Woman Of Green Annie Leonard unveiled a new film in the “Story of Stuff” series this morning. Her latest offering, The Story of Citizens United v. FEC, is “an exploration of the crisis of corporate influence in American democracy.”
Our mantra at Women Of Green is that 85% of all consumer purchases are made by women. That makes for an awful lot of weight if we can direct it responsibly. In her new Story Of Stuff video, Annie points out that 85% of Americans think that corporations have too much influence in our democracy. Do you?
Annie Leonard has spent nearly two decades investigating and organizing on environmental health and justice issues. She has traveled to 40 countries, visiting literally hundreds of factories where our stuff is made and dumps where our stuff is dumped. Witnessing first hand the horrendous impacts of both over- and under- consumption around the world, Annie is fiercely dedicated to reclaiming and transforming our industrial and economic systems so they serve, rather than undermine, ecological sustainability and social equity. Annie is currently the Director of The Story of Stuff Project. Prior to this, most recently, Annie coordinated the Funders Workgroup for Sustainable Production and Consumption, a funder collaborative seeking to address the hidden environmental and social impacts of current systems of making, using and throwing away all the stuff of daily life.
Democracy is two wolves and a sheep deciding on what to have for lunch.
The biggest problem, in my view, is that politics have failed people because they no longer feel it has much impact on their lives other than in a bad way (e.g. taxes).
Remember that profit is a calculation. The real problem is that natural services and resources are economically invisible i.e. considered to be “free” to use. First and foremost, it is the rules of accountancy that need to be addressed.