The Story of Stuff by Annie Leonard: An Important Story

This is a well-produced 20 minute video. Please watch. It's a very important story!

Saturday, February 27, 2010

Earlier this evening I went to see Annie Leonard give a talk at Orca Books about her new book. It's titled, The Story of Stuff, and it is basically an expansion on the same ideas that are part of a video she did. The video was a tremendous success, having been seen by people in hundreds of countries all around the world. The book also is showing early signs of success. One of the main messages in the video and book is that another way is possible. That is, we as a humanity can do better. We can live in a way that is not destructive. We can live in a way that instead is actually beneficial to all beings. We can live in a way that serves life, i.e. promotes health and ecological stability, etc.... Annie mentioned that she is a strong proponent of legislation that would curtail and counteract pollution and other destructive economic activities... She also talked about going through a program at a leadership institute (Rockwood), and how beneficial that experience was in terms of learning about her communication style, and ability to interact effectively, and be able to meet members of her target audience (which is pretty much everyone) where they are. She also mentioned Free Range studios for the great work they did in helping with her video. You can find more information about the Story of Stuff on the website, here. If you want to buy the book, Annie strongly recommends visiting your locally owned independent bookseller. If you don't have one of those, maybe you can buy it off of the Story of Stuff website.

After that, I wrote three poems titled, "A River," "The Illusion of Solidity," and "Take the Bus."

I also photographed some night scenes around town. There was a lot of activity downtown tonight. People seemed to be quite agitated.

I wonder if we will experience another big earthquake sometime around the upcoming full Moon.

♥☮
Berd

here are those photos (in chronological order):

Carrying Capacity

I was listening to the radio last night. KOWA FM 106.5 on the right hand side of the dial. I just caught a few minutes of the program, someone was talking about consumption and carrying capacity. People in the USA consume resources at an astounding rate - so much so that if everyone in the world consumed at the same rate as people in the US, then there would need to be material resources on the order of what only 4 or 5 more Earth scale planets could provide. According the program, people in the USA use on average about 30 hectares of land to support their annual consumption. Scary to think about. They also said that the USA is no longer the leader in per capita consumption (although the USA still uses much much more than any other nation.) The leaders in per capita consumption are the UAE (United Arab Emirates) and Kuwait. Other nations in the top 10 included Australia, Ireland, New Zealand - and right off the top of my head I can't remember which others. KOWA Radio — Olympia, WA
http://www.kowalp.org/index.php/Main_Page

Do Ecosystems Have Rights?

Why do corporations have rights when living ecosystems do not?

Please watch this very important, interesting, and powerful speech by Mari Margil.

Mari Margil speaks to the 2009 Bioneers conference in the spirit of The Lorax:
Protecting Against Environmental Degradation by Recognizing the Rights of Nature

I am also reminded about another set of important videos that have powerful ideas to share.

The Story of Stuff. And also The Story of Cap and Trade.

There are also a couple other videos in the production queue.

This is really really awesome work by Annie Leonard. Please also take time to see these important videos. http://www.storyofstuff.com/

It's all good food for thought.

Economic Profligacy, and Disparity

Economic Profligacy and Disparity

May We Examine Our Possessions to Try Whether They Contain the Seeds of War

John Woolman quote

Bacevich on Democracy Now

Andrew J. Bacevich appeared on last Friday's edition of Bill Moyers Journal. It was a great interview. He has recently written a book that explores and examines various aspects of US Foreign Policy - especially as it relates to cultural themes of consumerism and the American mentality of entitlement...

Today he appeared on with Amy Goodman on Democracy Now! check it out: The Limits of Power: Andrew Bacevich on the End of American Exceptionalism

Andrew Bacevich is a conservative historian who spent twenty-three years serving in the US Army. He also lost his son in Iraq last year. In a new book titled The Limits of Power: The End of American Exceptionalism, Bacevich argues that although many in this country are paying a heavy price for US domestic and foreign policy decisions, millions of Americans simply continue to shop, spend and satisfy their appetite for cheap oil, credit and the promise of freedom at home. Bacevich writes, “As the American appetite for freedom has grown, so too has our penchant for empire.” [includes rush transcript]

I urge you to check out the interview. It is so timely, relevant and really just important...

"Don't be Evil"

Read about how much electricity it takes to keep the Internet running. Google builds a new plant in an area with promises of access to inexpensive electricity and public investments in necessary infrastructure.

"In 2006 American [Internet] data centers consumed more power than American televisions."

A Harper's Magazine centerfold annotation by Ginger Strand: