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From the moment we open our eyes in the morning, to the quiet time we have just before bed, we consume, consume and consume.

There is this quality we have, besides intelligence, no other animals or plants have: GREED

It’s not about going back to the stone-age, to go around hugging trees or treat stray cats better than our fellow humans, but rather, the excessive consumerism that is ever so conveniently projected in our lives these days; confusing the difference between a Need and a Want.

It’s all about being Environmentally Mindful…

Mindful when we next go to the shopping mall/supermarket;
Mindful when we use the next straw or plastic stirrer;
Mindful when we celebrate festive occasions (from catering to decorations).

We are just one of the 6.6 billion humans living on Earth right now. All the plants and animals can survive without us BUT not vice versa. We have been walking upright since only 200,000 years ago, yet the Earth is 4.5 billion years old.

We are practically ‘new arrivals’ on this planet, but look at what we have done to it despite being only present 0.13% of the time since the formation of earth…

I think we should all Pause and Contemplate…

Youths nowadays are pretty tired of the ‘Green-wash’ that is sometimes portrayed by some environmental groups in Singapore. We do get feedback from them that ‘It’s NOT FAIR’. Why must they ‘face the music’ for all the environmental woes when their parents/teachers/adults are actually the ones who caused all these.

There are some half truths this…

For one, the environment is shared by all, regardless of age. That is why we sometimes stop “telling” the youths what to do but rather get them to suggest what they want to do. Getting the youths to realized that humanity is one; we all share a common environment and pointing fingers and feeling a sense of hopelessness is not going to help. As the movie “HOME” rightly portrays; it’s too LATE to be a Pessimist. It’s only through hope and positive thinking are we able to influence more people to change lifestyles. 

Re-nurturing the Kampong Spirits is of great importance in this respect. The feeling of interconnectedness is Law of Nature is certainly very much embedded in a Kampong environment. This is an environment where our ‘Wants’ are sometimes put on hold for the common good of the community. In modern, fast paced societies like in Singapore, we sometimes just need to pause for a moment to rethink the fundamentals. Basic stuff like what is a NEED and what is a WANT. Kampong life is about going back to basics, appreciating simplicity and the group spirit instead of the “instant gratification” phenomenon which is very prevalent in society these days.

In a kampong environment; daily practices like reducing and reusing is very much a common practice as sharing with our neighbours and friends are very much an ingrained quality of the kampong spirit. Many people still think just Recycle is sufficient to solve resource problems, but in fact, recycling is the least important among the 3Rs as any form of recycling still continues to use energy, water, chemicals and has a larger carbon footprint than Reducing and Reusing. In fact, many environmental movements have added 2 more Rs even before we start to practice the conventional 3Rs. That is to Rethink and Refuse. Rethink our consumption habits and Refuse what we do not need.

Increasingly, many affluent societies have shown that material wealth does not equate to mental well-being or happiness. In fact, there is a new thinking that maybe countries should be measured in terms of the Gross National Happiness (GNH), instead of the conventional Gross Domestic Product (GDP). In the United States, experts have showed that their happiness index peaked during the 1950s; around the same time this craze over excessive consumption caught on. Americans are faced with over 3000 advertisements a day compared to 50 years ago (www.thestoryofstuff.com) and 2 very powerful tools subliminally infused into most modern societies are Planned Obsolescence and Perceived Obsolescence. So increasingly so, not only is the kampong spirit diluting, we are increasing living in an endless rat-race to mindlessly consume to feel happy.

A personal 10 step for a good life that won’t cost the Earth: 

1. Take a Walk (exercise, better health, psychological benefits from green space)
2. Enjoy the finer Things (Finer often means simplicity; think out of the box)
3. Have less, Do more (materialism doesn’t equate happiness; earn less-spend less!)
4. Time is not money (It’s much more valuable! Keep a diary)
5. Think Positively about the future and make plans
6. 5 Rs – Rethink, Refuse, Reduce, Reuse and Recycle
7. Cut down Dirty Energy (energy audit, voting with our plugs)
8. Live authentically (be mindful of the ‘herd mentality’)
9. Get Creative (make music, art; it’s meditative and develops self-awareness)
10. Eat Well (We used to eat less meat(50% less) and less qty; greenhouses gases from our food can be as high as our exhaust pipes!

The writer is Howard Shaw, Executive Director of the Singapore Environment Council.

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