October 1 2013 was an eventful day, to say the least: the government shut down leaving thousands of government workers furloughed, and the American (and global) public were left to wonder about the state of affairs of the richest country in the world. After listening to several NPR radio talk shows addressing the issue, I was not only worried about the government shutdown, but also about the looming deadline to increase the government debt ceiling in the next weeks in order to continue “business as usual” for the U.S. Where would we even start taking care of the multitude of problems that just manifested themselves as a government shutdown? Coincidentally(?), later that evening I stumbled across a video released that same day, the “Story of Solutions”, from the same makers of the “Story of Stuff”.

A short story made shorter, the video critiques the American society’s goal of accumulating more stuff. Our goal should not be to acquire more stuff, but rather to build and have better stuff: better education, better health and a better chance of surviving in this planet. This mentality of acquiring more stuff (fueled by cheap energy derived from hydrocarbons) is what has translated into many of the mess we have created today. These include, but are not limited to: a stagnant economy, polluted air and watersheds, depleted natural resources, poverty and deep social inequalities. Our society’s efforts should focus on issues of health, safety and equity, not on figuring how to make people buy more iPhones, the latest car or buy bigger homes. The next generation of solutions to be proposed in America should deviate from the old model of economic growth. To quote Annie Leonard, the maker of the video, each contributing solution should pursue the following  G.O.A.L.:

1) It GIVES people more power, allowing them to “flex” their citizens muscles,

2) It OPENS peoples’ eyes about to the truth about happiness ( which is found in communities, health, and a sense of purpose),

3) It ACCOUNTS for all the costs by internalizing instead of externalizing them, and

4) It LESSENS the wealth gap between those who consume more than their fair share, and those who have barely enough to fulfill their basic needs.

Let me be clear here, this is by no means unheard of, and for the most part, you might already be familiar with similar discourses. I don’t claim Annie Leonard’s position to be revolutionary or even perfect. Politicizing our society’s problems does not make for easy or quick fixes; In fact, these solutions are bound to be slow and messy, as we take into account the many factors that have been disregarded by techno-fixes we are used to. And although today is reserved to talk about energy and environmental policy, I have taken the liberty to step back, and look a the bigger picture. Energy and environmental policy (or really, any kind of policy) will not yield the results we as a society and species need for survival if we keep operating on the wrong principles, and aiming for the wrong goals. 

A transition to a system where our efforts do not revolve around economic growth and accumulation is bound to be rough, and definitely not pleasant for most of us. Even thinking about it can be overwhelming and paralyzing. However, challenges are also opportunities. Bringing out the optimist inside me (for a change), I would like to say that the government shutdown, and the upcoming debt ceiling negotiations, are prime opportunities to focus our attention on the bigger problems facing us today, and, as Ms. Leonard would say, “game-changing solutions ” to overcome them.