Biology Is Life !

Watching The Story of Stuff was very interesting and useful. I believe that more videos should be made and shown to the people so everyone can see what’s really going on in the world. People are lead to believe that recycling will fix everything, but it won’t. I agree with Annie Leonard and know that in order to recycle things we end up making and using more materials that can be recycled. Products today are not built to last, they are meant to be used and replaced. Companies make sure that we, the consumers must buy newer, faster, and better products. The market increases as well as the amount of wastes. People get so caught up in there own live and trying to buy, buy, buy that very few people stop, think, and try to help those in other places in the world who have just enough food to survive. Many of these people are living meal to meal, while we sit at home watching TV in our air conditioned homes stuffing our faces with junk food. Most people, including myself, do not think about what and where all the items were use and buy everyday come from. What about the lives of the people who made them? Factories in China and other Asia companies are getting paid a little less then two American dollars. Many of the facts and information provided by the video opened my mind to new things going on in the world. We all need to open our eyes and our minds and understand that the world is not going to be here forever and we need to save what we have left so others yet to come can enjoy the mass beauties of the Earth and her rich biodiversity of the ecosystems and all the unique cultures that surround the environments of the world. Developing new ways to harvest and use energy is something we need to invest in now. There are many fields of scientific research that I find to be unnecessary at this time, but there are numerous sections we need to develop more in. I know some people agree with me, and some people do not agree, but everyone needs to understand that with deforestation and global warming there won’t be a plant much longer to learn, develop, or experience life on. Humans are very luck to be where they are and how fast we are learning, but if we don’t take time to stop and have a new perspective of the future, there will be no future.
 

Watching the “stuff” video made me realize a number of things. The information is extremely interesting, and somewhat shocking. I found myself thinking on multiple occasions that I’ve been blind sighted. I mean don’t get me wrong I knew this was a serious issue, but I didn’t know it was this serious. For one, I agree that we are using too many natural resources. I know that I over use things just like everyone else, but I have seen people who are just out of control. I know people who will get a shirt, wear it one time, and then throw it in the garbage, or I know people at lunch who will take 3 sips of their Snapple and then get rid of it. This is ridiculous. Years ago there was waste, but nothing at all to compare to this. The numbers the woman from the video was spitting off was unreal. I find myself wasting things like food, electricity and water. I have to admit that I am not the best when it comes to preserving. I also agree with recycling. That is something I believe in a lot, but like the woman said it’s not enough, and it never will be. However, I think it’s start. One thing I cannot believe is that there is not a recycling can in the cafeteria at school. With the amount of cans and bottles kids get rid of, Ketcham is just adding to the problem. I would like to see a recycling can next year in the classrooms, and the cafeteria. I also thing that this overall topic is important in the preservation of the environment. We are killing and cutting down too many trees. This is really bad because trees are important. I understand cutting down some trees, but 2,000 per minute is a lot. This brings me to my next point, clearing too much land. 7 football fields per minute, that’s outrageous. We are killing so many animal habitats, and this could potentially kill off many species. This is bad because we need biodiversity. That’s what keeps a happy and successful ecosystem. We cut down rainforests too, and this is a bad idea because we get much of our medicines from the rainforests. Next, is the amount of trash we produce. I don’t think I produce over four pounds a day, but I’m sure I have come close. The amount of garbage is definitely polluting the environment. Eventually there isn’t going to be enough room in the landfills, and then what happens? Also, the toxins that are released into the soil, the air, and some of our water is very dangerous. This is what leads to things like all of our water sources being polluted. We all need to go green. Everyone needs to take part in a way to save the environment. Some of my teachers already have taken steps to do this. They have created online portfolios to decrease the amount of paper used. My math teacher is thinking about creating almost an online class where most of the work is located on the computer. These are all good ideas along with recycling from many of them. After watching the video I am going to try and conserve my planets national resources. I actually looked into more facts about the environment, and I hope other people will join me in this process.
 

I have never been too interested or concerned in the environment. I always thought, “Hey, I’m just one kid, what could I possibly do to help or cause change?” However, watching this short film on “stuff,” really changed my mindset. The facts and evidence are shocking. Something that hit me really hard was finding out that TWO THOUSAND trees a minute are being cut down in the rainforest. That literally shocked me. Trees are such a vital part of the environment; without them, there would be no oxygen produced, therefore how would we humans, or any other organisms for that matter survive. Another thing that really surprised me was seeing what a selfish and nondependent nation we are. While America only makes up about five percent of the world’s population, we use up to thirty percent of the world resources! I just think that is so greedy and unnecessary. It made me think of all the less fortunate countries like Africa or places in the Middle East that are so much less fortunate than us.
Watching the part of the video on consumption just seemed so, spot on to me. The lady in the video explained how America works hard everyday, just to come home and sit on the couch and watching the television, and ads come on to lure you in and make you feel like everything, about you is wrong, so that you go to the mall and shop and shop and shop. Then you go to work so you can pay for your ridiculous amounts of “Stuff.” Then what happens to all this unnecessary stuff? It gets burned and puts toxins in the air, or just put into landfills. How upsetting is this news? The greed and manipulation of companies to make you feel like you need their products, and then it just gets wasted.
And to think of all the hard work that gets put into making the products, like explained in the radio. That radio may have only cost $4.99, but all the labor that was put into making it, so it would only cost the consumer five dollars in incredible. All the labor that is put into making our products is upsetting. All the little boys in the Kongo that work and work and work all day long is dangerous conditions such as coal mines, and all the children in foreign countries doing work suitable for men, just to make a bare minimum profit, while their work benefits someone around the world that can actually afford the product that they could only dream of affording.
I think it is definitely a time for change in America. It has been shown that the happiness of Americans had peeked since the 50’s. Everyone needs to step back, to think of the damage we are causing; the disruption of the environment’s equilibrium, the global warming, and everything else. The earth is sacred; there is only one of them. With the rate we are going at, eventually, the world may be too polluted for life. And even though we will not be alive for that time, think of all that will be. Do we want our future generations to have to live under awful conditions because of us? Everyone needs to cut back on their consumption of “stuff.” Because if you think about it, half the stuff we think we need, we definitely do not. We do not need fifty-four sweaters, eight radios, and sixty-seven pairs of sneakers. Just because a new “faster” computer is on the market, does that mean we actually “need” it?
This video is both informative and interesting. If a lot of people see it, hopefully, everyone will decide to make a change. I know I am going to. Of course, I am still going to shop and use finite resources, but I am definitely going to be more practical.
 

