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C0PYRIuBT 2u12 SINPLICITY INSTIT0TE
(N0T-F0R-PR0FIT BISTRIB0TI0N PERNITTEB ANB ENC00RAuEB)
iii
uetting anu spenuing, we lay waste oui poweis. 9 +:;;:<= +>?@AB>?CD

&0"*/75."&/0
Samuel Alexanuei

Beyonu oui basic mateiial neeus foi foou, clothing, anu sheltei, how much is
enough. In paiticulai, how much money anu how many possessions uo we ieally
neeu to live well anu to be fiee. These aie not questions that many people ask
themselves in consumei societies touay, but they aie some of the most impoitant
questions of all.
Insteau of confionting these questions, too many people touay spenu theii
entiie lives uespeiately climbing the enuless lauuei of consumeiism, seeking
moie anu moie income to spenu on moie anu moie stuff. But at the enu of life
these people inevitably uiscovei that they hau not ieally liveu, that they hau
wasteu theii only chance at life insiue a shopping mall. A fiee anu meaningful life,
it tuins out, uoes not actually uepenu on having all the latest consumei piouucts
oi having the nicest house on the stieet. 0n the contiaiy, woiking long houis just
to 'keep up with the }oneses' leaves people with less time foi the things that
ieally mattei in life, like fiienus, family, community, anu engaging in peaceful,
cieative activity. This is the stuff that makes life woith living, anu the inteiesting
thing is we uon't neeu to be iich to enjoy it all. The best things in life ieally aie
fiee. Abunuance is a state of minu.
Noney is impoitant, of couise, but only up to a point, anu the thiesholu point
is much lowei than most people think. 0nce oui basic mateiial neeus aie met,
the limitless puisuit of money anu stuff meiely uistiacts us fiom moie
meaningful anu inspiiing things. As the ancient philosopheis tolu us long ago,
those who know they have enough aie iich, anu those who have enough but uo
not know it, aie pooi. Consumeiism, it is cleai, iepiesents a mistaken iuea of
wealth, anu it is baseu on a mistaken iuea of fieeuom.
Not only aie many people finuing consumei lifestyles empty anu unfulfilling,
an even gieatei pioblem is that consumei lifestyles aie uestioying oui beautiful
planet Eaith, jeopaiuising the futuie of life as we know it. Eveiything we
consume ultimately comes fiom natuie anu all oui consumei wastes must
ultimately be ietuineu to natuie. But natuie has limits! Touay oui fiagile
ecosystems aie tiembling unuei the weight of uecaues of oveiconsumption, anu
yet the puisuit of moie economic giowth anu moie consumption continues to
uefine the collective imagination, even in the iichest nations. Let us pause foi a
moment anu ask ouiselves: Is consumei cultuie ieally the best we can come up
with. Is theie no alteinative.
The goou news is that theie 01 an alteinative - the Simplei Way. Paiticipants
in this emeiging social movement aie voluntaiily passing up high consumption,
eneigy-intensive lifestyles anu cieating foi themselves a lowei consumption but
highei quality of life alteinative. By limiting theii woiking houis anu
consumption, spenuing theii money thoughtfully, giowing theii own foou, iiuing
bikes, iejecting high fashion, anu geneially celebiating life 2341056 the shopping
mall, these people aie the 'new pioneeis' tiansitioning to a simplei foim of life
beyonu consumei cultuie. Fuitheimoie, they aie showing that this is the suiest
path to a sustainable life of fieeuom, happiness, anu ueep contentment. Please
join us on this uieat Tiansition anu togethei we can ignite the most impoitant
iv
social movement of the 21
st
centuiy. This is youi peisonal invitation. Consume
less, live moie. It's well woith consiueiing.

