Willie Nelson

Annie Leonard narrates this brief explanation of Materials Economics which is something different from the Raw Materials Economics we discussed in previous articles about family farms. The film has become an Internet phenomenon, generating over 6.5 million views in 200 countries and territories since its launch in December 2007.

She discusses how corporations, which now comprise over half of the 100 largest economies in the world, have manipulated governments to run things for their profit and benefit rather than ours. Annie Leonard seems to make the case for a separation of corporations and government similar to the arguments for the separation of religion and government hundreds of years ago.

Her story begins with resource extraction that is exploitative and exhaustive of nonrenewable resources. At this first stage a shift to widespread commercial hemp production would resolve many of these issues.

Current manufacturing process involves adding toxic chemicals to natural resources and pollute the environment. Many of these toxic chemicals are derived from petroleum or are simply byproducts of another toxic industrial process.

Distribution to retail consumers currently under prices the finished goods, not returning enough value to the producers and workers to keep them out of debt. This is why even the contemporary financial system is not sustainable as illustrated by the current financial crisis.

If we put parity pricing of raw materials into practice as recommended by Raw Materials Economics and shifted to commercial hemp production sustainable in localized economies many of these problems would not even exist.

Annie Leonard goes on to tell us that 99% of everything we buy becomes trash within 6 months. Just dealing with the garbage, land fills and incinerators required to take our trash out of sight greatly contributes to our current mess.

She tells us that sustainability, equity, green chemistry, zero waste, closed loop production, renewable energy and local living economies are needed to reform our lifestyle. It would also reduce out need to wage wars over resources and the forcing of other people to into our wasteful toxic system under the guise of bringing them democracy.

Historically, the ‘old way’ she talks about is actually pretty new. The actual old way embraced many of the reforms mentioned because it made sense and enabled 10,000 years of human social evolution.

The contemporary way is relatively new, unsustainable and will lead to the total collapse of civilization if left to continue to its own exhaustion. The sooner we change, and I mean substantial meaningful change not just the holding on to the empty promise of change by career politicians in the pay of corporations, the better.

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