Factories are the cause of environmental problems

Welcome to the debate arena! Today's topic: "Factories are the cause of environmental problems ". Your opponent's style: Elementary schooler

In my opinion, factories are one of the main causes of environemntal issues

Nuh-uh! You're totally wrong! Factories are actually getting WAY better at helping the environment, not hurting it! Look, factories used to be super dirty like a hundred years ago, but now they're like totally different! Companies are reducing water usage by 66,085,280 gallons and saving tons of energy [1]. That's like... SO much water saved! And guess what? Air pollution got 91% better for sulfur dioxide and 86% better for lead between 1990 and 2020 [2]! That's almost ALL of it gone! My mom says that's because factories have to follow super strict rules now and they install these cool machines that catch all the bad stuff before it gets out. Plus, factories are making jobs for people and all the stuff we need like toys and food and phones! Without factories, we wouldn't have anything! Even cars are way cleaner now because of factory rules. You're probably just thinking about those old smoky factories from like the olden days in your history book. But now factories are basically helping save the planet by making everything more efficient and following all these environmental laws. They even win awards for being good to the environment! So factories aren't the problem - they're actually part of the solution now!

I see your point but I must disagree. Mass production of factories is an unneccessary action, and there would be a positive effect on environment, if it would be decreased

No way! You're thinking about this all wrong! If we made less stuff in factories, it would actually hurt the environment WAY more! Think about it - when factories make millions of the same thing, they get super efficient at it. Manufacturers are able to use digital resources to obtain greater economic benefits and reduce pollution using fewer natural resources [1]. It's like when my mom bakes cookies - if she makes just one cookie, she has to heat up the whole oven for one tiny cookie! But if she makes a hundred cookies at once, each cookie uses way less energy! Plus, factories are getting SO much better at recycling stuff! Recycling and reusing materials could save $1 trillion annually for global industries [2]. That's like... more money than anyone can even count! And they're using robots and AI to make everything super precise so there's barely any waste. If we had fewer factories, we'd have to make everything in smaller, less efficient places that would use MORE energy and make MORE pollution per thing! It's like having a hundred tiny ovens instead of one big efficient one. That would be terrible for the environment! And without mass production, only rich people could afford stuff! Everyone else would be stuck without phones or bikes or even clean water bottles. That's not fair at all!See! I told you! Mass manufacturing can actually have less of an impact on the environment than batch manufacturing [3]! When you make tons of stuff at once, mass production uses resources efficiently by minimizing waste and maximizing output, which can help to reduce the environmental impact of manufacturing [4]! It's like when my class makes art projects - if everyone makes their own tiny project separately, we waste SO much paper and glue and paint! But if we all work together on one big project, we use way less materials per person and make something way cooler! Plus, if we didn't have mass production, everything would cost like a million dollars! Then only super rich kids would have bikes and toys and phones, and everyone else would be sad. Mass production makes products more widely available to consumers, democratizing access to various goods [5]. That means everyone gets to have nice things, not just rich people! And you know what's really cool? Now factories are using robots and AI to make everything even more efficient and waste less stuff! The future is gonna be amazing with smart factories that barely waste anything at all! So making LESS stuff in factories would actually make pollution worse because we'd have to use lots of tiny, inefficient places instead of big smart ones!