Living Sustainably

If not now, when?

What can I do?

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1. Take five actions   2. Four encouragements   3. Realign my lifestyle
Reading time 3 min

1. Take five actions

The question of what each one of us can do to make the world a more sustainable place is not easy to answer. 

Maybe we individuals can make the greatest difference,

  • if we take other people with us on the path to sustainable development,
  • if we act together and network locally and globally,
  • if we push for fundamental changes in politics, so that it listens again to the voice of the people and not only to the voice of the big companies and banks,
  • if we reduce our collective consumption by just ten percent, because that would already have a major impact on many of the most polluting activities of our economy.
    Translated from Graeme Maxton. 2018. Change! Warum wir eine radikale Wende brauchen. 

We need both systemic transformation and individual behavioural changes. One without the other will not get us to the necessary scale of change at the necessary pace.
Christiana Figueres and Tom Rivett-Carnac. 2020. The Future We Choose - Surviving the Climate Crisis.

Each of us can immediately take 5 measures, making an effective contribution to the protection of the environment and climate. 

1. Demand radical reforms from politics.

Vote for politicians who are committed to an effective, sustainable climate and environmental protection.

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2. Consume less.

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3. Less time sitting in the car and on the plane.

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4. Eat less meat and dairy products.

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5. Plant a tree.
Or support one of the many projects that plant trees worldwide. 

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PDF - Flyer 5 measures


2. Four encouragements
by environmental activist and scientist Joanna Macy

1. The first is to be grateful for living in a time that challenges us so much to change and awakens that sensual, almost erotic instinct in us to sustain life.

2. The second piece of advice is: Don't be afraid of the future that lies in darkness, don't be afraid of uncertainty, stress, loss, because all that is part of a drastic change. Everything new first matures in the dark. And we cannot wait for ready-made plans to take the next step.

3. The third tip is to roll up your sleeves. Get involved politically, get an overview, ask questions about purpose and meaning. Anyone can do that. Don't sit back, don't get discouraged or paralysed. There is so much to learn and do at this time.

4. Fourthly, I would say: have courage of vision. If we compare the psyche to a muscle, then imagination is our least developed muscle.

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We must allow positive visions of the future to blossom within us. For nothing new will come into the world through us that has not previously taken shape in our consciousness.
Translated from: Geseko v. Lüpke. Politik des Herzens. Nachhaltige Konzepte für das 21. Jahrhundert. 2015. p. 93 - 105: Im Gespräch mit der Ökologin Joanna Macy.


3. Realign my lifestyle

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1. Question my consumption in everyday life.  

In addition to my basic daily needs, only consume what gives me real added value. Ask me the highly topical question: To Have or to Be? 

Erich Fromm describes in his book To Have or to Be the prerequisites for a fundamental change in the economy, politics and society in order to overcome the present crisis and to move from an orientation towards having to one towards being. 

2. Align my lifestyle with a good balance between quality and quantity. 

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The consumption-oriented lifestyle in the rich countries is pursued from many people worldwide, but it is probably not an attractive option for our children and grandchildren:

  • first, because we are thereby causing large and sometimes irreversible damage to nature and it mostly affects many people in other regions of the world.
  • second, because the price we pay in our lives is disproportionately high compared to the benefits gained, this being increasingly felt by the suffering of so many wealthy people in industrialised countries. 

The question arises: What philosophy of life is behind the insatiability of us who live so stubbornly and so dispassionately and morosely at the expense of others and the environment? 
Translated from: Gabriela Simon: Mehr Genuss! Mehr Faulheit! Mehr Schlendrian! Die Zeit Nr. 42/1992

3. Pay more attention to the environment.

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For example with tips from 

WWF World Wildlife Fund, Global Stewards

and many other local, national and international platforms on the internet.


4. Experience the richness of nature. 

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All of us need very personal experiences outdoors in the richness of nature. 
Because we humans only protect what we appreciate and we only appreciate what we really know.


First and last

Mahatma Gandhi

PDF - What can I do?

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