– there is no way that this a natural/ healthy place to live –
I added this page in response to a publication entitled A DREAM OF A LOW CARBON FUTURE, which was jointly funded/ published by the ENGINEERING AND PHYSICAL SCIENCES RESEARCH COUNCIL (EPSRC) and the UNIVERSITY OF LEEDS. The result of a postgraduate project which was aimed at imagining a sustainable Leeds in the near future. A tome that is accompanied by such a high level of authenticity you have to wonder why it turned out so naive and full of gross errors, because there is no way any of these ideas could would work.
Sadly, every school and university teaches this same old crap. Why?
The answer is really easy. We have been duped. Those who rule over us (the state, religion and business) have created this man/god-scape, where we live, encompassing all our needs – food/ shelter/ work/ transport/ play/ etc. Divided into zones – suburbs, smallholdings, farms, forest, moor, mountain, river, ocean, desert and savannah etc – along with the species which are allowed to exist there. All the work of some divine being. So, with the best will in the world, for most people trying to imagine that could be any other way of seeing it, a place where other rules applied, is going to be difficult. I’d say impossible. Because even in this age of travel we still tend to visit similarly artificially managed environments or at least interpret them with what we believe is the truth.
However, there is a whole other world out there. One that is far larger and contains more species than the one we know and occupy. A place where what little remains of the planet’s natural eco-system lives. The heart & lungs of this planet. Though for how long is uncertain. Those who rule over us have already started to explore and exploit it.
The fact that most people haven’t the slightest clue how our world works is not good news, especially now at this particular moment in time. When our thirst for reproducing ourselves and buying ever more pointless stuff seems inexhaustible.
So, I thought I’d start making a list of all the things we need to think about in order to stop the planet being totally destroyed by selfishness, ignorance and greed. As I think of more, I’ll add them too.
Starting with:
- THE LAND & SEA
We are not a beneficial species. Therefore our existence does not serve any purpose in the greater ecology. Nor is the planet something for us to do whatever we want with. Which means if we continue as we have been doing, farming, fishing, polluting, mining and building with it, then we will end up destroying the one thing that allows us to exist. That provides us with enough water to drink, enough air to breathe, enough food to eat, along with everything else we currently take for granted.
At our current rate of consumption very soon none of those will exist and nor will we. Science will not be able to save us. Nor will any amount of money.
It doesn’t have to end like this. We can do something. Each of us can make a difference.
- STOP HAVING CHILDREN, CHOOSING TO BE CHILD-FREE INSTEAD
Without doubt the single most important thing any of us can do right now is choose (yes it is a choice) not to bring another child into the world. There are just too many of us already, and providing for them all is bleeding the planet dry. To give some perspective on how bad it is, in order to be truly sustainable (ie not having any detrimental effect on the ecology) there should be no more than one million of us. In total. Whereas right now there are more than 8 billion. Each day that number is increasing, along with their demands for more and more goods and services.
None of this is surprising, given the amount of social pressure we are exposed to from family and friends, from advertising and the media, not forgetting of course religion.
But what really hurts the most is that we have a choice, and most people to believe what they are told, even if it is stupid. Either because it makes their miserable/ empty lives feel better, to fit in or because their religion demands it.
NEVER for a moment considering the consequences. Which for the child are vast.
Like abuse. Most children, until they become independent adults and able to leave home, will be forced to experience one or some of the following forms of abuse:
physical (from bullying to actual violence) – psychological – sexual – religious – political – educational – dietary. Forced on them by their caregivers, other children and other adults.
Disability. In a just society there is no excuse for bring a child into this world knowing they could inherit a crippling disease or addiction from their biological parents. Or the foetus be exposed to anything that could potentially harm them.
A child is a person, an individual. Not a toy or appendage that its guardians or community have any right to dictate to or treat as they wish. Children should be allowed to develop their own uniqueness without any influence or pressure to conform, including the right to choose their gender.
Bringing another life into the world not only increases the burden on our already frail and collapsing ecology, but on society too. Who will each now have to wait even longer for treatment by the NHS, as well as all the other essential care services. They will also have to pay more taxes to pay for everything. Food, water, energy and every other kind of natural resource globally will become even more stretched.
When you congratulate someone who is expecting a baby, what you are actually saying is you don’t care about all the other species and people this will affect, torture, kill, make extinct. What you are saying is you are just as selfish as they are.
Having a child is not even safe or healthy. Pregnant women are far more likely to suffer serious physical and mental health problems, some of which can be permanent or fatal.
