Beginning with a startlingly simple message ("We have a problem with stuff. We use too much of it. And way too much of it is toxic."), Annie Leonard, creator of the internet film phenomenon The Story of Stuff, expands on the film in a powerful and inspiring book that tracks the life of the "stuff" we use every day, from extraction through production, distribution, consumption, and disposal.

Uncovering and communicating a new idea — that there is an intentional system behind our patterns of buying and throwing things away — she transforms how we think about our lives and our relationship to the planet, and, perhaps most importantly, she offers us hope that change is within reach. Brilliantly combining information about the economy, cultures, and the environment, Leonard illuminates how our "growth at all costs" economy has made for a system in crisis: it's a linear model used on a finite resource — the earth — and we've pushed that resource almost to its limit and jeopardized our own health in the process. The book will offer a deeper, more expansive look at the life of our "stuff" along with plenty of concrete solutions, while maintaining Leonard's trademark sense of fun.

Annie Leonard tracks the life of the "stuff" we use every day, transforming how we think about our patterns of consumption.

Annie Leonard is an expert in international sustainability and environmental health issues, with more than 20 years of experience investigating factories and dumps around the world. She's taking time off from her other work to write the book, but until recently she was coordinator of the Funders Workgroup for Sustainable Production and Consumption, communicating worldwide about the impact of consumerism and materialism on global economies and international health. Annie's efforts over the past two decades to raise awareness about international sustainability and environmental health issues has included work with Global Anti-Incinerator Alliance (GAIA), Health Care without Harm, Essential Information and Greenpeace International. She serves on the boards of GAIA, the International Forum for Globalization and the Environmental Health Fund.

Annie has written about international environmental issues for a range of public interest audiences and will step this up and broaden her reach with op eds and features around publication time. She's appeared on radio and TV in the U.S. and other countries many times over the past 20 years. She had extensive media training and exposure during her tenure at Greenpeace. She's testified in front of Congress, been interviewed on CNN, publicly debated a US State Department representative, and done hundreds of public presentations. Years ago, she was listed in Mademoiselle magazine as one of the 100 coolest people under thirty.

Annie did her undergraduate studies at Barnard and graduate work in city and regional planning at Cornell. She has traveled to 40 countries, including Haiti, Bangladesh, India, the Philippines, Pakistan and South Africa, in her work investigating and promoting anti-pollution issues internationally. Annie currently resides in California with her daughter.