The aim of this uocument is simple: to pioviue a piactical action plan foi those
people who wish to live a 'simplei life' of ieuuceu consumption. The Simplei
Way iepiesents a life with less cluttei, less waste, anu less fossil fuel use, but also
a life with moie time foi the things that tiuly inspiie anu biing happiness. It is
hopeu that what follows can pioviue cieative inuiviuuals with a guiuebook foi
how to ieimagine theii lives to achieve these impoitant goals. If you stait with
the steps outlineu below anu enjoy the piocess of tiansition, soon enough a new
way of life - the Simplei Way - will emeige. 0nly youi imagination is neeueu.
It is impoitant to note, howevei, that although theie aie hunuieus of
piactical iueas in the fiist pait of this uocument, each iuea iequiies cieative
inteipietation anu peisonal application. This uocument, be suie, cannot ieplace
thinking cieatively foi youiself. So conceive of this piactical action plan as an
outline of the fiist phase in the jouiney - the founuation. 0se this infoimation as
the basis foi action, but unueistanu that eveiybouy's life anu ciicumstances aie
unique. We must each wiite oui own stoiy of simplicity.
The seconu pait of this uocument is an essay by Teu Tiainei that pioviues an
inspiiing vision of life beyonu consumeiism. With iigoui anu insight, Tiainei
attempts to woik out how cheaply we coulu live, as inuiviuuals anu communities,
if we maue a commitment to living moie on less. While Tiainei is the fiist to
aumit his calculations aie not exact - he conceives of his essay as an ongoing
woik in piogiess - he neveitheless pioviues us with the most iigoious account
of the Simplei Way piesently available. Anu the news is goou! By meticulously
woiking his way thiough many piactical aspects of the Simplei Way, Tiainei
shows that we coulu live flouiishing lives on as little as 1u% of cuiient uBP pei
capita in uevelopeu nations. This will stiike many people as a iiuiculous
pioposition, but ieau on with an open minu! Tiainei has been living the Simplei
Way foi uecaues anu he is uniquely positioneu to uesciibe what the woilu woulu
look like, anu how it woulu function, if it came to be shapeu by this philosophy of
living. Bis analysis is iauical, anu you may not agiee with it all. But he gets you
thinking - 76899: thinking - about the natuie of an alteinative way of life.
If you finu oui uocument useful, oi think otheis might finu it useful, please
shaie it with otheis. By now we all unueistanu the impoitance of ieuucing
iesouice anu eneigy consumption anu stepping moie lightly on the planet. But
figuiing out exactly how to uo this in a consumei society can be veiy challenging.
We hope this uocument can help as many people as possible tiansition towaiu a
simplei, gieenei, anu happiei life beyonu consumei cultuie. The time to
ieimagine 'the goou life' is now.
0nce you have ieau this uocument, please go to www.simpleiway.oig anu
shaie youi iueas, peispectives, anu stoiies on simple living - both the uifficulties
anu the uelights. It is oui hope that this website becomes the most
compiehensive iesouice foi the ;78<40<89 aspects of simple living, but we neeu
youi help foi it flouiish anu giow. Nobouy has all the answeis, but eveiybouy
has a few, anu youi input is vital. Togethei we can builu a sustainable, just, anu
flouiishing human community, while enjoying the tiansition.

The seeus of change aie in oui hanus.
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! ,11&*' )&1$` Eveiyuay we aie faceu with a funuamental choice about how we
appioach life. Choose positivity. If we uo not begin each uay by saying 'yes' to
life - even in the face of auveisity - then all else is lost. Attituue matteis.

! ",H$ , %$./07 )//H` Bissatisfaction with oui mateiial oi financial situations
can sometimes be the iesult of failing to look piopeily at oui lives, iathei than
the iesult of any genuine 'lack.' Take a seconu look. When we unueistanu that
genuine wealth uoes not uepenu on having the latest consumei piouucts, we
might uiscovei that we aie much iichei than we sometimes think we aie.

! 7/ 0/" ./015%$ P%",07,*7 /1 )&2&03R +&"# Pa5,)&"- /1 )&1$R` Theie comes a
point when puisuing a highei 'stanuaiu of living,' in teims of mateiial wealth,
auus absolutely nothing to 'quality of life,' in teims of oveiall wellbeing.
Puisuing mateiial wealth can even uetiact fiom quality of life if we aien't
caieful. If you focus on 'quality of life' you will uiscovei it uoesn't uepenu on
being mateiially wealthy. So step out of the iat iace. Seek tiue abunuance -
sustainable abunuance - in the Simplei Way. 'Theie is no wealth but life.'

! ,%H -/5*%$)1` P#/+ '5.# &% $0/53#QR Consumei society is uefineu by the ethos
that 'moie is always bettei.' The Simplei Way is uefineu by the ethos that '}ust
enough is plenty.' As Beniy Thoieau once wiote: 'Supeifluous wealth can buy
supeifluities only.' Bon't waste life on supeifluities. Know how much is
enough.

! 02$*./'$ %","5% ,06&$"-` Nany people touay woik jobs they uon't like, to buy
things they uon't neeu, so that they can impiess people they uon't like. But at
the enu of life these people will ueeply iegiet spenuing theii lives tiying to
impiess othei people. Be humble anu seek to impiess youiself only. Let othei
people woiiy about chasing status. This peispective is extiemely libeiating.

! "#$ P7$,"#_$7R "#/53#"b$6($*&'$0"` If you weie lying on youi ueathbeu,
ieflecting on youi life, how woulu you want to have liveu. Bow impoitant will
mateiial possessions seem to you on youi ueathbeu. You might agiee that
ultimately it's not the possessions that will mattei. It's the people anu the
expeiiences. So live life foi the people anu the expeiiences, not the stuff.
Piivilege 'being' ovei 'having'.

! _$ 3*,"$15)` Be giateful foi what we have. Bo not always uemanu moie. Let
us embiace sufficiency, moueiation, anu fiugality. Less ieally can be moie.

! )&2$ 7$)&_$*,"$)-` Escaping the minuset of consumei cultuie takes effoit. Re-
ieau these points slowly eveiyuay until they take ioot in peisonal expeiience.
2
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! 2/"$ +&"# -/5* '/0$-` It is often saiu that how we spenu oui money is how
we vote on what exists in the woilu. This is an extiemely impoitant insight.
Puichasing something senus a message to the maiketplace, affiiming the
piouuct, its ecological impact, its piocess of manufactuie, etc. Noney is powei,
anu with this powei comes iesponsibility. If we spenu oui money uiffeiently,
we can change the woilu. Be conscientious about how you vote with youi
money.

! _5- )/.,)8 /*3,0&.8 1,&*b"*,7$8 3*$$08 $".4 voting with youi money means
suppoiting businesses that ueseive suppoit, anu not suppoiting business that
uo not ueseive suppoit. Spenuing ethically is sometimes moie expensive,
which can be challenging. But it is impoitant to uo oui veiy best. Bewaie,
howevei, of 'gieen washing,' anu iemembei that 'uieen consumeiism' is still
consumeiism.

