1. DON'T HAVE MORE CHILDREN THAN YOU OR THE WORLD CAN SUPPORT
The chart above shows how much the human population has grown in the past 10,000 years. This is kind of scary,
especially when you see how much the population has exploded in just the last hundred years. (In the year 1900 there
were 1.6 billion people in the world and in the year 2,000 there were a little over 6 billion people, and these numbers are
continuing to grow rapidly.)
More people doesn't have to mean more problems, but there are some disturbing trends that I have noticed lately that
greatly concerns me about this...
Recently I got an e-mail from a girl that I went to High School with who is now a kindergarten teacher and she told me
that she has 34 kids in her class this year and that she just found out that every single one of them is being raised by
just their mom. When I was in kindergarten I doubt that there were any kindergartens out there where every single kid in
the class was being raised by just their mother. That just didn't happen back then, but in this day and age more than
half of all pregnancies are unintentional and the majority of couples simply aren't ready for all of the responsibilities that
come with it, so in the majority of cases the child ends up having to go through childhood with only one parent in the
house.
I've also noticed that a lot of the people who are having big families are people who would have a tremendous amount of
difficulty just supporting themselves, much less a large family, and a lot of parents these days are still children
themselves. (Recently I met a girl who is 19 years old and is pregnant with her 5th child!)
In some cities it has become so crowded that it actually takes longer to drive from one end of the city to the other than it
took our ancient ancestors to travel from one end of the city to the other before the invention of the automobile.
Some argue that we don't need to worry about overpopulation because in the near future people will be able to live in
space and this will prevent the human population on Earth from getting too much bigger than it already is. I don't
believe in this theory at all because even if we were able to put 1 billion people on the moon, building a city on the moon
that could hold and sustain 1 billion people would easily be the most ambitious project even done, and by the time a
project like that was completed there would probably be well over 100 billion new people on the Earth, plus the soonest
that anyone is even planning on sending a man to the moon again is China in the year 2025 and then Russia in 2030.
Also keep in mind that even if NASA just wanted to send a robot to the moon to take some photographs that alone would
cost them millions and millions of dollars, so I don't see anyone coming up with the funding necessary to put enough
people in space to keep the population on Earth from getting out of control.
The only ways for the human population to slow down is either through people making the decision to have less
children, or through things such as wars, disease, famine, and natural disasters, and I would much rather see people
simply choose not to have more children than they can handle and to love the children that they do have. (If the only
people having children today were people who actually wanted children and who are ready for all of the responsibilities
that comes with being a parent, the human population would stop expanding and would start contracting.)
Consider Adopting A Child
Every day 18,000 children die from starvation, yet 200,000 new children are brought into the world every day. If it's your
dream to have a large family, please consider adopting a child who is in need.
Consider Adopting A Pet
Every day 10,000 animals in the pound are put to sleep due to not finding an owner, and a disturbing trend that I've
noticed lately is that despite the fact that all of these animals are being put to sleep everyday, many people are now
paying hundreds or even thousands of dollars to have a new cat or dog specially bred for them. (An animal from the
pound can offer just as much love and companionship as an expensive specially bred pet, and more importantly they
desperately need love and companionship, so if you want a pet please consider adopting one from the pound to save a
lot of money as well as a life.)
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2. REDUCE, REUSE, RECYCLE
Below is a picture of all of the trash that I threw away during the month June 2010...
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3. BECOME A TRUE "MINIMALIST"
When I ask a person who hates their job why they keep doing it their answer will almost always be, "Because I've got bills
to pay." so I then ask, "Why do you have so many bills?"
- Do you really NEED to drive a car that was made recently?
- Do you really NEED to live in as a big of a house or apartment that you currently do?
- Do you really NEED to have a cable or satellite TV subscription?
- Do you really NEED to buy a new computer, a new phone, or a new stereo when the one you currently have still works?
- Do you really NEED to eat at restaurants instead of at home?
