EARTHKEEPING NEWS A NEWSLETTER OF THE NORTH AMERICAN COALITION FOR CHRISTIANITY AND ECOLOGY Volume Seven, Number Four May/June 1998 PBS SPECIAL AFFLUENZA, ON EPIDEMIC OVERCONSUMPTION, AIRS SEPTEMBER 15 Have you noticed how the Good Life has become the Goods Life? Watch Affluenza, produced by KCTS/Seattle and Oregon Public Broadcasting. This hour-long special is the first in-depth film to look critically at how overconsumption and the advertising that feeds it are eating away at our personal lives and families, eroding our communities and destroying our environment. "Never before has so much meant so little to so many," comments NPR's Scott Simon, the host. In addition to the signs, symptoms and history of the disease, the film documents a growing number of therapies: Some economists are substituting the GPI (Genuine Progress Indicator) for the GNP (Gross National Product) to measure and define more realistically the good life. Adbusters' Buy Nothing Day, November 29, is growing in popularity in eight countries. Courses on voluntary simplicity, frugality and sensible use of money are multiplying. Co-housing and gardening are cited as ways to restore community and live life more fully with less. Check your local TV listings for the September 15 air time in your community. Also check the Affluenza Web site: www.pbs.org/affluenza. For an outreach packet or viewer's guide, contact Chris DeBoer at KCTS, 206/443-4817. To purchase the video for educational, grassroots and home use, call Bullfrog Films, 800/543-FROG; email bullfrog@igc.org. Home     Table of Contents