! H0/+ -/5* 1&0,0.$% (*$.&%$)-` It is extiemely impoitant to have a veiy cleai
unueistanuing of youi income anu expenses. It takes time to make money, so
uon't waste it. Reau *237 %2=6: 27 *237 '0>6, by }oe Bominguez anu vicki
Robin.

! "#$ GOb7,- '/0$- $6($*&'$0"` Spenu one month taking note of 6?67:4@0=A you
puichase. At the enu of the month, categoiise youi expenses into
ientmoitgage, foou, electiicity, wine, coffees, lunches, etc. then multiply
those categoiies by twelve to get a iough iuea of the yeaily cost of each of the
categoiies. Small things auu up to significant sums ovei a yeai. This means
that small changes in spenuing habits can piouuce significant savings.

! _573$"` Set youiself financial goals. Stait by tiying to save a small amount
each week. This is an impoitant exeicise in self-uiscipline. Enjoy the challenge.

! )&2$ _$0$,"# -/5* '$,0%` It pioviues a sense of secuiity to live on less than
you eain. It also pioves that you aie not an insatiable consumei. Fiee youiself.

! %,2$ -/5* *,&%$` When most people get a pay iise they immeuiately iaise theii
mateiial stanuaiu of living anu stait spenuing moie. But theie is an
alteinative. When you get a iaise, consiuei immeuiately putting that extia
income into a savings account. Again, this pioves youi wants aie not infinite.

! ,2/&7 7$_" 9 _$+,*$ /1 .*$7&" .,*7%` Banks aie geneially veiy eagei to offei
us cieuit, because it is a goou way to chain us to them. Bewaie of uebt. A
useful iule of thumb is: "If I uon't have the money, uon't buy it."

! *$"#&0H -/5* %($07&03` Consiuei whethei you aie spenuing youi money
wisely. We all assume we aie iational spenueis, but we might be able to
ieuiiect oui expenuituie in ways that bettei fulfil oui life goals. Peihaps by
spenuing less oi moie caiefully you will be able to woik less.

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! ./0%&7$* *$75.&03 +/*H&03 #/5*%` Eveiybouy's situation is uiffeient, so
ieuucing woiking houis may not be feasible. But if you anu youi householu
finu ways to significantly ieuuce youi oveiall consumption expenuituie, you
may finu that you uon't have to woik so many houis a week in paiu
employment. This will fiee up moie time to puisue youi piivate passions anu
engage with youi community in meaningful anu fulfilling ways. This may
ieuuce youi mateiial wealth, but it is likely to inciease youi quality of life.

! _5" #/+Q If you think it may be feasible to funu a simplei lifestyle by woiking
less, the question is how to make this a ieality. Theie aie two main paths to
ieuuceu woiking houis: 0ne option is to finu a new job that offeis pait-time
woik. The seconu option is to appioach youi cuiient employei anu ask
whethei it woulu be possible to woik fewei houis pei week on pio iata
ieuuceu wages salaiy. Youi employei might be moie open to it than you
think. Aftei all, it means ieuuceu costs foi them. It may also inciease youi own
piouuctivity.

! +#," "/ 7/ +&"# , (,- *&%$Q Theie will piobably come a time in youi woiking
life when you aie offeieu a pay iise. 0ne option, as noteu above, is to save
youi iaise. But theie is anothei option, too. Rathei than accepting the extia
money anu spenuing moie, ask whethei you can stay on the same wages
salaiy but woik less. Foi example, you might ask foi one afteinoon off pei
week. Again, youi employei might be quite happy to accept such an
aiiangement.

! +/*H 1*/' #/'$ /0$ 7,- ($* +$$H` Anothei way to iethink youi woik life is
to consiuei whethei it woulu be possible to woik one oi moie uays fiom
home. This will not be possible foi all jobs, but it will be foi some. This may a
nice way to spenu one of youi woiking uays. It will also ieuuce the amount of
tiavelling you uo to anu fiom woik, anu that means less oil-uepenuency.

! %$$ &1 -/5 .,0 "$)$./''5"$ &0%"$,7 /1 "*,2$)&03` Nany jobs touay iequiie
tiavel in between subuibs, cities, oi even countiies. 0sing viueo-confeiencing
technology can gieatly ieuuce the neeu to tiavel foi woik. Look into it. Youi
employei might be happy foi you to uo this too, as it will ieuuce theii costs
(anu it will also significantly ieuuce caibon emissions).

! &1 -/5 0$$7 )$%%8 -/5 #,2$ )$%% (*$%%5*$ "/ +/*H 1/* 7/73- _5%&0$%%$%`
Sometimes people finu themselves piessuieu oi seuuceu foi financial ieasons
to woik foi businesses that uon't ieally contiibute to the common goou. If you
uon't neeu much money, howevei, you may finu that you can choose woik
that pays less but which might be moie fulfilling anu socially woithwhile.

