When Herbert Girardet and John Seymour decided to write
Blueprint for a Green Planet, they directed their advice at people,
not at governments. This is what they wrote:
It is our belief that the planet will only be saved by people acting as
responsible individuals. We believe that people are good. If they are
shown that their actions are damaging the environment, they will try to
be careful.
Unfortunately, many people believe that saving the planet should be
left to governments. Yet, governments are only in power for five years
and then must put themselves up for re-election.
What, then, can we all do? Here are five rules by which we might all
live, part of Blueprint for a Green Planet:
1. Be aware and responsible. Don't just believe what is 'on the
label' - that was written by somebody trying to sell the stuff! Demand to
know how we get things that we use and what effect this has on Nature
or our planet.
2. Be moderate. Moderate your demands on the planet. Walk
instead of driving. Walking will do you good. It will save fossil fuels,
and avoid pollution.
3. Keep things local. Avoid buying products which have been
brought from far away. Transport is one of the great polluters.
4. Keep things simple. We do not need the vast complexity of
most modern devices. Consider what you really need and be content
with that. 5. Try to live less violently. The most savage violence is
chemical violence. The soil, our crops and our animals are all being
subjected to constant contact with poisonous chemicals. We can do
without many of them .
Pressure groups, such as Friends of the Earth and Greenpeace, are
splendid, but they can only exist as a result of the action taken by you
and me. We are all there is and we must stop the assault on the life of
our planet somehow. We are not apart from Nature, we are part of
Nature.
