1. Industrial society
The Industrial Revolution (C2 p. 42)
=> Process of industrialization (>change of the economical and social structure of a country by building up industries), mostly in countries, which were formerly dominated by agricultuere and forstry.
It had its beginning in Britain at the end of the 18th century.
Characteristics of the Industrial Revolution:
- increasing division of labour and specialization
- use of new technologies and mass - production => "Spinning Jenny"
- utilization and consumption of new sources of energy (i.e. coal, oil, electricity, steam)
- development of a financial system, a traffic system
- increasing income per person
==> This process proceeded with far-reaching social crisis and -changes (migration from the land to the towns)
Additional remark:
> The "Second Industrial Revolution": Automatization (i.e. conveyor belt)
> The "Third Industrial Revolution": Phase of technical - economical development, caused by miniaturization (i.e. smaller computers / computerchips with a higher capacity)
1.1. Modern Industrial Society
Society today (C2 p.4/5):
=> Consumer-led society; money is very important, you can buy whatever you want.
Affluence:
- In developed countries, most people are - despite a high unemployment rate - better off than 20 or 30 years ago.
- Rising expenditures on luxury goods (i.e.leisure goods) but falling expenditures on basic essentials (i.e. food, clothing, housing)
Globalization:
- Buyers for industry (= people, who buy for example raw materials for their company) search the world for more, better and cheaper products to sell (in their shops).
- More and more plants move to third world countries, because that means lower production costs.
=>growing wealth in third world economies, with this economical growth, the consumerism of these countries grows, too. Thus the consumer society is becoming global
- Europe has already lost whole industries to the new economies, but it must be competitive, to create new jobs, needed for millions of unemployed in the EU.
Advertising:
=>Made the consumer revolution possible.
- Advertisers: "Advertisements help consumers to make the right choices, when they buy." > Modern advertising: with TV, cinema, newspapers, magazines, posters
> sponsorship advertising: Enterprises pay to leave their brand on, for example, a Formula 1 racing car.
> smaller scale advertising: brochures, leaflets, fliers, neon signs, street banners > ordinary people can set smaller classified ads (Kleinanzeigen) in newspapers.
Consumer protection:
- Laws and rules in every country, so that all ads can be justified.
- Example: British Code of Advertising Practice - all ads should...
...be legal, decent, honest and truthful
...follow business principles of fair competition ...be responsible to consumers and society
=>ads get checked, if they break this code they can be prevented from advertising in any medium.
Work:
=> Effects of increasing process and automatization:
- need for better educated workers
- replacing of workers by machines > unemployment
- higher wages, more leisure time
- more pollution
- many manual ("blue-collar jobs") disappeared
- reduction of manufacturing in western economies - many people are now working in the sevice sector
- common feature of working life today: lifetime training and re-skilling (=>flexibility)
- large-scale automation takes over "white-collar jobs" to reduce wage costs
Telecommunications:
Today we life in a wired-up world. There are many ways for us to communicate with each other.
Computers:
Today nealy everyone of us, especially enterprises, are dependent on computers. In time, computers have changed from large mainframe machines to smaller microcomputers, PCs, available and usable for everyone. This offers, on the one hand a big freedom and fexibility to society but on the other hand many problems and changes.
2. Environment
Environmental Problems:
- increase of the world's population
- higher standard of living (>consumerism is expanding) great pressure on the
- so there must be a higher productivity in agriculture and environment
industry to meet the society's demands
==> EFFECT: POLLUTION
Ozone depletion:
=> The ozone layer:
Task: protection of the earth
+ screens us from most of the sun's harmful radiation
+ created by interaction of ultra violet radiation from the sun with oxygen
- destruction of the ozone by chemicals, especially by CFCs
- this causes big holes in it -> exposition of life on earth to increasingly dangerous levels of radiation
Global warming (overheating of the earth):
=> caused by "geenhouse gases" like carbon dioxide (poured out especially by industry and transport (motor cars) and (15%) by the burning of the rain forests) they trap some of the sun's heat in the atmosphere => global warming, changing climate (rising temperatures) and weather.
Energy and acidity:
- Burning of fossil fuels acidifies the environment.
- Acid rain is harmful to plants (forests) and animals, especially those which live in water.
Air pollution:
- one of the most serious problems of our day and age
- breathing of heavy polluted air causes health problems and it even can lead to an earlier death.
Desertification and soil erosion:
- over-use of already poor land by a rising population creates new deserts
- unprotected soil can then be washed or blown away very quickly
Water shortages and pollution:
- rising water use -> falling of the underground water tables -> water shortages in some regions
- overpopulation increases water pollution - discharge of waste into rivers or coastal waters
- North Sea - one of the most polluted in the world
Chemicals:
- huge quantities of dangerous chemicals are placed in the environment every year
Deforestation:
- lasting destruction of nearly half of the world's rainforests
- this takes away the habitat (Lebensraum) of many animals
- some scientists believe that up to 100 plant and animal species are destroyed every day
2.1. Waste
==> Our consumer led society has developed an use and throw away lifestyle by setting great demands on industry for the production of goods.
Result: vast quantities of waste, both domestic and industrial. This waste consists from:
- naturally dacaying products
- long lasting products (i.e. glass, plastics, metals...)
