Citation

Ginsburg H, Derby C, Hoguet D, Elford C, Lombard R. Tasmeem 2014; 2014(2014): 6.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2014, QScience)

DOI

10.5339/tasmeem.2014.6

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

The Industrial Revolution, loosely defined as the century spanning 1750-1850, was perhaps the most significant blip in history ever to occur in the four-or-so billion years of the Earth. In that 0.0000025% of the lifespan of the planet, the wheels were set in motion to significantly alter its future existence. Emboldened by massive leaps in power and production technology, much of Europe and North America created the embryo of the "consumer culture" that - depending upon where you live - is either an aspirational goal, the bane of our existence, or a guilty pleasure. "Handmade" became a slur, and Western culture adopted an attitude that was best summarized by the Olympic motto - Citius, Altius, Fortius ("Faster, Higher, Stronger") - a motto which, not surprisingly, was proposed in the later 19th Century. In the quest to achieve and sustain the levels of production "necessary" for profitability, companies spanned the surface of the globe - and penetrated deep into it - in search of the required raw materials. Today, we are still willfully ignorant to increasingly anonymous and labyrinthine supply chains. Products arrive in our homes, offices, schools, and distribution centers with no chain of custody, and often with no marker for the origins of their raw materials.

Language: en