Posted: July 25th, 2022

The Story of Stuff

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The Story of Stuff
Leonard’s “The Story of Stuff” is a e book that gives criticisms on the consumerism within the American society that values novelty, accumulation, and low costs rendering it unsustainable. Within the e book, Leonard illustrates how overconsumption has affected human well being, happiness, and the complete planet relating to the obtainable sources and environmental prices. Leonard insists all through the e book that the one option to save the planet is by adopting implies that will allow much less consumption in each sector. Within the introductory half of the e book, Leonard begins together with his childhood expertise of how he witnessed deforestation within the identify of city sprawl (Leonard ix). She additionally describes how she visits Staten Island to check rubbish and waste disposal.
Within the first chapter, “Extraction,” the writer examines the first sources used for extraction, together with rocks, water, and bushes, that are extracted and brought underneath processing that adjustments them to shopper items. The chapter begins with the bushes, whereby Leonard offers that “greater than 7 million hectares a yr or 20,000 hectares (50,000 acres) of forest are misplaced to deforestation every day.” The destruction of forests creates a major downside for the planet’s well being, contemplating they play a major function in creating oxygen and different important points of human existence. As per Leonard, “the associated fee of deforestation is $2 trillion per yr” (Leonard eight). She describes the influence of water shortage and the way water privatization limits entry of individuals to water. On rocks, Leonard focuses on the influence of mining on the setting, human well being, and society by analyzing 4 varieties of mining: petroleum, coltan, diamond and gold, and battle minerals.
The second chapter, “Manufacturing,” examines the manufacturing, which creates merchandise by exampling the extracted elements. Within the chapter, she discusses the artificial chemical compounds and the environmental and well being dangers they’re related to. She focuses on some of the artificial supplies reminiscent of cotton, pesticides, and books, which negatively influence human and wildlife well being. The chapter additionally covers computer systems, reminiscent of PVC, which might be made of plastic polymers that launch carcinogens that type hydrochloric acid. The writer offers that people ought to all the time think about the associated fee and advantages of shopping for new stuff, relating to them as silly stuff. She offers that “The U.S. consumes about 100 billion aluminum cans per yr, about 340 for every of us, or as soon as per day” (Leonard 64). The chapter additionally examines why these issues happen and the state of present laws supplied by the federal government.
Chapter Three, “Distribution,” examines the distribution of merchandise from one place to a different. The chapter offers an outline of globalization, commerce insurance policies, and provide chains which might be necessary in distributing merchandise around the globe. She additionally discusses super-retailers, reminiscent of Amazon.com, H& M, and Walmart, and their enterprise setting. She concludes the chapter by offering a neighborhood various to financial globalization. In chapter 4, “Consumption,” Leonard examines shopper product consumption conduct. As a lot as consumption is crucial for the economic system, the writer is worried about consumerism and overconsumption (Leonard 142). The tradition, particularly in America, creates an enormous concern. As an example, People spend two-thirds of their earnings on product consumption, reminiscent of automobiles and meals, however nonetheless, they’re sad in comparison with different nations that spend much less on consumption. She notes that developed international locations, reminiscent of Germany and Japan, face the identical scenario, whereby the residents wish to devour extra Stuff than obligatory. The chapter offers different methods to stay, together with designing merchandise which might be to get replaced or thrown away.
Within the final chapter of the e book, “Disposal,” Leonard discusses the worth of merchandise and the way their worth depreciates instantly the buyer buys them. Individuals are afraid of reusing merchandise, they usually are inclined to dispose of them as a result of they need new stuff. She additionally discusses the idea of waste administration by highlighting its classes that embody industrial waste, packaging, medical waste, municipal strong waste, building and demolition waste, and digital waste (Leonard 185-206). She offers that recycling has up to now not achieved the wanted effectivity, with the choice being “cut back, reuse, then and solely the recycle” (Leonard 232). Within the epilogue, she offers that societies ought to deal with the standard of life relatively than the amount of stuff by means of the sharing idea. She elaborates 4 themes on the finish of the e book; redefining progress, getting rid of conflict, internalizing externalities, and valuing time over stuff.
The Story of Stuff by Annie Leonard brings help to the treadmill of manufacturing concept in varied methods. The treadmill of manufacturing concept highlights how the search to realize constant financial development ends in superior economies caught on a “treadmill” that, regardless of the financial development, their well-being and the setting are affected. Leonard, in her e book, highlights the treadmill of manufacturing concept with regard to consumerism and overconsumption (Leonard 142). She offers that the idea was fashionable after World Conflict II as most economies had been pushed by consumption, which led to an enormous demand for pure sources and power use on account of new applied sciences. She additionally helps the idea by highlighting how developed economies just like the U.S., Japan, and Germany are caught in a “work-watch-spend” (Leonard 157) treadmill whereby most of their residents work exhausting to accumulate stuff solely to sit down and benefit from the surrounding full of stuff they don’t require. In accordance with Leonard, consumerism, and overconsumption result in unsustainable environmental damages. In accordance with Barbosa’s theories in environmental sociology, each new product turns into extra advanced and more durable to handle, one thing that Leonard tries to carry out all through the e book as she analyzes the tradition of consumerism of the U.S. financial system that produces extra merchandise with out laying intensive measures to handle their environmental and well being influence.
In conclusion, the Story of Stuff by Annie Leonard proves to be important within the understanding of environmental issues. The e book’s construction covers important points and the way they influence the setting, beginning with extraction, manufacturing, distribution, consumption, and disposal of the merchandise. Every side coated per chapter additionally consists of workable options to scale back or remove the environmental influence. As an example, in chapter one of the e book, when discussing the unfavorable influence of mining on the setting and human well being, she means that governments have to give you laws to guard individuals and the setting (Leonard 40). The use of laws is an efficient answer as it is going to Help in decreasing the unfavorable influence of mining on each human well being and the setting, on the similar time permitting extraction to proceed.
Work Cited
Leonard, Annie. The Story of Stuff. Simon & Schuster, 2011.

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