The Scary Story of Stuff

As Earth Hour takes place this week on March 27th, I thought it fitting to have a post about the environment.

If you’ve frequented a dollar store lately, you may notice the wide assortment of goods that one lil’ dollar can get you. And if you’re like me, you may also wonder how on earth some of these things manage to cost only one dollar. Well there is a story behind the stuff that we buy—a story that many consumers either don’t know about or perhaps choose to ignore.

In case you haven’t seen this yet, you should check out this 20 minute video featuring environmental activist Annie Leonard. She deftly explains the entire cycle of our consumer-driven society from the masterminds who orchestrated our desires to shop, to how raw materials are extracted from the earth, to the factories that make our goods, and finally to how our stuff is disposed of.

While this video focuses on the U.S. I’m sure many of these facts are similar in other industrialized nations.

A Few Interesting (and Scary) Facts from StoryofStuff.com:

• 1/3 of the earth’s natural resources have been depleted in the past 30 years.
• On average, Americans consume double the amount that they did 50 years ago.
• The U.S. has 5% of the world’s population yet uses 30% of the world’s resources.
• B.F.R’s (brominated flame retardants) which are toxic to the brain, are doused over some pillows, just so we don’t catch on fire.
• Human breast milk has the highest number of toxic contaminants – mothers are giving their babies their lifetime’s highest dose of toxic chemicals from their milk. Experts still say that breast is best.
• The U.S. admits to releasing 4 billion lbs. of toxic chemicals/year. This means that the actual amount of pollution released each year is much higher.
• 99% of the stuff consumers buy in North America is trashed within 6 months.

This eye-opening video makes you question your own shopping habits and whether or not you really need this season’s “hottest” fashion accessory or that coveted “new and improved” gadget.

For more information, check out http://www.storyofstuff.com/index.php

Related Post:
Shark Fin Soup for Dummies