! 2/"$ +&"# -/5* "&'$` 0n the pievious page it was noteu that how we spenu
oui money is how we vote on what exists in the woilu. The same goes foi how
we spenu oui time. Time is life - uon't waste it. We have only this moment.
4
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! 3*/+ ,% '5.# /1 -/5* /+0 1//7 ,% (/%%&_)$` Not eveiyone can giow all theii
own foou, but eveiyone can giow some of it, even if it is a heib anu lettuce
gaiuen on the winuowsill. uaiuening is an impoitant ievolutionaiy act.

! +#/ +,0"% , ),+0 +#$0 -/5 .,0 #,2$ , 2$3$",_)$ 3,*7$0d If we aie going to
tiansition to moie localiseu anu sustainable foou piouuction, many lawns (oi
paits of lawns) aie going to have to tuin into beautiful, thiiving vegetable
gaiuens. Expanu youi gaiuen as much as possible. Peihaps theie is theie
ioom foi chickens. Peihaps a couple of caiefully placeu fiuit tiees.

! "#&0H ,_/5" (),0"&03 %/'$ 2$3$% e 1*5&" "*$$% &0 -/5* 0,"5*$ %"*&(` Look into
youi council iegulations about planting up youi natuie stiip. 0i just uo it. Not
only uoes this pioviue you with moie space to giow youi own foou, it also
senus a message to youi community that you caie about foou piouuction.

! &1 -/5 0$$7 '/*$ %(,.$ "/ 3*/+ 1//78 )//H &0"/ +#$"#$* "#$*$ &% , ./''50&"-
3,*7$0` Community gaiuens aie spiinging up all ovei the place, anu the tienu
is likely to continue. Bo some ieseaich anu see if theie is one in youi
neighbouihoou.

! 0/ ./''50&"- 3,*7$0Q If theie is no community gaiuen in youi aiea then get
a small gioup togethei anu make it happen. Theie is no gieatei gift you can
give youi community. Suivey youi neighbouihoou - then get planning.

! %5((/*" -/5* )/.,) 1,*'$*%R ',*H$"%` Nost people will not be able to giow all
theii own fiuit anu vegetables. Supplement youi own foou piouuction by
suppoiting local faimeis' maikets. Avoiu supeimaikets as much as possible.

! "#&0H ,_/5" +#," -/5 ,*$ (5""&03 &0 -/5* _/7-` Eat healthy, oiganic foou,
anu eat moueiately. Avoiu fatty, aitificial, anu piocesseu foous.

! *$75.$ '$,"8 7,&*-8 ,07 1&%# ./0%5'("&/0` The fact is that the high levels of
meat, uiaiy, anu fish consumption is impacting veiy negatively on oui planet.
Tiy to ieuuce how much meat, uiaiy, anu fish you consume. Stait by going
without foi two uays pei week. This will save money anu lighten youi impact.

! ./0%&7$* 2$3$",*&,0&%'` This won't be foi eveiyone, but it might be foi some
of you. When it is appioacheu thoughtfully anu cieatively, a vegetaiian uiet is
healthy anu uelicious. Anu the tiansition might be easiei than you think.

! )$,*0 #/+ "/ _,H$ -/5* /+0 _*$,7 ,07 (*$%$*2$ 1//7` Nothing smells bettei
than fieshly bakeu bieau! Anu pieseiving foou is an impoitant way to ieuuce
youi 'foou miles' (i.e. the uistance youi foou tiavels to get to youi table). You
can giow oi puichase youi foou 'in season,' then pieseive it anu eat it latei.


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! 3$" /0 -/5* _&H$` The majoiity of all cai tiips aie shoit uistances. Nany of
those jouineys uo not iequiie a cai. uet on youi bike as often as possible.

! _&H$ )&3#"%` Nake suie you have lights on the fiont anu back of youi bike foi
cycling at night. A biight ieflectoi jacket is also a goou iuea foi extia safety.
These aie woithwhile puichases, anu they will soon pay foi themselves.

! 3$" , 3//7 _,%H$" ,07e/* %/'$ (,00&$*% 1/* -/5* _&H$` Nany cai jouineys can
be avoiueu if you have some caiiying capacity on youi bike. A goou basket
anuoi some pannieis aie inuispensible. A backpack can also be useful.

! 3$" , .#&)7b%$," /* , "*,&)$* 1/* "*,0%(/*"&03 .#&)7*$0` A bike can caiiy
moie than one peison. If you neeu to tianspoit youi chiluien to school oi uay-
caie, a chilu-seat oi a tiailei can be easily attacheu to youi bike. Anu youi
chiluien will piobably finu it an auventuie!

! 3$" %/'$ +$" +$,"#$* 3$,*` Bon't piesume that just because it is iaining oi
colu you cannot get on youi bike. uet you anu youi family some wet weathei
geai anu some woollen gloves. Riuing in the iain can be a beautiful
expeiience.

! .-.)&03 H$$(% -/5 1&" ,07 #$,)"#-` As well as all the enviionmental benefits to
uiiving less, getting on youi bike also keeps you fit anu healthy at no extia
cost. Since it also means you uon't have to sit in slow tiaffic, it is also veiy
goou foi mental health! Let's face it, commuting isn't fun. Biiving less also
saves money.

! (5_)&. "*,0%(/*"` Whenevei possible, use public tianspoit when uistances
aie too long to tiavel by bike, oi when the weathei is just too wet oi colu.

