Cleaning Up Our Act

Do you realise we have not just helped to suppress COVID-19 by washing our hands we are also lowering the number of cases of influenza? By doing this one simple act we have made a significant difference to the health of nations.

If we turn the lights out when we do not need them, we save money and we save energy. If we do business online when we can, we save money, we do not travel, we save energy. Travel to enrich your spirit with the wonders of the world, but why travel unnecessarily?

I am a big movie fan and (used to) regularly visit the cinema. I was disgusted at the number of people who would leave the toilets without washing their hands.

If we know small things can make such a big difference, why don’t we do them normally?

Greed

The easy answer is laziness, or that we just do not care. Yet we live and work in a compliance society that increasingly adds work in pursuit of higher standards. However, we do not do the efficient thing, which involves less work long term, and eliminate the root cause of problems.

That is the problem is it not? Long term versus short term. We live in a world where we want everything now, we cannot take the time to wash our hands. Our market lead economy wants results now, not sustainability in the long term. Even though the outcome is better longer term, the opportunity to profit at a faster rate is not there. Governments are transient, short term results are needed to get re-elected.

Take COVID-19, will we do the hard thing and recognise that human encroachment on other species inevitably creates the potential for species to species virus transmission and act to stop this behaviour? Or will we breathe a sigh of relief when a vaccine is found and then repeat the pandemic when the next virus arises? You do realise it is inevitable that the frequency of coronaviruses will increase as our population increases if we do not act?

The human population will continue to grow, but we have an opportunity to use this Malthusian Check to reset and clean up our act. Malthusian theory states that population tends to increase faster than its means of subsistence unless checked by moral restraint or by disaster. Surely, we will choose moral restraint having just experienced disaster.

Look Closely

We need to pursue cleanliness and efficiency in everything we do if we are to minimise our impact on the planet. If we can learn to achieve more by doing less, if we can make that our second nature, we can continue to not only grow but to raise the lifestyle around the world to the level that some of us already enjoy.

Those of us that do enjoy such lifestyles need to take a close look at ourselves. Do we need more? If we can find the balance that sustains what we have, isn’t that enough?

The Mahatma had it right ‘The world provides enough for every person’s needs, but not every person’s greed.’

The worship of celebrity luxury and unashamed consumption is obscene, it is ugly, it is just as disgusting as not washing your hands.