- Do you really NEED to buy more clothes?
- Do you really NEED to buy anything new when you have access to things like eBay , Craigslist , and Freecycle ?
- Do you really NEED to buy 100% of the food that you eat when you have the space to grow food at home?
It's ironic that people sometimes tell me that they can't afford to live the kind of lifestyle that I do... What? You can't
afford to not buy stuff that you don't need?
There is a great saying that goes, "If you know you have enough you are truly rich." and people who don't connect with
this statement will never find lasting happiness no matter how much they own and will be doomed to live paycheck-to-
paycheck no matter how many raises they get.
Being a minimalist means that you understand the notion that "Less = More" and that "More = Less". You don't feel
"deprived" because you don't own a lot of material possessions, rather you understand and fully appreciate the freedom
that comes from not owning them. Rather than wanting expensive and hard to obtain objects that you can live without
you cherish what is free and you can't live without like fresh air, sunshine, and natural foods.
If you believe that happiness can be obtained by buying things than why is that we are living in a time when you can go
on-line and literally find ANYTHING if you look hard enough for it, and even if you have no money in the bank you can
still purchase it thanks to the help of credit cards and loans, yet at the same time there is more depression, stress, and
greed in the world than ever before?
I don't know how anyone can walk into a store like Walmart and not have a sick feeling in their stomach. So much of the
stuff in a store like that are things that absolutely nobody out there really needs, yet people are willing to put themselves
into serious debt to buy them. And to make it worse a lot of the merchandise sold at stores like that will probably just
end up being thrown away and put in a land fill within only a few months after being purchased. (For me personally
walking through a "Big Box Store" gives me that same uncomfortable feeling that watching footage from a
slaughterhouse gives me.)
Please get out of the "Disposable" mindset now. When you go to the store you can find inexpensive "Disposable" items
such as plastic forks, knifes, and spoons, and paper plates and cups, but the truth is that everything (including the most
expensive items of all such as computers, cars, and houses) are also marketed to us as being "Disposable" as well.
Although "Disposable" products get thrown away very quickly many of them are made out of materials that will still be
here far longer than we will. (The plastic fork that you used at Thanksgiving dinner when you were 6 years old is still
around in a landfill somewhere.)
I pride myself on being more thrifty than trendy. (Recently I saw a picture on the internet where someone took old Atari
Joysticks and glued them to his wall and used them as coat hangers. I admire that kind of thriftiness!)
Because I am a minimalist as well as a raw foodist I told my friends and family years ago to not buy me gifts or prepare
food for me anymore. I told them, "If you want to give me something give me a hug, and if you want to make me
something make me laugh..."
Click HERE to watch a very good 20 minute documentary called "The Story Of Stuff" on YouTube.
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4. VOTE WITH YOUR DOLLAR
Without a doubt, one of the most important things that you can do to make a difference in the world is be careful about
what you decide to spend your money on. It's easy to point the finger and blame big corporations out there that are
polluting the environment for all of the pollution in the world, but until we are willing to admit that the only reason that
these companies are even in business is because we are paying them to do what they do things will never change for
the better.
I remember hearing about electric cars over 20 years ago, so why do you think that everyone is still driving gasoline
powered cars? If your answer to this is, "Corporate greed" I'm not going to argue with you that that's a big part of it, but I
think that the true reason that everyone is still using gasoline powered cars is due to a combination of corporate greed
and a lack of demand from the average consumer. (If everyone was demanding cars that didn't run on gasoline we
would have them by now.)
Below are some examples of companies that are destroying the world, if you become aware that a company that you do
business with is doing one of these things understand that you are knowingly supporting this kind of behavior if you
choose to continue to do business with them whether you want to admit it or not...
- Companies that don't care about our health or the health of the environment and use toxic ingredients in their products.
- Companies that use children sweatshops or pay foreign workers unfair wages.
- Companies that produce movies, video games, and music that promote violence as entertainment.
