Story+of+Stuff+with+Annie+Leonard

. ** Write three paragraphs on how Annie Leonard defines the system of the 'materials economy' and describe its interactions. **      **  This system is also inadequate because it excluded different aspects of real life, such as society; culture; environment; or economy. But the fundamental missing element within the entire linear system would be people because people work to create the goods; people work to consume the goods; and people also control the production of goods. The people that control the production of goods would include the government or corporations.  To better understand the system, Annie Leonard further described each of the five steps within the linear system. She began with **Extraction **, which is a fancy term referring to trashing the planet because we are extracting the natural resources of the planet. In **Production **, we mix energy and toxic chemicals with the natural resources to create toxic contaminated products. The toxic contaminated products are then moved to **Distribution ** where the goal is to keep the prices down in order to keep the people buying these products quickly as possible. The purchased toxic contaminated product are then moved to the crucial part of the ‘material economy’, **Consumption **<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Helvetica, sans-serif;">; whereby the buyers of the products have adopted an ideology that by consuming goods they are seeking spiritual satisfaction. But it is in **<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Helvetica, sans-serif;">Disposal **<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Helvetica, sans-serif;"> that these toxic contaminated goods causes the greatest harm because improper disposal methods that causes the harmful toxics to rise into our atmosphere. <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Helvetica, sans-serif;"> <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Helvetica, sans-serif;">The five steps system of extraction, production, distribution, consumption and disposal is not only an inadequate system but also a system that eliminates the ‘material economy’s’ interaction with reality. This linear system does not inform the viewer about the harmful effects that humans are causing on our natural landscapes. Nor does this system demonstrate how people have been harmed by the production of these goods. <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Helvetica, sans-serif;">
 * <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Helvetica, sans-serif;"> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 19px;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Helvetica, sans-serif;">“The Story of Stuff” began with Annie Leonard identifying that stuff moved through a system beginning with extraction, to production, to distribution, to consumption and finally to disposal. This five steps system adds up to become something known as the ‘materials economy’; however, this system does not accurately summarize the ‘materials economy’ because it is a  **<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Helvetica, sans-serif;">linear system **<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Helvetica, sans-serif;">. A linear system cannot be used to describe the ‘materials economy’ because we live in a finite planet.

<span style="font-size: 90%; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Helvetica, sans-serif;"> 'The Story of Stuff' with Annie Leonard at <span style="font-size: 90%; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Helvetica, sans-serif;">http://www.storyofstuff.com/index.html