Lesson video

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

In today's lesson, we are going to be learning about the impact of consumption.

Our lesson outcome for today is that you can describe how resource use and consumption patterns affect the planet.

We've got five keywords for today's lesson so the first one is overconsumption, and this is when people use more resources than Earth can replace.

Fast fashion is the mass production and sale of cheaply made clothing that is not worn often and is quickly replaced.

Global trade, the exchange of goods, money, and services between countries.

E-waste is electronic and electrical waste and natural resources are resources that come from Earth and can be used for human needs.

We've got two learning cycles so to start off with, we're gonna look at what some of the causes and impacts of overconsumption are, and then we're gonna focus on waste from overconsumption.

Okay, first of all, let's go through what consumption means.

So consumption means using goods and services to meet our needs but also our wants, okay? So these are some of the different things that we consume.

So we buy food, we use water, we use the internet, travelling, using electricity, buying clothes, and buying electronics.

Oh, and one more there, using fuel.

So all of those things are us consuming these resources, these goods, and these services.

Now, overconsumption happens when people use more resources than Earth can replace.

So it means buying and using more than we need, creating too much waste and pollution, and putting too much pressure on nature and ecosystems. Okay, so we need to consume things to survive and to live, however, what is happening is that we are overconsuming which is putting a lot of pressure on our planet.

Okay, let's check our understanding.

So can you explain to me what is overconsumption? Okay, we've got an answer from Laura here.

Let's see what she put.

Overconsumption happens when people use more resources than Earth can replace.

It means buying and using more than we need, creating too much waste and pollution, and putting too much pressure on nature and ecosystems. Well done, Laura.

Now, the more we buy and use, the more natural resources are needed to make products.

Okay, so natural resources are things that come from the Earth naturally that people use, okay? So the things that we use these natural resources include water, fossil fuels, wood, and metal, okay? So all of these things come naturally from the planet so we've not done anything to create those.

However, we use them for many of our needs and our wants.

Now, if we overconsume a lot of these goods or these natural resources, that can lead to many negative things including forests being cut down, water sources being drained, and minerals being mined faster than nature replaces them.

Okay, so let's have a look at some of these in a bit more detail.

Now, all of those things together put pressure on ecosystems and reduces biodiversity.

Okay, so that's the number of plants and animals in an area so all of those things are not good for the natural environment basically.

Now, for example, producing one cotton T-shirt takes about 2,700 litres of water, okay? So water is used to grow the cotton, dye, and wash the fabric during that processing.

Now overuse of water for cotton farming can lead to dried up rivers and lakes so for example, it might be worth you researching the Aral Sea crisis.

Soil degradation and crop failure so that means when the soil isn't any good anymore, it reduces in quality.

And in time, that means that people can't actually grow crops in it either, which has an impact on humans.

And water pollution from chemicals used in cotton processing.

So you might not think that having, you know, just buying a new T-shirt has much impact on the environment, however, if you look behind the production of that, the impact of overusing on that water has had many negative impacts on the environment.

Okay, let's check our understanding.

I'd like you to have a look at the pictures there.

And I want you to match the use of a natural resource which are on the top row with the potential impact on the environment.

So look at the pictures and can you match the photo of the natural resource with the impact? Okay, let's have a look then.

So the water goes with the depleting water resources.

The metal goes with the mine, which is taking, well, which is having impact on the forest around, and also the wood goes with deforestation.

Well done if you got those right.

Okay, so on the slide here I have got a choropleth map which is when a map uses colour or the shade of a colour to represent data.

Okay, so if we have a look at it carefully, we've got the energy use per person in 2023.

So the different colours are shaded on the amount of energy that they use.

So if you look at the key at the bottom, you've got the lightest colour between 0 and 1000 kilowatts per hour to the darker colour which is 100,000 kilowatts per hour.

Okay, so I want you to have a look at that map there and have a think which continents use the most and least energy per person? Okay, let's have a look then.

So North America, Europe, Asia, and Oceania have the highest energy use per person 'cause they're in the darkest shade of the red, and Africa has the lowest energy use per person 'cause most of the countries in Africa are shaded in a lighter orange-y colour.

Okay, we can see that South America there and India are kind of in the middle.

Now, people in wealthier countries use more resources like energy, water, food and materials per person than those in poorer countries, okay? So they use more of those resources.

This includes things like owning more cars, electronics, and clothes, using more electricity, okay? So one of the big reasons behind this is because those people in those countries have more money to buy those things such as cars or electronics or even just going on holiday, okay? Or they've got those resources more available to them.

Okay, let's check our understanding.

True or false? People in wealthier countries use less resources per person than those in poorer countries.

That is false and can you tell me why? People in wealthier countries use more resources like energy, water, food and materials per person than those in poorer countries.

Right, global trade as well, which is the exchange of goods and services over country borders, okay, increases the environmental footprint of consumption.