- Companies that try to make you believe that your life is incomplete without their unnecessary and superficial products.
- Companies that save money by unethical methods, such as neglecting their employees health benefits or breaks.
- Companies that are cutting down forests, over fishing the oceans, and pumping millions of tons of toxins into the air.
- Companies that send out negative messages like "You have an imperfect body and need to hide it with our make-up."
- Companies that purposely produce products that are designed to breakdown or become obsolete and need replaced.
- Companies that discriminate and refuse to hire people due to gender, race, sexuality, etc.
- Companies that raise animals for food, clothing, and medical research.
There are people out there who could never in a million years kill an innocent animal with your bare hands, cut down a
beautiful tree with an ax, or pour a bottle of motor oil into a river, yet they are funding companies that slaughters millions
of innocent animals every year, pours millions of gallons of oil into the oceans every year, and cuts down millions of
trees every year. (The forests are the planet's lungs and the oceans are the planet's blood streams.) People don't like
to accept any kind of responsibility for these mass destructions that are taking place, but the sooner you are willing to
take responsibility the sooner you can start to make a difference.
The world is full of abundance, but when we live beyond our means it is at the expense or exploitation of others.
(Including our future children, grand children, and great grand children.) There is more than enough resources to meet
everyone's needs, but there is no where near enough resources to meet everyone's greed.
Donating money to charity is a wonderful thing to do, and I highly recommend that everyone consider it. (And remember
the old saying that "What goes around comes around.") However, I feel that it is even more noble to donate your time to
charity, and I also feel that it is far more rewarding as well. (Many of the people who felt inspired to travel across the
country and spend time helping out the victims of "September 11th", "Hurricane Katrina", and other disasters say that it
was the most powerful experience that they have ever had and that through that experience they found their life
purpose... "Service To Others".)
When it comes to sharing we've all heard the old saying, "It is better to give than to receive." but many fail to recognize
just how true that statement is. If you are walking out of a grocery store with a shopping cart that is overflowing with food
and a person stops you and asks if they can have something out of the cart you can respond by saying either "Yes" or
"No". Saying "Yes" means that you are have enough to share your abundance with others. Saying "No" means that you
don't have enough to share with others. I ask you, which person would you rather be? The person who has so much
that they can happily share their wealth with others or the person who only has enough for themselves and can't share
even a small piece of their wealth with others?
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5. CLEAN UP THE MESS
The reason that pollution is happening on such a grand scale is largely due to the fact that so many people believe that
the actions of just one person doesn't make a difference. (People don't think that throwing away 1 aluminum can is
going to matter and because of this attitude 50 Billion of them get thrown away every year in America alone!)
If it was announced that terrorists were plotting to poison our waters, our air, and our food supply as much as we are
currently doing it to ourselves people would be up in arms and serious steps would be taken to protect these precious
resources. (The collective carelessness of a country is far more destructive than any outside terrorist group could ever
be.)
The truth is that one person's actions WILL make a difference in the world and the actions of one person can inspirer
and influence millions of other people to do the same thing. Dan Millman, author of "The Way Of The Peaceful Warrior"
once said that anytime he goes somewhere he makes it a point to pick up a piece of trash so that everywhere he goes is
a little bit cleaner because he was there. I think that this is a wonderful attitude to have and I would encourage everyone
reading this to adopt this attitude.
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6. RESPECT FOR ALL LIFE
- If you are walking down the street and you smile at someone they will probably smile back at you.
- If you are walking down the street and you punch someone in the face they will probably punch you back.
The old saying that we all learned as 2 year olds, "Treat people the way that you want to be treated" is a lesson that
many of us seem to need to be reminded of, but as profound as a saying as it is I feel that it needs to rephrased to say,
"Treat ALL life the way that you want to be treated".
Please don't add an ounce of hatred or violence to the world.