Parents (aka the child-burdened) are more likely to suffer from stress and financial pressure than those who have chosen to be child-free.
Free contraception is available to everyone in many countries, as are abortions. Vasectomy or sterilisation/ hysterectomy are an even better option. All available in the UK on the NHS. - FOOD
Feeding so many of us is not only killing the planet, it is making us sick and we are now dying earlier and earlier.
All thanks to our total reliance on modern agriculture. Multinational corporations who have absolutely no interest in our nutrition needs. Only increasing their profits year on year.
The food industry is one of the world’s largest consumers of petroleum products and polluters.
Who use carcinogenic chemicals and genetically altered crops, even if they are banned. Who operate in such a way the law does not affect them. While we the consumer have not the slightest idea what is actually in our food.
If we really want to live well, enjoy a long life, nourished by healthy food, then we have to stop buying from them. We have to grow it ourselves. Or at least buy from people actually we know. Instead of foolishly trusting in the government to protect us. - STOP TAKING FROM THE ECOLOGY
We need to occupy less space. It should be made illegal to own more than one property.
There should be no more new constructions, only repair and modifying what already exists.
Nomads should be encouraged.
Renting a home should only be possible through local councils and non-profit organisations. - SPEND LESS AND DON’T BUY OR USE MORE THAN YOU NEED
Live frugally. Buy only what you need, rather than what you want or expect.
Don’t spend money simply to fit in with others or to make yourself feel better.
The less you buy, the less time you need to waste working for someone else. The more time you have to do what you really want.
Don’t give children cheap plastic toys, which break almost immediately and then end up in landfill or polluting the oceans.
Don’t buy clothes that will only get worn once or twice
Don’t wear make-up, get tattoos or piercings, and don’t pressure others to either. Apart from being a huge waste of money, anyone with the slightest depth to them knows that beauty, attractiveness and personality is not about being fashion-conscious.
Buying gadgets and labour-saving devices are just another excuse to waste more time watching tv, playing video games, or scrolling endlessly on the phone.
Don’t buy single-use disposable products, like wet wipes, kitchen roll, tissues, nappies, menstrual pads, cotton buds, even toilet paper (use a bidet instead), carrier bags. Use fabric alternatives wherever possible, that can be washed and reused over and over again.
Don’t buy cling-film.
Don’t buy hair products, shower gel, fabric conditioner, anti-bacterial sprays, perfume, sweets, energy drinks, microwave & convenience meals, vitamins & supplements, ornaments & knick-knacks, toilet freshener, electric toothbrush, hair dryer and curlers, a second car, second home, fashion clothes, high heel shoes, false nails & nail varnish, clothes for pets……
Utilise charity shops, enjoy what is free. Go for walks. Make things from foraged scrap.
Be there for someone else. Volunteer.
- STOP EATING MEAT, FISH & DAIRY PRODUCTS – STOP HUNTING
Whatever you may have been conditioned to believe, farming involves breeding animals specifically for what we want from them, regardless of the consequences in terms of pain and suffering to the animals. They are kept against their will, in conditions that are far from natural or humane, fed on a diet of poisons. This is a level of slavery and torture that transcends anything we as a species have ever done to each other.
Fishing is just as bad.
While none of the above are actually necessary for human life. Most in fact are harmful to our health in the quantities we are currently consuming them. - EVERYTHING SHOULD BE DESIGNED TO BE REPAIRABLE AND RECYCLABLE – NO MORE LANDFILL OR INCINERATION
Offer to exchange your skills or time with those with the necessary skills to repair things, rather than buying new every time something stops working.
All new products should have a minimum ten-year warranty. - MAKE SURE ALL YOUR HOUSEHOLD PRODUCTS ARE BIODEGRADABLE
It is appalling that we still pour toxic chemicals down our sinks/ drains that will eventually find their way onto farmland, the rivers and sea, where they will poison not only our food but other lifeforms too. - COMPOST EVERYTHING
Nothing biodegradable should ever end up in landfill. We should either compost it ourselves, or demand it be composted at a municipal facility. - WATER – DON’T WASTE IT
Flush the toilet less frequently.
Use the washing machine only when absolutely necessary.
Take fewer showers/ baths.
Don’t use a dishwasher.
Filter all your waste water and reuse.
Collect and use rainwater.
Do not irrigate plants with mains water.