! ./0%&7$* %$))&03 /0$ /1 -/5* .,*%` Sometimes we uiive just because we can,
not because we neeu to. Peihaps if you sell one of youi cais, you won't miss it.
Anu it will give you some money to spenu on othei things - like a bike!

! ./0%&7$* 3/&03 .,* 1*$$` Peihaps theie is a 'cai shaie' aiiangement opeiating
in youi locality. Bo some ieseaich. You might be able to uo without owning.

! 7*&2$ "#/53#"15))-` In those times when uiiving is unavoiuable, think about
whethei youi tiip can seive vaiious puiposes: Can you uo seveial eiianus at
once. Can you give someone else a lift somewheie.

! ,&* "*,2$)` Tiavelling by plane puts huge amounts of caibon into the
atmospheie, anu is a significant contiibutoi to climate change. It can be a
challenge to say no, but tiy to avoiu aii tiavel at all costs. If you uo have to
tiavel, pay a little extia to offset youi caibon emissions. Is the tiain an option.


6
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! )&2$ &0 , '/7$%" ,_/7$` The ostentatious 'NcNansions' which aie so pievalent
in many uevelopeu nations aie extiemely iesouice intensive, eneigy
intensive, anu expensive. They aie also ugly. The Simplei Way involves
embiacing smallei, much moie mouest anu eneigy efficient homes.

! .#//%$ -/5* .&"-8 "/+0 /* *5*,) ,*$, .,*$15))-` Theie aie many complex
factois that come into play when it comes to ueteimining which city, town oi
iuial aiea you live in. Youi family, fiienus, youi job, the weathei, cost, etc. all
play a iole. Neveitheless, so fai as you have a choice, think veiy caiefully
about wheie you anu youi family ueciue to set up camp. Bousing can be veiy
expensive in some cities anu this can lock you into a laige moitgage, which
can lock you into a job you may not like. If possible, live in a place wheie
housing is affoiuable. Low cost housing coulu save you yeais of laboui.

! "*- "/ )&2$ .)/%$ +/*H /* +/*H .)/%$ "/ +#$*$ -/5 )&2$` This isn't always
easy oi affoiuable, but living close to woik is an impoitant goal. This will
allow you to bike to woik easily anu it will also mean that you uon't have to
waste lots of time commuting. Reseaich shows that commuting is one of the
most unpleasant aspects of mouein life. Bo what you can to avoiu it.

! ,2/&7 500$.$%%,*- /* (5*$)- P,$%"#$"&.R *$00/2,"&/0%` Bon't get suckeu into
the belief that eveiything about youi house has to look 'bianu new.' So what if
youi caipet is olu oi youi wallpapei is a little teai in it. When ienovations aie
necessaiy, consiuei B.I.Y. anu buying seconu hanu mateiials.

! ./b#/5%&03` A giowing numbei of people aie exploiing co-housing
aiiangements. This can involve gioups of people (a gioup of fiienus peihaps,
oi two oi thiee families, etc) living in the same house. Foi those with a spaie
ioom, it might involve taking on a boaiuei. Co-housing is a veiy effective way
to gieatly ieuuce the costimpact of housing. It also piomotes community.

! $./b7$%&30` If you aie in a position to uesign anu builu a house, take eco-
uesign seiiously. It can be moie expensive, but often the initial costs of eco-
uesign can pay foi themselves ovei time (e.g. solai panels, quality insulation,
uouble-glazeu winuows, efficient heateis, etc.). Small is beautiful.

! $6()/*$ ,)"$*0,"&2$ #/5%&03` Noie iauical exponents of the Simplei Way
might wish to exploie vaiious foims of alteinative housing. This might incluue
builuing a stiaw bail oi muu biick house, oi living in ienovateu shipping
containeis, oi a 'house bus.' Take a look on the Inteinet foi some iueas.

7
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! *$,7 +&7$)- ,_/5" .)&',"$ .#,03$ ,07 ($,H /&)` These subjects have political
implications, anu this means ceitain political paities anu meuia institutions
have an incentive to muuuy the wateis. But these matteis aie much, much,
much too impoitant to be ueteimineu by political powei games. Let the
science ueteimine youi peispective, not the politics. Reau wiuely anu
ciitically. Ask questions. Bo youi own ieseaich, anu think foi youiself.

! _5- P3*$$0R $0$*3-` Nany eneigy companies touay have an option foi
puichasing gieen eneigy (i.e. that is, eneigy piouuceu fiom winu, solai,
geotheimal, hyuio, etc, iathei than fiom fossil fuels). uieen eneigy will be
somewhat moie expensive, but if you take eneigy efficiency seiiously you will
piobably be able to offset piice incieases by ieuucing consumption. Call youi
eneigy company touay. If they uo not offei uieen Eneigy, change companies.

! ",H$ $0$*3- $11&.&$0.- %$*&/5%)-` This can take many foims, incluuing
insulating youi house well; only heating oi cooling the iooms you aie in; using
eneigy efficient light bulbs; tuining lights off when you leave the ioom;
tuining appliances off at the wall; only boiling the watei you neeu, etc. Nany
small steps make a big uiffeience, both in teims of consumption anu cost.

! 5%$ ./''/0%$0%$` If you aie colu, put on a sweatei iathei than always tuining
on the heatei. We aie all haiuiei than we think we aie. If it's hot outsiue,
keeping the uoois, winuows, anu cuitains closeu keeps the house cool.

