When Missoula, Montana high school teacher Kathleen Kennedy showed The Story of Stuff to students in her 12th grade biology classes last October she figured it would be a good conversation starter. Yet, one parent, Mr. Zuber, who wasn’t too pleased with the subject matter discussed in the Story of Stuff, launched a campaign against the teacher and the film that eventually reached the school board. As you recall, in February the board voted 4-3 (with 3 members absent) that Kennedy’s showing of the video violated the district’s policy on presentation of controversial issues.

This issue in Missoula was complicated by the fact that Mr. Zuber’s complaint against Kennedy’s showing of The Story of Stuff changed over time. His original complaint focused on the content of the film. Quoted in the Missoulian, Zuber said “This video is essentially a 20-minute infomercial supporting an extremely liberal agenda”.Zuber questioned the validity of showing The Story of Stuff in a wildlife biology class, citing climate change and other issues as being “inappropriate”. When he realized that these claims were not gaining traction, his claims morphed into issues around providing alternative viewpoints in the lesson plan, along with personal attacks on the teacher’s capacity to conduct discussions.
Even though many board members supported the teacher, a combination of miscommunications among board members and fluke absences during the board meeting lead to an outcome that was favorable to Mr. Zuber’s ambitions, at least in the short term.  Due to a miscommunication, Ms. Kennedy did not present a lesson plan to the school board as she was instructed to do so. Moreover, three board members were absent that day, (one sick, one on a trip, one at the son’s basketball game), which gave Zumber’s supporters on the board, who are in the minority, a majority for that day, resulting in the vote in favor of Mr. Zuber’s complaint.

The Story of Stuff project spoke with Toni Rehbein, the School Board chair,  who confirmed that the board’s intention was not to prevent use of The Story of Stuff in classrooms or to squelch much needed attention on environmental issues, as long as such discussions welcome diverse opinions. She told us that the emails of support for Story of Stuff which the Board received from around the world had made a big impact and she assured us that the Board planned to issue a statement clarifying their position. We look forward to seeing that statement.

Meanwhile, in School Board elections on May 4th, Missoula citizens removed incumbant Rick Johns, one of the School Board members who had supported Mr Zuber’s concerns, further securing the majority of those who welcome environmental discourse and promote academic freedom.

Thank you to all the Story of Stuff supporters who mobilized to support the showing of our film and the open discussion on the issues it raises in Kennedy’s classroom.

All along, Story of Stuff has been about raising the volume on discourse on this matter. regardless of the complicated situation that followed the school boards decision, the good folks of Missoula viewed the Story of Stuff on our website nearly 2,000 times in February, just about quadrupling the total number of viewers from Missoula in all of 2008 in just one month. Way to Go! Thanks to Mr Zuber for helping to spread the word about Story of Stuff and inspiring so many Missoulians to check out the film themselves!

I just saw this wonderful short video that some high school kids at Woodside Priory School’s Global Issues Class made about Story of Stuff:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JYsXbpY4vBM.

In this great little film, the students asked specific questions about extraction and toxics and waste. I wrote them answers, which I can post here if anyone wants to see them.

More importantly though, the students asked what they can do to help address the concerns described in The Story of Stuff. They wanted to know what to do.

I explained to them why I didn’t and won’t provide a list of simple steps for people to get involved.

I’ve received a number of emails asking the same thing, so I want to share my answer to the WPS students.

I intentionally didn’t include specific recommendations for action for a couple reasons:
1) the solutions don’t lend themselves to sound bites and
2) I don’t want to prescribe and limit the actions each viewer may choose to do.

“It’s complicated.”

In their film, the students parody me saying “it’s complicated.” Well, that’s the truth. Neither the problems nor the solutions are simple or easy. If we want to change the situation we’re in, we’ve got to be willing to spend time figuring all this out.

I didn’t want to lay out this massive critique of the interconnected environmental and social problems of our current global materials economy and then belittle both viewers and the diversity and breadth of the solutions by providing a pre-determined concise list of simple action steps. I did capitulate to those asking for lists of recommended actions by providing some suggestions (http://www.storyofstuff.com/anotherway.html) but even this list includes just a sampling of the many ways to make a difference.

I don’t like simple lists of recommended actions because I believe what is needed can’t be captured in that format. As Michael Maniates, a professor at Allegheny College said in a recent Washington Post op-ed: “We need to be looking at fundamental change in our energy, transportation and agricultural systems rather than technological tweaking on the margins, and this means changes and costs that our current and would-be leaders seem afraid to discuss. Which is a pity, since Americans are at their best when they’re struggling together, and sometimes with one another, toward difficult goals.”

(See the full op-ed at WashingtonPost.com)

My goal in making The Story of Stuff was to encourage people to have this difficult conversation, to begin thinking and talking about these complicated issues. Our current ways of making, using and throwing away stuff is largely based on unsustainable and unjust systems yet, as a society,we’ve got this big collective blind spot about talking about this. Let’s raise the issues, let’s ask the hard questions, let’s get it on the table and examine it and debate it and figure out together how to move forward towards solutions.

