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
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January 14th, 2008 at 6:32 am
Thanks for an excellent video. You have said it better than I ever could. I have written about your video in several places in an attempt to spread the word. I agree with what you have said 150%
January 14th, 2008 at 8:43 am
Annie!
This is really good stuff. (Oops!) I’m an about-to-retire denominational executive working in hunger education. I’ve just completed the first phase of my big-picture work in that realm of thought by re-establishing our denomination’s (ELCA Lutheran) program of simplicity education. AND I’ve just finished a book (for Alban Institute) on starting the conversations about simplicity in congregations.
Back to you: Your work is astounding in its simplicity and directness. I wish you well, and also wish I had learned about you about five years ago!
Keep at this, Annie! You may turn out to be God’s answer to the stuff question. And I hope that you continue to connect to like- and unlike-minded people for years!
God keep you!
Bob Sitze, Director
Hunger Education
Evangelical Lutherean Church in America
800.638.3522, ext 2708
bob.sitze@elca.org
January 14th, 2008 at 10:26 am
Hey Annie,
I identify with the position you’re in and the way that the students responded to you — more because of my experiences as a teaching assistant leading university tutorials, but also as a community organizer among other organizers and event attendees.
It’s such a challenge to bring people into big picture critical-analytical thinking! The Story of Stuff is an excellent contribution to encouraging that thinking. Unfortunately, most people are going to want reductive answers to questions about the film, including questions about how to take action.
It’s also a huge challenge to encourage people to stand up and take action. In many ways people in the ‘First’ World are very passive. Clearly you’re encouraging people to take the initiative by intervening in their own way, and with their own concerns. To do otherwise would just be to encourage more passivity. (I.e. ‘Hey, listen to me people; there’s no need to think and act for yourselves; here’s what to do!’)
My view is that you should try to find ways to bridge the analysis and the more manageable points of entry that most people are looking for. You can always say something along the lines of, ‘Here are some of the ways that you can contribute to positive change.’ Or you could say something like, ‘You’ll have to decide how to respond to these problems, but here’s what some people are doing.’ People are bound to ask you for suggestions, and I think that it’s possible to offer those suggestions while also indicating that there are many options to choose between, as well as a huge scope to contend with. That would be a way of helping people to actively intervene.
If you’re interested, here’s how I’ve addressed these issues in a local global warming rally speech that I’ve posted online:
http://tobanblack.net/blog/?p=50#more-50
Issues about taking action are brought up toward the end.
When I posted the speech online, I added and highlighted a link to The Story of Stuff to the post.
(I plan to edit the speech to make it more suitable for an audience outside of the local context that I’m writing from; then I plan to post it to a couple of other web sites. In the meantime, the speech is rooted in southern Ontario, in Canada.)
Maniates has written a great article that’s in the book Confronting Consumption, by the way.
Best,
Toban
January 14th, 2008 at 11:23 am
I just saw the film over the weekend…you did a great job it is fantastic. Your philosophy in this blog post is the right one. There are no formulaic solutions, it is about all of us having the will and passion and devoting the time to thinking about and doing what is necessary to bring about real changes of our system.
On the heels of seeing your film, I read a very relevant article in New York Times magazine about the lifecycle of cellphones which goes into depth about what you covered in the film:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/13/magazine/13Cellphone-t.html?pagewanted=all
January 28th, 2008 at 5:15 pm
Agreed that we face systemic problems that will require systemic solutions. Specifically, people will live in poverty until we have systems of production in which everyone can participate – and the environment will be at risk until humans obtain what they need and desire through systems of production that cooperate with nature’s processes.
For the reasons explained at http://www.aboutus.org/3DN_Introduction I think we need more than each of us getting involved where we feel our passion. I think it will take a conversation across interest and expertise about “How can We make Our community a better place to live?” We may be able to design these new systems of production through planetary communications but implementation will be by groups of individuals agreeing to participate locally.
I would be interested in exploring this issue with you further.
January 29th, 2008 at 5:49 am
Annie, WOW! Cogent, clear, I wonder what the responses will be to the many on my mailing list that received your link… It’s so easy – see the cradle-to-grave cost of whatever we consume, and then choose the path our $$ takes when we hand it over. Good luck to everybody, chill, smile, think good thoughts.
Perth Western Australia (googleearth it!)
January 29th, 2008 at 7:43 pm
i just watched your video and i must say…its shocking enough to know that i fell into this system and i want to do my part to spread the word because a little goes a LONG way…and i also was thinking about the video as i was watching and came to my own understanding that…schools also helps the big companies as well…how?…well what does our parents and teachers..ect tell us to stay in school for…true to learn …but 2 also help the big companies by creating new workers for all these big companies and new buyers because u see all the tv ad’s showing how much money u can make a year by staying in school and so on and so forth..and we have 2 stay and school and learn only what the goverment wants us 2 learn and if your video shows the big companies running over the govenment then u can see the connection right?….we as a people must put pressure on the big companies then it would break down the line so we can have the goverment back and the schools back..because even our schools is caught in this system as well…LETS RISE PEOPLE!!!!….let me kno how all of you feel people..
January 30th, 2008 at 2:55 pm
While I agree, It’s complicated, you would have us believe that if we continue down this horrible path that we the human race will just curl up and die. Yet, for some reason, we as a human race are living longer, healthier and more meaningful existences than our forefathers. Through out history whenever our race came up against a major challenge we found a solution. If and when we run out of sun, our existence as a human race will have once again evolved to another plane, planet or subsistence. Simply put, you can not kill the basic instinct of existence. The human race will continue infinitum in one form or another. You fail to convince me that living in a larger home, consuming more stuff or failing to recycle has had a negative impact on anyone’s life. In fact, I would argue that in our society of consumables we are living a better quality of life as evidenced by the ever ageing society. Today there are 10,000 Americans turning age 65. by the year 2018 there will be an estimated 30,000 people in this great country turning age 65 and their life expectance will be even greater than their fore fathers. Your logic of our wasting this planet is simply illogical.
Do I like dioxins or poisons in our system? No. Am I willing to take steps to change if shown how to reduce or clean this planet? Yes. Do I feel that this planet will self destruct if we continue to do exactly what we are doing today? No. I believe the planet and it’s peoples will continue to survive. If everything you surmise about our system was true, Annie, one would believe that we will be extinct sometime shortly after birth. As you say that the breast milk of a mother has the highest level of “toxins”. Yet, Annie we are living longer, healthier and happier lives as a whole than at any time prior to our human existence. Perhaps you should spend the next 10 years figuring out what you really want out of life.
January 30th, 2008 at 4:28 pm
I’m in grad school right now, Annie, and studying Sustainable Development. I heard about your video through a friend and his NGO, We The World.
I like what you did in The Story of Stuff a lot, though I disagree with your reluctance to share any solutions. While I respect your concern with the depth of thought response and passion, I am concerned about things like movie content because it depicts images that people mimic. For that reason, I like the movie “The Take”, “The Next Industrial Revolution”, and “the Future of Food” as documentaries because they devote some quality time to good ideas of the solution. In that respect, I also like a video called “Democracy in the Workplace”, and “Black Gold”, and would like to do a video some day combining cooperatives, open mikes, and extracurricular adult ed classes.
I like the range of suggestions you offer in your response! I hope to order your DVD soon, and to let people know about it in my networks.
Green cheers and solidarity!
In Portuguese: Saude Verde e Solidaria,
In German: Grun Prost und Solidaritat,
Mark Rego-Monteiro
January 30th, 2008 at 7:37 pm
Thank you Annie. All these “10 simple things you can do” type suggestions have their place, but all too often they take the focus off the more complicated and difficult root of the problem. “If I do these 10 simple things, I’ve done my part and can go on living with and in the same system.” Sometimes I think these “10 simple things” must be designed by the corporations and gov’t to keep us from stopping and really thinking deeply about the real problem. Thank you for your amazing work and to the people who put together your fantastic website.
January 30th, 2008 at 9:04 pm
Absolutely. I support you in this. I am sick and tired of reading in depth reports of how bad it has all got, and then being let down at the end by trite crap about recycling, and buying local!
The issues are so infrastructure-heavy, and so built-in, that we have to avoid frittering away our energy and our motivation, on pseudo-solutions. We need to get angry enough that we’ll lobby, and push, for change on a real level.
We also need to take a real look at our own part in things. Putting a BUY GREEN sticker on our SUV is not enough!
January 31st, 2008 at 5:34 am
Hi Annie. I can understand your reasons for not including specific recommendations for action…
Yet, although it’s complicated, you seem to spread a lot of energy by thestoryofstuuf. A lot of people fear the first step, they seek guidance. So it’s easy to say: “the hole point of the video was “hey you need to start thinking” ! No one is here to tell you what to do, you have to learn to think, analyse and act based on you moral code” (reaction on youtube of someone else).
But it takes us people a lifetime to find this out for our own lives, our jobs, our wishes, let alone to contribute on a larger scale.
So a LOT of potential goes missed if not provoced.
I see a role for you especially in education, the students in the film seemed so eager, it’s a ‘Waste’ to have that eagerness unused.
January 31st, 2008 at 9:58 pm
Annie,
I just showed Story of Stuff to my college-level Social Problems classes, after having them do their Environmental Footprint from the website you mention. After each class, I had students wanting to know where they can get a copy of the video — so nice to be able to tell them –hey! just go to her website and watch! One woman said she wanted it because it was at a level her daughter could understand (I didn’t think to ask her how old her daughter was, but I’d guess no older than middle school).
In terms of actions to take, I do hand out lists of the marginal activities — recycle, change lightbulbs, etc. But I also hit heavy on local food production — there’s a Preferred Meats store that’s opened in the area within the last year that’s a farmer cooperative, meat raised & processed within 100 miles of here, local free range eggs that sell as fast as they can get them in, etc (The first one I cracked open had a double yolk! I can’t remember the last time I saw a double yolk.) They seem to enjoy talking about local products. This is especially true in the one upper level course I teach, The Community, in which we will be reading Deep Economy.