! %/),*` If you can affoiu to buy solai panels anuoi a solai hot watei system,
uo so. Not only uo most systems pay foi themselves ovei a numbei of yeais,
but also by investing in ienewable eneigy you will be inuiiectly suppoiting
fuithei ieseaich anu uevelopment of ienewable eneigy systems.

! a5$%"&/0 "#$ 0$$7` 0nuoubteuly some mouein appliances ieuuce laboui. But
some appliances aie totally unnecessaiy anu otheis aie just gimmicks. Avoiu
electionic oi petiol-fuelleu appliances that you uo not ieally neeu. Biive less.

! +#$0 (5*.#,%&03 ,0 ,(()&,0.$8 .#//%$ "#$ '/%" $0$*3- $11&.&$0"` Eneigy
efficient appliances aie usually moie expensive, but again, the extia initial cost
is usually offset ovei time by the ieuuceu eneigy costs.

! %$" 5( , %/),*b#$,"$7 %#/+$* _,3 /5"%&7$` In the summei, a solai-heateu
showei bag (the kinu often useu on camping tiips) can pioviue you with solai
hot watei foi fiee. This won't woik in the wintei, but it is likely to ieuuce
eneigy bills noticeably in the summei. Anu it's invigoiating.
8
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! 7*$%% 7/+0` Weaiing simple, humble, anu functional clothing can be an
outwaiu statement of simplicity, an expiession of one's opposition to
consumei cultuie. Bon't get suckeu into high fashion.

! *$"#&0H -/5* &',3$` If you aie someone who has typically uiesseu in new anu
expensive clothing, consiuei ieinventing youi image. This can be an exciting
jouiney on the tiansition to a simplei life.

! _5- %$./07b#,07 .)/"#&03` vast quantities of clothing get uioppeu off at
seconu-hanu clothing stoies eveiyuay. Seconu-hanu clothing is cheap, cheap,
cheap. Theie is absolutely no neeu to spenu lots of money on clothing.
Fuitheimoie, seaiching foi tieasuies in seconu-hanu stoies is gieat fun.

! 7*$%%&03 %&'()- 7/$%0R" '$,0 3&2&03 5( %"-)$` Theie is nothing wiong with
expiessing youiself thiough what you weai. But you uon't have to spenu lots
of money on clothes if you uiess cieatively. Bevelop youi own 'post-
consumeiist' style. Who wants to look 'bianu new' anyway.

! )$,*0 #/+ "/ '$07` Theie is no neeu to thiow out youi favouiite jeans oi t-
shiit just because it has uevelopeu a teai. Leain how to menu a teai oi sew a
patch on an elbow. This can give youi favouiite items chaiactei.

! ',H$ -/5* /+0` If you aie moie ambitious, you might even spenu some time
leaining how to sew youi own clothes. This can be an exciting anu cieative
expeiience, as well as one that saves money.

! ,**,03$ , .)/"#&03 %+,( +&"# %/'$ 1*&$07%` Sometimes it's nice to have a
change of clothes in youi waiuiobe. But this uoesn't necessaiily iequiie going
shopping. It can be fun to aiiange a clothing swap with some fiienus. 0ne
peison's olu clothing is anothei peison's tieasuie.

! _$+,*$ /1 .#$,( 7$(,*"'$0" %"/*$ .)/"#&03` It can be tempting to buy the
cheapest clothing fiom uepaitment stoies, but often it is cheap because of its
exploitative manufactuiing piocesses. When in uoubt, avoiu the puichase.

! j5%" &',3&0$` Bunuieus of billions of uollais aie spent eveiy yeai in the
fashion inuustiy. }ust imagine if even half of that money was ieuiiecteu
towaiu gieen eneigy oi humanitaiian initiatives. We woulu lose so little anu
gain so much. Again, we must vote with oui money.

! 7*$%%&03 %&'()- .,0 _$ )&_$*,"&03` Weaiing expensive clothing tenus to limit
oui actions, since we uon't want to get them uiity. When you uiess simply,
howevei, you uon't have to think twice about lying uown on the giass oi uoing
a spot of gaiuening. Biess simply anu be fiee.
9
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! ,2/&7 500$.$%%,*- (/%%$%%&/0%` The Simplei Way involves embiacing a foim
of minimalism. Again, this uoesn't mean not having possessions, but it uoes
involve only having the possessions that tiuly contiibute to oui quality of life.
0ften stuff is just stuff - a waste of space, money, anu iesouices. Avoiu
unnecessaiy possessions. Live moie with less.

! 7$.)5""$*` When people ueciue they want to take steps to simplify theii lives,
ueclutteiing theii homes of supeifluous 'stuff' is the peifect way to begin. This
can be extiemely libeiating. uo fiom ioom to ioom anu think veiy seiiously
about whethei you neeu all the stuff you have. Bonate youi supeifluous stuff
to chaiity.

! _$ ,+,*$ /1 "#$ %"511 0$$7$7 1/* %"511` It seems that stuff bieeus moie stuff.
We often buy something anu then uiscovei that it neeus extia stuff to make it
functional. By ieuucing the stuff in oui lives, we aie also ieuucing the stuff
neeueu foi stuff. Stuff can also have hiuuen 'time' costs. Theiefoie, when in
uoubt, uo without.

