Social Issue

Who Killed the Electric Car?

·       California has the worst air quality in the states

·       This has debilitating effects of the human population such as

-        Asthmas

-        Cancer

-        Lung leisure

·       EV1 first modern electric car from a major car production company

·       Oil companies fought the electric car movement

·       The Californian state government passed legislation that car companies must comply with reducing gas emissions or they could not sell their cars in the state

·       California adjusted the mandate

·       Federal state decided to fund the research of hydrogen technology

·       In 2003 California killed its electric car mandate

·       EV1 were pulled off the road and crushed, even though they were in perfect condition

·       Tax payers money is not being spent to prepare for the future

·       Oil imports in 1977 – 8.8 million barrels per day

·       Oil imports in 2005 – 13.5 million barrels per day

·       Hydrogen fuel cell car:

-        Current fuel cell car costs $1 million

-        Not enough room for hydrogen fuel

-        Hydrogen is expensive

-        Need fuelling infrastructure

-        Competing technologies must NOT improve





     I learnt a lot from watching "Who killed the electric car". My original perception of the electric cars, that they weren't as good as fuel cars and had limited capacities, was exactly like the consumers of california. After watching this film, I would definitely prefer to be driving an electric car. I think it was horrible to the californian state government to go through building all the infrastructure for electric cars to then completely change their mind due to pressure from car companies. I disliked the fact that consumers couldn't keep these cars, they were in perfect condition and they were not hurting anyone. I believe they wanted to hide all evidence that there was a need for these cars. People couldn't be reminded of this if they couldn't see them on the road. My three take home messages are as follows:
1. Cars need to be designed with the environment in mind, we are damaging our environment and habitat if we ignore the need
2. There is so much new technology out there that can be used but no one wants to fight the oil companies because they have so much power
3.  Politicians and other power authorities need to do their job properly.

Packaging: Social Issue

Social Issue: Preventing children from accidently playing with matches. One of the highest causes of house fires in Australia

Matches should be off limits for kids, they should be kept inaccessible to children at all times

-       (Home Alarm Monitoring, 2010, 10 most common causes of house fires, viewed 14^th april 2012, http://www.homealarmmonitoring.org/year/10-most-common-causes-of-house-fires)

Children play with matches and do not fully comprehend the risks they are taking. Children should be educated on the dangers of matches and how accidents happen

Children, aged 0-16years, responsible for the lighting of a fire in the house, due to the misuse of either heat from ignition or from the material ignited

-       Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2006, Home fire safety, viewed 14^th april 2012, http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/2f762f95845417aeca25706c00834efa/1672d6d197020b08ca2570ec000e5353!OpenDocument)

How its Made

How its made > Cardboard:

-       A flute sheet is sandwiched between 2 liners to create corrugated board

-       Glue used is manly starch and water which wont contaminate fresh produce

-       The flute is mainly recycled paper because it is more malleable than new paper

-       Water based ink is used because it dries instantly

How its made > Plastic bottles and jars:

-       Recycled PET cant exceed 10% of the new product or else it looses quality

-       Machines instantly cool the plastic

-       The plastic goes through testing after moulding

How its made > Glass bottles:

-       You can recycle glass endlessly

-       Molten glass is cut into precise lengths

-       Glass is blow moulded

-       Must travel through flames or else the glass will crack

-       Cameras and probes check for cracks and bubbles

How its made > Aluminium cans:

-       Always recyclable and never deteriorates

-       Aluminium must be washed over 6 times and high temperatures

-       Inside the cans they must be protected from the acid in carbonated drinks

How its made > Tetrapak:

-       Made mostly from cardboard they keep food and liquids fresh for up to a year

-       Long shelf life because of its layers

-       Plastic – leak proof

-       Entirely made from recyclable materials

-       Solvent free ink is used for the packaging

-       Lamination is used to join the foil and plastic layers

-       Must be sterilised before cutting and folding

How its made > Packaging tubes:

-       Aluminium is used because it is affordable lightweight and malleable

-       Impact extrusion on the slugs

-       The lid stays sealed until the consumer pierces it

-       Protect coat between the metal and contents

-       Ink takes 7minutes to dry

-       12c each

Recycling

Recycling paper:

-       Most paper manufactures are also recyclers

-       60% of new paper production comes from recycled paper

Recycling beverage cartons:

-       No need to sort composite cartons by hand

-       Computers can now sort the different types of waste

Tinplate recycling:

-       Steel scrap provides 40% of steel production

-       Aluminium can be recycled as often as desired without loosing quality

Aluminium recycling:

-       1/20 of energy is used to create secondary aluminium products

-       Scraps are returned to the recycling loop

Recycling glass:

-       2.7millions tons of glass are recycled every year

Recycling plastics:

-       Most plastics can be recycled into new products with same quality as raw plastic

-       PET can be recycled as often as desired

-       Mixed plastics can be used to produce window frames, long life palettes

Sorting innovations:

-       Automatic sorting plants cut costs by up to 50%






    Reflection: After watching these films I was shocked to learn that we don't recycle as much as what i thought. I was under the impression that we could recycle some materials 100% but because of quality control we can actually only use 10% of recycled material with 90% of new material. I Understand there would be a quality loss but for the sake of the environment its something manufactures should really consider. Even recycling materials with 50% of new material would be better. I think they should really increase this.