Watch Video: The Story of Stuff, Synopsis, Extraction, Production, Distribution, Consumption, Disposal

The Story of Stuff
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The Story of Stuff
Synopsis
The story of stuff video discusses how materials in the economy move through five stages that is the extraction of natural resources, production of finished goods, the distribution of the goods, consumption of the products and disposal of waste products respectively (The Story of Bottled Water (2010), 2010). This process is known as the materials economy system, and it insinuates a linear system, which is impossible to run in an infinite planet without limit (The Story of Bottled water 2010). The video discusses how each process in this scheme is reaching its limits, how nations are depleting natural resource bases and polluting the world without regret. It shows how industries emit pollutants into the air, exposing people to dangerous substances. It also discusses how developed countries have depleted their natural resources and gone ahead to exploit those of developing countries. In the end, the narrator urges people to be more conservative with resources and to take necessary measures to ensure sustainable and equitable development. This paper goes through the processes of the materials economy and the limits that each has reached.
Analysis
The video opens the viewer's eyes on how the world is carelessly polluting the environment, how people contribute to the pollution and how the materials economy system is insufficient. It points out how people's day to day consumption leads to accumulation of garbage in the long run and pollution. Also, it advises on ways in which people can intervene to save resources, reduce garbage and change the linearity of the materials economy system to make a nonlinear system that is more relevant in the current world.
Extraction
Extraction is the process of acquiring natural resources. It involves cutting trees, mining, fishing, poaching or any other exploitation of a natural resource. The world is extracting natural resources selfishly, at a rate that does not sustain equitable or sustainable development. "Within the last three decades alone, one-third of the world's' natural resource base has been depleted." (The Story of Bottled Water (2010), 2010). The sustainability of future generations is in jeopardy. Nations are using more than their share of the natural resources.
According to Annie Leonard, "America has only 4% of its natural forests left and 40% of its water supply is undrinkable." (The Story of Bottled Water (2010), 2010). It composes 5% of the world's population, but uses 30% of the worlds' natural resources (The Story of Bottled Water (2010), 2010). Societies have depleted 80% of the worlds' forests (The Story of Bottled Water (2010), 2010). Most developed countries have almost depleted their natural resources and have moved to other nations where the resources are abundant such as in most third world countries.
Production
Production is the process where industries process natural resources into consumable products to sell to consumers. The toxic chemicals used in the process of output, are not tested for health impacts or synergistic health effects when exposed to people (The Story of Bottled Water (2010), 2010). An example of the toxic chem...