The video “The Story of Stuff” was a very interesting one indeed, though I must admit that it makes me feel rather spit. Let me begin by saying: kudos to Annie Leonard for her research about the negative sides of consumption. I really do believe that we need to change the way we treat our planet and its resources. Throwing used products in a big pile when you can save large amounts of energy by recycling is just plainly stupid in my honest opinion.
But, while she seems to be very open minded and wise when it comes to “green thinking”, I can not deny that she appears to be kind of narrow minded in other fields and as a result is quite one sided in her analysis. Yes, not a lot of people are farmers anymore (in the west that is) which seems to bother Annie. Yes, we do consume a lot in this material world of ours. But how has this immense technical progress over the last fifty years affected our life and its quality? We no longer have to work twelve hours a day seven days a week, we can save people from death if there is but the smallest shiver of life in them, the infant mortality rate is incredibly low, we can communicate instantly with people around the globe and travel there if need be. Hey, we even landed on the moon! Annie somehow makes is sound bad that micro processors are getting smaller and faster by the minute. In my opinion micro processors are the pinnacle of human invention (so far). They make it possible for us to integrate advanced technology in everyday objects, making all parts of our lives ever more efficient and enjoyable.
It is easy to blame “big fat factory owners” and “bad politicians” for pollution and unhappiness, but who are these people? That “greedy owner” might be your relative or your neighbour. Got some money in the bank? Saving for your pension maybe? Chances are those savings are invested in company shares in one way or another. In other words, even if you are not happy with the way things are you are probably “part of the problem”. To sum things up, I do agree with Annie to some extent but I do think she need to remember where we would be without the technologies she seems to somewhat despise. That is right, we would all probably be working five to nine on the fields. No computers or microwaves. No hope for ever treating cancer or AIDS. No electricity without our wonderful nuclear power plants. No cars, no moon, no mars! And hey, not even our own blogs where we can post fancy videos about the environment ;-)
/Kristoffer
But, while she seems to be very open minded and wise when it comes to “green thinking”, I can not deny that she appears to be kind of narrow minded in other fields and as a result is quite one sided in her analysis. Yes, not a lot of people are farmers anymore (in the west that is) which seems to bother Annie. Yes, we do consume a lot in this material world of ours. But how has this immense technical progress over the last fifty years affected our life and its quality? We no longer have to work twelve hours a day seven days a week, we can save people from death if there is but the smallest shiver of life in them, the infant mortality rate is incredibly low, we can communicate instantly with people around the globe and travel there if need be. Hey, we even landed on the moon! Annie somehow makes is sound bad that micro processors are getting smaller and faster by the minute. In my opinion micro processors are the pinnacle of human invention (so far). They make it possible for us to integrate advanced technology in everyday objects, making all parts of our lives ever more efficient and enjoyable.
It is easy to blame “big fat factory owners” and “bad politicians” for pollution and unhappiness, but who are these people? That “greedy owner” might be your relative or your neighbour. Got some money in the bank? Saving for your pension maybe? Chances are those savings are invested in company shares in one way or another. In other words, even if you are not happy with the way things are you are probably “part of the problem”. To sum things up, I do agree with Annie to some extent but I do think she need to remember where we would be without the technologies she seems to somewhat despise. That is right, we would all probably be working five to nine on the fields. No computers or microwaves. No hope for ever treating cancer or AIDS. No electricity without our wonderful nuclear power plants. No cars, no moon, no mars! And hey, not even our own blogs where we can post fancy videos about the environment ;-)
/Kristoffer
You make very interesting points in this entry Kristoffer, and I definetely agree with a lot of what you've written. Annie takes the matter quite far, and it is easy to be sceptical to some of her points for all of the reasons you mention. But we can all agree on that treating the planet a little better by recycling and so on definitely wouldn't hurt. And Annies do have a point in how we all need to come together in this in order for real change to happen.
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