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Science Consumerism Project
3
Consumerism Web Map
Head Instinct Graphene Tennis Racket
What is Consumerism?
Consumerism
Consumerism is the trap that in which we are preoccupied with the acqusition of consumer goods such as clothing or electronics. The advertisements we see dictate our actions. These ads are able to phycologically control us, they make us think we are worng. Everything about is wrong and we can fix that by simply going to a store and buying a product, and eventually this turns into an endless circle.
Head Instinct Graphene Tennis
Racket
Head Tennis Racket
When playing tennis a high degree of structural integrity in the racket is required. As suggested in the name graphene is used, an alternate form of graphite which at the atomic levels has the atoms are structured as hexagons, the strongest shape (a reason why dumbells are hexagon shaped), this is why this racket is set apart from others.
Graphite
Graphite
- Used in the outer frame
- Made from carbon
- Occurs naturally in rocks
- Is formed when high temperatures and pressure compress carbon
Rubber
Rubber
- Rubber is used in the grip
- The rubber helps the player to have more grip
- Rubber is more durable than leather
- More conventional and is also vegan
Synthetic Gut
Synthetic Gut
- They are yellow
- More durable than natural gut
- Hold tension better
- Provide excellent topspin and backspin
- Made from nylon
- Nylon is made form crude oil
- Today crude oil is priced at 85.61 Dollars per brl or 159 liters
The Extraction of Crude Oil
Venezuela
Venezuela has the largest crude oil reserve in the world totaling 299 billion barrels of oil. Oil reserves are both below ground or sea level. There are oil reserves are classified as conventional and unconventional reserves. Conventional meaning oil in liquid form and easily transportable. Unconventional defining crude oil in other states such as bitumen or heavy oil (not flowy).
How it is extracted?
- Heavy machinery is used
- Drilling rigs are used
- The site is prepared with the needed infastructure
- Secondly, the drill is brought using trucks
- Shots are fired in the well
- Special mixture is pumped
- The land is left afterwards
- Off shore sites use a platform, and instead of drilling rigs they user air rotary drills
By whom is crude oil extracted?
By Whom?
Crude oil is extracted by many people. Such hazourdous jobs are usually handled by teams so there is a lower chance of faliure and a lower chance of any hazourdous events. The team consists of floorhands, motorhands, derrickmen, and the oil rig manager. Each have individual jobs. The floorhands handle pipes and casing. Motorhands carry out maintenance on all the equipement. Derrickmen are on the top of the drills and guide of the fingers of the drill. The oil rig manager is responsible for every aspect of the oil rig, performance wise and financial wise. These jobs are not all performed by highly trained officials but by kids just aged 5 so they can survive, especially in lower income countries such as venezeula.
The environmental consequnces of oil mining
The Aftermath
- Cracks in oil wells can pollute the surronding environment
- Contamination can take its toll
- OIl spills can many marine life each year
- Harms the process of photsythesis
- Habitat loss is promoted
- Crude oil is defined as a fossil fuel, its combustion process realease C02 and harmful emmsions
- Air pollution and global warming are increased and so are its negative consequences
The long-term environmental impacts
Thinking Long-Term
- When oil drilling is complete the infastrcuture is removed and the land there is left with no intent of restoreation
- The destroyed habitats and ecosystems will remain the same along with the same broken promises
- The land after oil drilling is unable to self restore its self
- It becomes hard to grow natural vegetation also because of the unnatural chemicals and wells put in the grounds
- Many lands like these eventualy turn into landfills further feuling climate change
The Human Imapct of crude oil
The Human Impact
- The use of child labour introduces children to serious health risks and lack of education, for barely and money and a future full of suffering
- Forced and child labour promtes mental health issues
- People can face harsh brutality in slavery
- Crude oil release various chemicals which are harmful to the human body
- 1 in 2 crude oil extraction workers experience some kind of disease linked to crude oil
- Some face hearing problems due to the high level of noise
- Many substances found in crude oil can leak and if inhaled by workers it may result in death within minutes or even seconds
The Manufacturing of the Tennis Strings
China
After crude oil is extracted it is shipped to China, where cheap labour is all that large companies see. The crude oil is fractionally distilled where a carbon based chemical is extracted and then heated and pressurized to create nylon. The nylon is shaped into very thin strings. The strings are then shaped around a monofilament core similar in apperance to those found in 3D printers for printing, and then the nylon is wraped around the filament making the synthetic gut strings.
