Annie Leonard’s The Story of Stuff is an oldie but goodie. In it she passionately illuminates the root of many environmental problems: consumption. That is, using and disposing of ever more raw material. The Story of Stuff re-frames “environmentalism” beyond energy use and makes us truly think about where all our widgets come from and where those doodads go when we’re done with them.

Reducing product consumption typically saves energy as well. For instance, you are probably aware that recycling an aluminum can saves approximately 95% of the energy it takes to produce a can from virgin material; as much as a soda can of gasoline. To quote Amory Lovins, “The cheapest energy is the energy we don’t use;” something he calls nega-watts. But more importantly, everything we buy or consume has an environmental cost, and often a environmental justice cost. Click the image above to watch The Story of Stuff.