"Story of Stuff" Video

Today's topic discussed in class was Aldo Leopold's the "Land Ethic" which covered the crisis between ethics and economics. To go along with the discussion, we viewed a short clip titled, "Story of Stuff." The clip is an excellent "eye-opener" that covers the issues associated with America's consumer culture and the causes of such a transformation in lifestyle. Astonishing facts were presented in the beginning of the video: one-third of our natural resources are depleted, 40% of the waterways are undrinkable, and Americans lay four billion pounds of toxic pollution. Why are these events happening everyday? In a nutshell, the host presented the "linear model" which explains our ongoing big business and consumer cycle and the cause of our current environmental and economic problems. The linear model was shown as follows: the environment - factory and production - shopping centers - houses and communities - waste disposal. The cycle starts with the environment, which is used for extraction with little concern for conservation and protection. Next, the natural resources are sent to factories for production with low-wage workers and terrible working conditions (a majority of the time). After production, goods are sent to shopping centers, which we consumers purchase and collect more "stuff" to take home. After our "stuff" becomes useless, the materials are taken to waste areas for disposal, harming the surrounding environment with dangerous toxins. This type of lifestyle is unhealthy, unsustainable, and scary. So, who's to blame for America's transformation from living within our own needs in a community to purchasing large amounts of "stuff" at local malls? The answer is big business. Even though some say the government is the source of the problem, most people forget who owns the government and who the most influential people in government really are. Corporations dominate the halls in Washington and control almost every decision government makes. We need to push for regulation against these multi-billion dollar corporations, and then transform the government that is fueled by the people and for the people.