A Consumption Manifesto

Click for a "beacon in the smog".

Since now is a prime time for some serious consumption - I thought it the perfect opportunity to introduce Ask Umbra's Consumption Manifesto. Ask Umbra is an advice column on the Grist website - "gloom and doom with a sense of humor." They offer very informative environmental news all the while keeping it fresh and funny with they're clever (albeit corny at times) headlines and commentary.

Here is the manifesto:

Article One. Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. This brilliant triad says it all. Reduce: Avoid buying what you don't need -- and when you do get that dishwasher/lawnmower/toilet, spend the money up front for an efficient model. Reuse: Buy used stuff, and wring the last drop of usefulness out of most everything you own. Recycle: Do it, but know that it's the last and least effective leg of the triad. (Ultimately, recycling simply results in the manufacture of more things.)

Article Two. Stay close to home. Work close to home to shorten your commute; eat food grown nearby; patronize local businesses; join local organizations. All of these will improve the look, shape, smell, and feel of your community.

Article Three. Internal combustion engines are polluting and their use should be minimized. Period.

Article Four. Watch what you eat. Whenever possible, avoid food grown with pesticides, in feedlots, or by agribusiness. It's an easy way to use your dollars to vote against the spread of toxins in our bodies, land, and water.

Article Five. Private industries have very little incentive to improve their environmental practices. Our consumption choices must encourage and support good behavior; our political choices must support government regulation.

Article Six. Support thoughtful innovations in manufacturing and production. Hint: Drilling for oil is no longer an innovation.

Article Seven. Prioritize. Think hardest when buying large objects; don't drive yourself mad fretting over the small ones. It's easy to be distracted by the paper bag puzzle, but an energy-sucking refrigerator is much more worthy of your attention. (Small electronics are an exception.)

Article Eight. Vote. Political engagement enables the spread of environmentally conscious policies. Without public action, thoughtful individuals are swimming upstream.

Article Nine. Don't feel guilty. It only makes you sad.

Article Ten. Enjoy what you have -- the things that are yours alone, and the things that belong to none of us. Both are nice, but the latter are precious. Those things that we cannot manufacture and should never own -- water, air, birds, trees -- are the foundation of life's pleasures. Without them, we're nothing. With us, there may be nothing left. It's our choice.

Click here to get Grist by email. You can get Daily Grist, Weekly Grist, Ask Umbra and more "green news to amuse."