Annie Leonard on Mindful Consumption

Here’s a recent article by one of my true heroes, Annie Leonard, on How To Be a More Mindful Consumer.  I met Annie after a talk she gave a few years ago, and congratulated her on the incredible work she’s done in popularizing the ideas in her “Story of Stuff” project – which, believe it or not, just celebrated its 6th birthday.

The seminal video (linked above) has many millions of views on YouTube, and, I’m happy to announce, it’s been shown to millions of kids in schools.  Yes, as a father of two children and a citizen of the world, I think this is a fantastic idea.  Of course, some call it “leftist indoctrination.”  I guess that’s what makes good horse races.

It’s amazing to me how many people grossly misunderstand Ms. Leonard’s position here.  Consumption per se isn’t bad or wrong; in fact, there are many parts of the world that need to consume far more.  There are 1.5 billion people on this planet who don’t have access to clean drinking water; 80% of the world’s population lives on less than $10/day.  Those of us with a conscience want to enable them to consume more.

Yet it’s mindless, unsustainable, exploitative consumption — a concept that is being forced on us at every turn — that is ruining our health, our happiness, and our planet.   4% of the forest that existed in the United States in 1776 exists today.  Due to “planned obsolescence” (things are designed to fall apart) and “perceived obsolescence” (our response to the command that we need new things), Americans produce twice as much waste as we did half a century ago, but we’re far less happy than we were then.  These seem more like facts than they do political opinions.

In any case, if you haven’t already done so, please take a few minutes and check this out.  I think you’ll agree that Ms. Leonard’s a woman of penetrating and profound insight.