“We’re living like we have another planet to go to.”
Annie Leonard is the director of The Story of Stuff project. She is the author of the book of the same name, and the creator and host of the Internet film sensation that has been viewed by more than ten million people around the world, communicating the impact of consumerism and materialism on global economies and international health. She has spent more than twenty years investigating the materials economy, working with the Funders Workgroup for Sustainable Production and Consumption, the Global Anti-Incinerator Alliance (GAIA), Greenpeace International, and other organizations, and was one of Time magazine’s Heroes of the Environment in 2008. She resides in the San Francisco Bay area with her daughter. (www.StoryofStuff.org)
The Interview
Did you know that the 5 percent of the world’s population that lives in the United States consumes 30 percent of the world’s resources and creates 30 percent of its waste? I didn’t. Not until The Story of Stuff. I heard about the website for The Story of Stuff in 2008 from a guy in a coffee shop one night as I was working on the proposal for this book. I had no idea what to expect when I finally went to the link. I could not believe it. Who was this dynamic woman sharing all of this valuable information about production, consumption, and sustainability? I was able to connect with Annie through my literary agent, and we spoke on the phone right before Christmas in 2009. Annie is hilarious, passionate, compassionate, and concerned— with very good reason. If you have not seen The Story of Stuff film yet, please set aside twenty minutes and watch it above! It will change your life. Or at least the way you see your stuff.
