The Story Of Stuff

The Story of Stuff is a great video and a fantastically well narrated tale of how our consumer needs are unsustainable and are not only putting our way of life at risk but are also irreversibly damaging our fragile little Blue Planet. Annie Leonard presence through out the whole video, chatting away in the bottom right hand side keeps the story flowing and not only draws you in to the story but make it feel that much more “REAL” as it’s coming form an actual live person.

From the site:

From its extraction through sale, use and disposal, all the stuff in our lives affects communities at home and abroad, yet most of this is hidden from view. The Story of Stuff is a 20-minute, fast-paced, fact-filled look at the underside of our production and consumption patterns. The Story of Stuff exposes the connections between a huge number of environmental and social issues, and calls us together 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.

I actually heard this story about a month ago at a conference in Ottawa that David Suzuki was giving from his home office in British Columbia through video conferencing. The conference itself was actually about how video-conferencing is a viably green and cost effective alternative to traveling by plane. Dr. Suzuki has actually reduced his flying in half over the last few years by clustering his talks, meetings, and CBC’s the Nature of Things production work. He’s now going one step further by hosting his conferences via VC if he can not justify the need for the flight. This use of Video Conferencing is actually geared to reducing carbon emissions or as some call it reducing your carbon footprint. As David often does while talking about the environment he side tracked into the impact of big box stores on Mother Nature and he brought up the Story of Stuff in his own special science meets spirituality way we have all learned to love and respect while growing up and seeing him on the Nature Things as kids.

Once see the video, take the time to visit David Suzuki’s Nature Challenge, sign up and reduce your carbon footprint on our little Blue Planet.