09 May 2011

Prosperity without Growth? 10 Little and Big Things You Can Do

From the interesting The Story of Stuff Project (must-see video) come ten simple yet thought provoking tips to promote sustainability.

The 10 headlines are:

1. Power down!
2. Waste less.
3. Talk to everyone about these issues. 
4. Make Your Voice Heard.
5. DeTox your body, DeTox your home, and DeTox the Economy.
6. Unplug (the TV and internet) and Plug In (the community). 
7. Park your car and walk…and when necessary MARCH!
8. Change your lightbulbs…and then, change your paradigm.
9. Recycle your trash…and, recycle your elected officials. 
10. Buy Green, Buy Fair, Buy Local, Buy Used, and most importantly, Buy Less.        

Read the full list of 10 Little and Big Things You Can Do

I am especially intrigued by adding a conscious 'quality' dimension to our materialistic 'quantitative' measuring of wealth, success and our economies. Or on the words of The Story of Stuff: "Our current paradigm dictates that more stuff is better, that infinite economic growth is desirable and possible, and that pollution is the price of progress. To really turn things around, we need to nurture a different paradigm based on the values of sustainability, justice, health, and community."

These ideas and much more are also discussed by Tim Jackson, see his TED video, or read his Prosperity Without Growth: Economics for a Finite Planet.



This article is posted on Business4Good. You can also follow me on Twitter @jjnagler