Assignment: Critical Thinking Activity

In this activity, you will draft an essay examining the production, distribution, and transportation of products. The economist Martin Wolf asserted that energy is now one of the most important factors of production. In today's world, companies transport goods across several states and even countries using trucks, ships, trains, and planes. They might hire workers in one country to make parts and those in another country to assemble finished products. Livestock might be born in one place and transported to another location to finish growing. Food or other goods might be produced in one location and shipped to stores hundreds of miles away. In what ways do you think that the trends in agricultural and industry make energy a key factor?

Objectives

- Write an essay that discusses the location and production of agricultural and manufacturing, and the transportation of products during and after production

Assignment Overview

- In this activity, you will write a single-spaced essay that is at least 1 page long.

Pacing

- This activity should take you approximately 2 hours to complete.

Activity Details

1. Search the web for information about how energy relates to modern food or manufacturing production and distribution (for example, fossil fuels such as gasoline are needed to truck food from where it is raised to the retail grocery stores where it is sold).

2. Draft a 1-page or longer, single-spaced essay considering the following:

- How is energy important to modern food and manufacturing production and distribution?

- What do you think are the benefits and drawbacks of beginning and finishing the production of food or manufacturing in different locations?

- What is the impact of transporting food and manufacturing products across the country or between countries during production and finished products to retail facilities?

3. Cite any resources, using correct formatting.