I find that the food issue is a good way to lead into the larger transportation issue — here’s what I’ve gotten on that: while still supporting big oil interests, they are amenable to greenwashing via promoting ethanol blends, because ethanol lowers gas mileage, which means we buy more, which means paying more excise tax to the government, which they sorely need because roads funds are virtually bankrupt and they need all the gas taxes they can get. Lower co2 is ok, but higher gas mileage goes against their interests.
I also use the book Fast Food Nation, that talks about how the tire/auto/oil companies dismantled our rail system because it was more efficient than automobiles and semi-trucks.
I have a section on Smart Growth vs. Sprawl, making the connection between private car dependent suburbs, global warming, obesity, etc.
The students see the connections but still have said they feel helpless. So I guess I haven’t found the magic answer to the complexity issue, either. A new president, with you for VP?
February 1st, 2008 at 5:25 pm
I totally agree with what you wrote, Annie – there’s no perfect list of 10 things you can do. I would recommend, for inspiration, the web site http://www.worldchanging.com to see what amazing people and organizations are already doing out there. We do have the power to make change. (No, I’m not affiliated with them, although we share Seattle as a home town.)
February 2nd, 2008 at 7:55 am
I think Annie makes a good point here by claiming she doesn’t want to limit and prescribe the ‘right mode of action’. Although historical actions by trial and error can seriously help shape contemporary actions, I believe its important to notice how some actions may supervene on others. For instance as Annie clearly illustrates in her film, the current consumptive system is linear. Hence early stages of resource extraction and production supervene on markets, politics of economy, consumption, media, and disposal. In other words if a few active groups were to target these resources and production methods the linear system would become highly unstable. The difficulty with this type of action is two folds: it targets the roots of our linear economy (highly disruptive), and attracts highly negative review by the media. This makes it easy for proponents of the linear system to dismantle such groups. In reality the simplest form of action which remains probably the most effective on the long run is to have each individual curb their standard of living and habits. This would cut the linear system right in the middle (the golden arrow). This however requires that everybody gets into it – which is clearly the motivation behind making this kind of film. But this also implies a another aspect the movie doesn’t quite get into although related to the initial motivating thrust: how can we get a savvy radio in our hands for $4.99? Annie gives an astoundingly clear and concise answer to the question, but she doesn’t indicate what the actual price should be. Like she says we barely even pay for all the products in our home (probably the 99% we throw out within 6 months), this suggests that in fact for sustainable living we’ll have to part with many of the luxuries we have in our life. But who wants to by the same savvy radio for $150? To some this is not tolerable, to others completely natural. There may be in fact ways to sustain the standard of living we know today but getting there will require radical changes in our way of life first.
February 3rd, 2008 at 4:41 pm
We run a nonprofit organization to help rural artists and artisans increase sales (www.shopthefrontier.org). One of our major challenges is the “it’s cheaper at Wal-Mart” syndrome. Except, as you point out, it really isn’t cheaper. Sure, you can buy a scarf at a big box store for under $10, but it’s made to fall apart and doesn’t provide anyone with a decent living at any pont along the way. Buy that scarf locally and you have a treasure, and a usuable item that will last for years. Buying local may mean paying more but it also means your money stays close to home. It also may mean that you can’t afford to buy more stuff. And that’s a good thing!
February 4th, 2008 at 12:56 pm
Hello Annie,
I’m wondering if I can get in touch with regarding a speaking oppotunity in Oregon during June. Please send me an email or let me know how I should contact you. It is for an annual conference for the Association of Oregon Recyclers. Oregon’s state wide recovery rate is falling due to an increase in consumerism. This is why we are interested in getting you to come speak and perhaps show the film. Please let me know if this would be possible.
February 4th, 2008 at 2:44 pm
Hi, Annie.
A friend passed along your link and I’m very glad she did. I find myself bombarded with information so much so, that it’s sometimes difficult to succinctly describe the issues we face today, along with the solutions I employ on a personal level to combat them. I usually end up sounding a little unhinged. The endearing video created by the Woodside Priory school students and your response to them seem to shine a spotlight on the part of the problem that we can impact the most, which also happens to be the part that will take the most work (read: change).
Where do we break the vicious cycle? People are sucking up advertising from their televisions, unaware that the constant exposure is pumping messages into their brains that shopping and consuming are what we’re supposed to be doing. If they dare break that cycle, they risk no longer fitting in among their peers. I can’t tell you how many conversations I’ve been invited into, only to find myself quickly back outside of them once it has become clear I don’t relate to what’s on TV or what’s being bought. I don’t watch TV. I can’t talk about TV. I also can’t talk about the latest whatsit-widget-gadget that everyone is buying. There is definitely a correlation. People don’t realize that they are being indoctrinated. We each want to believe that we are too smart to be roped into something, much like cattle are, but that’s exactly what’s happening to people who watch TV, who expose themselves to the barrage of advertising that comes with that (in)activity. We each think that we are individuals, despite that we are bagging our pants, wearing the brands our friends do, and buying that choice cell phone that is sure to raise an eyebrow or two. It’s THAT kind of stuff that keeps the cycle alive. Kids want a quick-fix answer because we’ve become a society about convenience.
How’s this for a list…
I don’t watch TV.
I buy used.
I explain it to my kids.
I recycle.
I buy local.
I explain it to my kids.
I stay informed.
I read.
I explain it to my kids.
By the way…
Did I mention I don’t watch TV? There’s no such thing as a ’smart viewer,’ given the way programming works today. Even fast-forwarding through the commercials leaves an advertising impression or causes folks to slow down, watch and/or contemplate that everyone else is supposedly buying. Not only do I prefer to spend my time on my own plot (as opposed to someone else’s made-up story), but I’m aware of the product placement that has become all too common in television shows – something they’ve learned from their blockbuster movies cousins. Eventually, advertising will share a split screen with the ‘featured show’ in an effort to combat the ubiquity of digital video recording devices (think TiVo).
Ever hear of Channel 1 ‘news’? Under-funded schools agree to use electronics supplied by a corporation whose true intentions are to ADVERTISE. That’s right. Our schools hand over our kids as a guaranteed audience and they dictate ‘what is news’ and what they buy. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Channel_One_News
Sorry for the tangent, but the behavior and the problem are conjoined. I’m glad to know the number of informed are increasing.
February 5th, 2008 at 1:10 pm
Dear annie,
I thought you would be interested to see a response from a libertarian after seeing your movie:
————
Dear Jeff,
It’s suddenly occurs to me, you’re right. I was sitting here having a breakfast of an orange and a slice of low-carb bread, and I noticed-hey, I’m not paying the real costs of this stuff! How could an orange that had to be developed through millions of man hours of genetic and agricultural testing, millions more of marketing, a thousand miles of transpiration, and who knows what else, cost less than 40 cents?
And then it dawned on me, we need to get government to raise the orange and get its price up to $75 each, in which case, we’ll know (I guess) there are no hidden costs. It’s like the time I tried to have copies of a file in the federal clerk’s office made because I was doing some free work for some guy who the government knew should be executed, but I was told the copies would cost $1 a page. “That’s okay” I said, “I’ll just borrow the file and take it to the mom-and-pop Insty-Prints store a block away where they’d copy it for 6 cents a page.”
“Ah, no, Charlie, you silly guy. That kind of thing may work in state courts, but we’re the federal government, and the bigger you are, the smarter you are. You have to use us.”
Then it occurred to me, Cosmo and Marlene down at Insty-Prints were probably using disappearing ink, and I wasn’t even getting actual copies. There’s no way that much technology and helpfulness (let alone the smile and goodwill they, unlike the feds, threw in for free) could cost just 6 cents a page.
There is a model for what these hysterical movie clips are talking about (other than the federal clerk’s office in South Bend and about 50 million other government no-sweat shops). It comes from the largest and potentially productive food basket in the world. It could have fed its citizens many times over and have food left to feed billions of people else. It had more tillable land, richer natural resources, and agricultural potential than any other country in the world. It was called Russia. And people for decades had to stand in line for food, carrying bags called “Maybes” because maybe there would be some fatty bacon or a few eggs less than a weeks old or some stale bread at the head of the line. No one shopped with a shopping list, as your purchase (one carefully guaranteed by the kind of central planning some current presidential candidates want to bring to you—all to be paid for by your son) would be dictated not by what was good for you or you thought was good for you, but by whatever happened to survive the genius of all that government caring and genius.
So in the richest agricultural belt in the world, people starved. In a story that repeats itself again and again and again, though little noticed because we walk into our palaces of plenty (Kroger’s) and fail to see that the difference is freedom. And nothing else. And when our government gets involved to help our food supply, we get millions of tons of corn syrup to subsidize the garbage food and diabetes and heart disease that will be the stuff of its next industry.
So Russia (full of Nobel laureates and unsurpassed scientists, writers, composers, and luminaries in every field) kept on with its “we can’t trust people with their freedom” scheme. But, they had to. To save the environment. To make sure the poor didn’t fall behind. To make their society wealthier and more loving.
And on each and every scale, they failed. Citizens near the hopelessly polluted Caspian Sea developed what doctors called “Chemical AIDS.” Land, rivers, and streams that were owned by the state (and thus valued by no one) were rendered toxic and peacefully left that way. Life expectancies fell behind all the rest of the civilized world. And ethnic jealousy and hatred (including anti-Semitism) was a staple in a way that free societies should shudder to think about.
See http://www.econlib.org/library/Essays/rdPncl.html for why an orange from a thousand miles away costs Americans a pittance, but would cost citizens in countries with central planning maybe (that word again) $10. Except that no oranges will be available. But likely lots of government-subsidized Pop Tarts. Maybe.
