Story of Stuff
“The Story of Stuff” is a project by Annie Leonard. Her web-project talks about the materials economy. It’s a system where people extract, produce, distribute, consume and dispose stuff. People use our planet’s resources to create things then they just throw away and create new ones. And if they keep doing that, after few years people won’t find enough resources to live. She didn’t tell us to stop buying stuff and what we need, but she said there is another way where we can use our planet’s resources and save it for other people.
In extraction, people extract our planet’s resources to make new things. For example, they cut trees for wood, hunt some types of animals to create clothes and other things, and use sea resources. Extraction is important to produce things, but we should use it wisely. Some people don’t know that our planet has limited resources; it means that we should put some limits, we should control it. Otherwise, our children and their children won’t have enough resources to live in the future. And don’t forget about those people who live in forests, they won’t be able to live there. They can make some forests just for extraction; they can cut tress and plant new tress, so they don’t have to destroy our environment.
In production, factories pollute the air and seas to create new things. Factories create many toxins that damage our health; can you imagine that you work in a place like that where there are many toxins? No one would work in a place like that because it damages their health, but why do these workers work in factories? It’s because those workers don’t have any other option. The companies destroy their environment and extract their natural resources and pollute their environment, so they have to work in these places to get money and live. Factories can use renewable energy to make production clean and they should reduce materials use, as possible solutions.
In distribution, some stores only sell cheap stuff; have you ever asked yourself how would this money cover transport fees or shelf space in the stores? That means we don’t pay the real cost, but other people do, by extract their natural resources, pollute the air and water, and increase the rate of cancer and other diseases caused by pollution. Factories produce much stuff but people don’t need all this stuff, so they have to get rid of those extra stuff. “There are many strategies available to improve the environmental and social impact of distribution systems.” (StoryOfStuff,2007) For example: Fair Trade, Community Benefits Agreements, and Green Buildings.
In consumption, people consume more than they should, maybe because of planned obsolescence and perceived obsolescence. Some machines are designed to be broken after few months after people buy it, so they have to replace it with a new machine. For example, computers, they make new computers every year, they just change a small thing in the computer that makes computers faster. And the problem here that they make new shape every version so you can’t just replace that small part of the computer, you have to buy a new computer. And don’t forget, women’s shoe heels too. “While more stuff doesn’t bring happiness, we know what does: family time, health, community, collective action towards shared goals” (StoryOfStuff,2007) and that’s true we don’t spend more time with our family because we waste our time on shopping.
In disposal, we buy a lot of stuff and then we just throw it away, in the garbage. Then what do they do with that stuff? They just make a big hole in the ground and put all those stuff in that landfill, but sometimes they burn the garbage then they dump it in landfill. When they burn the garbage the incinerator releases toxins and super toxins that pollute our environment and there are some companies don’t want to deal with those landfills, they just throw it in the seas or somewhere else to pollute other’s environment. Recycle helps our environment but it’s not enough, some stuff you can’t recycle it, there is another clean way; “Combining Clean Production at the front end with Zero Waste approaches throughout the materials economy transforms wasteful, linear systems of production and disposal to be cyclical” (StoryOfStuff,2007).
In U.A.E, we consume more than what we need. Maybe we consume much water because of U.A.E Growth, "The growth of the UAE has led to increased stress on natural resources, including water," (Is youth falling to consumerism, 2010). Residents in U.A.E consume 525 to 600 liters (pppd) per person per day in 2005, that’s why there are special devices in houses, schools and mosques cut water flow, in that way U.A.E saves more water for the future. Teenagers in the UAE spend much money on useful stuff just to show off. For example: they spend their money on mobile phones, cars, license numbers and other technologies, even if it works fine.
In conclusion, people damage our environment to produce stuff, then they just throw that stuff in the garbage then we need to get rid of this stuff so we have to burn stuff and release super toxins that damage environment. We need to produce stuff so we need to produce stuff in a clean way. In that way, we save our environment’s resources and take what we need from it in same time.
References
Is youth falling to consumerism? | Newzglobe.com. (2011, January 5). Newzglobe.com. Retrieved May 16, 2012, from http://www.newzglobe.com/article/20110501/youth-falling-consumerism
Report Consumption. (n.d.). Report Consumption. Retrieved May 16, 2012, from www.rsb.gov.ae/PDFs/pub108.pdf
Story of Stuff « The Story of Stuff Project. (2007, January 1). The Story of Stuff Project. Retrieved May 16, 2012, from http://www.storyofstuff.org/movies-all/story-of-stuff/
Todorova, V. (2010, January 13). Thousands of Abu Dhabi buildings face cuts in water usage - The National. Latest and breaking news | thenational.ae - The National. Retrieved May 16, 2012, from http://www.thenational.ae/news/uae-news/thousands-of-abu-dhabi-buildings-face-cuts-in-water-usage
Student name: Hussain Mohamed Hasan Ahmed Al Haddad(H00228079)
Section: CID
Words Count: 900
“The Story of Stuff” is a project by Annie Leonard. Her web-project talks about the materials economy. It’s a system where people extract, produce, distribute, consume and dispose stuff. People use our planet’s resources to create things then they just throw away and create new ones. And if they keep doing that, after few years people won’t find enough resources to live. She didn’t tell us to stop buying stuff and what we need, but she said there is another way where we can use our planet’s resources and save it for other people.
