6. Nature

Summary

Reduce the use of fossil fuels and polluting industries.

Actions

• If you use a car with an internal combustion engine, plan to exchange it for an electric one, but not a Tesla. Likewise, prefer electric appliances over gas-powered ones like lawn mowers and chainsaws. Maintain electronics well so that they last as long as possible.
• Electricity is only as ethical as its source. If your local power plant uses gas or coal, lobby your local government to replace it.
• Have high expectations for the quality goods and services, and complain to companies and sellers if these standards are not met.
• If you own land or a home, consider installing solar panels. These also produce pollution in their manufacturing and transportation, and should be carefully maintained to reduce damage.
• Seek goods and food from local sources, buying from local makers or farmers when possible, to reduce shipping distances.

Principles

In saner times, environmental protection would be a primary concern. However, we cannot effectively fix our environmental crises until we have stable governments through which to address the problems. Corporations and manufacturers must be forced to conduct themselves ethically, and that requires a unified force that is difficult to muster. That doesn’t mean we should ignore the problem.

In addition to divesting from fossil fuels, we need to abandon the idea of planned obsolescence. This needs to be primarily a cultural shift; customers should not merely tolerate goods that break down quickly, and should foster the knowledge of how to fix them. Likewise, the stigma against reusing goods must be eliminated. A person who buys a new item when they don’t need to is being unnecessarily wasteful.

There are some who would claim these attitudes are harmful to the economy, but this is not so. If basic needs for goods and services are fulfilled, people will spend their money on other things. This is a desirable situation.