Today we had a very early flight to Quito. On our way to our hotel, we stopped at the equator where we had an educational tour. We learned about the history of the indigenous tribes which located the line for the equator. Some traditions of these communities were to do the shrunken heads which was a little disturbing to learn about. After this, we dropped our bags off at the hotel and went to go zip lining. During our time on the bus, Diego and Tait talked about the change in vegetation and soils as we approached different areas. For example, Tait had pointed out that you could see evidence of volcanic activity in the rocky hills that surrounded the road. After our 10 lines of zip lining, we came back to the hotel. After dinner, Nick and I had our presentation about cloud forests. He discussed the climate of the area, the species that can be found, as well as brief explanations of volcanism in this area and the threats to and from the forest. I discussed the different cloud forests all over the world, the impact of tourism, and I briefly explain the expectations of being in this area. Victoria then presented about the treadmill of production. Before the presentation, I thought that I knew a lot about the treadmill of production. I realize now that I knew very basic concepts of the treadmill of production and related topics.
Expansion of knowledge
Treadmill of Production
Victoria had talked about the treadmill of production in her presentation. I thought that she did an excellent job with presenting the knowledge she wanted to present in a simple manner. Researching further into this topic, I read the article "Treadmill of Production Theory" which was written by Michael Lynch. The whole concept came from Allan Schnaiberg with his publication of his book The Environment: From Surplus to Scarcity in 1980. The whole concept compares the environment, the economy, and the consumers. The author describes the process as an endless cycle. The businesses create merchandise for the consumers to purchase. In order to continue to have a supply of consumers, the businesses sell exclusively items that do not last long. For example, a cell phone is meant to last an individual two years. Another example would be a phone charger or a set of headphones. The wires that are in the chords are so thin and are easy to break. Then once they break, consumes are forced to buy a new version of that product. As time progresses, the treadmill of production accelerates which means that it would generate larger amounts of waste and exploits more resources. The cycle is endless in our first world society and we often exploit the resources of developing countries in order to fuel our material desires.
The Shrunken Heads of the Jivaro
The article, "The shrunken heads of Jivaro," talked about the history of the shrunken heads. This indigenous group had tribes in both Ecuador and Peru. The article describes exactly how the shrunken heads were made. Once the heads were made, a celebration was in order and it celebrated the strength of the tribe and of its warriors. It was interesting to read that the tribe of warriors were motivated by revenge and not by the desire to expand their territory.
Works cited
Dhwty. (2019, February 8). The shrunken heads of Jivaro. Retrieved from https://www.ancient-origins.net/unexplained-phenomena/shrunken-heads-jivaro-001797
Lynch, M. (2014, September 6). Treadmill of Production Theory. Retrieved from https://greencriminology.org/glossary/treadmill-of-production-theory/
Lynch, M. (2014, September 6). Treadmill of Production Theory. Retrieved from https://greencriminology.org/glossary/treadmill-of-production-theory/