This past September, news of the economic crisis dominated the headlines. At the exact same time another debt crisis was intensifying, yet was barely noticed.
Earth Overshoot Day, also known as Ecological Debt Day, was September 23.This is the day in 2008 by which humanity had used all the resources that the planet will generate this year. As viewers of The Story of Stuff already know, we currently consume 1.4 planets’ worth of global resources each year. From September 23rd on, we’re eating into the natural capital, undermining its ability to produce for the future. We’re consuming on credit and accumulating ecological debt that we have no way to repay.
Ecology and economics share a common root: the Greek word oikos, meaning “home.” Economics and ecology both are about managing our home. In our current situation, we have messed up both. Continue reading here.
We’re obsessive over economic indicators. We track indicators hourly, panic at the slightest decline, invest billions when it is shaky. Yet, we have a huge collective blind spot to the other ecological management, even though it’s a bigger problem, both in terms of survival and even in terms of finances. There is a growing call coming from all over the world, to integrate our understanding of the economic and ecological crises and to ensure that a solution to one is a solution to both.
Crisis and opportunity are often referred to as two sides of the same coin. That is definitely true here. The current economic crisis provides us a much needed opportunity to re-evaluate the priorities of our economy, to develop new metrics for measuring real progress, for reducing superfluous consumption while increasing economic equity and ensuring the integrity of the ecological systems on which life depends.
My friend Rita always says “If you keep doing what you’re doing, you’ll keep getting what you’re getting.” Clearly, what we’re doing isn’t working. As David Korten, author of The Great Turning: From Empire to Earth, suggests, it’s time to try something new.
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November 20th, 2008 at 11:36 pm
great article by David Korten, but the question is.. will we have the kahonas to do it? (excuse the vulgarity, but it’s pretty much where we’re at right now, a time of great choice)
November 22nd, 2008 at 3:40 pm
Annie, I just watched your video. Congrats. I can imagine it took quite a bit of work. The video i.m.o. is a great introduction to the problem of consumerism for younger audiences. For more mature audiences, however, I believe it should include the flip side of some facts. For example: happiness in the 50’s; what about the 50’s mortality rates from infections or other conditions currently easily treatable? (Dead people can’t participate in happiness surveys). It was the baby booming period, and babies bring happiness; now, can we nowadays merrily keep the same population growth? Slave labor in third-world countries: ideally, nobody would work for a few dollars per day; yet, is the real option for many people to “work for a few dollars” vs. “work for decent pay,” OR is the real option “work for a few dollars/under hazardous conditions” vs “starve to death”?
Re: your references/bibliography. I’ve checked the annotated version of your video at http://www.storyofstuff.com/pdfs/annie_leonard_footnoted_script.pdf. I’m surprised that I failed to find Jared Diamond’s “Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed” (or, have I missed it?). The book is a very detailed account on Diamond’s three-decade research on how both ancient and modern societies have perished (or are on their way to self-destruction) by destroying their natural resources. Diamond starts the book by referring to a place in Montana—the Bitterroot Valley—of which he has fond memories, similar to what you describe about a (formerly more pristine) Seattle. He ends the book with valuable “Practical lessons.”
Keep up the good work
November 24th, 2008 at 3:16 pm
Annie,
Thanks for referring us to David Korten’s latest piece. It is an excellent article and I really liked the part about measuring real progress.
However, there is one step I believe David overlooks that I feel is absolutely critical to create a sustainable economic system. We need to adopt THE GREEN TAX SHIFT and something called Earthrights Democracy. The idea of the Green Tax Shift is simple enough: Tax Waste, Not Work.
Why punish people with taxes for working when we should be providing incentives for not polluting, for not digging up limited natural resources, and for not taking up too much space.
Very importantly, if you and I and all of our green friends conserve on, say, gasoline, then the demand goes down along with the price and, then, our gas hog drivers burn gas like crazy. We are not making any progress with individual conservation efforts (not that we shouldn’t try). But we have to fix the price system by doing one thing: Tax Waste, Not Work.
Also, by not taxing work we will stimulate the economy — but by taxing waste — stimulate it into the right (Green) direction. This should be basic economics 101 but many people don’t understand it.
