The Story of Stuff

Our consumption has significant social and environmental impacts

Tags:  consumption/consumerism, environment, externalities, production, sustainability, waste, 11 to 20 mins
Year:  2008
Length: 20:30
Access:  YouTube

Summary:  Through an animated cartoon, narrator Annie Leonard discusses the story of our stuff through the stages of extraction, production, distribution, consumption, and disposal.  The video includes discussions on the role of corporations and government, limitations to the ecological cycle, externalized costs, globalization, planned obsolescence, advertising, happiness, health, equity, and points of intervention. It offers a variety of statistics to support the relationships it depicts. Additional resources, including other videos and information for sections of this video, can be found on the official website.  When I used this in my social problems class, I also asked students to calculate their ecological footprint before coming to class, and facilitated discussion about their own work and consumption activities as it related to this process, and the sustainability of those activities. 

Submitted By:  Paul Dean

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