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The Story of Change
Can shopping save the world? Put down your credit card and start exercising your citizen muscles with Annie Leonard’s new film.
Jul 19, 2012
For more resources, visit The Story of Change.
I used to think the truth would set us free. Like many who care about the environment, I spent years thinking that information would lead to change. If only people realize the mess our planet is in, I thought, things will change. So I wrote reports, gave speeches, even testified before Congress.
Some things changed. Sadly, the big picture didn't.
For a long time I couldn't understand why. Now I've realized we don't need more data, white papers or documentaries to tell us we're in trouble. Every day, the news is full of extreme weather disasters, toxic chemical scares and the cruel consequences of economic inequality. At this point, most people know.
And the good news is that most people care. Most of us want a safe and healthy environment. Most of us are horrified by the idea of babies born with harmful chemicals in their blood. Most of us would rather see investments in clean energy than billion-dollar subsidies for fossil fuel fatcats. Most of us would prefer to live in a just society.
So, if people know, and if people care, why aren't we generating the level of change needed to turn things around? My new movie, The Story of Change, argues it's partly because we've gotten stuck in our consumer mode.
Our real power is not in choosing from items on a limited menu; it is in determining what gets on that menu.I've come to see that we have two parts to ourselves; it's almost like two muscles--a consumer muscle and a citizen muscle. Our consumer muscle, which is fed and exercised constantly, has grown strong: So strong that "consumer" has become our primary identity, our reason for being. We're told so often that we're a nation of consumers that we don't blink when the media use "consumer" and "person" interchangeably.
Meanwhile, our citizen muscle has gotten flabby. There's no marketing campaign reminding us to engage as citizens. On the contrary, we're bombarded with lists of simple and easy things we can buy or do to save the planet, without going out of our way or breaking a sweat.
No wonder that, faced with daunting problems and discouraged by the intransigence of the status quo, we instinctively flex our power in the only way we know how--our consumer muscle. Plastic garbage choking the oceans? Carry your own shopping bag. Formaldehyde in baby shampoo? Buy the brand with the green seal. Global warming threatening life as we know it? Change our lightbulbs. (As Michael Maniates, a professor of political and environmental science at Allegheny College, says: "Never has so little been asked of so many.")
Now, all of those are good things to do. When we shop, it's good to choose products without toxic chemicals and unnecessary packaging, made by locally based companies that treat their workers well. On the other hand, shunning products that are unhealthy for workers, communities and the planet sends a message to companies that are still stuck in the dinosaur economy. Sometimes not buying--making do with what we have or sharing with a friend - is the best option of all.
But our real power is not in choosing from items on a limited menu; it is in determining what gets on that menu. The way to ensure that toxic, climate-disrupting choices are replaced with safe and healthy alternatives--for everyone, not just those who can afford them--is by engaging as citizens: working together for bigger, bolder change than we could ever accomplish on an individual consumer level.
Look back at successful movements--civil rights, anti-apartheid, the early environmental victories--and you'll see that three things are needed to make change at the scale we need today.
First, we need a Big Idea of how things could be better--a morally compelling, ecologically sustainable and socially just idea that will not just make things a little better for a few, but a lot better for everyone. Millions around the world already have that idea: an economy based on the needs of people and the planet, not corporate profit.
Second, we need a commitment to work together. In history's most transformative social movements, people didn't say, "I will perfect my individual daily choices," but "We will work together until the problem is solved." Today, it's easier than ever to work together, online and off.
Finally, we need all of us who share that Big Idea to get active. We need to move from a place of shared concern, frustration and fear to a place of engaged citizen action. That's how we build the power to make real change.
We have to aim high, work together and act boldly. It's not simple, and it certainly won't be easy. But history is on our side. Let's get to work to make the kind of change we know is possible.
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
This article was written for YES! Magazine, a national, nonprofit media organization that fuses powerful ideas and practical actions. Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 License.
Annie Leonard
Annie Leonard is the executive director of Greenpeace USA, founder of the Story of Stuff Project, and has spent more than twenty years investigating and organizing on environmental health and justice issues. She is the author of "The Story of Stuff."
For more resources, visit The Story of Change.
I used to think the truth would set us free. Like many who care about the environment, I spent years thinking that information would lead to change. If only people realize the mess our planet is in, I thought, things will change. So I wrote reports, gave speeches, even testified before Congress.
Some things changed. Sadly, the big picture didn't.
For a long time I couldn't understand why. Now I've realized we don't need more data, white papers or documentaries to tell us we're in trouble. Every day, the news is full of extreme weather disasters, toxic chemical scares and the cruel consequences of economic inequality. At this point, most people know.
And the good news is that most people care. Most of us want a safe and healthy environment. Most of us are horrified by the idea of babies born with harmful chemicals in their blood. Most of us would rather see investments in clean energy than billion-dollar subsidies for fossil fuel fatcats. Most of us would prefer to live in a just society.
So, if people know, and if people care, why aren't we generating the level of change needed to turn things around? My new movie, The Story of Change, argues it's partly because we've gotten stuck in our consumer mode.
Our real power is not in choosing from items on a limited menu; it is in determining what gets on that menu.I've come to see that we have two parts to ourselves; it's almost like two muscles--a consumer muscle and a citizen muscle. Our consumer muscle, which is fed and exercised constantly, has grown strong: So strong that "consumer" has become our primary identity, our reason for being. We're told so often that we're a nation of consumers that we don't blink when the media use "consumer" and "person" interchangeably.
Meanwhile, our citizen muscle has gotten flabby. There's no marketing campaign reminding us to engage as citizens. On the contrary, we're bombarded with lists of simple and easy things we can buy or do to save the planet, without going out of our way or breaking a sweat.
