Annie Leonard narrates her personal 10-year journey to understanding the materials economy. She explains it as a linear system composed of extraction, production, distribution, consumption, and disposal.
What are the five steps of the materials economy?
The five steps of the materials economy are extraction, production, and distribution. Annie Leonard says our system is in crisis because it’s a linear system and she further goes on to say that the system can’t run indefinitely because ‘stuff’ is missing and causing toxins, which hurt people.
What are the components of materials economy?
The video divides up the materials economy into a system composed of extraction, production, distribution, consumption, and disposal.
Who are people in the materials economy?
Peopleare employed in every stage of the materials economy. The system employs billions of people, from the extraction of raw materials from the ground, to retailers, who are trying to sell us an endless variety of products.
Is the materials economy sustainable?
This elementary way of describing the Materials Economy, reveals a simple but important flaw with the system. We live on a planet that has finite resources and those resources that are not renewable, will eventually run out. The linear system called the ‘Materials Economy’, is unsustainable.
What does the materials economy consist of?
Materials Economy is a system that consists of 5 levels, that of Extraction, Production, Distribution, Consumption, and Disposal. According to Annie Leonard in her book The Story of Stuff, this type of linear system cannot sustain itself in a finite planet such as ours.
What are five main points about The Story of Stuff?
The story of stuff is a documentary that examines the materials economy, or modern manufacturing ecosystem. It uses a systems thinking approach to examine this complex system. The film is divided into five segments: extraction, production, distribution, consumption and disposal.
Why do we need material economy?
It helps to improve the environment, by reducing the amount of resources that the economy requires and diminishing the associated environmental impacts, and sustain economic growth by securing adequate supplies of materials and improving competitiveness.
What does The Story of Stuff teach us?
About this film The Story of Stuff exposes the connections between a huge number of environmental and social issues, and calls us together to create a more sustainable and just world. It'll teach you something, it'll make you laugh, and it just may change the way you look at all the stuff in your life forever.
What is linear material economics?
A linear economy traditionally follows the “take-make-dispose” step-by-step plan. This means that raw materials are collected, then transformed into products that are used until they are finally discarded as waste. Value is created in this economic system by producing and selling as many products as possible.
What is extraction in The Story of Stuff?
Extraction: Extraction is a fancy name to say natural resources exploitation, and at the same time for trashing the planet. The planet is running out of resources because people are using too much stuff.
What are the 5 stages of material economy?
The materials economy The system runs through five phases: Extraction – Production – Distribution – Consumption – Disposal . It is a system which is in some serious trouble because it relies on resources which are not renewable and which will eventually run out.
What are the 4 main concepts of circular economy?
This means designing for durability, reuse, remanufacturing, and recycling to keep products, components, and materials circulating in the economy.
What is material and economic self?
Defining the Material and Economic Self The material and economic self refers to the tangible objects, people or places that carry the designation of my or mine.
What is the golden arrow of consumption?
The Golden Arrow of Consumption is where President Bush told the people to spend as much as possible to keep the economy from going into a recession. Instead of finding a better and long term solution they went with the easy route.
Is the story of stuff biased?
In my opinion, The Story of Stuff seemed to be to be too biased – ignoring some issues or misrepresenting others. While I think it would be great to have “a system that doesn't waste resources or people…
How much of our natural resources have been trashed?
“In the past three decades alone one-third of the planet's natural resources base have been consumed.
Is the story of stuff biased?
In my opinion, The Story of Stuff seemed to be to be too biased – ignoring some issues or misrepresenting others. While I think it would be great to have “a system that doesn't waste resources or people…
What is a major problem with the linear system of stuff?
This elementary way of describing the Materials Economy, reveals a simple but important flaw with the system. We live on a planet that has finite resources and those resources that are not renewable, will eventually run out. The linear system called the 'Materials Economy', is unsustainable.
What according to Leonard is the problem?
Part of the problem, according to Leonard, is our confused sense of self. We've allowed our citizen self to be dwarfed by a relatively new reflex action – consume, consume, consume. "Our consumer self is so overdeveloped that we spend most of our time there.
What is the golden arrow of consumption?
The Golden Arrow of Consumption is where President Bush told the people to spend as much as possible to keep the economy from going into a recession. Instead of finding a better and long term solution they went with the easy route.
What is the material economy?
The Materials Economy is a production system that dominates our manufacturing world. It is a system that starts with the extractionof raw materials from the ground and their processing into usable materials. This is followed by the refined materials being used to manufacture products in factories (called production).
What are the fuels used to power homes and industry?
The fuels used to power homes and industry are renewable and sustainable. An educated consumer, consuming fewer products and energy and taking care to recycling all materials. A distribution / transport system based on renewable fuels, such as hydrogen or electricity (produced by wind, sea, solar and biomass).
The five components of economic systems
I ultimately found that there are five main components that describe an economic system. Because these are not apparently obvious, I thought it would be helpful to document my observations:
Ownership
I’d like to talk about the concept of ownership. I think it’s important to mention because it’s a deep topic of debate between proponents of socialism. What does it mean to have “common ownership over the means of production?” What even are the “means of production?”
Organization
Another important topic is how the economy is organized. It’s often thought that decentralized organization cannot work without prices/profits. I’d like to demonstrate that as theoretically false.