The Story of Stuff

1 posted on December 1, 2010

POSTED IN: Blog Posts, Culture, Makes You Think, Videos

I don’t often post videos on my blog that are 20 minutes long. Let’s face it, in today’s fast-paced society, most people are skipping ahead or closing a YouTube video after the first 60 seconds. This video that my brother posted on Facebook however, held my attention to the very end.

Do yourself a favor, skip the 22 minute sitcom you were going to watch on Hulu during your lunch break or later tonight and watch this instead. The illustrations and explanations make it easy to understand, plus, you’ll be able to throw around economic terms like “planned obsolescence” or “externalized costs” at your next party.

(If you found this video interesting be sure to check out the other videos from The Story of Stuff Project)

Here are a few of the statistics they shared in the video that I found most disturbing:

Over the past three decades, one-third of the planet’s natural resources base have been consumed.
In the United States, we have less than 4% of our original forests left.
Forty percent of waterways in the US have become undrinkable
In the U.S., industry admits to releasing over 4 billion pounds of toxic chemicals a year.
The average U.S. person now consumes twice as much as they did 50 years ago.
Each person in the United States makes 4 1/2 pounds of garbage a day. That is twice what we each made thirty years ago.
For every one garbage can of waste you put out on the curb, 70 garbage cans of waste were made upstream to make the junk in that one garbage can you put out on the curb.

Here’s the question I’ve been pondering since watching this video, How do we raise children in this consumeristic society without them jumping on the consumer hamster wheel themselves?

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This entry was posted on Wednesday, December 1st, 2010 at 12:09 pm and is filed under Blog Posts, Culture, Makes You Think, Videos. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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December 1, 2010

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1 JRod said:

While I agree with much of what is stated, it also is a bit overly simplistic. Also, whenever she asks a question, she’ll answer it with a “fact” when in reality it’s an OPINION.
Frankly, the video is propoganda. If they wanted to make their point, why not shoot it on older video equipment? Did it have to be HD? EVERYONE uses the newest and latest and greatest because we think we “need” it. Everyone.
It’s odd to see it promoted here, on a blog, which was more than likely designed with state-of-the-art computer equipment, written by a person who more than likely is up on the clothing trends, and by a person who is probably just as all about the latest trends in technology as the average person, myself included.
Again, I largely agree with what the video has to say, it’s just interesting sometimes…
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December 1, 2010

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2 Neil said:

I’ve seen this in the past, and think it’s an excellent piece and excellent advice. I have to disagree with the previous comment quite a bit. Is this propaganda? If so, who is the sponsor of the propaganda? Who benefits? This appears to me to be an excellent piece someone put together in order to help us think about how we live our life, and the impact it has on others. A far cry from “propaganda” that wants to sell us something. In fact, one might argue that it’s the “anti” propaganda. I also find it interesting that folks so often confuse the difference between “facts” and “opinions”. There is a difference – but I disagree that this video has that line all that confused – perhaps in a couple places they mush the 2 a bit, but largely they seem to understand the difference.

As to the way the message is presented, it’s a sad commentary that to get someone to read what you say or listen to what you say, you must state your case in the medium that folks expect. In another world, it could be more simple. In this world, you have to use the tools that folks listen to.

I wear clothes that are acceptable, I don’t wear old jeans with holes in them to a professional setting, or worn-out shoes when I need to make a good impression. I don’t think this makes me a hypocrite just because I happen to believe in the message of this video. Change is a big machine that needs to move slowly and consistently. We need to believe in these messages, help others to believe in them, and slowly move the world in that direction. Perhaps in another 10 years we’ll seem less hypocritical…
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December 1, 2010

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3 Sarah said:

Despite the fairly blatant skepticism of JRod’s comment, I’d actually have to say that I agree with a lot of what he’s written. I think it can translate into a lot of areas – like how we Christians will spend $5.99 on a plastic fish decal for our car to pronounce to the world that we are, in fact, Christians, when that $5.99 could have fed someone for a day.

I think it boils down to the whole “sinful nature” thing, and how MUCH we need God’s grace. I know that I sure do. I try to not get caught up in this stuff, but I’m typing this on my MAC surrounded by all the “stuff” I’ve accumulated. Yikes.

Unfortutely, our society is set up in such a way that it’s NEAR impossible to get away from it… or at least, very, very difficult. Which is rather depressing, really.

