A course in creative stewardship designed by Aurora Robson being implemented at Central Piedmont Community College courtesy of Professor Ash Knight and the McColl Center for Visual Art.
Monday, March 24, 2014
"The Story of Stuff"
Students remember to watchThe Story of Stuff,by Annie Leonard. You are required to post discussion/blog comments by Wednesday, March 31. Comments may be posted by clicking "comments" located directly below this blog post.
There are five steps in the Material Economy: 1. Resources 2. Production 3. Distribution 4. Consumption 5. Trash Some notable concerns mentioned in the video are toxins and the lack of material efficiency. Brominated Flame Retardants (BFR) are chemicals used to reduce the combustibility of materials and products. However, they are also neurotoxins, which mean that they harm the brain. Another toxic chemical mentioned is dioxin, which is the most toxic man made chemical. It is released when trash is incinerated. Incineration of garbage is the number one source of dioxin. Finally, the video states that the material economy is so inefficient, that only 1% of the materials used to produce products and the products themselves are kept after being created. I would be much better for the world and its inhabitants if the material economy was modified to use and produce less of these harmful chemicals or use less toxic alternatives in the first place. And improving efficiency is the other main modification that needs to be implemented.
The Story of Stuff reminded me of George Carlin's performance on "stuff" and how we rent storage units to store more and more "stuff." The data that amazed me was that within 6 months of purchase only 1% of the "stuff" remains in use by purchaser. Truly has me questioning my purchases and has eliminated several to date and I am sure will continue to do so.
In the video theirs a part were it presents a simple choice: Either to purchases cheap wants and needs with low quality or buy want and needs with longer and better quality but used with more resources. A personal choice to make. Initially we can save $20 by getting a cheap mp3 so we can stimulate the economy. or we can pay $300 for a better quality ipod because we want things to last, refuse to be so wasteful. So it all comes down to personal sacrifices and opinion on whether what we are willing to do to make the companies make less or just continue on. without a care cause were looking to spend on something that will last longer.
Companies are in business to make money ... Profit vs loss is their bottom line. Consumers are seeking the best price for products, some without realizing cause and effect of their selection. Educating the general public about the benefits of paying more for the same device might be a hard sell. I'm just as guilty ... I have an iPad, laptop and desktop computer, all in the name of convenience.
I feel as Americans.if we don't have the best it a lot of stuff,we feel less than human.people who experience disaster are forced in way to appreciate what's important. we need to realize what materials we obtain does not change who we are as a person.
“The Story of Stuff” informs most people who already know about waste and does not put any effort into creating a better environment. In every couple of months, there is new and improved technology, games, transportation, etc. Therefore people buy more stuff that he or she does not need, thus creating junk that fills up their houses, then people puts the junk outside and creates pollution and harm to the environment but it creates jobs. It is true the more inefficient goods the population buys equal more jobs. On the other side if the factories made efficient lasting goods that lasts longer and was more efficient, then people won’t buy as much, less junk will be at home, but jobs may be lost. In this economy, most of the population is not able to afford efficient lasting consumer goods only the cheap consumer goods. If there was a reasonable cost for these efficient consumer goods that everyone could buy, it will solve most of our problems, but one, how will jobs be made for people who are already unemployed? I know there is a solution somewhere to this question but in many people’s heads is the decision of taking a big change that we don’t really know the real outcome. If the government takes one changing step at a time and not a huge jump, then the government will really know how it will play out in the end.
In the video "The Story of Stuff" i had a chance to have my eyes opened to the real world and not the fanasty world companys want us to live in. I never realized how much stuff we buy and use maybe once or tiwce then striaght to the trash it goes! American consumers are blinded by the next great thing that they don't realize that we are destorying our own world for a few hours or years of entertainment. And i am apart of it but now i feel i need to be apart of the solution to stop this cycle before it is too late and we have nothing left but piles of trash instead of trees or rivers. We all need to show some self control when it come to the urge to buy and spend on items we don't really need. Just because it just came out doesn't mean you need to have it!