Watching the video on “ Stuff ” really opened my eyes to how ridiculous our consumption in the United States and the world is . I never realized how the amount of things that I buy greatly affects the economy and the world on a daily basis . We are all aware of pollution , but I don’t think that people realize how by just buying a couple less unnecessary items a week can really help everything around us . And , with the worsening economy , buying less wouldn’t be a bad idea for the well – being of the individual either . The amount of toxins that are being executed into the are every single day , even every minute , was astounding . It shows how corrupt big corporations and the government are becoming . Probably the part of the video that affected me the most was the fact that as consumption increases , happiness seems to decrease . People often try to fill sadness and voids in their lives with material things , and this proves that it just isn’t cutting it . As a nation , we need to be more aware of what we’re really doing to the planet , and we need to start good examples for future generations . I completely agree with Annie Leonard in the sense that we need to make it a cycle , instead of a buy – and – dump strategy that we are doing now . What is going to happen to the planet in ten years ? We do not have enough room and space to keep supporting our lifestyles and the customs we have adapted . When we run out of landfills and space , what are we going to do ? We can’t just shoot garbage into the air and expect it to fly to space and be gone , which is what I’m afraid it’s going to come to if we keep living like this . I think that this is a great video for everyone to see and watch , and really take note of what she’s saying . Everything she says is true , and it is unfortunate that we live in a society where it isn’t about having good morals or being trustworthy that make you a good person , it’s about what cars you drive and what you wear and the size of your house . Whatever can be done by me to help this problem , I am gladly willing . However , I do admit that I do attribute greatly to this problem and my mindset about material things is the same as many people . Also , I think that the greatest and underlying problem for the society is the need for constant change . Fashion , styles , and customs are constantly changing . Annie’s computer chip was a perfect example of this . It is not necessary to have one shirt in every color , and need a new pair or wash of jeans every three months , but unfortunately we grow up in a world where status and appearance take greater importance than the world and real needs . Hopefully we can change this , and I think it’s definitely going to take a while for this positive and needed change to come . But for now , upcoming generations need to teach their children to respect the environment , and take care of it because we cannot keep traveling down this path or things will end in disaster . This video was a great realization video , because it tells the truth and gives easy alternatives . I hope people will soon try to put more of an effort towards keeping the planet green and healthy , but I think that this may take awhile . We will have to wait and see where things go from here , but for now I will do my best to help the environment in any way I can .
 

The video about "stuff" made me very sad. A lot of the topics I sort of knew about but I learned a lot more about it. It upsets me watching stuff like that because I wonder what our society is going to be like when my generation is older. I get so sad when I think my kids won't be able to see the cutest animals like otters and gorillas. So many animals will have to be extinct in the rainforest because over seven football fields of trees are cut a minute. I can't even think about how many trees that must be. The worst is that if one species dies it may cause another one to die out to if it is their food supply. I think this video should be shown to more people so they can realize how bad it's getting and maybe more people will start to change. The sad thing is though if people stop buying stuuf our country will become even more screwed because they will lose so much money. Recycling is a great thing to do and I hope more people will start to but recycling will not solve all our problems. Some people say I recycle so we'll be ok, but they're wrong. Although recycling is definitely helpful there are so many other things the people could do. We could stop buying crap from the dollar stores for one thing because almost everything in there is completely pointless. Maybe if we stop the release of poisonous gasses will go down. Hopefully then breast milk won't be so toxic anymore. That is so depressing that the only source of food a person can make given to benefit their offspring has poisons in it. That is sick! Pretty soon all our landfills will be full and where do we plan on putting everything? People need to start now because at the rate we are releasing toxins in the air, pretty soon we won't have any clean water to drink. People must realize that this is our only planet. Most people like to keep their home clean and nice why can't we do that for the planet, that should be our main priority. Don't forget the golden rule, treat others the way you'd want to be treated, would anyone want to be treated the way we treat earth. The video was really helpful to me and I hope it opens more peoples eyes like it did to me.