The Story of Stuff

I'm going to admit it. I've never been a tree hugger. I'm not going to sit here and pretend to be an environmentalist. When I read the book Jurassic Park for the first time as a teenager, the one thing that resonated with me was a monologue from chaos theorist Ian Malcolm which was rooted in the idea that the human race is what needs saving and not the planet, per se. To think that we could destroy this massive orb by way of our collective idiocy with regards to consumption of natural resources is the height of arrogance in Dr. Malcolm's brilliant assessment. Maybe it resonated with me because I've always been a bit of a contrarian, and finally here was something that spoke to what I believed in.

I haven't gone green, and I couldn't tell you about the scope of my carbon footprint. I leave shit turned on all the time (my laptop, for instance). I don't use the right kind of lightbulb. I do my best to recycle, but I sometimes forget to separate the aluminum cans from the pizza boxes and newspapers. Not to say I'm some SUV driving neanderthal who thinks Al Gore is a commie for having a passion and a cause. While I thought An Inconvenient Truth was a good film, it's not saying much different than what he said almost a generation ago when he wrote Earth in the Balance. Some people think they've stumbled onto something new and innovative but never realize that this has been Al Gore's rallying cry for the majority of his career. Whatever.

Having said all this, every now and then, something comes along and serves as an eye-opener; something that is well thought out and executed to the point where you have no choice but to stamp it with the label of "brilliant". The Story of Stuff is one such eye-opener. It's a great web-based interactive short that demonstrates just how absurd our mass consumption has become. For anyone who has any doubt as to whether we're clogging up this planet to our own detriment, this short film is definitely thought provoking. It may be the most important 20 minutes you'll spend online this year, or, at the very least, the most informative. Bravo to the creators of this work. I'm sold.