade topic.

We've got loads of interesting things to learn about, so let's get going.

Our lesson outcome for today is that you can describe how different types of goods are transported from producers to supermarkets, and evaluate the costs and benefits of different forms of transport.

We have got five keywords for today.

So the first one is place of origin.

This is the place of origin, is the place where something first comes from.

Costs and benefits are the bad things and good things about something.

Perishability is a measure of how quickly something, usually food, will go rotten, but it can include things like flowers as well.

Food miles measure the distance between where a food is grown to where it is eaten.

A carbon footprint is a measure of the total amount of greenhouse gases that are released as a result of our actions.

Now, these keywords will be in bold throughout the lesson in case you need to refer back to them at any moment.

We've got two learning cycles for today's lesson.

First of all, we're gonna look at "How do goods travel?

" And then we're gonna start to think about, "Is transporting goods a long way a problem?

" and what impacts it can have.

So, let's get going with the first learning cycle, "How do goods travel?

" Okay.

So goods are things that people can buy.

So when we go to the shop and we buy, I don't know, a loaf of bread or an item of clothing, that is a good.

It's something physical that we can buy.

Now, I want you to have a think.

How do you think that a good could get from its place of origin, so where it originally comes from, to the supermarket?

Have a quick chat with your partner.

So, there's lots of different ways that goods can be transported and moved about.

So, container ships, now on the slide here, we've got a picture of a container ship.

So this is basically a massive ship which has got containers on it, and within those containers, there will be items of food or clothing or whatever, any good, that are getting moved about.

Now, these are really, really big ships, basically.

Airplanes can move things.

Trains, lorries.

Those are the four main modes of transport.

Now, sometimes, one good might actually be used by multiple, might be moved by multiple modes of transport.

And often, lorries will be the final mode of transport.

So, for example, something might be moved from one country to another via a container ship, okay?

And then when that gets to the new country, then a lorry will take the goods out.

Okay?

So often, multiple modes of transport may be used.

Now, there are different things which need to be thought about when deciding which mode of transport is the most suitable to move that good.

So you want to be thinking about how much the item weighs, okay?

If you've got a really heavy or big item, it might not be suitable to move it by airplane, for example.

We need to be thinking about the distance that the good needs to travel.

Its perishability, so how quickly the item will go off and go rotten.

Its place of origin, so where it's come from.

Its value, how expensive it is.

Is it going to be a real problem if that good gets lost in transport?

Okay.

So, when we decide which of these modes of transport is best, we need to think about the costs and benefits.

So we think about the negatives of moving it via one method, and the benefits of moving it via a method.

Let's check our understanding.

So which of these are used to transport goods?

Tick all that apply.

So A, trains.

B, container ships.

C, airplanes.

And D, bicycles.

Okay, so we move goods by trains, container ships, and airplanes.

We don't tend to move them by bicycles.

If you go to a shop on your bike, then yeah, you are moving a good via your bike, but it's not how we move large quantities.

That would just be for personal use.

So, moving goods by plane has benefits and costs.

So, some of the good things about moving something via plane is that it's pretty fast.

You can get from one side of the world to another in a day or two.

It can be fairly secure as well.

So when something goes on a plane, it needs to be checked, and often, they don't get lost.

However, it can be very expensive, okay?

So even though it is fast, it uses quite a lot of energy to move something by an airplane, and all the different procedures to put something on an airplane as well makes that mode of transport expensive.

There are weight and size limitations.

You're not going to be able to move something really, really big or really heavy via a plane.

And also, there's quite a large environmental impact.

When airplanes travel, they burn a lot of fuel, which releases greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, which impacts on global warming.

Okay?

So yes, they're fast, but not good for the environment.

Some things that you might move via airplane include fine art, precious metals, and flowers.

Okay?

So these are items, for example, that would be very, that need to be moved securely, if they, they cost a lot of money.

They might need to be moved quickly.

So flowers, for example, they will go rotten very quickly.

So if you moved it via a container ship, they might, well, they probably have rotten by the time they get to their destination.

So, moving goods by ship has quite a lot of benefits, actually.

So, it's relatively cheap.

The reason for that being is that you can get a lot of items onto one container ship.

You can transport large goods, because the ships are so big, you can easily get things like cars, or even tractors, really, really big goods onto these ships.

They can transport large quantities.

If we have a look at the slide here, we've got, well, sometimes you can get over a hundred containers onto one ship, so you can transport loads of things, which ultimately makes the journey cheaper.

They can go long distances as well.

Has a smaller environmental impact.

Now, there is still some environmental impact, because ships burn fuel, which releases greenhouse gases, but overall, it's got less of one, because you are transporting larger quantities than you would do an airplane.

There are some negatives.

They can be quite slow.

Ships don't move that quickly.

And less secure.

So, if we have a look on the slide here, you can see that, so there's some container ships on the boat.

Now sometimes, if there's a big storm, those container ships can fall into the sea, and then that's all of your items lost, so that's not ideal.