So if we are exchanging more goods and services internationally so that means all over the world, that means that we are using more packaging for shipping and that creates extra waste like plastic and cardboard.

Transporting goods using ships, planes and trucks, which burns fossil fuels and creates more carbon emissions.

So on the slide there, we've got an image of a shipping container.

So if you think about it, if you buy a good that has been made in China or India, that has had to be transported a long way to get to the UK and that uses a loss of energy.

But also more production in low cost countries which is where production tends to happen, okay, often in those countries there are weaker environmental laws, okay? So companies can potentially pollute more into the atmosphere.

Now if companies decide to move their production to those lower income countries so they can create more money, that can lead to more pollution.

Okay, so well, let's check our understanding.

So what I'd like you to do is name a way that global trade has an impact on the environment.

Okay, so you could have had a few answers for this.

So packaging for shipping creates extra waste, transporting goods burns fossil fuels and creates carbon emissions, and more production in low cost countries can lead to weaker environmental laws and more pollution.

So well done if you've got any of those.

Okay, we're on to our first task for this lesson.

So first of all, what I'd like you to do is define overconsumption, and then I would like you to state three impacts of overconsumption from using those pictures.

So pause the video and have a go at that first task.

Okay, second, what I'd like you to do is using this map that we've got on the slide here and an atlas, name three countries with high energy use per person.

So you'll have to look at the map compared to an atlas to do that.

Then for question four, I'd like you to use an atlas again.

Name three countries with low energy use per person.

And then finally, explain why energy use is higher in income countries compared to low income countries.

So get yourself an atlas, have a look at that map, and have a go at those questions.

Okay, let's have a look at some answers for this.

So first of all, overconsumption happens when people use more resources than Earth can replace.

Impacts of overconsumption include deforestation, water sources being drained, and minerals being mined faster than nature can replace them.

Well done if you've got those right.

Okay, so I got three answers for this.

So three countries with high energy use per person include USA, China, and Australia and countries with low energy use per person including Tanzania, Chad, and Somalia.

Well done if you got those right.

Okay, and for question five, people in wealthier countries use more resources like energy, water, food and materials per person than those in poorer countries.

This includes things like owning more cars, electronics, clothes, and using more electricity.

Okay, let's get going with the second learning cycle, looking at waste from overconsumption.

Now, waste from overconsumption contributes to pollution and emissions.

When we buy more than we need, we throw away more, clothes, food, packaging and electronics.

Making and dumping these items creates pollution and it releases greenhouse gases.

This can lead to environmental impacts.

So incinerating waste releases toxic gases and carbon emissions.

So incinerating is when you burn waste, okay? So rather than digging it in the ground and putting it into a landfill site, you burn it.

However, it is not actually that good for the environment.

Plastic waste pollutes oceans and harms wildlife, and landfills produce methane, a powerful greenhouse gas.

Okay, let's check our understanding.

So how can landfill sites and incinerators have an impact on the environment? So landfills produce methane, a powerful greenhouse gas and incinerating waste releases toxic gases and carbon emissions.

Well done if you've got those correct.

Now, fast fashion is the mass production and sale of cheaply made clothing, often closely following the changing fashion trends.

Fast fashion can have a large environmental impact.

So textile waste, cheap clothes are thrown away quickly and that means that you've got a lot of textiles, which are either going to landfill or incineration.

Resource use uses a lot of cotton, energy, and synthetic materials when they create the products.

Now microplastics, so these are tiny little bits of plastics.

So synthetic clothes, which are clothes that are made out of not natural materials such as cotton, shed fibres which pollute the ocean.

So it might be worth having a look at your clothing items here and seeing if it's got anything like polyester in it.

Now, when we wash those clothes and put them in the washing machine, little bits of plastic actually come off your clothing and then they go into the water stream which isn't good because eventually those little bits of plastic can end up in the ocean.

Pollution, so factories release chemicals and carbon emissions when they are the materials and the products are created and it can also create a lot of water waste.

Now every year, millions of tonnes of used and unsolved clothes are sent to Chile, especially in the Atacama Desert.

Many clothes come from fast fashion brands in the USA, Europe, and Asia and this creates many problems. Clothes pile up in open deserts, many are made of materials that don't break down like polyester so plastic is a material that doesn't break down over time.

It just gets smaller and smaller.

Chemicals in the clothes can pollute the soil and water, and burning or burying the clothes causes air and environmental pollution.

Now we'll look at some examples of how some companies are trying to fight against fast fashion.

Now, Patagonia is an American outdoor clothing company.

Now Patagonia has got a few different strategies which they are trying to do to reduce the impacts on the environment of fast fashion.

So what they are doing is they are selling some of their secondhand clothing.

So what they do, people can send their items of clothing back that they don't want anymore, and they can repair those items of clothing and resell them, and in doing so, they are creating less new clothing and that reduces waste.

