If the global environment is to be saved for future generations, many experts warn that more of the world’s citizens need to participate in “green living.” This means using materials that reduce pollution of all types in various aspects of daily life, thereby reducing consumption of fossil fuels, and producing less waste.

1. Green Living is Living Sustainably

2. Sustainability
Meeting the needs of
the present without
compromising the
ability of future
generations to meet
their own needs.

5. Tip of the iceberg.

6. Real Cost of Goods
Product Stewardship
The Natural Step Framework

7. Not pictured:
•refrigerator-freezer
• camcorder
• woodworking tools
• computer
• glass butterfly collection
• trampoline
• fishing equipment
• rifles for deer hunting
•among other things
Skeen Family - Pearland, Texas
Photograph © 2004 Peter Menzel/menzelphoto.com
It’s all about Stuff.

8. The U.S. has 5% of the world’s population,
but uses 30% of its resources.

9. The $ on the price tag reflects direct costs --
labor & materials.

10. The $ on the price tag does NOT include the
hidden costs.

11. It takes 1.8 tons of raw materials—including fossil
fuels, water and metal ores—to manufacture a desktop
PC and monitor.
Source: 2004 United Nations University Study [Smithsonian Magazine, August 2005]

12. It’s one thing to have all these hazardous
materials in our computers.
Source: Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition/Electronics Take Back Campaign, 2008 [“The Story of Stuff,”
by Annie Leonard]

13. You should also look at how those chemicals are
released into the environment …and into humans!
Source: “The Story of Stuff,” by Annie Leonard

14. In 2006, one
computer
manufacturer
received a high
ranking in
Greenpeace’s
“Guide to Green
Electronics.”
Another study looked into their supply chain -- the
manufacturers who supply the components that make
up a computer -- in China, Mexico, the Philippines and
Thailand.
Source: “The Story of Stuff,” by Annie Leonard

15. • working
conditions that
were dangerous,
degrading and
abusive
• excessive
working hours
and forced
overtime
• illegally low
wages and
unpaid overtime
The Chinese workers in this
photo make 55¢ an hour.
• and more.
Source: Impact Lab, April 17, 2010
Source: “The Story of Stuff,” by Annie Leonard

16. Wenling, Zhejiang Province, China
Source: Greenpeace.org
Guiyu, China
Source: Basel Action Network, 2008.
Lastly, we must consider the disposal of computers
and how they can continue to harm the environment.
“The Story of Stuff,” by Annie Leonard

17. Graphic: California Product Stewardship Council
Partial Solution:
Product Stewardship

18. Developed in 1989, the TNS Framework
builds on the basic understanding of what
makes life possible, how our biosphere
functions and how we are part of the
earth’s natural systems.

19. 1. Eliminate fossil fuel dependence and wasteful use of
scarce metals and minerals.
Reduce mining and use of
substances from
earth’s crust:
• heavy metals such as
cadmium, lead, mercury,
• minerals such as phosphorus
• fossil fuels
Samarco Alegria Iron Ore mine in Brazil . Mining operations began
in 1992. 8.5 million tons of iron ore was mined in 2008.
These substances and their emissions (CO2 and NOx) are
steadily increasing in human society and nature.

20. 2. Eliminate dependence upon persistent chemicals and
wasteful use of synthetic substances.
• Humans are manufacturing
synthetic substances faster than
they can be broken down.
• EPA lists more than 70,000
chemicals that are in common use.
• Every U.S. citizen’s fatty tissue
contains at least 700 chemical
contaminants, according to EPA.

21. 3. Eliminate encroachment upon nature – land, water,
wildlife, forests, soil, ecosystems.
• Human activity is breaking down
natural systems faster than they
can renew themselves.
• Nearly one-half of the Earth’s
original forest cover has been lost.
• Demand for fresh water exceeds
the world’s supply by 17 percent.

22. 4. Meet human needs fairly and efficiently.
• If people around the world cannot meet their basic
human needs (air, water, food, shelter), the first three
system conditions will not be met.
• Within our businesses & communities, our needs include:
• a means of a livelihood
• mobility
• equal treatment
• equal access
• participation in decisions
• safety
• right to peaceful enjoyment of life
• connection with nature

23. Real Cost of Goods
Product Stewardship
The Natural Step Framework

24. Learn More
“The Story of Stuff” by Annie Leonard
“Cradle to Cradle”
by William McDonough & Michael Braungart
“Affluenza: The All-Consuming Epidemic”
by John De Graff, David Wann & Thomas H. Naylor
“Exposed: The Toxic Chemistry of Everyday Products and
What’s at Stake for American Power”
by Mark Schapiro
“Confessions of an Eco-Sinner:
Tracking Down the Sources of My Stuff”
by Fred Pearce

25. Lori De La Cruz, ABC
Principal
Blue Marble Media, LLC
www.BlueMarbleMedia.net