Things that you might move via a container ship include oil, coffee, and cars, okay?

So cars are big.

They can fit on a ship.

Coffee, relatively cheap, doesn't need to be securely moved.

And oil, as well, is quite heavy, and a heavy item to move.

So, moving things by train.

Benefits.

No traffic congestion, okay?

So, obviously, a train works on a rail line, so therefore it's not getting stuck in traffic.

Again, they can go long distances.

Some of these train journeys will go across whole continents.

They can move large items.

However, they've got inflexible routes, because obviously, a train has to follow a rail line, it means it can't change its journey, and it can't divert, it can't go to some smaller areas, for example.

It has to stick to the route of the rail line.

It can be expensive as well.

So, some things that might be moved by train include mail, electrical items, and bricks.

So, moving things by road or on lorries.

Benefits.

Flexible.

It can choose whatever road it would like to travel on.

Well, unless it's a really small road, that might not be ideal.

You can go to more remote areas.

There's door to door service, and actually, a lot of goods, their final part of their journey will be by a lorry.

So they might have traveled somewhere on a plane or on a ship or train, and then to get to the more remote area that it needs to get to, or to get to the supermarket or get to the shop, then it will quite likely finish its last bit of the journey on a road.

There are costs.

There's a limit to the size and weight of goods.

It can be expensive as well, because lorries can't contain, can't carry as much stuff.

So, as I've just said, many goods end their journey by being transported by a lorry or a van.

So let's have a look at some of these items that I've just mentioned, then.

So, an airplane, you've got fine art, precious metals, okay?

And flowers being transported by airplanes.

Container ships might transport oil, coffee, and cars.

Train often moves mail, electrical items, and bricks.

And many items will finish their journey in a lorry or a van.

What I'd like you to do is chat to the person you're sat next to and discuss that question I've got there.

Can you think of reasons why these goods are transported by these particular modes of transport?

Pause the video and have a quick chat.

Okay, let's check our understanding then.

Why might you decide to transport flowers by airplane?

The reason for it, it's fast.

Flowers will rot.

They will go off, or they will die.

So you need to be able to move them quickly by something, okay?

So if you put a flower on a container ship and you want to transport it from one part of the world to the other, it will have died if you do it on a ship, so a plane is able to move it very quickly.

However, that will be an expensive journey for the flowers, or for the person that buys the flowers.

Okay, we are moving on to our first task for the lesson then.

Now, what I would like you to do is come up with two costs and two benefits of each of these modes of transport.

So we've got trains, airplane, container ship, and lorry and van.

It's up to you.

You could either copy the table into your exercise book, or there is also a worksheet for this lesson.

Pause the video and have a go.

Okay, let's have a look at some of my examples that I've got.

So we've got some costs and benefits for trains and airplanes there.

So, benefits to the train, there's no traffic congestion, you can go long distances, you can move large items.

Some of the costs, it's inflexible, can be expensive.

Airplane benefits, it's fast, it's secure.

Negatives or costs, I should say, is expensive, there's weight and size limitation, and there is also quite a large environmental impact.

For container ships, benefits include it's cheaper, you can transport large goods, you can transport large quantities, and you can go long distances.

Some of the costs, it's slow, it's less secure.

Benefits of moving things by lorry and van, it's flexible, you can get to more remote areas, and you've got door-to-door service.

Costs.

There's a limit to the size and weight of the goods, and it can be expensive to move items that way as well.

Okay, we are now moving on to our second learning cycle, which is looking at, "Is transporting goods a long way a problem?

" Now, we all now know that goods are transported all across the world.

Now, that is brilliant in some ways, because it means that we are able to access things and use things that we wouldn't have in our own country.

So for example, I've got a picture of a pineapple there.

Now, we don't grow pineapples in the UK, but we do eat them, which means they've come from all across the world, okay?

So, great for us, because we can have and use and eat these things that we wouldn't be able to have normally.

Around half of the food eaten in the UK is imported from other countries, okay?

Great, again, because it means we have a varied diet.

We get to try and eat loads of interesting foods that we wouldn't usually have.

That does mean that half of the food that comes in, that we eat in the UK, we all grow ourselves.

So, some countries, it's, actually do better than us, so they grow more of their own food, but some countries import a lot more of their own food as well.

Now, I want you to have a chat with your partner.

Can you think of any other examples of food that is imported?

So think about what you see in the supermarket.

What do you know that we don't really grow in the UK, for example?

Now, some of the main foods that we import in the UK include beef, wine, bananas, sugar, and cocoa products.

Ooh, and coffee, sorry.

Okay?

So, we don't really grow these in the UK, so it means that we have to import them.

Those are some of the main imports.

Brilliant!

We get a great varied diet.

We get to go to the supermarket and put loads of interesting things in our trolley, which we wouldn't usually be able to have.

However, there are some negatives to importing a lot of this food.

Can you think of any problems with transporting food across the world?

