{"id":6852,"date":"2010-04-22T15:05:35","date_gmt":"2010-04-22T21:05:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.sustainablog.org\/?p=6852"},"modified":"2010-04-22T15:05:35","modified_gmt":"2010-04-22T21:05:35","slug":"saving-civilization-is-not-a-spectator-sport","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/articles\/saving-civilization-is-not-a-spectator-sport\/","title":{"rendered":"Saving Civilization is Not a Spectator Sport"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/a> Given the enormous environmental and social challenges faced by our early twenty-first century global civilization, one of the questions I hear most frequently is “What can I do?” People often expect me to talk about lifestyle changes, recycling newspapers, or changing light bulbs. These are essential, but they are not nearly enough. We now need to restructure the global economy<\/a>, and quickly. It means becoming politically active, working for the needed changes.\u00a0Saving civilization is not a spectator sport. Inform yourself, read about the issues. If you want to know what happened to earlier civilizations that found themselves in environmental trouble, read Collapse<\/em> by Jared Diamond or A Short History of Progress<\/em> by Ronald Wright or The Collapse of Complex Societies<\/em> by Joseph Tainter. My latest book, Plan B 4.0: Mobilizing to Save Civilization<\/em>, can be downloaded free of charge from Earth Policy Institute\u2019s (EPI\u2019s) Web site, www.earthpolicy.org<\/a>, along with complementary data sets<\/a> and a slide show summary<\/a>. If you find these materials useful in helping you think about what to do, share them with others.<\/p>\n Pick an issue that\u2019s meaningful to you, such as tax restructuring, banning inefficient light bulbs<\/a>, phasing out coal-fired power plants<\/a>, or working for streets in your community that are pedestrian- and bicycle-friendly<\/a>, or join a group that is working to stabilize world population<\/a>. What could be more exciting and rewarding than getting personally involved in trying to save civilization?<\/p>\n You may want to proceed on your own, but you might also want to organize a group of like-minded individuals. You might begin by talking with others to help select an issue or issues to work on.<\/p>\n And communicate with your elected representatives on the city council or the national legislature. Aside from the particular issue that you choose to work on, there are two overriding policy challenges: restructuring taxes<\/a> and reordering fiscal priorities. Write or e-mail your elected representative about the need to restructure taxes by reducing income taxes and raising environmental taxes. Remind him or her that leaving costs off the books may offer a false sense of prosperity in the short run but that it leads to collapse in the long run.<\/p>\n
\n By Lester R. Brown<\/strong><\/p>\n
\n<\/p>\nHow to Take Political Action on Big Environmental Issues<\/h2>\n