{"id":4436,"date":"2015-01-20T12:47:54","date_gmt":"2015-01-20T12:47:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.eoisabi.org\/?p=4436"},"modified":"2020-04-23T22:03:46","modified_gmt":"2020-04-23T22:03:46","slug":"how-to-destroy-the-world","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/englishroam.com\/?p=4436","title":{"rendered":"How to destroy the world"},"content":{"rendered":"<h3>\u2660\u00a0 \u00a0 RUBBISH\u00a0 \u00a0\u21d3<\/h3>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/player.vimeo.com\/video\/936248\" width=\"640\" height=\"352\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h3>\u2660\u00a0 \u00a0 FOOD\u00a0 \u00a0 \u21d3<\/h3>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/player.vimeo.com\/video\/936454\" width=\"640\" height=\"352\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h3>\u2660 \u00a0TRANSPORT\u00a0 \u21d3<\/h3>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/player.vimeo.com\/video\/936322\" width=\"640\" height=\"361\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h3>\u2660 \u00a0COMPUTER GAMES\u00a0 \u21d3<\/h3>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/player.vimeo.com\/video\/936367\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<address style=\"text-align: right;\">I read this in <a href=\"http:\/\/www.theprisma.co.uk\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong>theprisma<\/strong><\/a> (The Multicultural Newspaper) on 16th August 2012.<\/address>\n<h4 style=\"text-align: center;\">\u00a4 \u00a0Planned Obsolescence \u00a0&#8211; \u00a0Death on the Instalment Plan<\/h4>\n<div>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><em>An idea that belongs to capitalism: producing goods that soon stop working (programmed death) and have to be replaced time and time again. Their inventors: the big multinational companies.<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.activesustainability.com\/sustainable-development\/battle-against-planned-obsolescence\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft  wp-image-9701\" src=\"http:\/\/englishroam.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/05\/P_O1.gif\" alt=\"\" width=\"340\" height=\"248\" srcset=\"https:\/\/englishroam.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/05\/P_O1.gif 237w, https:\/\/englishroam.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/05\/P_O1-150x109.gif 150w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 340px) 100vw, 340px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">If someone goes into their local shop wanting to have something repaired that has broken down (a computer, printer, mobile phone etc) it is almost certain that the shopkeeper will say that although it can be repaired it will be cheaper to buy a new one.\u00a0At that point, when the user thinks logically that the best thing is to buy a new one, built-in obsolescence has triumphed.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">This simple term, which first appeared in 1932, is one of the pillars holding up our present capitalist and consumerist society.\u00a0<strong>Built-in obsolescence<\/strong> is the concept of producing goods that are not intended to last a lifetime and be the best quality, but good products designed to last a short time and stop working after a pre-determined period.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">This principle currently applies both to novel products using new technology such as computers, MP3 players, phones and printers; but also to more traditional goods like women\u2019s tights, light bulbs, cars, refrigerators or vacuum cleaners.\u00a0All of them carry within them the moment when they finally stop working.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>The first death<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">After the Crash of 1929, the huge fall in share-prices on the US stock exchange, one of the biggest worldwide economic crises began, which lasted until the end of the 30\u2019s, during which society stopped consuming. It was then that the economist Bernard London used the term for the first time in his text:\u00a0<em>Ending the Depression through Planned Obsolescence.\u00a0<\/em>In this he argued that if manufacturing were to be able to continue, products had to be made with a lifetime which was pre-determined at the time of manufacture&#8230;<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">This necessity to replace goods in order to find a way out of the bad economic situation later mutated into what is called \u2018perceived obsolescence\u2019, a further development of the term.\u00a0In this concept, goods are not designed to break down after a pre-determined time in order to stimulate the economy. Instead production is turned into an activity in which the consumer is constantly encouraged, through advertising, to buy new products beyond what they really need.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>The case of the light bulb<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.uow.edu.au\/~sharonb\/columns\/engcol8.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-full wp-image-9698\" title=\"Screen-Shot-2012-08-02-at-2.11.15-PM\" src=\"http:\/\/www.eoisabi.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/05\/Screen-Shot-2012-08-02-at-2.11.15-PM.gif\" alt=\"\" width=\"173\" height=\"160\" srcset=\"https:\/\/englishroam.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/05\/Screen-Shot-2012-08-02-at-2.11.15-PM.gif 173w, https:\/\/englishroam.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/05\/Screen-Shot-2012-08-02-at-2.11.15-PM-150x138.gif 150w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 173px) 100vw, 173px\" \/><\/a>In a US petrol station in Livermore, California there is a light bulb which has been on constantly since 1911. This point of light, which this year will have been working for 111 years, was built to last, not to be replaced and create business.\u00a0If today we see light bulbs as products with a short lifetime, it is due to the Phoebus cartel, which was set up in 1924.\u00a0This group, among whom were included manufacturers as important as Philips or Osram, were concerned about what would happen if the public acquired long-life bulbs and then stopped buying new ones. So they decided to make short-life bulbs.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Although the obsolescence accord only lasted until 1939, following a claim of bad practice, the cartel managed to continue the intended effect until today. The purpose was to considerably reduce the useful lifetime of bulbs, so that they were frequently replaced; and to instil in the mind of the consumer the idea that this short lifetime was normal.\u00a0Ironically, the internet camera, the<em>\u00a0Webcam<\/em>, which recorded live the 111 year-old light bulb, had itself to be replaced several times due to its own built-in obsolescence.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">The same thing which happened with the light bulb also happened in the last century with women\u2019s tights, vacuum cleaners, refrigerators and cars.\u00a0In the last case, during the first years of the assembly line, vehicles which were sold with the guarantee of having \u2018engines for life\u2019, stopped being profitable, because the public preferred smaller and cheaper models, which could frequently be changed for newer ones.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>Today\u2019s goods<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">The majority of goods in today\u2019s consumer society are produced with some kind of built-in obsolescence. For example in the case of \u2018Wesley\u00a0<em>vs<\/em>\u00a0Apple\u2019, the advocate Elizabeth Pritzker showed in 2003, that Apple manufactured the batteries for its famous i-Pods with built-in obsolescence.