Confessions+of+an+Eco-Sinner

= **Chapter 5 Curried Crustaceans- The weird world of Mr. Prawn** = 1. Who is "Mr. Prawn"? What steps did he take to become such a large player in the seafood world? 2. Describe the ecological footprint of prawn farming in Bangladesh. How has the mangrove landscape changed? 3. What is life like for average prawn farmer in Bangladesh? Give an example of the role that "musclemen" play in the prawn farming business. 4. How has prawn pond restocking changed over recent years and what impact has it had on local human populations? 5. Explain why the prawn business is so bad for the individual prawn farmer. 6. What role do the "unseen" play in the prawn farming business and how is their role harmful to it? 7. Why is there resistance to a certification process that would insure that the shrimp farming business is sustainable? 8. Do you agree with Khushi Kabir's opinion about the prawn industry? Explain why or why not. = = = **Chapter 6 Scorched Earth- A sticky end with palm oil and sugar** = 1. Where did the palm oil tree originate? 2. What are some of products that palm oil can be found in? 3. How did it get to be so pervasive in the products that we use everyday? 4. Where are the major palm oil plantations today? Give an example of how fast they're expanding. 5. What is increasing demand for palm oil? 6. How is the poultry raising business related to rain forest destruction? = = = **Chapter 7 Unzipped- When the banana lost its seeds and other tails of the orchards** = 1. How long ago was the first edible banana unzipped and where did it originate? 2. Why is the banana we eat considered to be a "sterile freak"? 3. What make the Cavendish banana so vulnerable to disease? 4. Why don't we eat the Gros Michel anymore? 5. What make banana plantation farming hazardous to the farmers? 6. Describe the attempt to make a more disease resistant banana. 7. Is there any hope for the cavendish? Why or why not? 8. What other foods that we like to eat are capable of suffering the same fate as the cavendish and is there anyway to prevent this from happening?

= Chapter 8 Montezuma's Magic = = = 1. Describe the scale of the Cocoa business in terms of consumption, jobs, and ecological footprint. 2. How has the image of coca bean farmers been transformed from bandits to heroes? 3. What events have led to a collapse of cocoa prices in Africa. Who has benefited and been harmed by the collapse? 4. What are the ecological and social impact that have resulted from a collapse of cocoa in Africa? 5. According the Fred Pearce, how are we part of the problem? Is there anyway to be part of a solution?

[|Slave-Free Chocolate] [|Fair Trade]

Chapter 9 Air Miles
1. What are some of the reasons for the increase of imported food to Britain? 2. Why is the Soil Association considering stripping organic labels from air-freighted food? 3. What is the logic behind this argument: "What right do we have to quibble about buying coffee and green beans from poor Kenyan farmers because of the air miles involved when we have a lifestyles many times more energy intensive than theirs?" 4. What do small farmers gain by doing business with Homegrown? 5. How is Homegrown able to convince it's European customers that they are getting a safe product? 6. How does your group feel about the controversy of Jacob and the beanstalk verses air mile emissions? Which of Fred Pearce's conclusions does your group agree or disagree with?

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Sliding Group Book Discussion Chapter 10 Drought and Dirty Secrets in the World of King Cotton Chapter 11 Behind the Label Bless my Cotton Socks Chapter 12 Trouser Truths The unscrupulous World of Sweatshops
 * What do you feel are the central messages of each chapter? (10, 11, 12)
 * Why isn't the business model employed by Agrocel used by other businesses providing fresh produce to the U.K.?
 * What issues were most important?

Chapter 13 White Gold My T-Shirt, Slave Labor and the Death of the Aral Sea

 * 1) Briefly describe the "old story" that led to the "ecological holocaust" of the Aral Sea
 * 2) How has the story changed since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991?
 * 3) What is the path that Uzbek cotton takes as it travels to Europe and North America?
 * 4) Why is half of the water diverted from rivers not used to even irrigate cotton crops?
 * 5) Why has cotton become a curse to the majority of people who live in Uzbekistan?
 * 6) Do you agree or disagree with Pearce's conclusions? Why or why not?

Chapter 14 Computing Power Mice, Motherboards, and the New Emperors of Suzhou

 * 1) To what extent does Sammy Cheng's business in China connect to lives of many people?
 * 2) Why is real wealth such a rare commodity in the boom-town of Suzhou where Sammy makes a living?
 * 3) What do think are the pluses and minuses of Logitech dormitory life?
 * 4) Describe what the author calls China's most marketable resource. How often does this "resource" need to be replenished?
 * 5) How has the off the charts growth of Suzhou impacted the rural farmers who have lived in the area for generations.
 * 6) I thought that Pearce was in awe of the manufacturing juggernaut that is China. What did you think?

Chapter 15 Zhangjiagang The world Capital of Rain-Forest Destruction

 * 1) Make a list of reasons based on the chapter that will make it difficult to slow down the rate of illegal logging.
 * 2) How did China's ban on domestic logging increase rate of illegal logging?
 * 3) What would a "chain of custody" that insures that timber is harvested legally and sustainably look like?

Chapter 16 The Great Mall- Toothpicks to Placentas, Everything Must Go
[|Yiwu Products for Sale- check out the political buttons] [|Go ahead and see what placenta is made into] [|Understanding Chinese consumer motivation the key to controlling unsustainable wildlife consumption]
 * 1) What is the practical meaning behind the statement: "Christmas is made in China and sold in Yiwu"?
 * 2) What some examples of traditional Chinese medicines that work?
 * 3) What are some of the major concerns about traditional Chinese medicines and are there any proposed solutions?

Chapter 17 My Beer Can- Giant Footprints in Bloke Heaven.

 * 1) Aluminum is the most abundant metal in the earth's crust it so why was it considered a rarity in Napoleon's time?
 * 2) Using Google Earth, navigate to Weipa, Australia and look at the satellite image of Rio Tinto's mining operation. Use the measuring tool and determine the size of some open pit bauxite mines.
 * 3) Using Google Earth, navigate to Gladstone, Australia and look at the satellite image of Rio Tinto's bauxite-processing operation. How many aluminum oxide settling tanks can you see?
 * 4) What are the dimensions of the waste slurry mixture reservoir composed of a red mud mixture of iron and caustic soda?
 * 5) How do the energy requirements needed to recycle aluminum compare to smelting new metal?
 * 6) What is the aluminum recycling rate for the U.S.. How does it compare to other countries?

Chapter 18 Shock and Ore-Where Metal Comes From

 * 1) What example does Pearce give concerning conquest in pursuit of metals? Can you think of another?
 * 2) What does Pearce mean when he is describing material "rucksacks" of everyday products?
 * 3) Explain Pearce's argument that in some parts of the world natures bounty has become a "curse."
 * 4) Why does he feel that this situation may escalate?
 * 5) Pearce goes off on a tangent about water usage at the end of the chapter. Why do you he did this and how does it relate to major themes of our book?