This is part of the description of this short film which was released last December, from the website -
"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.
According to the film, consumer mania may have been born from the post World War II era, but economic manipulation has driven consumerism to where it is today. From the limited life cycle of personal computers to changes in footwear fashion, Leonard demonstrates that products are either designed to be regularly replaced or to convince consumers that their stuff needs to be upgraded. This notion of planned and perceived obsolescence drives the machine of American consumerism year round."
Here's an interesting factoid that gives some idea of the scope of just one piece of the "consume at any cost" mentality...
In 2001 - in parts of the Pacific Ocean there were 6 pounds of plastic debris for each pound of zooplankton. Fish, birds and eventually humans will end up consuming that plastic and suffering the health consequences as it moves up the food chain. That information comes from this video -
This is a more recent article from the San Francisco Chronicle - Continent-size toxic stew of plastic trash fouling swath of Pacific Ocean
Probably a good time to stop using plastic water bottles, plastic grocery bags and buying other throw-away plastic junk - and certainly for recycling any plastic articles we can.