There are many imperfections in any system. We should work to make ours as good as possible. What concerns me is that we’ve become (for silly reasons that I used to subscribe to) afraid of freedom. When we should be prettified of what happens when we give it away. Including in seemingly trifling concessions to government promises that if we just give away enough of our freedom, it will make our society drug-free (we just haven’t locked up enough black teens yet, you know the ones who became involved in the only industry we didn’t drive out of their cities), it and the unions it sleeps with will educate our children (pay no attention to the scandalously depressed results behind the curtain), handle our divorces and other family crises (don’ ask us to explain how encouraging parents to sue each other will lead to a good outcome for them or their children), nation-build (don’t ask if Iraq is a 100-year, or merely an 80-year one), shoot or torture or intimidate every last would-be terrorist (don’t read any headline since 2001), provide for our children’s future (don’t do any of the math about our national debt or unfunded commitments), elimination of family breakdown (skip over some little matters like how federal “assistance” programs have created more orphans than the Black Plague and both World Wars combined), and . . . .
One last thought. Throw society away? I honestly don’t know where that came from. If you’re referring to the orange grower’s indifference to me personally, you’re correct. He doesn’t love me or even know me. But out of a wish to produce something that others might want and need, I had breakfast for less than 50 cents. Society grows from this marginally supervised self-interest. It dies from the distrust of it.
And now I’m headed to a mediation where I will try to explain to people that the courthouses the state built just for them and the attorneys they educated and licensed and the lawsuit between them we’re happy to referee just might not be in their best interests or their children’s.
Love,
Poppy Charlie
From: jeff berebitsky
Hi Charlie,
Here is something I would like you to watch. It expresses my point about the free market perfectly. The book “Basic Economics”, as told you a couple years back, is completely discredited by the fact that it comes out and says in order for the free market to work we must be a throwaway society. This movie explains exactly what I mean.
http://www.storyofstuff.com/downloads.html
Scroll down to where it reads “Movie Download”.
February 6th, 2008 at 6:18 am
I just saw this entire website for the first time, and i agree with most of what i see and read here.
However. I has been an undeniable fact since October 4th, 1957 that humans are no longer confined to a single planet.
There is a whole wealth of resources beyond the boundaries of our original biosphere, considerably more than available here, so i’d love to hear your thoughts on this. Especially how this factors in with the assertion of finite resources available to us.
I would also like to refer you to something called “Eighth Continent Project” ( 8cproject.com )
February 6th, 2008 at 6:49 am
Annie, the story of stuff was a huge inspiration for me: I posted an entry on my blog about it at http://nollij.blogspot.com/2007/12/holy-sht-story-of-stuff.html A few things I’ve done & continue to do: start my blog & talk about some of these issues, ride my bike more and more for errands business & recreation, installed a grid-tied 5kw Grid-tied PV solar system on the roof of my house, carry my own water bottle with me along with my own coffee mug, carry & use my own bags for shopping, try NOT to buy things that are guaranteed to break in short order just for convenience sake, turn the heat down, slowly replacing CF bulbs which never get the life them claim to get with LED bulbs (they last way LONGER than CF’s, are dimable and they have no MERCURY IN THEM!), recycle EVERYTHING that can be recycled, repair my clothes when they wear out but buy DURABLE well made clothes in the first place… and that’s a few. Thanks again for hosting the story of stuff: it’s a great tool for getting people thinking!
February 7th, 2008 at 6:12 am
Annie,
Wouldn’t the simplest answer to the high schoolers have been to support politicians and political parties that take unequivocal positions on these issues and offer concrete solutions? Social transformation will only occur through political transformation. The Center for Responsible Politics recently reported that candidates for the Democrats and Republicans are on pace to break 2004 spending (and receiving) records before parties officially nominate. Much of this money has come from the kind of special interests that are categorically opposed to solving the problems you mention in Story of Stuff, as those activities are profitable for them (in the short-term). Given that reality, I can’t see any of the leading candidates, be it Hillary Clinton or John McCain, taking any measures to solve these problems.
February 7th, 2008 at 5:38 pm
Annie,
I just watched your film, and had to watch it a second time. It’s great. Thank you!
~S
February 7th, 2008 at 5:44 pm
Actually, I want to say a bit more. There is a growing movement of people who are getting onto the shop-less trend. For example, on the MSN Money message boards, they often organize ‘Buy Nothing’ Months. Where everyone will agree not to buy any non-necessities for a whole month. Or to only buy second hand items. This not only makes environmental sense… but also financial sense.
Another important side effect of our consumer society is the growing size of consumer debt. People are buying homes, cars, big TVs and more that they just can’t afford, and are taking on massive amounts of debt to finance these purchases. The current subprime mortgage bust is a symptom of the growing financial burden that people are under.
As the Story of Stuff mentions… endless shoppings means endless spending – and we are working more and borrowing more in order to fund this – resulting in less happiness. How unfortunate that we are not only trashing our planet, but getting less happy and more broke in the process.
Anyway, your video brings up so many important issues in such a concise and attention grabbing format. Well done.
~S
February 7th, 2008 at 8:13 pm
Hello Annie and thank you very much for this extraordinary video. We have bought one to view with our Collective that is working on the same issue in Val-David, Quebec.
Two questions: do you have a French version of the video? Are you not in contradiction by offering all that stuf for sale on The story of stuf?
Thank you
Claude
February 8th, 2008 at 3:33 am
One of the things that could come out of this
Would be to build things that would last a lifetime.
Cars for instance could be built to last. Motors could be made so well and simply that the owner could repair them.
However how would this be feasible?
A thought that comes to mind is that the cars would not be owned by anyone they would be leased and maintained by a co-operative that everyone belonged to.
They would not be fancy in sense that we know them but they could me made so well that as transportation they could last a lifetime.
February 8th, 2008 at 7:35 am
Ohhh Annie, I couldnt agree more.
the problem is most of our society has been cultivated into a quick fix lifestyle perspective, at every stage of ‘the stuff’! Now people want an easy quick fix solution. And in the same way that you illustrated how the evolution of this situation just ‘aint that simple’, neither is the solution. What it highlights and needs to be highlighted as often as it takes is: we all need to take personal responsibility for our place in this ecosystem.
I work as a naturopath and nutritionist in the middle of an urban jungle. Most people want a quick fix solution for sustainable health, too. My job and personal/professional goal is for them to realise (make real) their responsibility (ability to respond) to the world around them, because that is what will or will not sustain them. We are a wee part of this system and right now, quite a deliterous one. The evolution of humanity has to extend beyond its present anthropocentric stance. Of course, I’m sure mother earth will survive, but maybe not in such a way that is hospitable to this species and sadly many others.
Thank you again and again for your very eloquent accessible communication and hard work. You are changing the world. Bless you.
February 8th, 2008 at 7:46 am
one more thing…just saw the youtube video by those kids.
heartbreaking really. The difficulty is, and I think its poignantly true, that for kids growing up in this world today, really conscious awake and willing beings, its scary, it feels overwhelming and they do need to feel and be supported to feel that they have the capacity to do something. Something! We need to take them and the rest of society by the hand to encourage each other in simple practical–hopeful–ways so that apathy and despondency doesn’t prevail in the face of such damning facts.
This site does provide that…it takes a bit of time but mostly it takes day to day lifestyle choices that each one of us can readily do.
thanks again.
February 9th, 2008 at 12:29 am
actually, i think you left out the most simple and important solution. if that yellow arrow of consumption is really what it’s all about – just BUY LESS STUFF!!! many of these other problems would be greatly reduced if people stopped buying things they did not need. i participated in BUY NOTHING DAY on so-called black friday, carrying a sign through a busy shopping center, asking, ‘do you really need to buy that?’ people were very supportive and 7 people actually apologized for buying things they did not need. for me, that’s how i live every day. why couldn’t kids be taught that as a starting point?
February 10th, 2008 at 4:33 pm
Specifics are important – every small step makes things better than they would be otherwise and gives us all a bit more time to turn things around on a large scale.
On the other hand, campaigning on specifics is a recipe for less unsustainability, not for sustainability. The fast-melting Arctic and a thousand other clues tell us that less bad is not good enough. Anything short of a rapid global transition to full sustainability will mean ‘game over’ for human civilisation, on an unpredictable but shrinking time-scale.
The idea that sustainability will emerge from careful nation-state planning and every section of society ‘doing its bit’ has been thoroughly tested for 35 years. It’s hopefully obvious that this strategy didn’t work out. The underlying error can be traced back to when environmentalism first hit the international political stage at the 1972 United Nations Conference on the Human Environment (see http://www.unep.org/Documents.Multilingual/Default.asp?DocumentID=97&ArticleID=1503&l=en). The conference Declaration, though well-intentioned, effectively transferred responsibility for environmental problems from the market to government. Ever since then governments have been busy failing to transfer it back in any meaningful way. The result is that the limited cost of preventing the destruction of nature and communities is missing from product prices, which forces the unlimited cost of worsening damage to be shared by everyone, both present and future. So the machinery of economics is faulty and set up to wreck the planet, whatever we do about specifics.
Governments have wasted decades fiddling and squabbling over international agreements about specific issues when they could instead, with a fraction of the fuss, correct the 1972 error with a global treaty allocating markets responsibility for problems that markets can prevent (which is most of the big problems) and giving governments responsibility for specifics beyond the reach of markets (historical inequalities, international poverty, land-use, disaster response, etc). The treaty would replace the unsustainable linear model with a circular sustainable development model. Markets would practice circular economics. All sections of society stand to benefit, even politicians obsessed with growth.