No wonder that, faced with daunting problems and discouraged by the intransigence of the status quo, we instinctively flex our power in the only way we know how--our consumer muscle. Plastic garbage choking the oceans? Carry your own shopping bag. Formaldehyde in baby shampoo? Buy the brand with the green seal. Global warming threatening life as we know it? Change our lightbulbs. (As Michael Maniates, a professor of political and environmental science at Allegheny College, says: "Never has so little been asked of so many.")
Now, all of those are good things to do. When we shop, it's good to choose products without toxic chemicals and unnecessary packaging, made by locally based companies that treat their workers well. On the other hand, shunning products that are unhealthy for workers, communities and the planet sends a message to companies that are still stuck in the dinosaur economy. Sometimes not buying--making do with what we have or sharing with a friend - is the best option of all.
But our real power is not in choosing from items on a limited menu; it is in determining what gets on that menu. The way to ensure that toxic, climate-disrupting choices are replaced with safe and healthy alternatives--for everyone, not just those who can afford them--is by engaging as citizens: working together for bigger, bolder change than we could ever accomplish on an individual consumer level.
Look back at successful movements--civil rights, anti-apartheid, the early environmental victories--and you'll see that three things are needed to make change at the scale we need today.
First, we need a Big Idea of how things could be better--a morally compelling, ecologically sustainable and socially just idea that will not just make things a little better for a few, but a lot better for everyone. Millions around the world already have that idea: an economy based on the needs of people and the planet, not corporate profit.
Second, we need a commitment to work together. In history's most transformative social movements, people didn't say, "I will perfect my individual daily choices," but "We will work together until the problem is solved." Today, it's easier than ever to work together, online and off.
Finally, we need all of us who share that Big Idea to get active. We need to move from a place of shared concern, frustration and fear to a place of engaged citizen action. That's how we build the power to make real change.
We have to aim high, work together and act boldly. It's not simple, and it certainly won't be easy. But history is on our side. Let's get to work to make the kind of change we know is possible.
Annie Leonard
Annie Leonard is the executive director of Greenpeace USA, founder of the Story of Stuff Project, and has spent more than twenty years investigating and organizing on environmental health and justice issues. She is the author of "The Story of Stuff."
For more resources, visit The Story of Change.
I used to think the truth would set us free. Like many who care about the environment, I spent years thinking that information would lead to change. If only people realize the mess our planet is in, I thought, things will change. So I wrote reports, gave speeches, even testified before Congress.
Some things changed. Sadly, the big picture didn't.
For a long time I couldn't understand why. Now I've realized we don't need more data, white papers or documentaries to tell us we're in trouble. Every day, the news is full of extreme weather disasters, toxic chemical scares and the cruel consequences of economic inequality. At this point, most people know.
And the good news is that most people care. Most of us want a safe and healthy environment. Most of us are horrified by the idea of babies born with harmful chemicals in their blood. Most of us would rather see investments in clean energy than billion-dollar subsidies for fossil fuel fatcats. Most of us would prefer to live in a just society.
So, if people know, and if people care, why aren't we generating the level of change needed to turn things around? My new movie, The Story of Change, argues it's partly because we've gotten stuck in our consumer mode.
Our real power is not in choosing from items on a limited menu; it is in determining what gets on that menu.I've come to see that we have two parts to ourselves; it's almost like two muscles--a consumer muscle and a citizen muscle. Our consumer muscle, which is fed and exercised constantly, has grown strong: So strong that "consumer" has become our primary identity, our reason for being. We're told so often that we're a nation of consumers that we don't blink when the media use "consumer" and "person" interchangeably.
Meanwhile, our citizen muscle has gotten flabby. There's no marketing campaign reminding us to engage as citizens. On the contrary, we're bombarded with lists of simple and easy things we can buy or do to save the planet, without going out of our way or breaking a sweat.
No wonder that, faced with daunting problems and discouraged by the intransigence of the status quo, we instinctively flex our power in the only way we know how--our consumer muscle. Plastic garbage choking the oceans? Carry your own shopping bag. Formaldehyde in baby shampoo? Buy the brand with the green seal. Global warming threatening life as we know it? Change our lightbulbs. (As Michael Maniates, a professor of political and environmental science at Allegheny College, says: "Never has so little been asked of so many.")
Now, all of those are good things to do. When we shop, it's good to choose products without toxic chemicals and unnecessary packaging, made by locally based companies that treat their workers well. On the other hand, shunning products that are unhealthy for workers, communities and the planet sends a message to companies that are still stuck in the dinosaur economy. Sometimes not buying--making do with what we have or sharing with a friend - is the best option of all.
But our real power is not in choosing from items on a limited menu; it is in determining what gets on that menu. The way to ensure that toxic, climate-disrupting choices are replaced with safe and healthy alternatives--for everyone, not just those who can afford them--is by engaging as citizens: working together for bigger, bolder change than we could ever accomplish on an individual consumer level.
Look back at successful movements--civil rights, anti-apartheid, the early environmental victories--and you'll see that three things are needed to make change at the scale we need today.
First, we need a Big Idea of how things could be better--a morally compelling, ecologically sustainable and socially just idea that will not just make things a little better for a few, but a lot better for everyone. Millions around the world already have that idea: an economy based on the needs of people and the planet, not corporate profit.
Second, we need a commitment to work together. In history's most transformative social movements, people didn't say, "I will perfect my individual daily choices," but "We will work together until the problem is solved." Today, it's easier than ever to work together, online and off.
Finally, we need all of us who share that Big Idea to get active. We need to move from a place of shared concern, frustration and fear to a place of engaged citizen action. That's how we build the power to make real change.
We have to aim high, work together and act boldly. It's not simple, and it certainly won't be easy. But history is on our side. Let's get to work to make the kind of change we know is possible.
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