Global warming poster and personal reflection

 Reflection to go with my non-written piece

For this Global warming and climate change unit, my investigation topic is to: Discuss how the consumption of material goods contributes to global warming and climate change.

I was inspired by IKEA advertisement that we watched in class to focus on consumerism. I was really intrigued by how irrelevant the two issues are if you first think about it, but then I realized after doing some research that they are definitely connected.

I looked at this comparison in a global and local perspective first. I found out about e-waste and how the landfills are piling up emitting methane, which is directly linked to global warming. I had figured that most of the things that we purchase and throw away, for instance, phones, laptop and electrical appliances are produced using a lot of energy and natural resources which require burning fossil fuels. I realized that many of the forests have been cut down in order for paper packaging to be available. Deforestation affects the carbon dioxide levels because there are no trees to absorb it, which further worsens global warming. The lack of trees will affect countries because the trees are there to block extreme floods that happen due to climate change. Hong Kong is a very materialistic society because of the overwhelming amount of shops and malls that attract people to purchase things that they want but don’t necessarily need. Due to this being the case for Hong Kong, the waste that we produce is also taking up a lot of the space that we have limited of.  I also analyzed some of the effects that this is actually having on the climate, the temperature has definitely got warmer compared to the past decade. There has also been some extreme weather, for example stronger typhoons, scorching hot summers and increased rainfalls.

I’ve outlined many solutions to this problem from the government’s, company’s and the consumer’s perspective. I’ve suggested that the government can pass certain laws that involve this issue such as the environmental levy that is basically a tax for plastic bags. Since this was introduced in Hong Kong, it is successful in encouraging people to bring their own shopping bags instead of relying on the store’s plastic bags.  In the company’s perspective, developing a more eco-friendly packaging for their products is seen as the most effective solution. Biodegradable packaging is certainly a much better alternative to regular packaging, even though it might take longer and cost more to produce. However if more companies start using biodegradable packaging then it will help this situation significantly. The weakness of this solution is that many of the companies will not put in the effort or not have enough money to develop this type of packaging therefore not being able to fulfill this solution. They can also start investigating more efficient transport for the products because the amount of carbon emissions that those vehicles produce is also a contributing factor to global warming. From a consumer’s perspective, we need to think twice before buying something that you might already have, because commercials and other people can really make you want something that you don’t need. Also we need to put more effort into reusing or recycling the things that we no longer need. Selling it online, recycling it, giving it to charity are only some of the ways that we could make a difference. Raising awareness is also really important because it helps spread the message to educate others about this issue. I never considered that you could raise awareness in so many different ways. I discovered a photographer called Chris Jordan that uses his photographs to illustrate the waste that we are producing. This is an interesting way to get attention and to educate others about this problem.

My overall opinion is that the amount we consume and throw away can be re-evaluated and reduced. Every one of us can make a difference if we just think twice before making an impulse purchase or research on the packaging of the products we buy.  After I’ve seen how much over-consumption actually affects global warming and climate change, I’ve been more conscious of what I buy and how I can reduce my waste. In the future, I would change the way I make decisions on what to buy because personally shopping gives me satisfaction, therefore I need to think twice next time I buy something. If people started put a little effort into reducing the amount they buy, then this issue can definitely be resolved.