This may sound Utopian but in fact the goal of circular economics has been written into China’s national planning since 2006. They’ve launched some ambitious regional projects but so far they’ve not built it into market prices, nor explored the need to run circular economics globally. I predict that future leadership will come from China or other innovative nations which are capable of thinking across the compartmentalised boxes which block opportunities in most ‘developed’ nations. Those who (like me) have spent years banging their heads against the concrete ‘walls’ of specific issues and who long for action that matches what’s needed may find that with a modest effort at the systemic issues the ‘Berlin Wall’ of linear economics will come tumbling down. In fact conventional economics seems to be tumbling down anyhow, so maybe it’s best if there’s something solid ready to replace it. Circular economics is a paradigm whose time has come – but it needs people to help make it happen.
My paper about circular economics will soon be published. It covers systems thinking, leverage points, design of economic instruments, and handling of energy, climate, security, sustainable development and economic growth issues. Anyone who would like a copy please email sos at blindspot dot org dot uk. See also the economist Kenneth Boulding’s 1966 paper which first contrasted the linear and circular views of the world – http://earthmind.net/__docs/boulding-1966.pdf.
James Greyson
February 10th, 2008 at 6:43 pm
Querida hermana Annnie,
You are one of my favorite rebels! Your short movie is brilliant!
At the Metta Center (Education for Nonviolence) we are trying to support journalists, activists and educators in order to teach some of the fundamentals of nonviolence, get rid off its misconceptions and spread the word of successful stories (i.e. YES! Magazine is a perfect example of what we need more of in this World).
The secrets of the Cosmos seem to be conspiring with us: we were thinking on making a short movie/film focusing 10% on obstructive programs and 90% on constructive programs (the “stuff” which inspires people
) and then we ran into your phenomenal work!
I just sent the email attached on PS2 to all my contacts across the globe. We will be looking forward to watching/working for The Story of Stuff II**
Peace and love… and food!
We love you sister.
If you want to be a rebel, be kind. Human-kind, be both.
Pancho
PS0: I’m a beginner in the art of identifying and eradicating the negative thoughts and cultivating the positive states of mind, but I was thinking that the title of this thread + “Another Way” could be something like: Be the Dream!
PS1: ** We have some cool videos/ideas from the TREEvolution
PS2:
From: Francisco Ramos Stierle
Date: February 10, 2008 12:29:59 PM PST
To: UC-Demil , ucb@lists.riseup.net, Phoenix Coalition , Zezta LA , Resistencia Creativa Creativa , Laverdadseadicha El renacimiento
Subject: Interconnectedness + Be the Dream
Dear beloved siblings citizens of the World,
A simple and fun way to connect the dots of the ongoing Ahimsa Revolution:
http://www.storyofstuff.com/
In my opinion, the video has some minor technical errors but in general it is clear and powerful. It’s brilliant.
Then, Story of Stuff part II will be showing the Collective Intelligence that is blooming in our Renaissance Communities: how we are growing/consuming local food; permaculture; preventive medicine/universal health care; meditation; free schools/universities; restorative justice; natural philosophy; horizontal power; peace armies; independent media; artivism; satyagraha… LOVE IN ACTION.
Someone had a Dream… We are the Dream! Live the Dream! Be the Dream!
Slow down, slow food, slow science.
Have a ONE-derful day!
If you want to be a rebel, be kind. Human-kind, be both.
Pancho
___________________________________________________________________
“The Earth is but One Country and the Humankind its Citizens.” – Bahá’u'lláh
…there is just one flag!!!
“A good life is one inspired by love and guided by knowledge.” – Bertrand Russell
February 11th, 2008 at 1:25 pm
Hi Annie,
Great going on your movie- the info is super important, the filming fun and easy to digest, and the conclusion hopeful.
I’d like to share my follow up on Story of Stuff, that I posted on my blog, Unpacked: A Walker Returns Home.
The post is called “It’s not Easy being Stuff: The Story of a Kitchen Knife,” told from the perspective of the knife.
The following is the link:
http://www.theunpackedblog.com/2008/01/18/its-not-easy-being-stuff/
I hope you enjoy,
I look forward to your feedback,
Yannai
February 12th, 2008 at 12:31 am
nice video Annie, were linked to you on our sites..
thinking green aboard our ship visiting islands and communities around the world
February 13th, 2008 at 12:20 am
so this is not related to your post but id like to comment this.
I live in mexico. I loved your film. even though we’re not as resposible as our country for these problems, i really want to raise awareness about this…
i downloaded the story of stuff, im going to translate it to spanish and add some voice for it, im going to show it in every school i can, im very sure people will like it and i HOPE most of them will try to do something about it just as im trying
February 13th, 2008 at 5:10 pm
Hi Annie,
The student’s video is a pretty sad testimonial about the state of American education and how dependence on government, rather than independent thought, seems to be instilled in our children at younger ages than ever before.
Not only was it irreverent of such a well thought out and made presentation (yours), but was disappointing in that they wanted you to spoon-feed them the solutions, instead of coming up with them on their own.
Corporations, coupled with government, are the most powerful force on earth for making people into and keeping them as virtually mindless “sheeple”. And sheeple are very easily herded into the linear cycle you explain so well in your video.
Thanks for the good work. I intend to blog about this video and mention it to everyone I know.
Russ
February 14th, 2008 at 5:01 pm
I love your video, and I love the fact that you are getting these ideas out there. I am amused, however, that you are so reluctant to publish lists of how to get involved and alter the cycle, because it was actually the list that you DID publish that got me most excited. (And it is that list that I copied and pasted, along with a link to your website, to send to friends.)
I know that there are problems. I know that I am a part of the problem (I’m a consumer; I shop at Big Box stores, etc.). What I do not always know is how to go about fixing the problem, or even how to go about discussing it. Sometimes it seems so overwhelming, that it’s easier to say, “Well, I use energy efficient lightbulbs and I recycle, so I guess I’m done” and we know that’s not nearly enough even if it’s a good start.
I started going through your website precisely to find ideas and discussion starters about what we as consumers CAN do. I don’t pretend that your lists are comprehensive, but I wasn’t looking for a list of fifty billion things I need to change (I’m too overwhelmed to start!), I was looking for a push in the right direction with some clear ideas about how to improve upon where I am currently in my consumption habits.
So, I find myself agreeing with the students. Sure, add your caveats, and encourage creative thinking….but keep giving us your ideas about what we, as individuals, can do. You’ve spent a lot of time thinking about the issues, obviously, and I want to benefit from that. I will use my own filters on what works for me, as I do with all information, but between preschool pick up, paying the bills, walking the dog, making dinner, etc. sometimes I need a little help in figuring out how to change the world. Your help in this area is appreciated.
Keep up the good work!
February 14th, 2008 at 8:42 pm
Hi Annie –
I’m so inspired by this piece… ever since I saw it last month, I’ve put a conscious effort into rethinking what I use and throw away. Thanks so much!
– Another Annie in DC
February 15th, 2008 at 10:56 am
Hola Annie,
Thank you for educating people about the utter lack of sustainability of the global economy and the need for change. You likely are aware of this but the issue of “stuff” is something that comedian George Carlin was harping on more than 25 years ago. For some levity regarding our obsession with “stuff” look at Carlin’s take on stuff (some adult language):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MvgN5gCuLac
February 15th, 2008 at 12:49 pm
Hi
This is a great film, I haven’t seen anything so comprehensive yet on this, the most important concern of the planet.
I’m a translator, and will help translate it into French if you’re interested.
Thank you for the awareness you’re spreading through this.
Sophie Raimondo
February 15th, 2008 at 10:55 pm
Bravo, Annie! Thanks for mentioning my op-ed, and for resisting the call for simple and easy ways of saving the planet. We’re at our best when we’re faced with hard and difficult challenges that call out the best in us!
Cheers, and with admiration,
Mike Maniates
February 16th, 2008 at 11:45 pm
So it took you TEN YEARS to FINALLY figure out people were polluting and destroying the earth? TEN YEARS to figure out that the United States was outsourcing? Hmmm….ever wonder why Wal-Mart has such low prices? That’s the kind of stuff someone learns in a 1st year business class. I haven’t taken any business classes and even I know that! I’m a Physical Education major and even I know that stuff. I have 2 words for you: Christopher Columbus. He’s the reason the United States is the way it is. Then those dang pilgrims. The white man (yourself) is to blame for all this. All of his greed. I go to college and I can’t believe how many rich white kids there are. They say “we’re middle class” HA! Yeah right. If you have a car…you’re rich. If you have a laptop computer, iPod, cell phone, digital camera and can continue to drive your car around and afford gas and car insurance…you’re rich. If you have more than 2 pairs of shoes and wear prepy designer clothes, you’re rich. It’s funny how the white man likes to play “blame games” for their problems, while all along they were the problem in the first place. Who wiped out all the land? Who brought slaves over? Who brought disease and plague across the ocean? Who is responsible for wiping out populations of Native Americans? The white man.
February 16th, 2008 at 11:52 pm
Ohh yeah, I’m not recommending this to others. It’s pretty useless and a waste of time to watch her B.S……….breast milk is toxic? Then why aren’t we dead?
February 17th, 2008 at 2:54 am
I agree with you, Annie, that making lists of things to do misses the point. This is echoed in the recent movie The 11th Hour, my favorite line from which being: “You can never get enough of the think you don’t really want.” The movie goes beyond An Inconvenient Truth by suggesting a change in how we think (not just doing a bunch of things).
Your point is also echoed by one of my favorite movies of all time: Mindwalk (based on a book by Fritjof Capra, who lives in your town). It describes systemic thinking, which recognizes that addressing just one aspect of a problem cannot solve it. Working with Mindwalk director Bernt Capra (brother of Fritjof), I compressed and uploaded a version to Google Video: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=9107401959308808776&hl=en
The book Cradle to Cradle (and the related documentary The Next Industrial Revolution) suggests we eliminate the concept of waste by designing products to be easily decomposed into organic and technical nutrients. Your documentary illustrates how this is not done with juice boxes, with cardboard (an organic nutrient) and plastic and mylar (two technical nutrients) fused together. The author of Cradle to Cradle, Bill McDonough, spoke at NASA Ames February 5, where I asked him if he’d seen The Story of Stuff. He had not so I announced to the assembly your URL and I am trying to get his email so I can follow up. I have started blogging on this on my technological literacy blog at http://knowledgecontext.blogspot.com/.