Systems involved in manufacturing the product
Systems
The use of social systems and physical systems are intertwind in the process of manufacturing the tennis racket. Social systems are used in some of the steps such as putting the grip and strings in the racket which are done by human labour. In this system, there are labourers which make the product, supervisors which see the overall performace and take care of their needs and communication of the workers. Then there are executives and marketing teams above them which play a role in finances other aspects of the company. The physical systems include robots whch assmeble the frames and put together the strings.
Economic Systems
The economics systems of production, marketing, and purchase expierence play a significant role in the sales of the product. The production and the quality of the product pictures the image of a company. Many imagine products from dollarama as cheap and low quality. The higher the quality of a product the better reputation a company gains. Marketing teams create ads which attract the consumers attention and make them feel as this product is a need rather than a want and they could not survive without it. The purchase expierence of the product is also impactful as what the consumer think of the product and say to others also imapcts the reputation of the prodcut and sales.
The Financial State of Labourers
Life as a labourer
HEAD does not pay or own the factories in China, the factories are on a contract with HEAD. The factories get paid a set amount and then the factories pay the labourers. This situation is similar to Dhaka, Bangledesh, and the garment workers there. The cost of living in Shanghai for a family of four is 30041 Chinese Yaun, the equivalent to 5800 canadian dollars. The average Canadian labourer earns 2917 dollars per month while a average labourer in Shanghai earns 55000 Chinese yaun a year, the equivalent to only 887 dollars a month. A labourer in Shanghai is severely underpaid compared to the high cost of a living there, even with the combined salary of 7 labour workers in Shanghai, the cost of living would still not be met. This could force factory workers out of their homes and onto the streets where they could meet drugs, different bad habits, and many diseases.
Is this a fair wage?
A fair wage?
China has some of the lowest wages in the world and it is similar to the reasoning in bangledesh. They want large companies to to come to their country only, this is why wages are low, therefore that they can attarct large companies. The compitition that is created in the economy affects everyone, especially labour workers. The world should be on an equal scale with the consideration of pay, however it isnt close to that, which throws the world of balance.
Transportation of crude oil
Transportation
When all the oil is extracted it is filled into huge cargo tanks on hundreds if not thousands of trucks. When transporting them over water they are loaded on to barges or tankers, these ships can hold up to 2 million brls of crude oil per ship the equivalent of 320 million litres of oil. The crude oil is then transfered to trucks or pipes which transport the oil to its nessacery location such as oil refineries.
Transportation of the finished product
The Finished Product
When the finsihed product is ready to be shipped unlike crude oil it is transported by air on cargo planes. The tennis rackets get loaded onto truck similar to Uhauls however with a larger volume capacities. The rackets which are in box pallets get loaded onto the cargo planes. When arriving onto its location it is transfered to delivery trucks, HEAD works with UPS, therefore UPS delivers the tennis racket to your home or to the store for retail.
My Thoughts
My purchase experience of the racket has been phenomenal so far. I bought this racket in the summer of 2019. It has impressively stood firm, there are marks and big scrathes however that is normal. The strings have broken once and I've had it restrung, on average the strings break every 5-6 months, and they are currently tearing which is normal considering its amount of usage and the force put on the strings.
How much did I purchase this product for?
I had purchased this racket for 230 dollars for. Considering many other options this was a great choice.
Purchase Price
Do you think that this product was a "fair" price?
A Fair Price?
In this question "fair" can be expressed in many perspectives, fair to the consumer or to the labourers. Looking from my the consumer perspective I honestly think this was a fair price. Many other rackets in a lower price range would have not held up for such a long time. Most rackets are used for 2 years and then discarded. This racket has supassed its life by 1/3 and I expect to use this racket next year as well. In addition certain profits need to be paid to everyone behind the process of the creation, marketing, and vending of this product, so I do think it was a fair price. However if the price is types of child labour and slavery I substantially oppose this price.
Do you think you have REALLY paid for this product?
Have I REALLY paid?
I do not believe I have truly paid for this product considering what goes behind it. Considering the intense labour which may the labourers face and fair trade not applying to this select product and the environmental impacts such as the destruction of natural habitats and ecosystems, makes me believe I have not REALLY paid for this product.