The Story of Stuff

Check out this cool video - "The Story of Stuff" - which was featured in a recent Ideal Bite daily tip (check the sidebar on the left column of this blog - it updates every day!). This video is narrated by Annie Leonard, a scholar in the areas of international trade, development, sustainability and environmental health. Her video addresses some very interesting issues about consumerism and the so-called "American way," at times a cynical commentary on our government, corporate America and how our lives are being controlled by them. The premise is a simple yet intriguing question: where does all the "stuff" go? Aside from the 20-minute video itself, the website has tons of reading material, so browse around as well.

Growing up green?

How better to change the world than to get the kids to do it!

My soon-to-be-sister-in-law is an elementary school teacher in Connecticut. Her class recently enrolled in a program called Scholastic Classrooms Care, where the kids set a goal to read 100 books by Earth Day with the incentive that it will help conserve a 100-acre reserve area known as the Choco Rainforest in Ecuador. She tells me the kids also put up a "Go Green" bulletin board and came up with lists of things they can do in the classroom to keep the planet green. I'm impressed!

More "green" programs available to teachers can be found here.

As I was drafting this post, I noticed that my brother also just featured her class on his blog, Tony Spinelli Photography. He is a graphic designer turned wedding photographer. He does some pretty amazing stuff, so check it out.