No guilt, says Annie

It's industry's fault, she says.

In this morning's GreenSpace column, I wrote about Annie Leonard, who many people in this region know as the creator and "star" of the Internet film, "The Story of Stuff." The book version is due out tomorrow.

Annie was really interesting -- whether you agree with her or not -- and I wanted to share more of our conversation.

I asked her about her own "guilty stuff" -- things she bought that maybe she shouldn't have -- and she came right back at me. "Guilt is not a useful place. Not a very resourceful place," she said. She thinks that the "vast, vast majority of environmental pollution and destruction is by big industries." (She has used a cartoon of a bloated figure with a dollar sign on it.)

She says industry is been successful at deflecting its own responsibilities onto us. "So we think that the planet is in trouble because 'I forgot my bag at the store,'  or bought bottled water or didn't turn out the light." Annie begs to differ. "Those are about responsible home management, not about really tackling the problems."

"It is not our fault," she said. Instead, she lays most of the blame at the feet of "an entire industrial system...which rewards externalized costs."

But back to her own indulgences? She really loves a good cup of coffee. "It's not about feeling guilt," she said. "It's about feeling appreciation."

But if you really must go shopping, Leonard recommends first visiting GoodGuide, started by her friend, Dara O'Rourke, who is obsessed with climate change. He's researched thousands of items and posted ratings on his website. There's even an iPhone app, where you take a photo of a bar code, shoot it in and get an instant report. You can also send an instant message to a manufacturer through the site. "He's about changing the way things are made," she said.

Finally, for everyone who wonders about those cute little cartoons, they're the creation of Ruben DeLuna, with Free Range Studios, whose motto is "creativity with a conscience."