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Planète jetable: produire, consommer, jeter, détruire by Ariane Conrad, Xavier Guesnu, Annie Leonard
mikhaela_reid's review against another edition
5.0
Ah, yes--THIS is the book I've been waiting to read forever--I wish this had been around when I had taken Juliet Schor's "Shop Til You Drop: Gender and Class in Consumer Culture" course back in college. A smart, clear activist breakdown of our toxic materials economy and the massive and devastating environmental impact of consumption on the health of workers, the planet, consumers, communities, animals, etc... and what we can do about it.
Instead of the obnoxious and ineffective "personal green lifestyle purity" approach--where we're all supposed to just personally and voluntarily recycle and do research and buy "better" products, etc--Annie wants to fix the whole broken system itself, and put responsibility for the environmental and human rights and health disaster that is our current consumption-driven paradigm where it truly belongs. Which isn't to say she lets individuals off the hook--she encourages us to act as citizens, and not consumers, to agitate to take apart our broken systems and create a new sustainable future--before it's too late. Super inspiring, an easy read, and even entertaining, if terrifying, at times--I recommend this book to EVERYONE.
Instead of the obnoxious and ineffective "personal green lifestyle purity" approach--where we're all supposed to just personally and voluntarily recycle and do research and buy "better" products, etc--Annie wants to fix the whole broken system itself, and put responsibility for the environmental and human rights and health disaster that is our current consumption-driven paradigm where it truly belongs. Which isn't to say she lets individuals off the hook--she encourages us to act as citizens, and not consumers, to agitate to take apart our broken systems and create a new sustainable future--before it's too late. Super inspiring, an easy read, and even entertaining, if terrifying, at times--I recommend this book to EVERYONE.
metrodcmike's review against another edition
4.0
I listened to the audiobook, read by the author. It was a good book that I think everyone should read. As it came out about 10 years ago, some of the information is a little dated (laws that were being worked on, a “good guide” site that no longer exists, etc). It was also a bit repetitive at times and went deeper than my interests in certain areas. But I learned a lot and I’m considering what I buy more carefully now.
auntie_bones's review against another edition
3.0
For anyone looking for motivation to reduce your shopping and trash-making, this is a great book to read. It is loaded with information and research. I appreciated that Annie Leonard did not write with an anti-human spirit. I don't share her anti-American, anti-capitalism views, although I do agree that both things merit a fair amount of criticism. The reason I gave it three stars instead of four is that it dealt with waste on a political and industrial level more than on an individual level. And that's just where we differ in our approach, she believes policies need to change more than the individual, and I believe the individual needs to change before policies can become effective. So there was much less take-home, applicable information in the book. I preferred Bea Johnson's "Zero Waste Home" because it dealt with waste on an individual level. I believe both the individual and the companies are responsible for waste, I just believe real change starts in the home. Political differences aside, this is a must-read for anyone concerned about waste and the environment.
lunarfire's review against another edition
4.0
I saw the short film years ago and had been meaning to read this for a while. I think the author does an excellent job of explaining the waste problem in approachable terms. She makes it easy to understand if not to fix.
weirdypants's review against another edition
4.0
Very informative and interesting but having read it two months ago and given more thought to it, it's very discouraging to think of the scope of what needs to be done to fix the system.
rodterez07's review against another edition
4.0
I happened upon this book by chance while browsing at the library and I'm so glad I did.
'The Story Of Stuff' is a passionate plea for us to wake up to the high price we are paying for our current culture of unrestrained conspicuous consumption.
What is the price we are paying? The very well being of our precious planet, the Earth itself.
Topics covered in detail in this book include how big industry (by the almost non-stop barrage of sales and marketing campaigns) has convinced many of us our self-worth is tied to owning ever-increasing amounts of what author Annie Leonard simply refers to as "stuff": bigger houses, fancier cars, trendy clothes, the latest electronic gadgets which become outdated almost the moment they are purchased, and the list goes on and on.
In order to feed our voracious hunger for more and more stuff to consume, an inefficient, corrupt and wasteful industrial production process has developed over the decades. These processes not only pollute our environment but also help to sustain gross economic inequalities both domestically and abroad.
The author asserts that if we continue on our current course of endless consumption, the end result will be a planet no longer able to sustain us.
However, this book is not all doom-and-gloom. Throughout the text, Ms. Leonard presents case studies of alternative solutions which can be enacted both individually and corporately to reverse the environmental damage being done to the planet.
These alternative strategies would afford people across the globe the opportunity to enjoy a higher quality of life which will not come at the expense of the environment, our health or the economic well being of our communities.
'The Story Of Stuff' is a passionate plea for us to wake up to the high price we are paying for our current culture of unrestrained conspicuous consumption.
What is the price we are paying? The very well being of our precious planet, the Earth itself.
Topics covered in detail in this book include how big industry (by the almost non-stop barrage of sales and marketing campaigns) has convinced many of us our self-worth is tied to owning ever-increasing amounts of what author Annie Leonard simply refers to as "stuff": bigger houses, fancier cars, trendy clothes, the latest electronic gadgets which become outdated almost the moment they are purchased, and the list goes on and on.
In order to feed our voracious hunger for more and more stuff to consume, an inefficient, corrupt and wasteful industrial production process has developed over the decades. These processes not only pollute our environment but also help to sustain gross economic inequalities both domestically and abroad.
The author asserts that if we continue on our current course of endless consumption, the end result will be a planet no longer able to sustain us.
However, this book is not all doom-and-gloom. Throughout the text, Ms. Leonard presents case studies of alternative solutions which can be enacted both individually and corporately to reverse the environmental damage being done to the planet.
These alternative strategies would afford people across the globe the opportunity to enjoy a higher quality of life which will not come at the expense of the environment, our health or the economic well being of our communities.