Finally, the New York Times ran an Op-Ed February 10 suggesting that the poor of our society are doing better than ever because they are buying more stuff. Disturbing. Encouraging were the letters written in response. Perhaps some of the writers watched The Story of Stuff. Read them here:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/17/opinion/l17spend.html
Thank you for your fine work.
Miguel
February 17th, 2008 at 1:22 pm
The part with the inside of the computer is hilarious. If the rest of the video is that accurate, then it’s not accurate at all…
What computers did you use to design this website? Do you know why the form factor changes for computer processors periodically? Because they become more efficient! Using an older monitor and an older computer that does less is actually wasting more electricity than newer technology.
Besides, more than just the processor changes. Memory changes, circuitry changes, everything improves to support doing more with less energy.
I would think someone making a video about it would fact check. Just FYI.
February 18th, 2008 at 4:13 am
Annie,
I was discussing the same topic with my buddy over dinner and he pointed me to your website.
I must say great job on this work. One does not need too much convincing to see the big picture.
My take is we are heading towards survival crisis more than anything else. We can trash the planet all we want, wipe out all animals and forest and just a matter of time we meet the same end. The planet and life are going to be fine in few million years of our extinction so its just a matter of choosing to postpone extinction or exist sensibly.
Anyways, I have been itching to buy a new motorcycle, but I should re-evaluate my lust and settle for a used one in case I cant drop the idea alltogether.
All the best and I am ready to march with you and others on this.
Cheers
Aryan
February 18th, 2008 at 3:02 pm
Hello!
I have just seen your video on stuff. It is great. I teach geography and I am the teacher responsable for the Ecology club of our school. We recycle all that we can. They call me M. Recyclage (Mr. Recycling in english). I try to tell them that my goal is to recycle the least possible. I tell them that recycling is the last step before throwing something out. I tell them that bying less is better. That buying goods with less packaging is a great thing. It is hard when our society is based on consumption! Isn’t that sad. That most of the jobs that we have are basically uselless! This movie is a gem. Thank you very much (Merci beaucoup! French)
Will your video be available to download in French. Since downloading is more environementally sound, it would be my choice. However, could a donation be made on behalf of our school club to help support your initiative.
Thank you very much!
Gilles Trahan
Hawebury Ontario Canada
February 19th, 2008 at 1:37 pm
I have one idea that is simple but I really think it is an effective start to STOPPING the madness… TURN OFF THE TV! If we stop injecting ourselves with the programming to consume, if we stop hearing about the new fashions/trends and start judging for ourselves when we need a new pair of shoes – it will SLOW DOWN the cycle, SLOW DOWN consumption! We will stop being told that we suck and that we need a new product to “kill the germs” etc we might just get a mind of our own:)
February 19th, 2008 at 1:46 pm
you wrote wonderful. thanks.
I use and try to get the whole world to
ask 2 qoustions
how can I minimize the damage I’m responsible for
how can I maximize the contribution I’m responsible for; that I can be responsible for and that I want to be responsible for
February 19th, 2008 at 4:09 pm
The Story of Stuff…
Just passing along a video I found recently and thought was interesting. It’s the sort of thing you might have forwarded to you from your mother’s white-haired socialist friend. Or hear about from the kids you babysit after their young and …
February 19th, 2008 at 7:59 pm
Dear Annie Leonard,
I simply love your movie. And I really liked the kids movie too. Sounds like they were motivated.
But I’m actually writing because I would like to ask if you would accept an invitation to write a small article for the magazine I work at, in Brasil. It’s a consumers magazine, actually a magazine from a consumers rights organization. We’ve been working quite a lot on sustainable options for consumption, and I found that what you have written in this post would be perfect for our column. Well, maybe we can exchange some emails about it. I hope to hear from you! My best wishes,
Elisa Franca
February 20th, 2008 at 1:20 pm
I think this video is great and will certainly share it with my students and others. In fact, it’s like a 20-minute summary of my globalization course.
I understand that in a short amount of time, not everything can be included, however I’m really disappointed that the crucial subject of meat was not included.
Pollution is not just from our factories, but also from our massive livestock industry, significantly contributing to land overuse, deforestation, air and water pollution, topsoil erosion, species extinction, massive waste, and global warming.
In fact, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization produced a report in Nov. 2006 stating that the livestock industry contributes more to global warming than all forms of transportation in the entire world combined (18% v. 13.5%), meaning what we eat is actually more important than what we drive (though we clearly need to work on both and more).
As bad as meat production is, it doesn’t even account for the horrible cruelty to tens of billions of animals and the dangers to our personal health.
Please take a look at my web site, Eco-Eating at http://www.brook.com/veg , as well as others, including http://www.factoryfarming.org and goveg.com for more info.
It would be great if you could include something about meat, as well as smoking (www.brook.com/smoke), in the next version or incarnation of this otherwise amazing video. Thanks for sharing your wonderful work!
February 22nd, 2008 at 8:33 pm
Very much along the lines of The Story of Stuff, this artist is working to put a visual perspective on the waste generated by consumerism – hopefully this kind of project can futher help people to understand the scope of the problem:
http://www.chrisjordan.com/current_set2.php
February 23rd, 2008 at 11:41 am
Someone commented on my blog to check out your site – it seems we are on the same page.
Here was my two cents, kind of an Anti Crap manifesto
http://sposto.blogspot.com/2007/11/no-crap-allowed.html
Thanks, Annie, for saying things so succinctly – excellent work.
February 23rd, 2008 at 1:13 pm
The most powerful way forward is the reform of the entire financial system in which both the poor, and the rich benefit….
Capital equals power. It equals control.. over limited resources, and ofcourse how well, or badly they are used.
Let us suppose that there was plenty of money (ie electronic data transmitted from one bank account to another) which could be created as something which is non-repayable. Some of this could be used in clever ways to “bribe” Corporations to become sustainable in a whole variety of ways, and yet still make loads of earned money, or supernormal profits…probably more than they do now!!! Impossible…yes, only if the present financial system continues….
My answer is my research, and development project of TRANSFINANCIAL ECONOMICS which is the new paradigm of the future. A paper even was accepted on it by a peer reviewed journal but unfortunately I withdrew it after signing the copyright forms due to a dispute with the editor/publisher………………..
February 25th, 2008 at 11:52 am
Hi Annie – this website just came to my attention:
http://www.thinkgreen.com/
I suspect this is a classic example of corporate “greenwashing”, but I wanted to know what you thought of it.
February 25th, 2008 at 1:06 pm
Hi Annie. First I apologize for contacting you via this blog, but I found no other way on your website.
I think the documentary is great: propositive and right to the point. Have you ever tought about translating it to other languages? I ask you this because I’d love to do some screenings at my university (I’m a college film & tv professor)and on my children’s school. I searched for a spanish version but it seems to be none.
I hope you consider making one, and in that case I’d be more than happy to help you. This material should be viewed by everybody. I for one would like to show it to my little community.
Thank you very much Annie and I look forward to your answer.
with best regards,
Carlos Morales
Ensenada, Mexico.
February 25th, 2008 at 1:10 pm
I just viewed the video for the first time. I participate in many enviro-activist activities. I am “hands-on” in my community, I advocate a deeper respect for our planet & its dwindling resources, etc. And as much as I agree with the point that we’re a disposable society (to include everything from products to humans), I can’t shake the feeling that you are jumping on the bandwagon of tossing the blame on the current administration for our world’s ills. Our planet’s demise has been a LONG time coming, and it cannot be finger-pointed onto any one human being. We are all to blame. And let’s not forget WHY we were encouraged to “shop” after 9-11 – because the terrorists (murderers) goal was to collapse our economy… to see us shudder and panic, and barricade ourselves in fear. President Bush DID plead for hope, prayer, and perseverance, and he encouraged us NOT to bury ourselves in our fears, and to GET OUT – live our lives – and bolster our economy so that the terrorists would not destroy us financially. There was good reason for that decision – and it worked… yet we still prayed, we still held out hope, and we lived on despite the terrorists’ plans.
Our chronic bad-choices where the environment is concerned began LONG ago. It is irresponsible to point out only recent events as being the contributors to our planet’s destruction. Only recently did we come to terms with what we’re doing.
Al Gore’s film is wrought with half-truths… please don’t let yours prove to be the same. The public doesn’t know what the TRUTH IS ANYMORE, because everyone wants to feed us their version of it… everyone has an agenda. THIS is preventing people from listening… from HEARING the plea to DO more to change our horrible habits!
So leave politics out of it for awhile, people have grown weary of this….and DO tell the public what they CAN do to turn things around.. and I don’t mean changing lightbulbs Oprah-style…
Please don’t blame “one” man or “one” administration…. that negates your urgent, and imperative message.
And remember – military spending has kept us safe. Terrorists don’t care about rainforests, protecting apes, or ending child labor in 3rd world countries.. they don’t give these things a 2nd thought. Ever.
February 25th, 2008 at 4:17 pm
Concerns over rising oil prices and greenhouse gases from fossil fuels have caused biofuels to be touted as a solution to both our energy and climate change dilemmas. Yet available biofuels, Tilman says, offer no real solution.
Tilman suggests solutions: Biofuels can be produced from perennials grown on agriculturally degraded lands without displacing food production or causing loss of biodiversity through habitat destruction. Similarly, biofuels made from waste biomass, manure, corn stover, forest slash or thinnings offer immediate and sustained advantages and net energy gains.