Waste disposal:
- landfill, incineration, recycling
- special treatment for toxic waste
Disposal of nuclear waste:
- vitrification, storage of these glass blocks in containers in an air-cooled room for at least 50 years
- eventual: remove for final disposal
- Two ways of final disposal:
> underground storage in a very hard rock
>undersea burial in the bedrock
3. Energy
Energy sources
-rising energy demand, because of economic development
Fossil Fuels: coal, oil , gas
-created from the remains of living material millions of years ago
-non-renewable, one day they will run out
Energy production:
-all three fossil fuels are used domestically
-greatest quantities of them are used by power stations for energy production
-heat is transformed into electrical energy and then passed out to the end-users.
Nuclear power:
-developed as a cheap alternative to fossil fuels
-believed as clean and pollution-free
- no atmospheric pollution
- no radioactive waste products to store
-production of electricity from heat
-creation by nuclear fission (splitting atoms) which is no safe reaction and not easy to stop
-heat araises from a controlled chain reaction of the nuclear fuel in the core of the reactor
-heavy dependence on nuclear power of some countries
- dangers:
- reactors can blow up and spread the radioactive fallout across their sourroundings
- these radioactive fallout can cause radiation sickness, cancers and even death
-the decommissioning of an old nuclear power plant is very expensive
-big problems with the disposal of nuclear waste
Alternative power sources
Solar power:
-solar panels on the roofs collect energy from the sun, they even can provide the domestic energy requirement
-commercial solar energy production needs very sunny climates
Wind power:
-easiest way of alternative generation of energy (large groups of windmills = wind farms)
-windmills need areas with strong winds to operate at maximum capacity
-they make noise and they are not very beautiful to look at
=> wind speeds at sea are higher than on land => advantage for wind farms out at sea
Wave power:
-turbines are driven by the movement of air caused by the rise and fall of waves
Tidal power:
-dams with tunnels containing electricity generating turbines which turn as the sea passes in and out
Geothermal power:
Frequently asked questions
What is the Industrial Revolution?
The Industrial Revolution is a process of industrialization where the economical and social structure of a country changes due to the building up of industries. This mainly occurs in countries that were formerly dominated by agriculture and forestry. It began in Britain at the end of the 18th century.
What are the characteristics of the Industrial Revolution?
Key characteristics include increasing division of labor and specialization, the use of new technologies and mass production (e.g., the "Spinning Jenny"), the utilization of new energy sources (coal, oil, electricity, steam), development of financial and traffic systems, and increasing income per person. This process led to social crises and changes, like migration from rural to urban areas.
What is modern industrial society like?
Modern society is often consumer-led, where money is very important and can buy many things. There is affluence in developed countries, with rising expenditures on luxury goods and falling expenditures on essentials. Globalization plays a key role, where industries search the world for cheaper products, leading to the growth of consumerism globally.
How does advertising impact consumer society?
Advertising has made the consumer revolution possible. Advertisements are used to help consumers make the right choices. Modern advertising uses TV, cinema, newspapers, magazines, and posters. There are also sponsorship advertisements and smaller-scale advertisements like brochures and classified ads.
What are some consumer protection measures?
Laws and rules exist in most countries to ensure ads can be justified. For example, the British Code of Advertising Practice requires ads to be legal, decent, honest, truthful, follow fair competition principles, and be responsible to consumers and society. Ads that violate this code can be prevented from advertising.
How has work changed in the modern industrial society?
Increasing automation has led to a need for better-educated workers, but also the displacement of workers by machines, potentially leading to unemployment. There are also higher wages, more leisure time, and increased pollution. Many manual "blue-collar jobs" have disappeared, with many now working in the service sector. Lifetime training and re-skilling are common, and even "white-collar jobs" are being automated to reduce wage costs.
What are the main environmental problems?
Major environmental problems include an increase in the world's population, a higher standard of living leading to expanding consumerism, and the resulting increased pressure on agriculture and industry. These lead to pollution, ozone depletion, global warming, energy and acidity issues, air pollution, desertification and soil erosion, water shortages and pollution, chemical contamination, and deforestation.
What is ozone depletion?
The ozone layer protects the Earth from harmful solar radiation. Chemicals, especially CFCs, destroy the ozone layer, creating holes and exposing life on Earth to dangerous radiation levels.
What is global warming?
Global warming is caused by "greenhouse gases" like carbon dioxide, released by industry, transport, and burning rainforests. These gases trap the sun's heat in the atmosphere, leading to rising temperatures and changing weather patterns.
What are the issues related to waste?
Consumer-led society has led to a "use and throw away" lifestyle, resulting in vast quantities of domestic and industrial waste. Waste disposal methods include landfill, incineration, and recycling. Toxic waste requires special treatment. There are also significant challenges in disposing of nuclear waste, including vitrification, storage, and eventual underground or undersea burial.
What are the main energy sources?
The rising energy demand is being met by fossil fuels (coal, oil, and gas), which are non-renewable. These fuels are used domestically and in power stations for energy production. Nuclear power was developed as a cheaper alternative but poses dangers such as reactor meltdowns, radioactive fallout, and difficulties in nuclear waste disposal.
What are alternative power sources?
Alternative power sources include solar power (solar panels), wind power (wind farms), wave power (turbines driven by wave movement), tidal power (dams with electricity-generating turbines), and geothermal power (pumping water through hot rocks for steam or electricity).
- Arbeit zitieren
- Katharina Blaß (Autor:in), 2001, Industrial Society / Environment / Energy, München, GRIN Verlag, https://www.hausarbeiten.de/document/102873