I'll make the bold prediction now that If life is ever discovered on another planet it won't be alone and it won't be a single
species, because life (at least as we know it) is a complex system that involves many different species that all depend on
one another in order to co-exist, and none of them could survive completely on their own indefinitely.
What has happened is that the human race has separated it's self from the rest of nature and now we are destroying
nature as if we have completely forgotten where we came from and are completely ignorant of the future consequences
that will result in this destruction. If we look at the Earth as one giant life form the human race starts to look more and
more like a parasite or even a cancer that is polluting the water, air, and soil and is using up resources far quicker than
they can be replaced and that is pushing all of the other life forms into extinction, and if not stopped it could ultimately
end life on Earth.
The reason that we can't live on Mars or the Moon if something goes terribly wrong here is because neither of them
have edible food, drinking water, breathable air, or other species, and without any 1 of these 4 things we as humans can
not live for very long, and look at what we are doing to the food, air, water, and other species on this planet.
If we are going to evolve much further as a species (in a positive way) and if we ever hope to come anywhere close to
reaching our ultimate potential as a species, the only way to do it is for all of us to come together and end all of the
fighting and prejudices that have been so common throughout our human history and that has kept us from advancing.
(Carl Sagan often pointed out that half of the world's scientists are employed by the government and are being used to
design with more sophisticated and deadly weapons for war instead of being used in a way to better life on Earth.)
Personally, I still have a very optimistic view of the human race and I believe that we can change for the better. I also
believe strongly in the notion that we have to be the change that we want to see in the world. Each one of us represents
the human race and what the human race is capable of, so be the best representation you can and you will influence
others.
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| 6 WAYS TO CLEANSE THE WORLD |
I encourage you to make it your personal future goal to
throw away less trash in 1 year than you are currently
throwing away in 1 day. If this sounds like an impossible
challenge I can assure you that it is in fact possible.
According to statistics the average person throws away 4.5
pounds of trash per day. All of the trash in this picture
(mostly produce stickers) only weighs 2 and a half ounces
so at this rate I am only throwing away 3 pounds of trash a
year and if everyone was doing this it would take a person
that weighs 150 pounds 50 years just to produce their own
bodyweight in trash!
I didn't get to this point overnight. It all started with the
realization of how wasteful I was being and a desire to be a
bit more environmentally friendly.
If you are following the diet outlined in Chapter One all of
your food scraps will be biodegradable ones such as
banana peels and apple cores and what you don't eat your
garden or lawn will. Please never throw fruit and vegetable
scraps in the trash can and send them to the landfills. They
belong back in the soil where they came from.
It's true that all living things use up resources and that just
breathing uses up oxygen, but I believe that anyone can
become a person who gives back to nature far more than
they are taking from it if it is their desire to do so and that
the Earth could be a better place just because YOU are
here.
*Reduce
*Reuse
*Recycle
throw away less trash in 1 year than you are currently
throwing away in 1 day. If this sounds like an impossible
challenge I can assure you that it is in fact possible.
According to statistics the average person throws away 4.5
pounds of trash per day. All of the trash in this picture
(mostly produce stickers) only weighs 2 and a half ounces
so at this rate I am only throwing away 3 pounds of trash a
year and if everyone was doing this it would take a person
that weighs 150 pounds 50 years just to produce their own
bodyweight in trash!
I didn't get to this point overnight. It all started with the
realization of how wasteful I was being and a desire to be a
bit more environmentally friendly.
If you are following the diet outlined in Chapter One all of
your food scraps will be biodegradable ones such as
banana peels and apple cores and what you don't eat your
garden or lawn will. Please never throw fruit and vegetable
scraps in the trash can and send them to the landfills. They
belong back in the soil where they came from.
It's true that all living things use up resources and that just
breathing uses up oxygen, but I believe that anyone can
become a person who gives back to nature far more than
they are taking from it if it is their desire to do so and that
the Earth could be a better place just because YOU are
here.
*Reduce
*Reuse
*Recycle