Check out “The Story of Stuff with Annie Leonard.” An examination of what goes on behind the materials economy, from extraction of natural resources to production with toxic chemicals to (over-)consumption to obsolescence (products that expire quickly) to our national depression.

Sobering fact: 99% of products that run through the system are in the dump within 6 months.  Seriously.

The video is 20 minutes long, but you can put it on and listen to it as you work at your computer.

The upside: I don’t feel so bad that I can’t afford a new computer right now, and I’m proud that my dad’s helped me to make do with what I have by installing new memory — instead of trashing the whole thing.