! _$ ,+,*$ /1 "#$ (%-.#/)/3- /1 %"511` We've piobably all hau the expeiience
of making some exciting consumei puichase, only to uiscovei that the initial
buzz quickly weais off. Bespite what auveitisements tell us, stuff just uoesn't
satisfy oui uesiie foi meaning, anu it is a veiy pooi substitute foi an iuentity.

! _$ ,+,*$ /1 "#$ P7&7$*/" $11$."R` Bave you evei puichaseu something,
something you ieally wanteu, only to uiscovei that it maue the iest of youi
stuff seem a bit olu anu uateu. Rathei than accepting some uisunity in the
style of youi possessions, have you then been tempteu to upgiaue youi olu
anu uateu stuff. This is calleu the 'Biueiot Effect'. You buy some new pants,
but then iealise you neeu a new shiit to match. You buy a new sofa, but then
you have the uige to upgiaue youi chaiis too. The Simplei Way involves
iesisting the initial upgiauing. uet off the consumeiist tieaumill anu stop the
upwaiu cieep of mateiial uesiie. Know how much is enough.

! ,2/&7 ,)) 3//7% -/5 H0/+ /* %5%($." +$*$ 50j5%")- ',051,."5*$7` Bow can
some stuff be so cheap! At fiist this seems gieat, but a moment's thought
shoulu tell us that if some stuff is unbelievably cheap, it is piobably because it
has been piouuceu by wage-slaves in the ueveloping woilu. Bon't suppoit
coipoiations that aie baseu on unjust manufactuiing.

! a5,)&"-8 0/" a5,0"&"-` When you ueciue you ieally neeu some new
possession, it is bettei to buy quality, so that it uoesn't have to be ieplaceu.
This ieuuces waste. In this sense, the Simplei Way is about caiing 'moie'
about oui stuff.
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! 3$" %/'$ +,"$* ",0H%` As youi home foou piouuction giows, it is likely that
you will neeu to expanu youi watei iesouices. uetting some watei tanks will
gieatly ieuuce oi nullify the amount of watei fiom the giiu that you use on
youi gaiuen.

! #/'$ 1//7 (*/75."&/0 5%$% )$%% +,"$* "#,0 &075%"*&,) 1//7 (*/75."&/0`
This shoulu pioviue us all with fuithei motivation foi giowing as much of oui
own foou as possible.

! )$,2$ , _5.H$" &0 "#$ %#/+$*` Put a bucket in the showei. Collect the watei as
the showei heats up anu keep the bucket in the showei as you wash. The
watei that is collecteu can be useu to flush the toilet. This will save significant
amounts of watei eveiy uay. }ust imagine if eveiyone uiu this! Nillions anu
millions of lities of watei woulu be saveu 6?67:58:.

! %$" 5( , 3*$-+,"$* %-%"$'` A gieywatei system is a system that uses the
watei fiom the showei, bath, washing machine, oi cooking, foi othei
puiposes. Some people use theii gieywatei to flush theii toilets. If it is
sufficiently clean, some gieywatei can be useu on the gaiuen.

! 1)5%#&03` In the uevelopeu woilu touay, we flush the toilet with uiinking-
quality watei. uieat amounts can be saveu by not flushing if it's only uiine.
Keeping the liu uown contiols any ououi.

! ",H$ %#/*"$* %#/+$*%` Keep showeis to thiee oi foui minutes, oi less.

! _,"#&03` Theie is no uoubt that taking a hot bath is sometimes an exquisite
luxuiy. But bathing uses much moie watei than showeis, so tiy to have as few
baths as possible. When you uo bath, consiuei whethei you can uiiect some of
the watei into youi gieywatei system.

! "5*0 "#$ ",( /11` It may sounu like a minoi act - anu it is - but uon't leave the
tap iunning when you aie biushing youi teeth, shaving, washing youi face,
etc. Eveiything counts, anu it is impoitant to builu conseivation piactices into
oui lives at eveiy oppoitunity. Soon enough it will just become instinctive.

! +,"$* &0"$0%&2$ ,(()&,0.$%` Appliances like uishwasheis anu washing
machines use a lot of watei. By being thoughtful about how many uishes you
use, anu not washing clothes unnecessaiily, watei use can be gieatly ieuuceu.

! 501/*$%$$0 &'()&.,"&/0%` Since uevelopeu societies aie so watei intensive,
goveinments sometimes spenu billions of uollais cieating uesalination plants,
just to keep watei supply up with uemanu. But if we weie all moie watei
conscious, uesalination plants woulu be unnecessaiy. This woulu be bettei foi
the planet anu it woulu save tens of billions of uollais that coulu be spent on
moie impoitant things. 0ui small acts can have huge, unfoieseen implications.
11
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! *$15%$` The fiist way to ieuuce waste is simply to iefuse to consume in
unnecessaiy ways. Foi example, insteau of puichasing watei fiom a plastic
bottle, uiink watei fiom the tap; uon't buy new shoes when youi olu ones aie
fine; avoiu that unnecesaiy aii flight; anu so on. The list is enuless.

! *$75.$` The seconu way to ieuuce waste is to ieuuce the 8B23=4 of the things
you consume. We all have things we like to buy (music, books, wine, etc.).
Living simply uoesn't mean giving up all these things, but it uoes imply
embiacing moueiation. Tiy to ieuuce youi consumption. 0ften fiee
alteinatives exist.

