I already mentioned the story of stuff in a post a couple of years ago in a post because I really liked the video. Today I saw a new video of the Story of Stuff project, called The Story Of Change. After they first analysed all the “stuff” that we own, use, and get rid of, this video argues how we should generate change. Everyone buys things the need, or perhaps just want to have, everyday. As a colleague mentioned today, we [girls} don’t need a reason to buy new shoes, do we? So we all just keep buying more and more things.

Of course we look for organic food, we buy free range meat, we recycle, don’t we? But is that enough to really change the government policies and influence large corporations? I like their argument.  You do need a critical mass to get something done. Especially projects, like renewable energy, that require large investments. The example of the electrical cars in Amsterdam and other cars managed by Mercedes, Car to Go, functions because many people in Amsterdam use them daily. Without all these avid users, the project would have never gotten of the ground.

Electrical boating is no different. If I want to use electricity for my boat, but I cannot charge except at my own port, I can’t really sail very far. I always have to stay within range of my port. But if I know i can charge in every port, I will be more inclined to install an electrical engine to replace my stinking and noisy diesel engine. But no one will install expensive charging points when there are no users. So somehow we need to overcome this vicious circle. Maybe this video can help us to get motivated.