I don’t know the answer to Brad’s question. But I continue to seek God’s guidance. And I’m thankful that He’s bigger than all of this.
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December 2, 2010

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4 Neil said:

Well, I watched this video again to check myself.

I’ve got to say I’m astounded by the other comments here.

Sarah, of course we’re sinful and need G-d’s grace and guidance. We’re in violent agreement. As it relates to the topic of this post, I think this video does a really outstanding job of laying out for us some of the ways that we’re being terrible stewards of His Creation, and it does a good job of helping us see some things we’ve grown blind and callous to.

JRod, I’ve got to say I disagree with you even more after watching this again. While her point of view is apparent in what she says – it is her point of view that she’s articulating in this video after all – she does an outstanding job of laying out actual facts that support her point of view. It’s a sad commentary on our culture that we don’t see this difference, because the media has done a great job of making it seem as though everything is just an opinion. Everything isn’t an opinion. There are facts, and these facts will support one point of view or another.

I think the discomfort comes in when the facts support a point of view that we don’t like – then we start to say “it’s just an opinion”. You might choose to draw another point of view or opinion from the facts, but they’re still the facts. (By the way, I did notice a couple of times when she slid a little into “preaching” her point of view in the “fact” mode, but these instances were a very small minority of the many excellent facts she did lay out.)

I believe that in our culture, we’re fat and happy. We don’t want to face the real facts about the damage that we are causing to G-d’s Creation, and instead want to continue with the status quo as long as we can. People like this gal are ringing a bell, and I think we’re foolish to at least not listen to what she has to say.

Yes, she could have chosen a much less “tech savvy” way to deliver the message. She’s up against a pretty gigantic machine that would like to maintain the status quo – do you think she’ll be very effective if she doesn’t use the best tools available to her?

Thanks, Brad, for putting up a post that’s generating some great discussion!
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December 5, 2010

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5 Brian said:

Before any statistics are presented, the presenter has revealed the basics of her philosophy of stuff. (And we have all been warned that statistics “lie” – that is they can use facts without presenting the truth.) My opinion currently is that there are two basic philosophies of stuff available: The one she starts from, which I shall call the Gaia philosophy of stuff, and the alternative, which I shall prejudicially label as the Veritas philosophy of stuff. The former, in general, sees stuff as the be-all and end all, and reverences it, and puts great stock in ones feelings about it. The latter, in general, sees stuff as only part of the whole picture, and while perhaps respecting it, does not reverence it.
Those of the Gaia philosophy seem to be in constant fear that their object of reverence (stuff) will be destroyed or exhausted, and thus they are quite protective of it. Those of the Veritas philosophy, on the other hand, since they view stuff as only a subordinate component of reality, are, as you would expect, much less anxious about stuff.
People will of course use statistics and facts (not to mention imagery) that seem most convenient to the philosophy they espouse. Since Annie believes stuff will be exhausted (at some unspecified future date), she develops statistics that support that viewpoint. At the outset of her video she asserts “We are running out of resources”. Specifically what does she point to?: trees, mountains, water, and animals. Here are some statistics & facts that someone from the Veritas philosophy might point to:
Trees and animals are renewable resources. While the supply on any given day is finite, there are new supplies daily. If not limited, much of modern farmland needed for food production would become forested. And most animal kinds at least double their population each year (prior to being harvested).
Mountains are not likely to disappear for the foreseeable future. And evidence exists suggesting that some mountains grow, and new ones form. Earth is covered with enough water such that there would be two miles deep if all the land was level.
Obviously both Annie’s argument and this is simplistic, but it illustrates how we develop our arguments to support our philosophy of stuff. What is your philosophy of stuff? If facts can be used to support either of the two, how can you determine what the truth is? Have you met an authority who knows which philosophy is correct without depending on statistics that don’t tell the whole truth?
I have.
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December 6, 2010

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6 Brian said:

The thing is, this philosophy is packaged in with some good content. We see a good argument about consumerism, and if we only see that, when we agree with that, we do not realize that the video has also sold us a bill of goods on this Gaia philosophy. So while we are recognizing that we have been deceived into accepting accelerating consumerism, we are at the same time being deceived into accepting facets of this Gaia philosophy, as described in the previous post. Guard your heart & mind.
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November 2, 2011

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7 ellen said:

The video divides up the materials economy into a system composed of extraction, production, distribution, consumption, and disposal. To articulate the problems in the system, Leonard adds people, the government, and corporations.