Chapter 6 Lesson 12 Inquiry
Completion requirements
Inquiry
What is life like in the Cordillera today?
The Cordillera region, like the rest of Canada, relies on international trade for many goods and services. Canadians "import" goods and services when we buy them from other countries. We "export" goods when we sell them to other countries.
Canada’s most important trading partners are the United States, Japan, and the United Kingdom.
Many of the manufactured products in our homes, such as cell phones, CD/DVDs, and soccer balls are made from raw materials that are gathered from all over the world and shipped to factories, which are typically in China. Then, the finished products are shipped halfway around the world to stores near where we live.
Check out the labels on your clothing or appliances. Where was your clothing, sports equipment, appliances such as toasters made?
But, this is not the whole story of stuff.
Items can be used for a short time or a long time. Items can be either recycled, reused, sent to the dump, or put into a hole in the ground after we are finished with them. How much garbage is going into the dump?
Think about the new computers and cell phones we buy to keep up with the trends. How often do we buy them? Where do they go when we are finished with them? Why do clothing styles change so often? Is it simply to keep you buying new stuff? How many advertisements do you see in a day?
What does this mean? Can the planet sustain our huge use of materials and the waste we create?
Sustainability means "the ability to be maintained". There is a limit on how much 'stuff' we can have and use.
"Stewardship" and "thrift" are words that mean using the things we own wisely and making them last for a long time. To learn more about the human footprint, click
Canada’s most important trading partners are the United States, Japan, and the United Kingdom.
How do we get our stuff? How much stuff do we own? Where does our
stuff go when we are finished with it?
Many of the manufactured products in our homes, such as cell phones, CD/DVDs, and soccer balls are made from raw materials that are gathered from all over the world and shipped to factories, which are typically in China. Then, the finished products are shipped halfway around the world to stores near where we live.
Check out the labels on your clothing or appliances. Where was your clothing, sports equipment, appliances such as toasters made?
But, this is not the whole story of stuff.
- British research found that the average 10-year-old owns 238 toys but plays with just 12 daily.
- The average American woman owns 30 outfits—one for every day of the month. In 1930, that figure was nine.
- Some homes have more television sets than people.
- Americans toss 60 million water bottles daily, which is nearly 700 each minute.
- Shopping malls outnumber high schools. And 93% of teenage girls rank shopping as their favorite pastime.
Items can be used for a short time or a long time. Items can be either recycled, reused, sent to the dump, or put into a hole in the ground after we are finished with them. How much garbage is going into the dump?
Think about the new computers and cell phones we buy to keep up with the trends. How often do we buy them? Where do they go when we are finished with them? Why do clothing styles change so often? Is it simply to keep you buying new stuff? How many advertisements do you see in a day?
What does this mean? Can the planet sustain our huge use of materials and the waste we create?
Sustainability means "the ability to be maintained". There is a limit on how much 'stuff' we can have and use.
"Stewardship" and "thrift" are words that mean using the things we own wisely and making them last for a long time. To learn more about the human footprint, click
.
Resources for Inquiry
Resources for Inquiry
- Textbook
-
Pages 184 – 187
Notebook
When you feel confident about the information you explored in this inquiry, complete the Lesson 12 Self-Check on the following page.