The Story of Stuff by Annie Leonard

"The Story Of Stuff: How Our Obsession With Stuff Is Trashing The Planet, Our Communities, And Our Health - And A Vision For Change" by Annie Leonard, host of the Internet film sensation "The Story of Stuff" is an extremely well researched and eye-opening book about our lifestyles and obsessions with material products and the impact on all our "stuff" has on our world. Even if you don't agree with Leonard, I don't know how you won't look at certain things differently after reading this book. I was aware of some of what Leonard wrote about, but much of the information she presents was more than I realized was going on. I really shook my head at times.

The book is divided into five main parts or chapters. Essentially, the author follows the life cycle of "stuff." The chapter are: Extraction, Production, Distribution, Consumption, and Disposal. In these chapters you learn what it takes to get the ingredients to make all the stuff we purchase. You learn how those ingredients are then used and turned into the stuff we buy. Then you'll find out the skinny on the supply chains that get the stuff to the stores where you shop. And shop we do, the chapter on consumption, or should it be over consumption, not only discusses the sanctity of shopping, but tricks of those selling us things such as planned obsolescence and what advertising has become. Finally, disposal of all the stuff we decide we no longer need or want is discussed. Again, the information Leonard presents in this book is eye-opening and disturbing.

I'm not suggesting you quit buying things, and neither is Leonard. However, she does suggest some solutions for the problems she outlines and exposes in her text. The Epilogue and Appendix contain hope and actions people can take to help lesson environmental health impacts on our families and workers and to reduce our ecological footprint a bit.