Less is More

"The earth provides enough to satisfy every man's need, but not every man's greed." - Gandhi

To live is to consume. We need air, water and food to live. We need fuel to keep us warm. If every person in the world lived very simply we'd still do some serious damage to our environment because there are so many of us. However, most affluent people in the world today are consuming with no thought for the future, or what their actions could be doing to people less fortunate than themselves. 

If you're wondering if you count as affluent the answer is probably yes, especially if you are reading this on your own computer. It's worth bearing in mind that if there is food in your fridge, if you have shoes and clothes, if you have your own bed and a roof over your head, you are wealthier than many people in the world.

It's OK to consume, but our consumption is out of control. Our over consumption is damaging our environment and putting lives in danger, including our own.

A report published in 2005 backed by 1,360 scientists from 95 countries - some of them world leaders in their fields -   warned that the almost two-thirds of the natural machinery that supports life on Earth is being degraded by human pressure.

It said, "Human activity is putting such a strain on the natural functions of Earth that the ability of the planet's ecosystems to sustain future generations can no longer be taken for granted".

You can read the Guardian article about the report here.

If we want to live in a sustainable way, doing as little damage as possible, one of the most important things we can do is simply buy less. If we buy less we consume less resources, less energy will be used making what we consume, we will be responsible for less CO2 emissions and pollution, we will produce less waste, we could save money and we’re likely to have less clutter in our lives. 

If we use less there will be more for other people.  If we spend less time buying things and looking after the things we have bought we will have more time for enjoying other activities.

It’s so easy to be persuaded by ads that we want or even need something so it’s good to stop and ask ourselves some of the following questions:

• ·        How have I managed to live without this until now?
• ·        Has not owning this item made me ill or unhappy?
• ·        Why do I want it?
• ·        Am I trying to fill an emotional need that would be better satisfied in another way?
• ·        Do I have unreasonable expectations of the product, such as it will make me a better or more successful person?
• ·        Do I already have something that serves the purpose perfectly well?
• ·        Do I have to own this to enjoy it or could I borrow or rent it for the time I’m likely to actually want it?
• ·        Can I try it out first?
• ·        Does the amount of resources needed to make this item justify its existence? 
• ·        What will happen to the item when I no longer want it; how much damage could it do then?

In future posts I shall start by looking at how we can reduce our carbon footprint and the amount of waste we produce.