In extraction, people extract our planet’s resources to make new things. For example, they cut trees for wood, hunt some types of animals to create clothes and other things, and use sea resources. Extraction is important to produce things, but we should use it wisely. Some people don’t know that our planet has limited resources; it means that we should put some limits, we should control it. Otherwise, our children and their children won’t have enough resources to live in the future. And don’t forget about those people who live in forests, they won’t be able to live there. They can make some forests just for extraction; they can cut tress and plant new tress, so they don’t have to destroy our environment.
In production, factories pollute the air and seas to create new things. Factories create many toxins that damage our health; can you imagine that you work in a place like that where there are many toxins? No one would work in a place like that because it damages their health, but why do these workers work in factories? It’s because those workers don’t have any other option. The companies destroy their environment and extract their natural resources and pollute their environment, so they have to work in these places to get money and live. Factories can use renewable energy to make production clean and they should reduce materials use, as possible solutions.
In distribution, some stores only sell cheap stuff; have you ever asked yourself how would this money cover transport fees or shelf space in the stores? That means we don’t pay the real cost, but other people do, by extract their natural resources, pollute the air and water, and increase the rate of cancer and other diseases caused by pollution. Factories produce much stuff but people don’t need all this stuff, so they have to get rid of those extra stuff. “There are many strategies available to improve the environmental and social impact of distribution systems.” (StoryOfStuff,2007) For example: Fair Trade, Community Benefits Agreements, and Green Buildings.
In consumption, people consume more than they should, maybe because of planned obsolescence and perceived obsolescence. Some machines are designed to be broken after few months after people buy it, so they have to replace it with a new machine. For example, computers, they make new computers every year, they just change a small thing in the computer that makes computers faster. And the problem here that they make new shape every version so you can’t just replace that small part of the computer, you have to buy a new computer. And don’t forget, women’s shoe heels too. “While more stuff doesn’t bring happiness, we know what does: family time, health, community, collective action towards shared goals” (StoryOfStuff,2007) and that’s true we don’t spend more time with our family because we waste our time on shopping.
In disposal, we buy a lot of stuff and then we just throw it away, in the garbage. Then what do they do with that stuff? They just make a big hole in the ground and put all those stuff in that landfill, but sometimes they burn the garbage then they dump it in landfill. When they burn the garbage the incinerator releases toxins and super toxins that pollute our environment and there are some companies don’t want to deal with those landfills, they just throw it in the seas or somewhere else to pollute other’s environment. Recycle helps our environment but it’s not enough, some stuff you can’t recycle it, there is another clean way; “Combining Clean Production at the front end with Zero Waste approaches throughout the materials economy transforms wasteful, linear systems of production and disposal to be cyclical” (StoryOfStuff,2007).
In U.A.E, we consume more than what we need. Maybe we consume much water because of U.A.E Growth, "The growth of the UAE has led to increased stress on natural resources, including water," (Is youth falling to consumerism, 2010). Residents in U.A.E consume 525 to 600 liters (pppd) per person per day in 2005, that’s why there are special devices in houses, schools and mosques cut water flow, in that way U.A.E saves more water for the future. Teenagers in the UAE spend much money on useful stuff just to show off. For example: they spend their money on mobile phones, cars, license numbers and other technologies, even if it works fine.
In conclusion, people damage our environment to produce stuff, then they just throw that stuff in the garbage then we need to get rid of this stuff so we have to burn stuff and release super toxins that damage environment. We need to produce stuff so we need to produce stuff in a clean way. In that way, we save our environment’s resources and take what we need from it in same time.
References
Is youth falling to consumerism? | Newzglobe.com. (2011, January 5). Newzglobe.com. Retrieved May 16, 2012, from http://www.newzglobe.com/article/20110501/youth-falling-consumerism
Report Consumption. (n.d.). Report Consumption. Retrieved May 16, 2012, from www.rsb.gov.ae/PDFs/pub108.pdf
Story of Stuff « The Story of Stuff Project. (2007, January 1). The Story of Stuff Project. Retrieved May 16, 2012, from http://www.storyofstuff.org/movies-all/story-of-stuff/
Todorova, V. (2010, January 13). Thousands of Abu Dhabi buildings face cuts in water usage - The National. Latest and breaking news | thenational.ae - The National. Retrieved May 16, 2012, from http://www.thenational.ae/news/uae-news/thousands-of-abu-dhabi-buildings-face-cuts-in-water-usage
Student name: Hussain Mohamed Hasan Ahmed Al Haddad(H00228079)
Section: CID
Words Count: 900
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