Superstar #2 Dilhan Necipoglu

Book Review

Confessions of an Eco-Sinner: Tracking Down the Sources of My Stuff

Fred Pearce, Massachusetts, Beacon Press, 2008

Reviewed by: Brian Pranata

 

In this book, Fred Pearce is trying to discover the hidden world of the commodities that you and I, and the rest of the people in the world, may have purchased, used, overused, treasured, and maybe ignored. In his word, Pearce called his research exploration of the human “footprint”. The pattern of Pearce’s technique of collecting data is somehow apparent in this book. First of all, he will chose interesting commodities to which he is related on a daily basis. Next he will trace the port cities and companies that have become the major importers of the commodities. From the information that the port officials and companies share, Pearce will go to countries and cities that are included among the biggest producers of the commodities in question. There, Pearce will reveal important facts about the commodities in terms of their production effects on the country’s environment and people, and its complex shipping process.

Superstar #1 Madin Mohammed

My Footprint

Have you ever think that you are actually an agent of global production and global consumption? Well as a start, you may want to check out where did your stuffs come from.

As an example, you may see my ‘footprint’:

Clothes

1. Ohio University hood (made in Pakistan)
2. Adidas shoes (made in China)
3. Nike shoes (made in Vietnam)
4. Ohio University t-shirt (made in El Salvador)
5. Steve & Barry’s t-shirt (made in India)
6. Lotto soccer shoes (made in China)
7. Reebok soccer shoes (made in Indonesia)
8. Foot Locker long sleeves t-shirt (made in Cambodia)
9. Wal-Mart towel (made in China)
10. Old Navy t-shirt (made in Indonesia)

Appliances

1. CurtisMathes television (assembled in Mexico)
2. Sony tape deck (made in China)
3. Altec Lansing audio (made in China)
4. Belkin internet router (made in China)
5. Hewlett Packard mouse (made in China)