. .9" .'le l fl" n. 'I- 'I ' THE sum or '{v ,- ,,~ .4: 3-: .m m.- nan-u supports, rather than undermines, the planets biological systems on which we depend? Where, along the system, are the decision makers who can change the current pattems of production and consumption? How would one inuence decision makers at each stage along the way? Which decision makers have the potential to most in uence the system? What does that tell us about where to target our efforts to make change? In other words, whose behavior and decisions need to change to create the most positive change and how can we hasten that change? Cl: Annie says that an important thing missing from the conventional textbook story of the materials economy is people. Who are the people that have the most say in how this system runs? Who are the people that are most affected by the loss of natural resources and pollution? Who are the people that work in the different parts of this system? Where are you in this system? What options do you have, from where you sit, to change the system to support sustainability and justice? 0: Annie says it's the governments job to take care of us Do you agree? Given the severity of the ecological crisis we're in, what is an appropriate leadership role for government? How can we let our government know what we expect of it at this critical moment? D: Annie says the LLS. has 5% of the world's population but uses 310% of the resources and makes 30% of the waste, and that this is, well, a problem. Do you agree that this is a problem? {Not everybody does} How did it come to be this way, and what are some of the steps that we in the U.S. can take to reduce the quantity and impact of our nation's consumption? Ct: Annie says the Third World, according to some people, is ''a fancy word for our stuff that somehow got on someone else's land." Pick something in the room you're in That may have come from a Third World countiy. What might have been involved in extracting the resources forthe item, and what are the steps that brought it to you? D: Has anyone in your group lived or traveled in Third World countries? What are some of the dif- ferences you noticed on issues covered in The Story of Stuff around the world? Did you notice differences in the cuftural role of consumption? Differences in the prevalence of advertisements? Differences in systems of re-use and waste management? Differences in how leisure time is spent? : Annie says that people in the U.S. have less leisure time now than we did in feudal times Yet, on many levels, things are supposed to be getting better, not worse. Why do we have less leisure time? What are some ways that we could change our economy to work less and live more? How can we hasten those changes? 0: Annie says that, in the U.S., most of our leisure time is used to watch W and shop. How much of your time [per week, say do you spend watching W? How much do you spend shopping? {Be honest!) And, for you intemetjunkies, let's include another anti-social activity in this one: how much time {per week} do you spend surng the web that you could spend with friends, family, being creative, being in nature, reading a book? When you think about the leisure time activities which bring you the most joy and rejuvenation, what are they? Does your leisure time schedule match your priorities