We all need clean pure water (more than food) for hydration. Do not confuse drinking a beverage with this, they are not the same. - ALL PUBLIC TRANSPORT SHOULD BE FREE
Using a car when there is public transport is simply not acceptable, especially when it is for a journey where walking is possible. Just because we want or can afford to do something doesn’t mean it is good for us or the planet. - HAPPINESS
It is not natural to feel happy all the time so don’t expect it. Don’t fall into the trap of believing that food, alcohol, other drugs, buying things, social media, taking holidays, going on self-improvement courses, or joining a religion will make you into a better person. Only you can do that, by being your true self. Everything else is all about others preying on the gullible. - STOP PRETENDING GARDENS, FARMS & WILDLIFE AREAS ARE PART OF THE ECOLOGY
They are not. We know so little about Nature and are so threatened by that, our belief we are the most intelligent species on the planet, that we pretend we can exert control over it by inventing terms like pests, non-native, invasive, weeds, overgrown, neglected, eyesore. All total rubbish.
If we truly want to help the planet, then the best thing we can do is not have gardens or waste time and finite resources reforesting or rewilding, but accept our ignorance and let Nature do what is necessary. - NOAH’S ARK
Just because we have been able to prevent the extinction of one or two examples of a species (or saved some seed), does not mean we are anywhere close to understanding how the planet’s ecology works. In fact we probably never will. Nature is so vast and diverse, and it is also constantly evolving, we haven’t a hope. So let’s leave it to Nature, and nature alone, to decide where/ what/ and how many of anything it needs to function. Not us.
We have to stop taking natural resources that cannot be replaced immediately/ identically.
The oceans are the most essential part of life on this planet, as well as the most sensitive. The process of chelation (a small amount of something can spread over a wide area) means that anything we dump into it will eventually contaminate the whole, regardless of how small it is. We must therefore cease from polluting them. Likewise, water is the lifeblood for trees and other plants with deep root systems. We must stop using any more water than we actually need. - RELIGION
All religious beliefs preach the same nonsense, that the Earth was created for our sole use. This, as even Charles Darwin concludes in ON THE ORIGIN OF SPECIES, is total rubbish. Ignoring Nature will simply lead to mass extinction. We need to get rid of all these charlatans and tune back into the instincts we carry in our genes and were born with. Tune back into being a part of the ecology. - RENEWABLE ENERGY
There is no such thing. All the materials used to create the infrastructure that generates our power have to come from somewhere. They need continual maintenance and repair. Have a very limited lifespan. None are currently recyclable.
The only true renewable energy is what our bodies create from the food we eat, preferably that which we grow ourselves or forage. Until a real alternative to energy is discovered we have to learn to live using less.
By heat our homes to no more than comfortable (18C).
Only making car journeys when it is not possible to walk or use public transport.
Illuminating streets and businesses only during the day and early evening.
Make it mandatory that all appliances only consume the smallest amount of power possible.
Make houses smaller or occupy more people.
Reduce our dependency on electrical gadgets. - BAN CRUISE SHIPS AND TURN THEM INSTEAD INTO FLOATING ACCOMMODATION FOR THE HOMELESS
- TRAVEL
Tourism is a truly destructive force. Huge swathes of the planet have been wiped-out just to create places for people to go on holiday and look familiar and safe. The fuel and other natural resources used to get them there will never be replaced. The pollution it creates is killing off not just other species but us as well. For what? Most people do not feel better after a holiday. On the contrary, travel has become just another addiction. We take more and more holidays in the hope it will make us feel good about ourselves, but that will never happen. - STOP LISTENING TO THE EXPERTS
Nothing the so-called professionals say – be it scientists, the food industry (especially the labelling on their products), politicians, the media, even other professionals – is the honest truth. Especially when it comes to whether something is really healthy, safe or sustainable.
As Solomon Rivers says:
test the world on your own terms, draw your own conclusions. - STOP WATCHING TV, USING SOCIAL MEDIA & READING NEWSPAPERS
The major cause of why most people feel dissatisfied, depressed, inadequate or afraid is because they allow themselves to become addicted to the false world these create. Until they believe it to be the real one. Try living without them and see the difference. - ALL OF WHICH…
… can be very difficult and confusing to actually do in practice. Becoming vegan for example, is a very big step. Totally vegan, almost impossible. Especially when the alternative ends up being just as bad, but in another way. One way to make it easier is to try and understand that it is not just what we buy that creates problems, but how it was made and how it got to us, the whole journey. From the sourcing of the raw materials, to the processing and manufacturing, then all the transportation in between to get it to us. Only then can we begin to appreciate what the real choices we have are. Either do without, or find it made locally from local renewable materials.
… to be continued
How to live off-grid 