the story of stuff

GreenTeaDisease
GreenTeaDisease Posts: 3,359
edited January 2008 in A Moving Train
http://storyofstuff.com/

this is a very cool little video everyone should watch. even if you live a fairly "green" lifestyle, it is a good reminder. It puts complex environmental and economic problems in very simple language.

think twice before you buy something, throw something away. if your offered a bag at the store, please say no. even small actions can make a difference.
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Comments

  • polaris
    polaris Posts: 3,527
    great video ... my friend sent me this site a few weeks ago - thanks for posting
  • GreenTeaDisease
    GreenTeaDisease Posts: 3,359
    polaris wrote:
    great video ... my friend sent me this site a few weeks ago - thanks for posting

    I really like the story of the little radio. it's a great explanation of externalities for people who don't know much about economics.
  • RolandTD20Kdrummer
    RolandTD20Kdrummer Posts: 13,066
    Yeah, that is a good video.

    A must watch for every man, woman, and child.
    Progress is not made by everyone joining some new fad,
    and reveling in it's loyalty. It's made by forming coalitions
    over specific principles, goals, and policies.

    http://i36.tinypic.com/66j31x.jpg

    (\__/)
    ( o.O)
    (")_(")
  • polaris
    polaris Posts: 3,527
    GreenTeaDisease wrote:
    I really like the story of the little radio. it's a great explanation of externalities for people who don't know much about economics.

    the problem is tho that everyone has been told that consuming is not only good but imperative for survival ... its the model most live by ...
  • Jeanwah
    Jeanwah Posts: 6,363
    polaris wrote:
    the problem is tho that everyone has been told that consuming is not only good but imperative for survival ... its the model most live by ...
    But to consume just for the sake of doing it out of want, rather than need, is where materialism and havoc on the environment takes over.
  • polaris
    polaris Posts: 3,527
    Jeanwah wrote:
    But to consume just for the sake of doing it out of want, rather than need, is where materialism and havoc on the environment takes over.

    abolutely ... couldn't agree more ... the concept of sustainability is never factored in ...
  • GreenTeaDisease
    GreenTeaDisease Posts: 3,359
    polaris wrote:
    abolutely ... couldn't agree more ... the concept of sustainability is never factored in ...

    there are a lot of people out there trying to come up with ways to maximize consumption and sustainability in harmony, but it's a hard problem, and people disagree on moral grounds how much of each should be allowed. the problem is trying to fit these theories into a system that is already established is an uphill battle. I have a graduate degree in this very subject and I don't have a clue where we would even begin. I once got into a fight with a saleswoman at macy's because I didn't want her to put the earrings I bought in a cardboard box! Once people are trained to think one way, it's difficult to switch. But really it's not about completely changing the system, just changing the ideas that go into it, little craddle-to-grave products...there are people making them out there, but more people need to know about them.

    Land use is a BIG thing for me...they mention in the video that the average american house is twice the size as it was in 1970. Obviously if people lived in smaller houses in 1970, they don't need the big ones now. It's out of control. the subdivisions, the auto-centricity of the modern suburb. very sad, imo. I am always proud to walk down my street and know that a lot of people are living comfortably in a very condensed area.
  • _
    _ Posts: 6,657
    polaris wrote:
    the problem is tho that everyone has been told that consuming is not only good but imperative for survival ... its the model most live by ...

    What really kills me is that here in the US, especially since 9/11, we've been told that consumption is not only good, but PATRIOTIC.
  • Jeanwah
    Jeanwah Posts: 6,363
    scb wrote:
    What really kills me is that here in the US, especially since 9/11, we've been told that consumption is not only good, but PATRIOTIC.
    Yeah, it's sickening.
  • GreenTeaDisease
    GreenTeaDisease Posts: 3,359
    scb wrote:
    What really kills me is that here in the US, especially since 9/11, we've been told that consumption is not only good, but PATRIOTIC.

    well consumption is good. it's not a bad thing. to me it's the WAY we consume that's the problem. And the WAY we produce. there are ways to make biodegradable and cradle to grave consumer products- eg if we take wood out of the earth and make something out of it, it can go back into the earth as...well, wood! I forgot the name of it but there's a rug company that makes rugs that can back into the earth as what they came out as. I don't see why we can't do that with almost everything.
  • polaris
    polaris Posts: 3,527
    b
    u
    m
    p
  • Pacomc79
    Pacomc79 Posts: 9,404
    have you guys noticed the new corn product plastic type containers on store shelves?

    It's pretty interesting stuff.
    My Girlfriend said to me..."How many guitars do you need?" and I replied...."How many pairs of shoes do you need?" She got really quiet.
  • GreenTeaDisease
    GreenTeaDisease Posts: 3,359
    Pacomc79 wrote:
    have you guys noticed the new corn product plastic type containers on store shelves?

    It's pretty interesting stuff.

    you can buy "plastic" silverware that's made of corn or sugarcane. completely biodegradable.
  • polaris
    polaris Posts: 3,527
    99% of all stuff bought is in the trash within 6 mths of purchase ...

    an amazing stat!
  • GreenTeaDisease
    GreenTeaDisease Posts: 3,359
    polaris wrote:
    99% of all stuff bought is in the trash within 6 mths of purchase ...

    an amazing stat!

    exactly..."it's never really what you owned but what you threw away" to quote a little bad religion.

    and it's really true when you think about it.
  • leethal
    leethal Posts: 134
    Thanks for that great video!
  • Pacomc79
    Pacomc79 Posts: 9,404
    soylent green is people.
    My Girlfriend said to me..."How many guitars do you need?" and I replied...."How many pairs of shoes do you need?" She got really quiet.
  • polaris
    polaris Posts: 3,527
    GreenTeaDisease wrote:
    exactly..."it's never really what you owned but what you threw away" to quote a little bad religion.

    and it's really true when you think about it.

    what was the other stat? ... there was 70 cans of garbage produced for the 1 can we put out? ...

    anyways - i'm not surprised this thread is not getting much attention ... it touches on what i think is the crux of the problem with many issues ... people don't like feeling guilty ... acknowledgement of their role in this wasteful world would force them to act and no one really wants to do that ... press snooze ...
  • Jeanwah
    Jeanwah Posts: 6,363
    GreenTeaDisease wrote:
    you can buy "plastic" silverware that's made of corn or sugarcane. completely biodegradable.
    Link? I've got to find these...
  • Jeanwah
    Jeanwah Posts: 6,363
    polaris wrote:
    anyways - i'm not surprised this thread is not getting much attention ... it touches on what i think is the crux of the problem with many issues ... people don't like feeling guilty ... acknowledgement of their role in this wasteful world would force them to act and no one really wants to do that ... press snooze ...

    I believe it's because being a consumer is so ingrained in all of us, that actually realizing it and changing this behavior is a LOT to ask for some. Some people can't separate the "consumer" from the "human". If people just realized that things don't make us happy, we'd get somewhere.

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