Things People Can Do to Save Earth

[valuesystem]

1. Plant trees; lots and lots of trees; loads and piles and forests of trees (make sure to plant indigenous trees, check with state DNR for help making selections)

2. Stop using money.

I think that about does it.

A Bit of ExplanationMaybe I should explain #2 a bit

Comments

[kmhoofnagle]

Half of the things you want to do are impossible without the global economic system. Renewable energy infrastructure, laptops, phones. These things require trade. You can't just call money bad because someone *might* do something bad with it.

You trade me potatoes? I can trade food for guns. Or gas. Or any other horrid thing you wish I wouldn't want. If you stop using money all you do is make everything harder and fix nothing at all.

Please don't take this the wrong way. I appreciate localism. But your whole money==globalism==evil thesis is hopelessly flawed. Fabrication of many important green goods (solar panels, batteries, heck-even bike parts) and the science from which they flow all come out of a sustained global circulation of money and knowledge. Trace metals used in electronics *must* come from the world market. You really can't need them or want them and then call all money and world commerce bad.

[valuesystem]

"All great truths begin as blasphemies." -- George Bernard Shaw

[rednikki]

I think you're missing one thing in the original commenter's post, however.

If you trade your neighbor some potatoes, what's to stop them trading it for something that is unethical? Gasoline, beef, a gun? Or does it only matter to you if it is done with money?

[valuesystem]

I think it would be best to look at the extreme

[rednikki]

Have you looked into Freeganism at all?

Also, a way to stop using the global economic system: Freecycle.

[valuesystem]

I really like the first page of the freegan.info web site, and I agree with pretty much everything there, although since I live in the country, "urban foraging" is not much of an option for me