-When tempted to engage in “retail therapy” instead jog, meditate, read, or find some other solution.
-Shop, consciously if there is something you must have; purchase items whose packaging, ingredients, and methods of production are sustainable and support life.
-Make everything you own last as long as possible.
-Purchase at consignment and thrift stores where everything is recycled.
-Protest against “free” trade agreements and sweatshops.
-Write letters telling Monsanto, De Beers, ExxonMobil, Adidas, Ford, G.E., Coca-Cola, Wal-Mart, and other labor exploiters and environment destroyers why you refuse to purchase from them.
-Write letters praising Home Depot, Kinko’s , Citicorp, Starbucks, Whole Foods, and other companies that cooperate with RAN Amnesty International, and other NGOs (non-governmental organizations).
-Cut back on oil and gas consumption.
-Downsize your your car, home, wardrobe, everything in your life.
-Send money to nonprofits, radio stations, and other organizations that promote just causes.
-Volunteer yout time and energy to such organizations.
-Support local merchants.
-Encourage stores to buy from local growers, producers, and suppliers.
-Shop at your local farmer’s market.
-Drink tap water (get the water company to do a better job if necessary, but avoid buying bottled water).
-Vote for enlightened school boards, commissions, ordinances, and politicians.
-Run for office.
-Insist that those who use your money–banks, pensions, mutual funds, companies–make socially and environmentally responsible investments.
-Speak out whenever forums present themselves.
-Volunteer to talk at your local school about your favorite subject (beekeeping, weaving, tennis, anything) and use it to challenge students, to wake them up.
-Discuss externalities, the costs of pollution, poor working conditions, public subsidies, corporate exemptions, and other environmental, social, and political factors that should be included in the prices we pay for goods and services but are not; let people know that when we do not pay for these very real expenses we rob future generations.
-Encourage “taxes” on externalities–higher prices for gas, clothes, electricity, etc., as long as the difference pays to right social and environmental wrongs.
-Offer study groups at loal librairies, bookstores, churches, and clubs.
-Expand this list and share it with everyone you know.
Essay written by Sayre Allyn Herrick:
“I saw the entire world for the first time in second grade, laid out on a paper map. The ocean was blue and the countries were yellow, green, and pink. This way of looking at our planet has shaped the perceptions of people for hundreds of years.
“Just once, I would like to catch a glimpse of the world free from any human perceptions except my own–to see out globe suspended in dark space the way it must look from the window of a shuttle. I want to see that the borders and names imprinted on maps are our own creation. In recognizing the impermanence of the man-made boundaries that seperate us, we can reveal how truly limited we all are on this planet.
“What we have been shown or told to be true can stay with us forever. Yet, I think it is our task as an evolving world community to take even the most fundamental preconceptions, recognize them for what they are, and realize their impact on us. Only then can we begin to take the actions necessary for the survival of future generations.”
“The Secret History of the American Empire: Economic Hit Men, Jackals, and the Truth About Global Corruption.” By John Perkins;