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Conversation

Part of being green is preserving things and saving them. Conversation means keeping the world in a state where it is fit for us and the generations after us to live. By preserving forests we can stop animals, plants and birds from extinction, help to keep the earth’s water balance stable and prevent soil erosion. By recycling we cut down our needs and save resources. Every time we reuse a plastic bag we are putting conversation into practice.

Finding alternatives

Finding alternatives means trying to supply our needs in a way that is less damaging to the planet. It is a bit like conversation in that the priority is to look after things and put back what we take out.

We can substitute fruit for sweets, bicycles for cars, recycled paper for ordinary paper or ecologically friendly washing up liquid for the old kind. There are many other examples. You can get quite creative about finding safer substitutes.

The principle of finding alternatives operates in a wide sense as well. There are many substitution projects going on at the moment. Solar power, energy from the sun, which won’t run out, can be used to heat houses instead of energy from coal and oil. Food can be grown with fewer fertilizers, which means that the soil will be healthier.

Choosing

Choosing means being aware of the power you have as a consumer and what you can do. The way you spend your time and money is very important. It can affect the welfare of the planet. If you spend your money on goods that will last and that you can use again and again, you will be doing more to help the planet than if you buy things you can use only once and then throw away. If you spend your time reading labels, being active and campaigning or even just thinking twice before you buy, you will be using your own resources – your money and time – in a way that helps to put your principles into practice. The more people who put their money and time behind things that don’t damage the planet, the greener message will spread.

Caring

Caring means having respect for anything that shares our planet with us. It means looking after plants and animals as well as other human beings and trying to make sure that our lives don’t damage theirs. It means looking after our health, too.

Everything that we do is interconnected. Every breath we take makes us part of the complex, living, breathing entity that is the world. Every act has a consequence. What we do today can rebound later, even if we are not around to see what happens. Caring means recognising this and doing everything we can to make sure that we are not hurting other people and the world by the way we live.

Action

Putting these principles into practice means taking some kind of action. One person might stop buying a particular product, another might start a discussion group at school or college. Another might choose one particular subject and work on a project or a campaign, such as saving a local wood or pond from developers. You can take action on your own or with a group. By taking action, you will be making it clear to people what you think and what you believe.