\u00a0The company was taken to court, suspected of making its Lithium batteries to have a limited lifetime. The case succeeded and after a technical analysis of the characteristics of the batteries, the consumers won.\u00a0Until then, when a battery in any product failed, the only solution that Apple offered had been to buy a complete new product. Then, after payment of compensation, the consumers succeeded in making the company provide an official battery-exchange service.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Similarly, printers are another victim of this kind of abuse. Through the internet many users have already found out why printers stop working: because of a chip which counts the number of pages printed. When the product reaches a limit, it trips out, and requests technical support.\u00a0Programmed obsolescence affects well-known brands of printers like Epson or HP.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">The ultimate built-in obsolescence is Nike, which has designed shoes which, they warn, will only last for 100 Km.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: right;\"><strong>\u00a0 \u2022\u2192\u00a0 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=uGAghAZRMyU\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">&#8216;COMPRAR &#8211; TIRAR &#8211; COMPRAR&#8217;<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0 \u21d0[doc]<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.popularmechanics.com\/technology\/g202\/planned-obsolescence-460210\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-9700\" src=\"http:\/\/englishroam.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/05\/obsolete1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"550\" height=\"397\" srcset=\"https:\/\/englishroam.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/05\/obsolete1.jpg 550w, https:\/\/englishroam.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/05\/obsolete1-300x216.jpg 300w, https:\/\/englishroam.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/05\/obsolete1-150x108.jpg 150w, https:\/\/englishroam.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/05\/obsolete1-400x288.jpg 400w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 550px) 100vw, 550px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>Against death<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Today many consumers are making an effort to extend the life of their goods, and reduce this abuse developed by the big companies. In addition, these consumer groups are fighting against one of the great evils of obsolescence: the generation of waste which generally ends up polluting developing countries, oppressing their populations even more.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">In Russia, a computer programmer, <strong>Vitaly Kiselev<\/strong>, has created a programme to extend the life of a printer, by re-setting its chip. This software neutralizes the effect of built-in obsolescence, permitting the product\u2019s long-term use.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">In Spain, an international group of engineers, led by <strong>Benito Muros<\/strong> has developed an LED light bulb which will last a lifetime under the premise that \u201cdespite technological advances, products used to last longer\u201d.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Thus the company <strong>OEP Electrics<\/strong> has made this bulb which doesn\u2019t need to be replaced, doesn\u2019t generate waste,\u00a0 whose manufacture emits up to 70% less CO2, and allows a 92% energy saving.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">This company leads the\u00a0<em>Sin Obsolescencia Programada\u00a0<\/em>(No built-in Obsolescence)\u00a0movement, which is encouraging other firms to produce high-quality goods which last a long time.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">In the same way, Apple consumers are exposing monitor failures in the latest Mac computer models, which have the same fault that is suspected of involving programmed obsolescence.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">In a similar trend, the big multi-nationals are responding to the awareness of consumers about built-in obsolescence and their movements to stop it.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Last week the light-bulb manufacturer, Philips launched a new long-life light source, claiming that it will last for 20 years.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">And more and more consumers are mobilizing and making joint protests and demanding solutions from companies about goods with low quality standards, which in reality are manufactured to stop working.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Cases of consumers campaigning against companies include such well-known brands as Samsung, Sony, Apple, Nike or Ikea.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: right;\"><strong>Miriam Valero<\/strong>\u00a0<em>(Transated by Graham Douglas)<\/em><\/p>\n<h3><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter  wp-image-50741\" src=\"http:\/\/englishroam.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/Rubbish.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"545\" height=\"218\" srcset=\"https:\/\/englishroam.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/Rubbish.jpg 900w, https:\/\/englishroam.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/Rubbish-300x120.jpg 300w, https:\/\/englishroam.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/Rubbish-768x307.jpg 768w, https:\/\/englishroam.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/Rubbish-150x60.jpg 150w, https:\/\/englishroam.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/Rubbish-400x160.jpg 400w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 545px) 100vw, 545px\" \/><\/h3>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\u2660 RUBBISH \u21d3 <\/p>\n<p> \u2660 FOOD \u21d3 <\/p>\n<p> \u2660 TRANSPORT \u21d3 <\/p>\n<p> \u2660 COMPUTER GAMES \u21d3 <\/p>\n<p> I read this in theprisma (The Multicultural Newspaper) on 16th August 2012. \u00a4 Planned Obsolescence &#8211; Death on the Instalment Plan <\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">An idea that belongs to capitalism: producing goods that soon stop working (programmed death) and [&#8230;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":28,"featured_media":4435,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[177,227],"tags":[70,200,206],"class_list":["post-4436","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-texts","category-animated-cartoons","tag-e_video","tag-documentary","tag-text","odd"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/englishroam.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4436","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/englishroam.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/englishroam.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/englishroam.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/28"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/englishroam.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4436"}],"version-history":[{"count":35,"href":"https:\/\/englishroam.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4436\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":52731,"href":"https:\/\/englishroam.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4436\/revisions\/52731"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/englishroam.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/4435"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/englishroam.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4436"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/englishroam.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4436"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/englishroam.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4436"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}