Tilman is the Regents’ Professor and McKnight Presidential Chair in Ecology at the University of Minnesota, and director of the university’s Cedar Creek Ecosystem Science Reserve. His research explores how managed and natural ecosystems can sustainably meet human needs for food, energy, and ecosystem services
February 27th, 2008 at 8:45 pm
Annie
We work with regional businesses on sustainability as the basis of strategy. I would like to send you a copy of my book, The Green Baron (Trafford 2007)- it is a parable that has been called the ‘Who Moved my Cheese’ of environntal management. Where should I send a copy?
The video is absolutely superb. I also teach at the local university and show it in my classes- it challenges everyone to do more. Thanks for making it and keep up the challenge!
Steve
February 28th, 2008 at 2:44 pm
Thanks Annie, for acknowledging the complexity of these deeply interrelated problems. For me, what tends to be missing from the discussion about “stuff” (though well-represented in your movies) is the inherent inequality and injustice created all over the globe, including here in the U.S. by our insatiable desire for meaningless goods and services.
Moreover, I don’t think legislation can be a real solution. It may be government’s job to protect us on some level, but it cannot possibly protect us from the “bottomless pit of our own desires.” In the end, this is a demand-side problem. The good news and the bad news is that “we the people” are far bigger and more powerful than any government. The problem is complicated and diverse because WE are complicated and diverse, and only a solution that rises up from the bottom on a broad scale will begin to turn the tide.
My wife and I feel deeply about this issue, and we’re trying to do our part by creating a community of shared possessions and open generosity where people can help each other break the stranglehold of consumer greed. We’ve started a website at twoshirts.org in order to foster such a community.
February 28th, 2008 at 3:12 pm
annie, thank you for raising the issues. i am opening a little shop on etsy.com on March 1, and after watching this video, my ideas for the shop have gone a whole other wonderful direction. thank you so much for helping me re-gain perspective and seek out MY part in the story. God bless you.
February 29th, 2008 at 10:26 pm
Wow. I heard from my friend, whose wife is a schoolteacher, that the kids in her class were forced to watch this film. He said it was the dumbest thing he had ever seen, and brother, was he right.
Over 50% of our federal tax dollars go to the military? That’s obviously incorrect, and it leads one to believe that your facts – and conclusions – have been deliberately manipulated to mislead. I lost count of the rest of the “facts” in your film, but they seemed as cooked up as that one, which even non-experts with a passing familiarity with a newspaper could detect as false.
But how else could you convince people to give socialism another try without scare tactics and misinformation?
Typical watermelon-type behavior. Green on the outside, red on the inside.
March 2nd, 2008 at 5:40 pm
I loved your style and presentation – and blogged it accordingly:
http://coffee.bc.ca/The-World/284/the-story-of-stuff
My rants sprung from Canada’s own Tim Horton’s chain of coffee shops/doughnut houses who give out EMPTY coffee cups for immediate disposal — just for the 20 second pleasure of rolling up the paper-wax rim to see that you won… STUFF!
Ack!
Love you!
March 3rd, 2008 at 6:25 am
[...] step-by-step solutions to move us towards a more sustainable lifestyle. Annie addresses this in her blog, and it’s something that resonates with me: My goal in making The Story of Stuff was to [...]
March 3rd, 2008 at 1:36 pm
Your video is excellent and informative. However, I am disturbed by the fact that you’re distributing a DVD. Was it created in a sustainable factory? Is is recyclable? “Order a DVD” promotes purchase => I thought you didnt like this.
March 4th, 2008 at 7:17 am
Dear Annie,
I happened to bump across your website and it is indeed an eye opener. I am from India and I can easily comprehend the pieces in the puzzle of consumerism happening here in India and around the world, thanks to your innovative video.
I am going to forward this site to group of my friends and others; Thank you for coming up with such a noble initiative.Even though the percentage of “non-realistic” people like us is less than 5%, lets keep trying to save our mother earth and enlighten the other 95% ignorant population.
Vineeth
March 5th, 2008 at 10:04 am
I just watched this video, and it leaves me feeling very sad – in tears in fact. That is some accomplishment given I am a 6 foot 250 pound guy.
The difference between lofty ideals and goals, is that goals are specific and measurable. I think that is precisely what is needed.
There ARE some very simple solutions that could make a huge difference in all of this – and that is completely in the hands of the elected.
If you ask me, your answer to your students should be – “Who among you will become president, and change our path?”.
I am not American, but from a policy perspective clearly a specific and serious investment needs to be made in Solar technology for consumers, the Zero Emission mandate for automobiles needs to be made a national priority. Other examples is that packaging for consumer goods should be regulated (i.e. no more plastic armor for every little thing we buy).
I probably don’t have to say that America’s foreign policy (militarily) is beyond reason, and that 50% of a multi Trillion dollar federal budget on military is unjustifiable, given that much of the problems that exist on the World stage have developed from decades of cloak and dagger paranoia from within the US industrial military complex.
We (North Americans) need to lead the way in renewable consumption. Unfortunately decoupling our consumption from our culture may be virtually impossible.
I have many thoughts on the matter…and would like to find ways to contribute – but beyond quiting my job and starting a garden … i am challenged to find the right path. =(
Sincerely,
A sad capitalist.
March 5th, 2008 at 1:11 pm
I love the story and the systems thinking inherent in your “no simple answers” reply to the students and by extension to every person. I also love your actionable suggestions – there is opportunity everywhere for each person to challenge the consumerism model that is destroying both nature and humanity.
In the US following WWII, the development and implementation of consumerism by both government and industry sped the declining symbiotic relationship between human kind and nature. Just as importantly, it sped the breakdown of societal norms that guided human behavior toward one another. Through the use of “instant freedom” marketing that promised a life that was easier, with more free time, having less worries, being more beautiful, etc., people began to buy into the premise it was their right to these things.
As you point out, the advent of TV and the ability to reach individuals with targeted products and services enabled consumerism. The impact of this marketing was not anticipated by parents, schools and other organizations, and it quickly created the “me” persona: “But mom, Susie’s mom gave her a Barbie and I want one too.”
Adults at that time could see little harm in reinforcing the “instant pudding” of marketing and gave in. This pattern accelerated until today we have The Story of Stuff. The people retiring now were those post-WWII kids and everyone that is younger has been exposed to even more intense “you deserve it” marketing.
Changing from this consumerism model of human behavior to a sustainable model toward both nature and all human kind requires a new paradigm. I am in the process of preparing a story regarding sustainable human behavior that is based on two constructs: The first is: No human actions should harm another human being. The second is: No human actions should harm nature. I believe that both of these constructs are needed to ensure that human kind reaches the potential that is uniquely its. Whether human kind can reach this level of behavior before it destroys itself and most of nature is questionable.
I thank you for the gift you have given to the people of the world and would like to work with you as your journey continues.
March 5th, 2008 at 4:56 pm
I would like to get an spanish and a french version of “The Story of Stuff”. Or to be agreed to do it my self.
Thanks
March 6th, 2008 at 1:30 am
Fantastic work. I hope your message becomes a prime mover in making us mend our ways.
Here is a talk I came across by William McDonough, author of Cradle To Cradle, which covers the same problem: http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/view/id/104
March 6th, 2008 at 4:42 pm
This is not a comment on this blog entry but rather a comment on the video itself:
While there is plenty of good information presented in the “Story of Stuff” too much of it is biased and it doesn’t do much to explain why. Simply put, the portrayal of the “stuff” ecosystem makes it seem like there is a huge conspiracy being played out against us, the innocent public. My belief is that we’re not innocent and it’s not a conspiracy. We love to consume. It is in our nature to do so. We have consumed (and wasted) ever since we grew thumbs! Big business simply dreams up new ways for us to consume.
I do agree that big business has a propensity to exploit, destroy, and is often dangerously powerful and manipulative. And I also agree that governments, especially ours (the US) are too often suckling at the teat of big business and turning a blind eye to unsustainable business practices.
But at the end of the day, we choose to buy the latest clothes, computers, and widgets. We’re not a bunch slobbering automatons; we still have the power to choose not to buy the latest and greatest. But we do. Why is a psychological debate.
A piece of advice for the video: It spends 1 minute out of 20 discussing the solution. This needs much more depth to be considered more than just a “green pipe dream”. How can we transition? What are the first steps? What can we as consumers do? We all want to be part of the solution and not the problem. Big business and government won’t change on its own, so how do we vote with our feet?
Finally, some nit picking. I disagree about the point of planned obsolescence. While I don’t deny it exists, the majority of replacement that takes place is driven by innovation. Example: I bought a 2MP Canon camera 6 years ago and recently I bought a 10MP Panasonic camera to replace it. Why? Because the more advanced technology in the new camera far exceeds the capabilities of the older one. Not because Canon had some secret plan to keep me coming back.
And to be very pedantic, the reason you replace the entire computer and not just the little chip inside is because it isn’t just the little chip that gets more powerful. The rest of the computer needs to match the power of the chip. Intel actually tried to make chip-only upgrades many years ago but they were limited by the rest of the system and nobody bought them.
That’s the end of my diatribe. I don’t mean to be too critical. I generally agree with the intent but simply think there may be improvements for the way the message is portrayed.
March 6th, 2008 at 5:57 pm
Annie,
I really loved reading this response. I’m a freshman at Monument Mountain High School in Western Massachusetts. I’m a member of the GREEN Team at Monument, and I helped organize a showing of Story of Stuff in every classroom at our high school, so that every student in the whole school would at least have the information put in front of them (whether they acted on it or not).
I started and am and currently leading with two partners (Sarah Steadman and Natalie Akers) Project Sprout. In this project, we are starting a vegetable garden at the school to supplement the cafeteria’s lunches. We are doing this for a few reasons: To reduce our carbon footprint by getting more of our vegetables from the school and not from 1000 miles away, to allow the kids to have a chance to eat fresh, local, organic food, to have an agricultural education resource for students k-12, and to promote local and sustainable agriculture. We’ve been working really hard for the last 5 months straight creating a 1 year, 2 year, 5 year, and 10 year plan for the garden, fundraising by doing native plant sales and hosting Local Pig Roasts (with local pig and local vegetables), touring local farms, studying sustainable agriculture techniques, and searching for support in our school (we break ground in April).
