Online shopping is become more common these days. What effect could this have on the environment and the types of jobs required?

The ubiquity of online shopping has brought with it concerns about the environment and an evolving job market. In my opinion, online shopping increases fossil fuel emissions and requires a massive, unskilled workforce for both delivery and production. Online shopping uses fossil fuels in the making and transportation of goods. In order to manufacture a given product,

such

as a television, book, or a bag of

muesli

, there is an environmental cost from sourcing and transporting all the elements, powering the factory that assembles it, and creating the plastic packaging, which is

also

a petroleum byproduct. In the case of a large company like Amazon, the product must be driven or flown to various centres around the country in order to be available for

next

day delivery. From the storage warehouse, it is

then

driven or flown to the consumer who ordered it,

further

burning fossil fuels. The net impact on the environment is self-evidently massive and hastens climate change.

Moreover

, online shopping is

such

a sprawling business that it manipulates the labour market.

First

of all, there are the workers directly involved. Deliverymen must pack, unpack and ship products while the whole operation

also

requires a variety of managers, foremen, and office workers. These workers are notoriously underpaid and exploited when working for the largest online retailers, who

also

streamline the means of production in order to offer the lowest prices.

Instead

of sourcing from local businesses, which would be slightly more expensive, they opt for large factories largely based in China that can cheaply and quickly produce standardised products.

This

requires an army of factory workers, working at low wages in unsafe conditions. In conclusion, online shopping contributes greatly to climate change and has created deep fissures in the job market. Governments should regulate these companies before their rampant profit-driven efficiency has unforeseen social and political implications.