The Story of Stuff

As I sat amidst a pile of presents waiting to be wrapped yesterday I slid into a spell of sadness over the amount of "stuff" that gets accumulated at Christmas.

Sure we'll recycle our wrapping and I love to give gifts to my family and friends but I always have a twinge of discomfort at the wastefulness of it all. Annie Leonard has made a movie called The Story of Stuff that looks at the impact our accumulation and disposal lifestyle has on our world.

Here's a clip from her media page: The Story of Stuff is a 20-minute, fast-paced, fact-filled look at the underside of our production and consumption patterns, with a special focus on the United States. All the stuff in our lives, beginning from the extraction of the resources to make it, through its production, sale, use and disposal, affects communities at home and abroad, yet most of this is hidden from view. The Story of Stuff exposes the connections between a huge number of environmental and social issues and calls for all of us to create a more sustainable and just world. It'll teach you something. It'll make you laugh, and it just may change the way you look at all the stuff in your life forever...

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