Anyway, as a member of the GREEN Team, I am often asked this question, “I always see those lists of things around the house you can do like changing your light bulbs, but what can I really do to make a difference?” As a matter of fact, I used to ask people this question all the time, until finally I realized that there couldn’t be an answer, because if there was an answer, it would be the wrong. Any answer to this question is wrong just by being an answer, because really when people ask that they are asking “Tell me what to do. Give me a concrete list of straight forward things I can do.” But the whole point is that that defeats the whole purpose. Because if you’re just following a list of ways to the help the environment, then you’re not getting it. You need to be able to feel it and understand it. You need to wrestle with the problem on your own and come up with your own solution, or it’s not really a long term solution. It has to become part of you, it can’t just be another set of orders that you’re following.
Today I gave a talk in the auditorium about Project Sprout. I was standing up on stage with a microphone talking about what we had done so far and what were doing next, and explaining what we were going to need help with from the student body. But while I was up there, I realized something, and I decided to ask the other students. I asked “Why am I the one up here on stage and not you guys. I’m no different than you, and you should be up here presenting your own projects and asking for help.” After the talk, 3 students came up to me with project ideas (composting, solar panels, and recycled agendas) that they wanted to take on. They were complete strangers (even though it’s not that big a school) but I felt like kissing them. It was the most hope inspiring thing ever. Then, someone told my that they had already decided that next year they were going to go to a private school, but they said Project Sprout inspired them to stay a year to help and watch it unfold. My school is a public school with a wide range of students, and it’s amazing to see so many people show an interest.
I’m sure you know this already, and it won’t mean much coming from me, but I think one of the most important pieces of something like this is optimism. Because without optimism, without thinking that what you’re doing is helping to fix our problems, how can you make a serious effort? And today I feel really optimistic. I think if everyone works as hard as they can that we can succeed. We’ve seen some horrible crimes committed to the environment, and are still being committed. Anne Frank, after seeing her friends and her whole disappear, after being forced into hiding for years, after seeing man’s darkest side, said “I still believe, in spite of everything, that people are truly good at heart.” I agree with her. I think, in spite of everything, that we can make a difference.
In short, thank you for being inspiring and hopeful and optimistic and for making a difference
March 7th, 2008 at 2:19 pm
Dear Annie,
I just saw your video and thought it was great! I was saddened however, that I cannot use it when teaching my 6th graders about sustainability. This is because, while it is done in a user friendly way, and with a clear explanation, it is also slanted against our current government and our government in general and very dark. While, I personally am not a fan of our current govt. at all, as a teacher in a wonderful and well respected progressive school I cannot in good conscience promote such a video to my impressionable students. I think you outline the problems really well but your video could be too frightening to younger kids and disrespectful of their families’ political views. Most of them are democrats but that is not really the point. I think you are very talented and make great points and wonder if you could adapt the video or make a different one that would be more appropriate for a middle school setting? Comments about the Bush administration or sleeping on pillows with deadly toxins are just not okay in my field.
My students do a huge project on “developing countries” where they create a socially and environmentally responsible business after researching a country. I would love to have a film like this to use to discuss these issues with my students.
Please let me know if you would consider revising your video or making another one in the future? Please let me know your thoughts on this? Please let me know if you have any suggestions for 6th grade friendly sources for our project? I hope to hear from you.
Thank you very much and keep up the good fight!
Sincerely,
Elizabeth
(6th grade Language Arts and Social Studies teacher, Baltimore)
ps. I tried to contact you via the contact tab but it would not work!
March 11th, 2008 at 12:44 pm
Hi Annie,
Just saw your video and I thought it was really great. Thanks to everyone who put it together, as I think I will be forwarding it to friends and family. I just wanted to suggest that it would be cool to have a Spanish voice over done for the millions of Hispanics who live in the U.S. (young and old) and for whom this kind of information is unfortunately very, very limited.
Thanks again!
Jayh
March 12th, 2008 at 10:30 pm
the story of stuff…
The greatest documentary I’ve seen since “The Corporation” is delivered by Annie Leonard, an expert in sustainability, in a video.
The Story of Stuff is a 20-minute, fast-paced, fact-filled look at the underside of our production a…
March 14th, 2008 at 9:57 am
Annie asked for “entry points.” One entry point is HAPPINESS.
The idea that lots of stuff and lots of money to buy it = being happy has been “trashed,” if you will pardon the word, by none other than economists themselves. Psychologists of all persuasions, too, are talking about what we need to be happy.
And it is NOT stuff.
There is a huge movement in the world called “Happiness Studies.” Happiness Studies is serious stuff. It is not about the ubiquitous yellow smiley face but all sorts of ideas from the wisdom traditions of the world to modern psychology, brain science, and social theories about HUMAN FLOURISHING. The formal definition is “eudaimonic happiness,” from Greek word “eudaimonia,” meaning happiness, wisdom, and human flourishing for all.
To keep it simple, we are not flourishing – not humans, not the planet- because our ideas about what will make us happy are all wrong. We are now being forced by our planetary reality to make a radical adjustment.
Which is fantastic. A radical human happiness, wellbeing and human flourishing adjustment. A global eudaimonic revolution to get humans back on track to being authentically happy and healthy.
Resources on eudaimonic happiness are too many to list. Google “economics happiness.” Paul Hawken’s Bless Unrest is essentially all about this. So is Bill McKibben’s Deep Economy.
But the point is the entry point.
Begin from the orientation that:
Less stuff = less misery
More engagement with what scares us =
More happiness, wellbeing and flourishing for all.
Get happy. Act.
Mimi K
March 15th, 2008 at 5:11 pm
Your terrifically thought-provoking video will be useful in my classroom in two ways: as a starting point for discussing sustainability and consumerism and, two, for a study of propaganda. I think you’ve muddied the elixir of change by your fast pace and by trying to push emotional buttons. See the remarks offered by Open-minded Skeptic and Elizabeth, above.
That said, I’d like to thank you for a smart use of the medium and for a stimulating package. I’m an ally.
Btw, my sustainability passion is using bicycle and foot to get to work, school and grocery store.
And using yoga to aid students and teachers in battling stress.
March 15th, 2008 at 5:43 pm
I have forwarded story of stuff to tens of friends via email and have received wonderful feedback and a host of other sites of interest.
I was a cynic in the 90s, seeing our consumer world for what it was back then, lamenting that our leaders shut down all of those well-meaning activists of the last several decades, wishing Bruce Cockburn would get a Nobel Prize, too!
My sister is a homestead farmer in Nova Scotia on Cape Breton Island. Her daughter still attends the public school nearby, more for social reasons than any “education” our crappy public system seems to (no longer) offer- sorry teachers. (ie the kids watch cartoons at lunch and are told to be quiet, watch care bears and eat…..they have banned sugar from the school, but still serve white breads, pizza, burgers and fries- and over-packaged! oh yeah, and cookies with sugar in them……hmmm)
My sister is trying to get the story played in the school for all the students. My ambitions are larger. I would like to encourage the forwarding of this site to every teacher you can find…..not the schoolboards, as I understand that they- as completely useless bureaucrats- will likely work against the rights for this information to reach the students (prove me wrong!! please!)…..I mean, it might threaten their big pensions all wrapped up in the logging industry, for example.
Every young person should see Story of Stuff. I have also printed little tags. Sixty on one piece of (hommade) paper, cut and distributed around, near, on high school grounds, campuses, etc. For the record, any little tiny paper hitting the ground is made from healthy ingredients, and would serve to break down and aerate the soil…..so it really isn’t a lot of littering if you do it right.
The problem? I want to reconcile the issues of mass production in the world, in part by mass producing this movie
……it is wonderful, and speaks to a HUGE cross section people. Another funny point, watching it the first time, I became alarmed and thought that someone had stolen my own words……! No ego here. Just feels good to be on the same page as this brilliant information.
Let’s change the way we do things!
Spread the word!
Live Differently!!
April 16th, 2008 at 7:06 pm
Thanks for the video. Should be a “must watch” in every high school and university in every country. Has it been translated yet?
Being in the rat race of a career in a global company in this globalization I do not have the right to vote in the country I currently live in. Voters, please suggest to your politicians (and then go and vote) that not only SPAM should be treated as a major crime (because it steals our time and slows down our systems) but ads delivered by the snail mail as well. I live in an apartment building in Canada and I cannot believe the amount ads I have to throw away a day. So many trees… Please ask your politicians to banish unwanted ads on paper.
April 30th, 2008 at 5:22 pm
Great clip. I have been trying to research some of the info, like Victor LaBeau, but I can’t seem to find anything. If anyone can provide more info on only one chip in a computer that changes the speed of the computer, I would appreciate it. My 16 yo son disputes this fact, as he has built about five computers in the last five years (other than that he thinks it has a very powerful and important message).
To those in denial (Adam Sachs) about the reality of an unsustainable society, read “Collapse” by Jared Diamond. Sachs and somebody else also mentioned quality of life and toxic breast milk. Know any kids with ADHD? Know any kids on the Autism spectrum? Know any kids with asthma? Know anyone with cancer? A person has a TWO IN FIVE CHANCE OF DEVELOPING CANCER DURING HIS/HER LIFETIME!!! Read anything by Rachel Carson, read Sandra Steingraber. Steingraber has done studies on breastmilk. Beings that are highest on the food chain have the highest concentration of whatever everyone below has consumed and it doesn’t get much higher than the infant of a human. Scientists are predicting that lifetime expectancy is going to go down for the generation born after 1990.
As for happiness, know anyone on antidepressants, anti-anxiety pills? I heard that 60% of Americans are on some form of anti-depressant or anti-anxiety drugs. Studies show that Americans are unhappier than some people in third world countries.
