Facts from The Story of Stuff In the past three decades, one-third of the planet's natural resources base have been consumed.1 In the United States, we have less than 4% of our original forests left. Forty percent of waterways in the US have become undrinkable.3 The U.S.has 5% of the world's population but consumes 30% of the world's resources and creates 30% of the world's waste.5 If everybody consumed at U.S. rates, we would need 3 to 5 planets. There are over 100,000 synthetic chemicals in commerce today.6 Only a handful of synthetic chemicals have even been tested for human health impacts and NONE have been tested for syner- gistic health impacts. In the U.S., industry admits to releasing over 4 billion pounds of toxic chemicals a year. The average U.S. person now consumes twice as much as they did 50 years ago. We each see more advertisements in one year than a people 50 years ago saw in a lifetime.10 In the U.S. our national happiness peaked sometime in the 1950s.11 In the U.S., we spend 3-4 times as many hours shopping as our counterparts in Europe do.12 Average U.S. house size has doubled since the 1970s.13 Each person in the United States makes 4 1/2 pounds of gar- bage a day. 14 That is twice what we each made thirty years ago. 15 For every one garbage can of waste you put out on the curb, 70 garbage cans of waste were made upstream to make the junk in that one garbage can you put out on the curb. 16 THE STORY OF WITH ANNIE LEONARD harm. As a practical framework, the concept is useful in enabling social workers to translate their 'on the ground experiences' into concrete efforts that address these structural inequalities. Dominelli asserts that in order to confront current environmental crises effectively, social workers must apply a sophisticated array of knowledge and skills. As the case study demonstrates, social workers are well-equipped to deploy both clinical and macro-level skills and experience to develop dynamic, culturally relevant responses to these issues. We possess intimate knowledge of the effects of environmental degradation on vulnerable populations that can enhance the representation of these populations in each phase of critical decision-making. We also have an ethical responsibility to use our expertise to go beyond ameliorating the consequences of environmental injustices by preventing further environmental degradation and promoting environmentally sustainable ways of living. Potential roles include: Working with environmentally overburdened communities, urban planners, and public health professionals to create 'bottom-up' ways of eliciting local knowledge through spatial mapping technologies that can be translated to effective interventions (e.g., mapping of food deserts or accessible green space in low-income communities) (Kemp, 2011). Using multi-level interventions to articulate essential links between individual well- being, the physical environment, and collective action. Facilitating and mediating solution-oriented discussions between stakeholders to develop viable alternatives to environmental projects that prioritize environmental sustainability over profits. Developing creative ways to incorporate community-based participatory research in development and planning processes, including environmental impact studies and community health profiles. Translating individual and community stories of disproportionate exposure to environmental harms into policies that require cumulative risk assessments and enhanced public participation mechanisms early in the environmental decision- making process. Mobilizing communities to engage in collective problem-solving by identifying community assets and power relationships between community members and groups (Dominelli, 2012). Implications for Social Work Education These potential practice roles have significant implications for the future of social work education. To better prepare students to address current environmental challenges, social work educators-particularly in the USA-will need to examine long-standing assumptions about practice, such as valuing individual autonomy over community rights and collective responsibility, and expand the meaning of 'person- in-environment' to include the natural and built environment. Recent research indicates that students are receptive to such changes. Although they are introduced to