Click here to visit an interesting web site called The Story of Stuff.
Click play, then sit back and watch a 20-minute engaging, fast-paced, fact-filled look at the underside of our world's production and consumption patterns. The Story of Stuff with Annie Leonard exposes the connections between a huge number of environmental and social issues, and calls us together to create a more sustainable and just world.
Watching this is definitely worth your time. It will teach you something, it will make you laugh, and it just may change the way you look at all the stuff in your life forever.
We watched this a couple of months ago at church. It left us in a bit of a quandary. What do we do with this information? A couple of things we have done
1) Get the ethical shoppers guide and distribute it around. http://www.ethical.org.au/
2) A list of items which people are willing to share: eg chain saws, sewing machines, etc etc.
3) Promote freecycle. http://www.freecycle.org/groups/australia/
Humankind hoodwinked by the god of consumerism in the name of progress. Maybe, just maybe, the Amish’s value of “simplicity and self-denial over comfort, convenience and leisure” is worth emulating 🙂
We are just starting a group at CityLife called “Everyday choices, everday justice” – it will exist to keep people informed on how everday consumer choices affect our global village. So many people would like to make a difference, but don’t know where to start. Every step, every choice makes a difference.
Great to read that you are doing this Nicole. I’m sure that if enough Christians change their ways then lots can be done!
“We used to value stewardship” <-- OUCH!
Anyone know a Church in Melbourne that’s not going down the green (red) path? and will still permit gas guzzling 4WD’s to park in the carpark?
Sorry guy’s, couldn’t resist that dig,
on a more serious note, if this is the new ‘direction/ emphasis’ could we consider other views also??? open minded people please check out this link, thought provoking and ‘scary’
http://resistancethinking.com//index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=398&Itemid=26
ps – don’t get me wrong, I do believe in the pinciple’s of stweardship, fair trade, I do fear however that there is a paradigm shift taking (has taken place)in much of the church where we have embraced idealogies and movements that do not share our worldview and in some instances hurt those we are trying to help. eg. restricions the UN has place on 3rd world countries developing ‘carbon’ based power stations ( ie coal) mean that people in some third world countries have no access to cheap energy and subsequently live without power. GM crops , resistant to disease and with much higher production yields cannot be planted in the third world, again because of UN restrictions, many people starve. The jury is still out on many of these issues, and much of the debate has been clouded by political interest.
Yes, we waste alot , and have much to improve upon, but these issues are complex, please be open to both sides of the argument ( I know I hold a minority view, I just ask for rational, considered thought). This is indeed a battle for the hearts and minds of men.
your lonely right wing nutter,
Mark G
Here’s some stuff that also needs a little exposure.
“The Climate-Industrial Complex”
Some businesses see nothing but profits in the green movement….
By BJORN LOMBORG
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124286145192740987.html
Hi Scott,
I agree it exciting to see Christ followers seek and make informed decisions about stewardship. Too long people have listened to angry, fearful, conspiracy theories instead of engaging in a solution. I think things are changing – and I especially notice it in a younger generation who are refusing to be spoonfed cliches from either of the political sides. It’s fantastic!
Time for Gen X and Gen Y to change all these beliefs, because the Baby Boomers are past it.
I understand the frustration of the younger generations with the ‘establishment’ and all that seems obviously wrong with the world, but some of the most insightful and wise people I know are in their late eighties…
There is also nothing new under the sun, alot of the ‘new’ ideas are actually old whether they have religous or political roots… some good some bad some successful in past implementations, others disastrous… become a student of History…
some one once said to me and I will never forget this it is profound.. dishonour not the aged for one day you too shall be numbered amongst them…
I love the quote (I think it was from Einstein), who said something like we can’t solve today’s problems with yesterdays thinking (which created the problems). So thankyou to our forefathers for profiting at our expense and leaving us with the TAB, and no easy solution to fix it all. Perhaps the external cost mentioned in the video is more what the next generation have to pay to fix the problems created by our ‘wise forefathers’.
Here is an interesting question. If we were to slow down our consumption- then what? Me thinks this is fundamentally a very difficult question!