How to stop future-eating

Only after the last tree has been cut down Only after the last river has been poisoned Only after the last fish has been caught Only then will you find you cannot eat money -- Cree prophecy

The choice is yours. If you don't care and just want to carry on buying, buying, buying... well, you won't be reading this anyway.

But you are reading this, aren't you!

That must mean you do care.

And I know you can make a difference. It won't be obvious or fast but it will happen. It has to if our beautiful planet is to survive with all its wonderful life and variety. Ignoring the problems, 'business as usual', will mean a poor and dreary world with filthy air and sea, land covered by more roads, airports, bigger industrial farms and cities and more wars.

And where will the wild creatures be? There won't be any space left. Penguins, polar bears and many other creatures are already in trouble - as are around one billion people who barely have enough to eat. By consuming less, you can help to create a fairer sustainable world.

 

	Lifestyle lifestyle is a choice. You can choose to change it Drop down a gear or two. Slow down. Chill out (I like chilling out!). Spend more time with friends. Play more. Buy less. Make music. The best things in life are free. You can't buy laughter or happiness! Fixing learn about how to mend things or ask someone else to help a small tube of glue can stop something you broke becoming more junk. A few stitches with a needle and thread fixes that rip in your pants. Mending things - recycling really - is much cheaper than buying new. You'll find you discover all kinds of new useful skills - and have fun! Fixing something is very satisfying. Taking care of your stuff helps too. Recycling recycle everything you can (and that includes cans!) cans, bottles, jars, paper, most plastics, food waste (for compost) - almost everything can be used again in some way if you take the trouble to separate it and make sure it gets to your recycling centre. And if there is no local recycling centre, maybe you can campaign to get one. After all, there's no sense in driving 50 miles to take a few bottles to be recycled Sustainable can I do this forever? get the habit of asking yourself that question. You can drink as many glasses of water or eat as many potatoes as you want because the water gets naturally recycled and potatoes grow new every year. You can also go hiking with your friends. But can you fly between Australia and New York every week? Not when all the fuel has run out. And what about all that pollution that your flight makes? Try my interactive sustainability quiz and find out if you are a future-eater Sharing share things with your friends if there's something you, other family members or your friends really want, see if you can agree to buy it between you and share it Buying power buyers have power! (Click the dragon to find out more) companies that make stuff for you to buy take a great interest in what you do buy. If loads of people stop buying something, the company won't make it any more. If loads of people choose to buy some other product because they can see it's not harming the planet, then that company not only makes money but is encouraged to make more planet-friendly things. Everyone wins! Working work less! (I don't mean school work - I mean if you have a well-paid job) why do humans work harder and harder (those who have work, that is)? Why must it be 5 days a week - or even more? Why not more holiday? Why must stores be open 24 hours a day? These are questions to talk about with friends, parents, teachers, local businesspeople, politicians. There are no easy answers but there's something wrong with the present work-work-work system. If it was making things that were really useful or needed, then it would be different. But it isn't. Most stuff quickly gets to be junk. Why waste the planet to make junk? Remember the tale of the Fisherman and the Tourist. People too many people? the world is full up! Over 6,000,000,000 people and going up. When you grow up and want to have kids, think about the life you will be able to give them. Meantime, here's some questions to think about: Will there be enough for everyone? What about all the wild animals on the planet. Will there be space left for any of them? Who should have children? Who shouldn't? And who decides? There are no easy answers. Needs each time you buy something, ask yourself: Do I really need this? If the honest answer is 'no', then don't buy. Not buying might be hard at the time, but then you have the money for something else that you might really need. And you can give yourself a big plus point for doing your bit for the planet. Transport share transport Do you go to school in a car? If you do, is there room for more kids from your neighbourhood? Can you use a bus instead of riding in the car? Public transport is really about sharing with others. Use it or lose it. Lazy try not to be lazy! Walk to the shops or your friends' houses. Or use a bike. The easy option is always to drive. But walking and biking do no harm to the planet. Driving does. Working out (in a gym) may be good for people. But walking out could be even better in the long run.

What do you think about eating the future? Have you any good ideas about what we can do to make things better? If you do, please write to me. As long as your message is sensible and friendly, I promise to reply. I will also put your message on my Friends page. Click to email me now! Please don't delete the subject line of your email which should read: "Eating the future guide message for Tiki".

If you found my Eating the Future guide helpful, why not tell your friend(s) about it. It's very easy. Just type your friend's email address into the box and click 'send'. There's no tricks, no junk mail, no ads. Just a simple email from you to your friend. You can add your own message if you want.

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