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThere are five steps in the Material Economy:
ReplyDelete1. Resources
2. Production
3. Distribution
4. Consumption
5. Trash
Some notable concerns mentioned in the video are toxins and the lack of material efficiency. Brominated Flame Retardants (BFR) are chemicals used to reduce the combustibility of materials and products. However, they are also neurotoxins, which mean that they harm the brain. Another toxic chemical mentioned is dioxin, which is the most toxic man made chemical. It is released when trash is incinerated. Incineration of garbage is the number one source of dioxin. Finally, the video states that the material economy is so inefficient, that only 1% of the materials used to produce products and the products themselves are kept after being created. I would be much better for the world and its inhabitants if the material economy was modified to use and produce less of these harmful chemicals or use less toxic alternatives in the first place. And improving efficiency is the other main modification that needs to be implemented.
The Story of Stuff reminded me of George Carlin's performance on "stuff" and how we rent storage units to store more and more "stuff." The data that amazed me was that within 6 months of purchase only 1% of the "stuff" remains in use by purchaser. Truly has me questioning my purchases and has eliminated several to date and I am sure will continue to do so.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteBpineda0@email.cpcc.edu
ReplyDeleteIn the video theirs a part were it presents a simple choice: Either to purchases cheap wants and needs with low quality or buy want and needs with longer and better quality but used with more resources. A personal choice to make. Initially we can save $20 by getting a cheap mp3 so we can stimulate the economy. or we can pay $300 for a better quality ipod because we want things to last, refuse to be so wasteful. So it all comes down to personal sacrifices and opinion on whether what we are willing to do to make the companies make less or just continue on. without a care cause were looking to spend on something that will last longer.
Companies are in business to make money ... Profit vs loss is their bottom line. Consumers are seeking the best price for products, some without realizing cause and effect of their selection. Educating the general public about the benefits of paying more for the same device might be a hard sell. I'm just as guilty ... I have an iPad, laptop and desktop computer, all in the name of convenience.
DeleteI feel as Americans.if we don't have the best it a lot of stuff,we feel less than human.people who experience disaster are forced in way to appreciate what's important. we need to realize what materials we obtain does not change who we are as a person.
ReplyDelete“The Story of Stuff” informs most people who already know about waste and does not put any effort into creating a better environment. In every couple of months, there is new and improved technology, games, transportation, etc. Therefore people buy more stuff that he or she does not need, thus creating junk that fills up their houses, then people puts the junk outside and creates pollution and harm to the environment but it creates jobs. It is true the more inefficient goods the population buys equal more jobs. On the other side if the factories made efficient lasting goods that lasts longer and was more efficient, then people won’t buy as much, less junk will be at home, but jobs may be lost. In this economy, most of the population is not able to afford efficient lasting consumer goods only the cheap consumer goods. If there was a reasonable cost for these efficient consumer goods that everyone could buy, it will solve most of our problems, but one, how will jobs be made for people who are already unemployed? I know there is a solution somewhere to this question but in many people’s heads is the decision of taking a big change that we don’t really know the real outcome. If the government takes one changing step at a time and not a huge jump, then the government will really know how it will play out in the end.
ReplyDeleteIn the video "The Story of Stuff" i had a chance to have my eyes opened to the real world and not the fanasty world companys want us to live in. I never realized how much stuff we buy and use maybe once or tiwce then striaght to the trash it goes! American consumers are blinded by the next great thing that they don't realize that we are destorying our own world for a few hours or years of entertainment. And i am apart of it but now i feel i need to be apart of the solution to stop this cycle before it is too late and we have nothing left but piles of trash instead of trees or rivers. We all need to show some self control when it come to the urge to buy and spend on items we don't really need. Just because it just came out doesn't mean you need to have it!
ReplyDelete