As I said in the film, one of the good things about such an all pervasive problem is that there are so many points of intervention. We each need to find that intervention that matches our skill set and our passions. The passion piece is key, because it is going to be a long haul and we need to rely on our passions, the fire in our bellies for change, to see us through. So, I advised the students to find something that they feel passionate about and dive in.

There are as many ways to get involved as there are people who care. Are you outraged that your cosmetics and body care products have toxics that aren’t even labeled? Get a bunch of friends together and call the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics to find out what can be done (www.safecosmetics.org). Are you concerned about what happens to your MP3 Player or computer when it dies? Call Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition (www.svtc.org) and Basel Action Network (www.ban.org). Do you want to make local, organic food accessible and affordable? Join a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) program or set up a farmers market in your town.Work for Health Care Reform. Adopt a green procurement policy at your company or school to mandate that purchases prioritize local and sustainable products. Look into the Renewable Fuels Portfolio is in your State and join with those working to increase it. Start a used book, tooland clothing swap program on your campus or community. Pressure local businesses to stop selling super toxic PVC plastic (http://www.besafenet.com/pvc/). Track your ecological footprint (http://www.footprintnetwork.org/). Work for mining reform (www.earthworksaction.org). Green your hospital (www.noharm.org). Register people to vote. Run for local office yourself. Have a monthly screening and discussion with films on these issues at your church or school. Make your campus Zero Waste. Work for Campaign Finance Reform.Talk to your neighbors about these issues. Fill your free time with friends rather than stuff. The list goes on and on…

You get the point. Everyone needs to find their own path; find the projects that we each can each do well and which excites us. There are so many options that we don’t even have to do something boring! And there are loads of organizations that can help provide direction on specific issues once we get started. See the list of organizations on the Story of Stuff website to start and check out www.wiserearth.org for even more.

It is less important what we chose to do than how we do it. To make all these activities add up to more than a list of “teachnological tweakings at the margins,”as Maniates describes it, whatever we eachdo must be part of a larger effort. We’ve got to get toxics out of cosmetics and reform the health care system and build local community and stop incinerators not as ends in themselves but as part of strengthening an active democracy, as part of transforming the current system to be in the service of community health, ecological stability and social justice.

I’d love to hear from you about the strategies or entry points you’ve found to address the specific and the systemic issues described in The Story of Stuff. What has worked for you? What is needed to make positive change? What projects or campaigns are you involved in that give you hope?

Thanks,

Annie

I’ve spent much of the last two days emailing back and forth with colleagues around the world in a state of panic. Early Sunday morning, I received a call that three friends – from India, the Philippines and the U.S. – were detained in Indonesia. They were en route to the historic UN Framework on Climate Change Conference in Bali, taking place this week. Along with the official government delegates, many environmental and social justice activist are also attending the conference to share information and strategize about combating global warming. My friends planned to host a forum entitled ‚”Zero Waste for Zero Warming‚” at the conference, to educate others about the strong connection between waste disposal and climate change.

The three – Gigie Cruz, Shibu Nair, and Neil Tangri – stopped in Bandung at the invitation of a local organization opposed to the construction of a new garbage incinerator in their town. The local groups held an event, which drew 2,000 community members, to discuss the environmental, health and climate impacts of burning garbage. My friends were taken by the police on Saturday after speaking there about the ill effects of incinerating waste and advocating for healthier alternatives. At the police station, their passports were seized; they were subjected to lengthy interrogation and asked to sign a document in the Bahasa Indonesian language.

Gigie, Shibu and Neil have been able to send us period text messages reporting that no formal charges have been brought and they don’t feel their physical safety is in immediate danger. But they continue to be detained, and will likely be deported for speaking at a peaceful public education event about the environmental and health problems with burning garbage.

In contrast to the Neanderthal response of jailing people speaking about community well being, a network of active global citizens jumped into positive action. Within an hour of receiving the news, email alerts went out to activists working on sustainability, climate and waste issues around the world. Faxes and emails began flooding Indonesian embassies in Africa, Asia, the Americas, and Europe, calling for the safe release of the three Zero Waste experts. Leading environmentalists already at the Bali conference contacted people they knew in the Indonesian government, all the way up to the President. The combination of email activism and strong civil society networks demonstrated to the Indonesian police that the whole world really was watching.

I woke up this morning to learn that Gigie, Shibu and Neil have been transferred to a hotel, still under police custody, and will likely be deported soon, preventing them from speaking about‚ “Zero Waste for Zero Warming‚” at the critical UN Framework on Climate Change Conference.

Above all, I am just glad my friends are safe. I’m also grateful to be part of a growing global civil society movement seeking both environmental sustainability and social justice, which must include freedom to share environmental and health information. I look forward to that day that people aren’t jailed for speaking the truth about incinerators – both because freedom of speech is guaranteed everywhere, for everyone, and also because incinerators are a thing of the past and we’ve moved on to solutions that really do protect the environment, community health and the climate.

Note: for updates on the three activists detained in Bandung, Indonesia en route to the UN Framework on Climate Change Conference, please visit no-burn.org.