If possible, could you help us get out the word on Taxing waste, Not Work. We would like everyone to write his or her Congressional Representatives on this.
Thanks!
GeoArk
Tax Waste, Not Work Campaign
November 24th, 2008 at 6:38 pm
I LOVE YOUR SHOW! It really speaks to people about this stuff.
November 25th, 2008 at 1:05 pm
Annie, I have worked very closely with Doug Hammond, the new ED for BALLE over the last ten years or so and I wanted to pass along a couple of blog posts I’ve written for you to see.
http://www.pvlocalfirst.org/blogs/home-sweet-home-292.html
and
http://www.pvlocalfirst.org/blogs/please-get-involved-238.html
also, could I re-publish one of your blogs on the site? the one where you discuss “oikos?”
Sincerely,
Dan
413-364-7266
November 25th, 2008 at 1:18 pm
HI Story of Stuff team,
I am Really interested in what your team has done so far, I being an environment lover,would love to actively participate in your program and be a part of your team, please contact me on my mail id and i will be willing to lend a helping hand and be a part of your team.
Vishwas Prasad.
November 25th, 2008 at 5:36 pm
I bought 5 DVDs for Christmas gifts this year. And this will article will go with it! Friends of mine have been copying the address to show their schools…
THANK YOU for a great job.
Ingrid from Australia.
November 27th, 2008 at 2:11 pm
Dear Annie, don’t despair there is one way to help the earth and ourselves and if you’re ready you’ll take this information within you and is going to change your live forever, I know I was not the same after I read
http://www.lightpulsations.com/
November 27th, 2008 at 3:10 pm
How can we join the voices?
How can we spread on our site for the great job you?
Thanks, Kleber Fileno
November 30th, 2008 at 7:07 pm
Dear Annie,
I’ve been impressed by your work, thanks a lot. I work in the same direction
I am a musician who lives in Madrid, Spain.
Could be possible to show Story of Stuff in my next production?? I’m composing a piece called “the dreamer” and I’d love to include your work in mine to spread the message here in Europe.
I hope from heart your answer.
Love,
Hector
April 10th, 2009 at 10:04 am
Dear Annie
I loved your work simply amazing.
I am a member of the zeitgeist movement and the venus project.The goal of our movement is to address the true foundational causes that are generating the economic/ecological/ethical problems we see in the world today. In turn, we wish to reorient society itself in a way that not only overcomes the problems, but rather the problems will have no basis to begin with.
Check out our website and let us all make a difference
Peace
Mazen
May 8th, 2009 at 9:59 am
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May 12th, 2009 at 4:17 pm
I think that the point he makes about Measuring What We Really Want is so important. It is easy to get distracted when so many numbers and indicators are placed in front of us. These indicators are so tied to our collective perception of the situation – but they are the wrong indicators. True social metrics would involve general welfare factors, quality of life, education, health, enrichment…
May 15th, 2009 at 8:16 am
If only greed and selfishness don’t reign in human existence, the world economy won’t be suffering this much.
I like your site, by the way. Good work!
August 5th, 2009 at 12:21 pm
Thanks for sharing. The slogan on the one waffle is killing me.
August 20th, 2009 at 10:53 am
Их наступление можно…
Их наступление можно предугадать по след&#…
August 21st, 2009 at 1:44 pm
Этот вопрос эквивалентен…
Этот вопрос эквивалентен Вопросу 12, но на н
…
August 27th, 2009 at 8:41 pm
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August 29th, 2009 at 11:52 am
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August 31st, 2009 at 9:32 pm
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September 1st, 2009 at 10:40 am
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September 17th, 2009 at 8:51 am
1. I think it’s time for all humankind to be conscious about reality. It’s not possible to go on with this irrational level of industrialization.
Humankind MUST STOP making so many frivolous and unnecessary luxurious products, all dispensable in this necrotic system of ilimited consumption. Our very toxic and contaminating garbage is growing in exponential degree, as well as human population does. Neverending contamination…!!!
Natural resources will soon be exhausted, so the logical reaction SHOULD BE to walk back the same way that brought us all up to this irrational point of neverending consumption.
DECREASE IS the ONLY LOGICAL ALTERNATIVE that IS LEFT in this PATHETIC REALITY that INVOLVES US ALL.