They offer repair services and teach customers how to fix their own clothes, and they use more sustainable materials such as organic cotton and recycled fabrics.

Okay, so Patagonia is one of my favourite outdoor clothing brands.

Okay, let's check our understanding.

What types of waste can fast fashion produce? Tick all that apply.

So that's textile waste, water waste, and microplastics.

Well done if you got that right.

So what's the issue with the production and disposal of electronics? Well, when we produce electronics, this often uses rare resources like lithium and gold.

And when we take those out of the ground that can harm ecosystems. Often, the production of these items can pollute the local area which can create toxic waste.

And it creates E-waste so electronic waste.

So most gadgets aren't recycled and this can be toxic.

E-waste includes old or broken electronic devices such as phones, laptops, TVs, and batteries that are thrown away.

It can create environmental impacts just on its own.

So just throwing those electronic items away has impacts.

So for example, most E-waste ends up in landfills or is burned releasing pollution.

E-waste contains harmful substances like lead and mercury that can pollute soil and water, and a lot of E-waste is sent to poorer countries where it's often handled unsafely.

Now another example of how a company is trying to reduce this problem is Fairphone.

So Fairphone is a Dutch company aiming to produce more sustainable mobile phones.

So what they are doing with their production of phones is they're making a modular design, which makes it easy to repair and replace parts so phones last longer.

So if there's a part of the phone that is broken, it's very easy to replace that part of the phone rather than having to buy a whole new one.

It uses over 70% recycled and fairly sourced materials.

There are long software supports which keeps phones working for years.

So over time, you might have noticed that sometimes your phone or your family or friend's phone over time, doesn't work, it doesn't fit the new software.

However, this one aims to last for many, many years so you don't have to buy a new one, and it recycles as much electronic waste as it sells.

Okay, so I want you to think, look at those different factors of Fairphone and I want you to think how do all of these factors make the phone more sustainable? Maybe have a quick chat with your partner.

Okay, we've got an answer from Alex here.

So Fairphone is better for the environment because it's made to last longer and create less waste.

You can easily fix it by replacing parts like the battery or the screen.

It also uses over 70% recycled materials and recycles the same amount of E-waste as it sells.

Plus it gives software update for years so you don't have to keep buying new phones.

Spot on, Alex.

Okay, let's check our understanding.

So what environmental problems does E-waste create? Okay, so a lot of E-waste is sent to poorer countries where it's often handled unsafely.

Most E-waste ends up in landfills or is burned releasing pollution.

And E-waste contains harmful substances that can pollute soil and water.

Well done if you've got those right.

Okay, we're on to our final tasks for the lesson.

First of all, what I'd like you to do is label the photograph with potential environmental and social impacts of landfill sites.

So how might this affect the environment but how might it affect people as well? Now finally, what I'd like you to do is design your own fashion item like a jacket, shoes, or bag or an electronic item like a phone, watch, or headphones that helps reduce waste.

So on your page, what I'd like you to do is draw your product, label its eco-friendly features, and add a short explanation about why your item is good or better for the environment and there's a sentence starter if you need it there.

So when you are designing your item, think about what materials will you use, can it be recycled or reused? Can it be repaired or reused easily? And how is it packaged or sold? So if you can, try to avoid plastic.

So pause the video and get designing.

Okay, let's have a look at the answers here then.

So for this one, I've put harmful substances like lead and mercury can pollute soil and water.

It can harm wildlife so animals may eat or get trapped in waste.

It's not visually pleasing so local people may be able to see or even smell the landfill site, and landfills produce methane which is a powerful greenhouse gas.

Well done if you manage to get all those.

Okay, so here's my fashion item.

Now I've created an eco-friendly hoodie and this is why it's better for the environment.

So the zipper is made out of metal, not plastic, and that's easier to recycle.

The fabric is made from recycled cotton and old plastic bottles.

The tag is made out of seed paper that can be planted to grow flour.

So this is paper that you can put in the ground, it's got seeds in it, and then eventually over time, they will flower.

And the colour is natural dyes only so no harsh chemicals.

Obviously, you didn't have to design an item like mine, but hopefully you've got some good eco-friendly features.

And here's an explanation of my item.

My eco hoodie is better for the environment because it uses recycled materials, creates less waste, and doesn't use harmful dyes.

It can also be repaired if it gets damaged so you don't need to buy a new one right away.

Even the tag helps nature by growing into flowers.

Okay, we've got a summary here for today's lesson.

High levels of consumption increase demand for natural resources.

Global trade increases the environmental footprint of consumption.

Richer countries consume more per person than poorer countries.

Waste from overconsumption contributes to pollution and emissions.

Fast fashion and electronics create growing environmental problems. Now that's it for today's lesson.

You've done a fantastic job there and I'll see you next time.

Bye.