The other day, I was making a list of all the strategies I could think of to reduce the amount of stuff that we all use day in and day out. Among the more wordy options – extended producer responsibility, internalizing externalities – was a simple concept: sharing.

I’m a parent of a fourth grader. As any parent knows, thousands of hours are spent in those early years teaching our young ones about sharing. We have songs about sharing, books about sharing, games about sharing.

Somewhere along the path to grown-up-hood, we too often lose that really important lesson.

Somehow sharing becomes an inconvenience, even an embarrassment. Sometimes we want to share, but we don’t know how or with whom. So, we have this crazy situation where each house on a block may have its own ladder, lawnmower, wagon, fax machine, bundt pan, interview suit, snow blower, second car, roof rack and countless other items which are seldom used. If we get together and share these things, we can decrease the time working to buy and maintain them, decrease the energy and materials needed to make  and distribute so many of them, decrease the stuff crammed into our garages, and – perhaps most importantly – strengthen our community since sharing requires communication and time together.

I’m happy to report that there is a wonderful new resource for those who want to reinvigorate sharing in our life. Janelle Orsi and Emily Doskow have written a book, to be released on June 2nd, called: The Sharing Solution: How to Save Money, Simplify Your Life & Build Community.

This book is like the grown up version of all those Barney songs my daughter used to sing in kindergarten. It doesn’t just extol the economic, environmental and community building benefits of sharing, it helps us do more of it. It has legal explanations, checklists of things to discuss before sharing big items, sample sharing agreements, tips for discussing the inevitable challenges.

The book’s description says:

“The ultimate beauty of sharing is that it’s a solution we create for ourselves. It’s not a government program, nor is it the “latest and greatest” product marketed to us on billboards. It’s a solution based on our own needs and lifestyles, in our own communities. It’s a way for each of us to shape our own lives in positive ways and simultaneously benefit the world as a whole. In that respect, sharing is more than a simple trend: Some might even say our society is moving toward a sharing revolution.”

The Sharing Solution is available on line from its publisher (nolo.com) or any number of online vendors including Amazon or Powell’s. Or better yet, ask your local library to get a copy or round up a bunch of friends to each pitch in a few dollars and share a copy.

Annie

Since we released The Story of Stuff nearly 18 months ago, hundreds of teachers around the country have used it to supplement textbooks that barely mention climate change, to spark discussion about our environmental future and inspire students to play a more active role in their communities.

This morning, The New York Times ran an incredible FRONT PAGE story about the ways our film is supplementing and expanding sustainability education!! Read the story.

The attention this article is generating represents a MAJOR opportunity to dramatically expand the impact of The Story of Stuff — an opportunity we can only take advantage of with your help!

First, please help us raise the last $20,000 needed to develop a two-week middle and high school level educational module with the film at its core. Our partner Facing the Future, a nationally-recognized curriculum developer, has received commitments for 75% of the funding we need.

Your gift — whether $1,000 or $100 or $10 — will help put us over the top and give teachers a strong alternative resource to help them educate and inspire young people. You can contribute securely on our site right now.

Second, if you’re a teacher who has shown the film in your classroom — or a teacher who wants to — we want to hear from you! Tell us how you’re using it or plan to, what its inspired your students to do, and what resources or materials would help you in the classroom. Contact our Special Projects Coordinator, Allison Cook, at allison@storyofstuff.org with your ideas.

Thank you for your tremendous support over the past year and stay tuned!

For the entire Story of Stuff Project team,

Annie Leonard

PS In addition to our work in schools, The Story of Stuff has a number of other projects in the hopper…a book, new films, community study and action guides and much, much more. We can’t do it without your support!

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!