Industrialization has to DIMINISH to the minimun necessary and vital level.
It’s needed a radical change in all levels of Education to provide the technical, mechanical, manual knowledge to go back to our grandparents’ times or to the style of the Amish people, in order to prepare our children to be able to get their own daily sustenance from mother earth, taking care of it naturally and without agrotoxical and chemical industrialized products. Familiar or community farms, with agricultural cooperatives in small communities should be encouraged to be done elsewhere for the self-sufficiency of goods and supplies. Recycling, restoration, recovering, reparing activities with manual and handicraft labours should be the alternative jobs in the near future for our children, activities of minimum fossil fuels requiry.
Please, do all what is possible for you to encourage the whole World to STOP PRODUCING cars, electronical supplies incompatible that forces to buy new ones instead, luxurious materials, etc.etc.etc. Industrialization should be diminished to its minimun necessary level!!!!! Instead, it has to be produced all types of spare parts to recycle, restore, repare, recover, etc., all types of manual and mechanical elements for all jobs and labours of minimum fossil fuels requiry.
WE HAVE TO TAKE CARE OF THE LITTLE NATURAL RESOURCES THAT ARE STILL LEFT…
NO other alternative energy will be able to sustaine this irrational level of neverending consumption. It’s not enough to go on studying on other alternative energies in this irrational and neverending necrotic system of insatiable industrialization.
We are all destroying our unique Planet, we are destroying LIFE elsewhere, contaminating water, air, soil, and intoxicating PEOPLE with MINING and AGRIBUSINESS activities. Latinamerican people, the poor people in this part of the Third World or of this Latinamerican Developing Countries are suffering since ever in many ways because of desemployment, intoxication, contamination, physical attacks to push them out of their ancestral lands and left them excluded in poorer areas. All of our communities in Argentina are suffering the consequences of contamination of our soil, air, water natural resources with mining and agribusiness activities of multinational monopolies. The Economic Power of the First World is taking out all our natural resources and destroying our ecosystems, killing LIFE in the vulnerable biodiversity, contaminating our water natural resources, our soil, intoxicating our people, etc.etc.etc.
GREED, SELFISHNESS, LIES, HYPOCRISY, are the values and principles sustained by people of economic power in the First World since ever.
This is the only truth that explains everything pretty much.
If nobody wants to see or understand this… it’s simply because they feel the same and share with them the same purposes: to earn more and more and more and more MONEY, PROPERTIES, etc.etc.etc.
We need to multiplicate our voices exponentially, we need to be more and more and more people all around the World to feel the same anguish, distress, in order TO CHANGE THIS SUICIDAL WAY STRAIGHT TO AN ABYSS WITHOUT RETURN…
Please, you have to visit this other two web sites for more information given by suitable professionals of all around the world.
http://www.crisisenergetica.org/
http://www.chrismartenson.com/crashcourse/
WE HAVE TO CHANGE THIS SUICIDAL WAY STRAIGHT TO AN ABYSS WITHOUT RETURN…!!!
September 22nd, 2009 at 5:28 pm
What the hell is going on!!!! STOP Indoctrinating our Kids with this video. It is teaching them to hate our military and capitalism. STOP showing this video at schools!
September 22nd, 2009 at 5:29 pm
STOP Indoctrinating our Kids with this video. It is teaching them to hate our military and capitalism. STOP showing this video at schools!
September 22nd, 2009 at 11:41 pm
You are disgusting and although it is unlikely you will post this I want you to know I will so try to reach the children before you overwhelm them with your lies and guilt trips. I hope you don’t drive, ride the bus, shop, whatch TV, buy new clothes, use the internet:) or eat what you don’t grow. Your breath alone is a pollutant – check out chick. You have no clue how life really works.
September 23rd, 2009 at 12:18 am
So glad my child attends a non government school so he is not subject to this propoganda.
September 23rd, 2009 at 10:23 am
Was this produced by TIDES? This is pure communism. Congrats on producing a video thats’ only purpose is to undermine all the principles that this country was founded on. You do know that there are many patriotic Americans that will oppose its viewing in public schools. We will also fight to protect capitalism and Jeffersonian democracy from subversives like yourselves. I realize patriotism is uncool now, but we will not go quietly. Thank you
September 23rd, 2009 at 2:31 pm
Dumb & stupid stuff . . . .