The earth is not in danger, only its inhabitants. And the human species may survive, but it won’t be pretty. We are the only species that creates waste that the earth can’t use.
I wonder if any of the people on Easter Island stated that cutting down all the trees to build their statues might be a bad thing and if they were ridiculed for being pessimists or “tree huggers” or communists?
From a fellow UU
May 26th, 2008 at 7:41 am
Hi Annie,
You are so right to ask people to make their own specific contribution to the cause. My interest is ZWP (ZeroWastePackaging), currently on the back burner with the economy struggling. Individual action emboldens other consumers to follow suit.
Your blog has been very educational and my sustainability interest seems to be the way forward.
Regards,
John.
June 19th, 2008 at 1:09 am
There is a speritual solution to this i.e. http://www.rsvk.org
Then again the Speritual solution is for all the problems in the world.
Here one thing I would really like to say is we should approch with “What I want” or “What I would like to do”. The approch should not be “What YOU should not want” or “What YOU should not do”. While the former approch will attract the like minds, the later approch will cause resistance and resentment.
- Prashant
July 5th, 2008 at 12:35 am
trucks for sale in the united states…
As you seem to know what your doing blogging wise, do you know what the best time of the week is to blog and have them read?…
July 11th, 2008 at 9:38 am
Total Hogwash. A distortion of dubious facts. A radical left wing production that has an agenda. And, of course, Americans are the problem. The video states we are only 5% of the worlds population but we consume 30% of the goods and create 30% of the trash . Well that’s because we have more than 30% of the wealth. Duh! It also misleads by saying corporations are bigger than governments, implying that America is ruled by the corporations. Yes Microsoft, IBM, WalMart, and many more evil corporations that make our lives miserable, have more wealth than Cuba, Yemen, and lots of other 3rd world backward countries. See the distortion? It also said we spend more than 50% of our budget on military (not true if you include items like Medicare, social security, etc.) Duh! We were attacked and are at war. Do you think that might be why we are spending a lot on our military right now? What would she have had us do, apologize to the terrorists for existing and prospering? She also said it is governments job to take care of the people. Since when? Where in our constitution is that mentioned? The purpose of the federal government is twofold. To simplify it, their purpose is to mint currency and to defend from attack. Only left wing liberals want to expand the government to “take care of the people”.
If there are people on the planet, then there will be consumption. If we went back to the stone age, as she seems to want us to do, we would still be cutting down trees and killing animals for food and clothing. We don’t exist to serve the planet. The planet exists to serve us. However, we must be stewards of the planet. That means regulation, conservation, recycling and restoration. In other words, responsibility. And we should punish those that are irresponsible with our resources. However that is not what she is advocating. She wants you to throw out the baby with the bath water.
Think! If you owned a lumber business, would you just cut down every tree on your land, or would you cut in a measured annual amount and replant so you have trees to cut again in the future?
This video reminds me of an old saying I learned in accounting class. Figures don’t lie, but liars do figure. Don’t be taken in by this slick misrepresentation. Use your brain and question every word of this brain washing video.
August 4th, 2008 at 6:38 am
Hi Annie,
your animated movie is a great way to educate people, but it contains also some untold facts, which must not be embezzeled:
1. Al Gore’s “inconvenient truth” is not backed scientifically. Therefore, UK court has decided that it cannot be shown as objective educational material.
2. Dioxine is not the most toxic man made substance. It is produced with every normal combustion.
3. Oil as a shortening resource is NOT of fossile origin (a 150 years old, unproven theory) but is originating from chemical reactions inside the earth.
The environmental movement is pushed by the world’s synchronized media channels, because it allows unprecedented ease of exploiting the very “human resource”.
Think about it.
Philip
November 6th, 2008 at 3:08 pm
Black Friday…
Oh, for the good old days when people would stop Christmas shopping when they ran out of money. -Anon
) Happy Holidays!…
November 24th, 2008 at 9:00 am
The following are the primary goals and objectives of the One Biosphere Environmental Forum:
* To identify threats and opportunities to protect and/or enhance the ecology and natural resources of the U.S. and the world at large.
* To explore potential courses of action to resolve our most pressing environmental problems and needs through collaboration among our partners and our Environmental Forum members and facilitating public input, dialogue, and debate through public forums and workshops.
* To conduct research concerning environmental threats and opportunities so members and the public can make informed choices about alternative courses of action to be taken to protect and/or enhance the natural resources of the U.S.
* To seek consensus on and to advocate for appropriate courses of action to achieve a sustainable environment.
It is possible to fulfill our mission by a commitment to understanding environmental issues and sharing information with our partners and members, developing innovative and flexible solutions to bring about the creation of a sustainable environment.
The questions of environmental sustainability are examined in detail at http://www.onebiosphere.com
This Environmental Forum is an educational association intended to promote serious, cordial, and productive discourse on a broad range of environmental policies and practices impacting the U.S. and the earth. The One Biosphere Environmental Forum is the place to discuss environmental issues from climate change to alternative renewable energy sources. For example, we embrace alternative renewable fuels and green solutions to create sustainable communities. Our work on the environment has focused on finding solutions to a broad spectrum of environmental issues as well as the social, and public policy issues affecting the environment in the United States and the global environment.
February 26th, 2009 at 12:14 pm
I watch the movie on Youtube and I got all excited because I want to help! So I checked the website out… So I see that in the menu to our left that there is “Help to Support the Story” while the page was loading, I got excited cause I really wanted to help… and “Help to Support the Story” is no other than a donation page… How is that helping? So I read more about everything, and I saw an option for “Activists” because I wanted to see what I can do… and coincidentally enough you wrote how you DONT want to give “10 steps” on how to help… so I read further down… and all I saw was a bunch of BS. If you were a true activist that was the first thing you would do. You are the one with the idea, you are the one that is telling what is “truely” happening… and the first this i saw in this site is donation… you seem just like the rest, trying to get money… I truely doubt that all the money goes to this project… and plus, what the hell do you need money for? to buy more stuff? isnt that what you are telling us not to do?!
March 29th, 2009 at 11:40 pm
Can you give a negative money amount? This would seem to help the cause to make sure this site doesn’t buy much more stuff.
March 31st, 2009 at 4:55 am
Dear Annie,
I coordinate a special interest group called Green Living, a sub-group of the Malaysian Nature Society, which is the largest and oldest homegrown environmental organization in my country.
We have screened “The Story of Stuff” at private gatherings, open day events, children’s nature camps, schools, community/faith groups, outreach programs and even at one of our committee member’s green wedding (to explain why we did away with the decor, gifts and wedding favors) and the response each time has been overwhelming.
The video has inspired us so much that I have created a “Reduce, Reuse & Rethink” checklist, consisting of 30 actions, for the audience to use as a guideline to living a less consumer-based lifestyle.
Recently, I attended a car-free, zero-waste Earth Hour neighborhood party and we screened ‘The Story of Stuff’ before the lights-out hour. When the credits rolled, the applause was deafening — the 40-odd adults and 30-odd children were not bothered by the fact that it was a video presentation and not a stage performance! Many requested to borrow the DVD later to screen at their offices and social gatherings. I knew the video had an impact on the children when some of them declined prizes (just school supplies — pencils and pens made of compactly rolled recycled paper) for the Eco Hunt we conducted after that. They were just happy to participate and contribute, without expecting a material reward for their efforts.
The video has close to cult status in our organization by now. From the bottom of our hearts, we thank you. Thank you for sharing your wisdom, passion and concern for the environment with the world. You have changed many, many lives.
Best regards with thanks,
CO78
April 1st, 2009 at 1:34 pm
Hi Annie,
I agree with everything here and love the way your video educates people. I can see why you would not like to do a “10 Simple Steps” List. However, maybe you can make something a little more interactive, where you can ask site visitors/users what they are doing to get involved and to change the way they consume/waste/recycle/think/etc. That way, people can post what has worked for them and can share ideas that are creative and that might work for others. Many common ways to change your lifestyle just doesn’t work for everyone, or you might have a unique perspective. Whatever it is, I think it would be helpful for like-minded people to share how they are changing their lifestyles to help conserve our planet. If one person shares an idea, people could comment on that post and expand on it.
Thanks for all that you do!
April 6th, 2009 at 8:07 pm
Inflamatory and based on populist idealism. Makes speculative conclusions and portrays them as factual.
Boycott Annie Leonard
April 14th, 2009 at 9:41 pm
This…
Have you been blogging long? Story of Stuff” Blog Archive ” Why I am not offering “10 simple steps … is a great blog, you have a great writing style too. Found this post last Tuesday and i’ve been reading your blog since. I’ve subscribed to yo…
April 18th, 2009 at 2:24 am
Excellent video, please link the spanish version at home page
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nqrPq_XEpro&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lc12EbjGFMs&feature=related
May 2nd, 2009 at 9:40 am
Thank you for showing me that there are still people that have faith on a drastic change, despite of all the money lords not wanting to make that change. You see..Im a 25 year old girl that lost her faith in Man, I think that money is what makes decisions now a days and for that reason “they” don’t wish for anything to change… so thank you…for showing me the hope for a peoples revolution on those whose the world comes last. On the so called “money lords”. Im so tired of being a lab mouse for money!
July 1st, 2009 at 9:44 pm
I found your blog on google and read a few of your other posts. I just added you to my Google News Reader. Keep up the good work. Look forward to reading more from you in the future.
September 9th, 2009 at 8:27 am
Great site!
September 12th, 2009 at 11:13 pm
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September 22nd, 2009 at 5:58 pm
I have written my school board to see if they are showing this unfactual piece and if so that they either stop showing it OR that they offer an opt out for parents. You should get your facts straight before you try to influence small children’s minds. I challenge you to produced actual facts for the various socialist propaganda your “film” is spewing. America is a wonderful country & you, although you have the right to say it, you do not have the right to go into public schools & preach your lies without parents being aware.