Pause the video and have a quick chat with your partner.

Right.

Let's check our understanding.

True or false?

The UK grows all of its own food.

That is false.

Can you justify your answer?

The UK does not grow all of its food because the UK imports about 50% of the food from other countries.

Okay?

Now, you might have discussed this with your partner, so we're gonna start to think about why transporting food across the world can not always be a good thing.

So it says there, "The distance food travels between where it is grown or made to where it is eaten are called food miles.

" Okay?

So it's the distance that that amount, that food has traveled, okay?

So that banana there has traveled 5,300 miles from Brazil to the UK.

Now, in the UK, we love bananas.

We eat a lot of them, but they have traveled a very long distance, and most of our bananas do come from South America, okay?

A lot of them from Brazil.

Now, when we transport that food, okay?

Those food miles use energy and release greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.

So, the reason that they use energy is because of the transport.

So, for example, a lorry or a ship or a train or an airplane, all of that uses fuel to be able to move, okay?

Now, when that mode of transport burns fuel, it releases greenhouse gases.

Energy is also spent on keeping those items refrigerated.

Now, not all goods that get transported need to be kept at a cool temperature, but quite a lot of them do.

And doing that, it uses energy, okay?

Because you're having to make sure that the item is cool enough so it doesn't go off or it doesn't spoil, especially in the summer months.

So more energy will be used in the summer months to move those food items.

Now, as I said, when we move those, when we burn those greenhouse gases, sorry, when we burn those fossil fuels, greenhouse gas is released into the atmosphere, the main one being carbon dioxide.

So that accounts for about 60% of global emissions.

Now, that is contributing to global warming and climate change.

So you might have heard on the news or on social media or in school that our planet is getting hotter, which is having quite a lot of negative impacts on many aspects of the world.

So, yeah, that is a big reason why burning, or food miles, are not a good thing for the environment.

So food contributes to something called a carbon footprint.

Now, a carbon footprint is a measure of the total amount of greenhouse gases that are released as a result of our actions, and we often measure it in kilograms.

Now, there are other things as well, which are included into the carbon footprint, so transport, the amount of energy that we use, but the food that we eat is a big one.

And what contributes to the food carbon footprint is how far that food has traveled.

So as it says there, the further the food has traveled, the greater the food miles, which adds to its carbon footprint.

So us, as individuals, we have all got our own carbon footprint, so that is the amount of CO2 we are responsible for that puts, that we are putting into the atmosphere.

Let's check our understanding.

True or false?

Food miles can contribute to global warming.

That is true.

Can you justify your answer?

Food miles can contribute to global warming because the transportation of food releases carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.

Okay, we're moving on to our second main task of the lesson.

So, first of all, what I would like you to do is choose three ingredients or three food items that you have eaten over the last couple of days.

You are going to research their place of origin, where they have come from, and I'd like you to plot their journey on a map.

So as I showed you earlier, I've eaten quite a lot of bananas the last few days, actually, so I would plot, I'd find out where most of the bananas in the UK come from, so you can do that, if you search that on the internet, and then you are going to plot a line from Brazil to the UK to show the bananas.

You can then use the internet to find out how far those bananas have traveled, okay?

So pause the video and have a go.

Second, I would like you to have a go at answering these questions.

So 2A, what is a food mile?

2B, how do food miles contribute to increased greenhouse gases?

And 2C, why can long food miles be worse for the environment?

Now, you can either answer these questions in your book, or there is also a worksheet to go with this lesson.

Pause the video and have a go.

Okay.

Now I'm gonna show you my example for this.

Obviously, you might have put something different.

That's absolutely fine.

I'm just showing you to know what the, what you should have, guidelines.

So bananas from Brazil, they've traveled 5,330 miles.

Sugar from India has traveled 4,663 miles.

And beef from Ireland has only traveled 324 miles.

Okay?

So, hopefully you've got something, or you've plotted something on your map, but I'm quite interested to find out where your food has come from.

Okay, let's go through the answers to these questions.

So a food mile is the distance food travels from its place of origin to where it is eaten.

They contribute to greenhouse gases because of the transport which has moved the food item and the energy spent on refrigerating the food item.

And long food miles are worse for the environment because the further the food travels, the more carbon emissions may be released from its transport, and that contributes to global warming.

Pause the video and check you've got the correct answers.

Here we have a summary for today's lesson.

Different types of goods are transported using different forms of transport.

Different factors influence which mode of transport is used.

Transporting goods long distances has costs as well as benefits, for example, food miles and carbon footprint.

The place of origin, distance traveled, weight, and perishability, and the value of products all influence transport choices.

And greater food miles are worse for the environment and contribute towards global warming.

Right.

That's it for today's lesson.

Well done.

You've done a fantastic job.

Now, if I was you, I'd go find out a little bit more about where your items of food have come from over the last couple of days.

Anyway, I hope you have a great rest of your day.

I've really enjoyed teaching you.

See you later!

Bye!