September 24th, 2009 at 9:21 am
I know you must have a good heart in trying to accompolish your goals but I think you are incorrect in communicating that in this video. I totally disagree that the government should take care of us. Where there is big goverment,there is big taxes that go along with that. The government does not know what is best for me and my family nor my neighbors and their families. The government has a place in our lives but not 100%. Also, some of the quotes you say George Bush made are incorrect and the flame retardant on pillows came as a mandate from government. Please make sure you are correct in what you put out there for our children…not just to get your issues out there! Thanks
September 24th, 2009 at 11:21 am
Spare me the theatrics and the anti-U.S.A. sentiments, Anne. After viewing this my son who is now 23 and is a former victim of public education emailed me and said: “Mom, now I understand why you wanted us to go to a private school!”
This is garbage and needs to go to “Disposal.”
September 24th, 2009 at 12:47 pm
I watched this video and am amazed at how easily people can be mislead. I agree with basic premise that we should be good stewards of our environment but to point at corporations and say they are at fault alone is shallow. Interesting that you are using the internet to push this propaganda as it is one of the main contributors to “toxic” stuff (you know all those silicon chips that came from stripping the planet). By the way Corporations are people, do you not have stock? What if we had not used resources? You wouldn’t be making the video and buying all the STUFF you are now wearing, riding in, living in,etc. You are selling propaganda with no firm substantiation.
September 24th, 2009 at 5:12 pm
I saw part of the Video, Story of Stuff. It’s garbage. The U.S. Steals from 3rd world nations, your out of your mind. No, we can buy most of the worlds stuff because Free enterprise, capitalism and Democracy have made us great and rich. We Buy IT. My Children’s school system does not show your garbage and they won’t start. You folks are sick.
Have a good life.
October 20th, 2009 at 5:33 pm
Thanks!!! Nice post!
November 25th, 2009 at 7:59 pm
I’m glad Elena brought up Jared Diamond’s “Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed”
The way I see it, in order to conserve resources we have to find ways to do more with what we have. One way to do that is to be more efficient, efficiency is largely dictated by technology. The other aspect is being more effective, or, in other words, having a better understanding of what we want and the communities we want to live in. I think sharing resources is one way to be more effective.
December 2nd, 2009 at 10:56 pm
Renton de Alwis Says: Your comment is awaiting moderation.
December 2nd, 2009 at 10:40 pm
Ayubowan! from Sri Lanka
By the way Ayubowan our greeting in Sri Lanka means ‘may all living beings on earth have longlife’;not just you or me…
I am a Buddhist .. and the Bhuddist way of life has it that we be not driven by greed but work on shunning it. But the dominant western based culture that gave us the consumerist models, have it that ‘greed is good’ and having choice within the free price driven economy (market) is the ideal system. The majority of the world had beleived this for centuries and continues to beleive it. Climate change and global warming are the outcomes of this failed belief system.
Cap and trade as I call it is the ‘Pin-Puw’ scheme meaning ‘Merit-Sin’. This is the latest gimmick of the ’sunshine industries’ and you have got it spot on in the movie ‘Cap & Trade’. What Cap and trade is to me is;’You do good and aquire merit, I buy that merit off you for money to sin with it’. What a satanic innovation by those who made the mess in the first place..
It is time that the west looked at Buddhist economics… Mahatma Gandhi’s saying ‘ there is enough on this earth to meet every one’s needs, but not everyones greed’. Thai king has articulated this Bhuddhist thinking as ‘Sufficiency Economics’
We need new thinking, innovative ways and most of all selfless and greedless schemes that are designed to save the world, not schemes that are designed to make money for those who claim to save the world.
More strength to fresh approches and a new paradigm..
From the Indian Ocean island nation of Sri Lanka
Renton de Alwis
February 24th, 2010 at 12:42 am
Good Movie!
PS- Muslims are NOT terrorists. That’s just something President Bush made up so that he could wage war on us and so that Americans wouldn’t have to take the blame for 9/11. Spread this message and god (Allah) will bless you forever.
And I mean it!