The Story of Stuff - do Ethics count?

The presenter on the Story of Stuff has obviously done a lot of research on the topic of how things are produced and the effect it has on the planet. However, I found that all the evidence given were very one-sided, with emphasis only on the negative aspects of production.

Globally, people are becoming very aware of the effect we have on the environment and are becoming much more responsible. This is reflected even locally in the newly introduced recycling system of the Christchurch City Council. Each household now has three bins, of different colours and sizes. One bin is for greens (food and plant material), one for glass and paper and one for general rubbish. Most of the rubbish lands in one of the first two bins, leaving very little for the unrecyclable rubbish. The Council is very proactive and invites the public to come and see for themselves how their recycling process works.

In countries like South Africa, people are discouraged to use plastic bags by charging them for it. This has had a noticable, positive effect - no more plastic bags floating around, lying on street corners and blown agains fences. This practice has now also started in New Zealand, with recyclable shopping bags being sold and charges made for plastic bags in chain supermarkets.

It is good to be made aware of the negative effects we have on our environment. However, when people are made aware of the effect of even some small effort, e.g. recycling of cans, and how it has contributed to a clean green environment, it serves as a motivating factor. I think most people,in New Zealand anyway, would like to be environmentally responsible and caring. Once they have been made aware of consequences, and given a choice, they will respond favourably.