Background:In Module 3 you learned about the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) as one of the key macroeconomic indicators measuring the size of an economy and its ability to produce goods and services. A high level of GDP (i.e., producing morestuff) is generally viewed as one of the greatest economic achievements for any country, regardless of what is produced (and how it is consumed, and what is being recycled or trashed) and how (what kind of natural resources are used and the depletion rate of these resources). Thus, the conventional way of thinking tends to be thatmore is better. However, there are limitations as to what GDP captures and what it cannot. In addition, it might not be easy to see the hidden costs of producing in a way that is not globally sustainable. In assignment you will evaluate what other factors besides a higher level of GDP affect the standards of living, using a global perspective, with a special focus on the U.S. and China.

Instructions:This assignment has two parts: The first part is worth 9 points. The second part is worth 21 points.

Access theStory of Stuffvideo(Links to an external site.)[21:16 minutes]. In addition to (or instead of) watching the video, you need to read thevideo's annotated script(Links to an external site.)

EditSign,which is referenced and annotated by Annie Leonard, one of the authors.TheStory of Stufforiginal video was first launched online in Dec 2007. Thus, it is to be expected that some of the sources used in the script might not have functional links in 2022. Nevertheless, you need to use your best judgment in evaluating each of the sources below, including those cases when the links might not be functional, but significant information has been provided for you to check for the: Purpose, Authority, Accuracy, Relevance, and Currency (how current/recent the information is) of the information provided by each source.

Part I - Evaluating sources used in theStory of Stuffvideo/script (9 points)

To receive full credit for this part of the assignment, you need to:

• Use thisworksheetDownload worksheet to evaluate these sources cited by Annie Leonard in the script: 1, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 14, 15, 17, 18, 19, 20, 30, 36, 37 and 38.
• For each source, complete the highlighted areas in the worksheet and add the numbers to find the total score. The worksheet is an editable Word document, in which you can easily type the information needed for each source. As you are completing your evaluation for each source, write down a few notes at the bottom of the worksheet with comments on the overall credibility of this source. Would you have used this source if you were Annie Leonard? Why?
• Rank the 16 sources above from highest to lowest, based on your best judgment. State your ranked sources using the table below (3 points)

Rank	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16
Source

• Submit your completed worksheet for your top two (most reliable) sources (3 points)
• Submit your completed worksheet for the bottom two (less reliable) sources (3 points)

Part II - Short Essay Questions (21 points)

Answer the following questions. Each answer should be at 4 sentences .

1) What is your overall reaction toThe Story of Stuffvideo: what did you learn and what impressed you the most?Did it make you think differently about anything?What, in your opinion, is the primary motive behind the film?(7 points)

2) Living in an interdependent global economy, and focusing on China, reflect on the following topics addressed in the video/script: What has been the societal (both locally, nationally and globally) cost of the high economic growth in China in the last 5 decades? Focus on:

a) Environmental pollution and erosion (see sources 30, 36 and 37)

b) Worker compensation and living conditions (see source 38)

c) In-state migration into big cities (see source 36)(7 points)

3) Does producing more stuff lead to higher standards of living for all people in a country, as well as globally, in a way that is sustainable for the years and decades ahead? Focus on both the U.S. and other countries around the world.(7 points)

Note: Citations #37-42 in the script provide background information for Part 2 of this assignment. They can be found at the bottom of pages 7, 8, and 9, and are listed below:

• "North America has been sprinkled with a dash of Asia! A dust cloud from China crossed the Pacific Ocean recently and rained Asian dust from Alaska to Florida." Excerpted fromThe Pacific Dust Express, in "Science @ NASA," May 17, 2001: http://sci- ence.nasa.gov/headlines/y2001/ast17may_1.htm; and "U.S. Gets More Asian Air Pollution than Thought" on UC Davis News and Information, July 19, 2005; http://www.news.ucdavis.edu/search/ news_detail.lasso?id=7415&title=U.S.%20Gets%20More%20 Asian%20Air%20Pollution%20Than%20Thought; and "Evidence suggests a substantial Asian impact on both North American air quality and regional radiative forcing, based on several factors: the prevailing winds aloft blowing from the west, recent observations of trace gases and dust over North America, and numerical simulations of transport and chemistry." In Determine the Impacts of Asian Emissions on North America;http://www.gfdl.noaa.gov/ aboutus/milestones/asian_emissions.html.
• For example: "CEO Compensation 871 times as high as U.S. Wal-Mart Workers, 50,000 times as much as Chinese Workers" fromWal-Mart's Pay Gapby Sarah Anderson, Institute for Policy Studies, 2005.Wal-Mart externalizes costs when it buys from Chinese contractors who pay their workers too little to maintain their basic physical and mental health or fail to maintain adequate worker safety standards and then dismiss without compensation those workers who are injured.
• David Suzuki, "Economy needs a better goal than 'more.'" February 24, 2006 available from David Suzuki Foundation at:http://www.davidsuzuki.org/about_us/Dr_David_Suzuki/Article_ Archives/weekly02240601.asp(Links to an external site.)
• "Progress through Planned Obsolescence" in Vance Packard, The Waste Makers (1960), pp 45 - 57. Also see Made to Break by Giles Slade (2006); and on 20 page pamphlet called "Ending the Depression through Planned Obsolescence" by Bernard London (1932). Brooks Stevens, a U.S. industrial designer is often credited for popularizing the term "planned obsolescence" after he used it in a speech in 1954. Stevens' defined planned obsolescence as, "Instilling in the buyer the desire to own something a little newer, a little better, a little sooner than is necessary." (from Industrial Strength Design: How Brooks Stevens Shaped Your World," Milwaukee Art Museum, June 7 - Sept. 7, 2003.)
• Vance Packard calls perceived obsolescence, "planned obsolescence of desirability." See the chapter by that name in The Waste Makers (1960), p 58-66.
• "Small is Beautiful: U.S. House Size, Resource Use, and the Environment" Journal of Industrial Ecology on Greener Buildings' Greenbiz. Extracted on 11/11/07 from: http://www.greenerbuild- ings.com/news_detail.cfm?NewsID=28392