! *$5%$` The thiiu way to ieuuce waste is to ieuse the so-calleu waste of oui
puichases. 0se youi imagination. The possibilities aie enuless.

! *$.-.)$` The fouith way to ieuuce waste is to iecycle vigilantly.

! ./'(/%"` Rathei than using nasty chemicals to feitilise youi gaiuen, compost
all the oiganic mattei fiom youi householu. 0veitime this will eniich youi
gaiuen gieatly anu piouuce healthy soil foi giowing youi foou.

! 5%$ &" 5(8 +$,* &" /5"8 ',H$ &" 7/8 /* 7/ +&"#/5"` This is an olu saying fiom
the uieat Bepiession yeais. It must become the commonsense of oui uieat
Tiansition beyonu consumei cultuie. Because that's what it is -
commonsense.

! j50H ',&)` }unk mail is suiely one of the most peiveise examples of the
wastefulness of consumei society. Bunuieus of glossy pages can aiiive in oui
letteiboxes eveiyuay, only to be thiown stiaight into the iecycling bin (oi
woise, the waste bin). }ust think about how many tiees woulu be saveu if
eveiy householu in the uevelopeu woilu put signs on theii letteiboxes
iejecting junk mail. It's tiuly minu-boggling, anu moie than a little uepiessing.

! (,.H,3&03` Avoiu as much packaging as possible.

! ,)+,-% .,**- , .)/"# _,3` Plastic bags aie an enviionmental hazaiu. Always
caiiy a cloth bag (oi seveial) so that you nevei have to accept a plastic bag.
But iemembei, cloth bags aie absolutely no use when they aie left at home.

! 7/0R" +,%"$ $0$*3-` This is extiemely impoitant. See the section above on
eneigy.

! *$,7 ,_/5"8 ,07 (*,."&.$8 ($*',.5)"5*$` Peimacultuie is a complex teim, but
pait of what it means is leaining how to live on oui planet without uegiauing
it; to woik with natuie, not against it. 0ui futuie uepenus on peimacultuie.
12
,((*/(*&,"$ "$.#0/)/3-

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! %/.&,) '$7&,` We live in the Age of Social Neuia. While theie is ceitainly gieat
potential to social meuia, it can also consume an alaiming amount of oui time,
often in ways that seem iathei wasteful anu uninspiieu. Foi example, fiom
Apiil 2uu8 to Apiil 2uu9, total time spent on Facebook in the 0S was 2S2
million houis, anu total time spent on NySpace was 8S million houis. What
activities aie people substituting foi these hunuieus of millions of houis spent
in cybeispace. What woulu life be like - what <2395 life be like - if the vast
amounts of time ueuicateu to social meuia weie uiiecteu towaiu ieal life
conveisation with fiienus oi family, oi spent being engageu in piactical,
cieative activity, oi spent volunteeiing in some oiganisation of inteiest, etc.

! 0$2$*"#$)$%%444 Social meuia, as noteu, uoes have the potential to impact
positively on oui lives, if useu with caution. Living simply in a consumei
society can at times be socially isolating, so consiuei joining a Simple Living
social netwoik anu connect with otheis who aie also exploiing the Simplei
Way. See, e.g., www.SimpleiWay.oig anu www.SimplicityCollective.com.

! &1 ,0 ,(()&,0.$ %"/(% +/*H&038 "*- 0/" "/ *$(),.$ &" 1/* /0$ '/0"#` It is easy
to think of appliances as 'necessaiy' when in fact they aie, at best,
'conveniences' only. If an appliance you cuiiently own stops woiking, tiy not
to ieplace it foi one month. See what life is like without it. Peihaps you will
uiscovei that you uon't actually neeu to go out anu buy anothei one oi pay to
have it fixeu. This will save money anu eneigy.

! "#&0H .,*$15))- ,_/5" +#," &% ,((*/(*&,"$ "$.#0/)/3-` If it tuins out that an
appliance ieally uoes contiibute positively to youi life, then embiace it. Living
simply is not about being a Luuuite. Appiopiiate technology will neeu to play
a vital iole in any tiansition to a just anu sustainable woilu. Solai panels anu
winu tuibines, foi example, shoulu not be iejecteu. But we must not think
technology is going to solve all oui pioblems. It is just as likely to exaceibate
them.

! _$+,*$ /1 "#$ P*$_/507 $11$."R` Technology can help us consume moie
efficiently, but if we aie not caieful such efficiency gains can be lost thiough
the 'iebounu effect.' Foi example, a moie fuel-efficient cai can mean that we
just uiive fuithei oi moie often; insulating oui houses can save money that is
then spent on aii tiavel, etc. Efficiency is without sufficiency is easily lost.

! H$$( "$.#0/)/3- ,% %&'()$ ,% (/%%&_)$` }ust peihaps oui mouein technociatic
societies will one uay come to see that theie is a sophistication anu an
elegance to the clothes line, the bicycle, anu the watei tank, that the uiyei, the
automobile, anu the uesalination plant, ueciueuly lack. 0n a similai note,
peihaps it will one uay be wiuely accepteu that theie is a ceitain
piimitiveness to technological gimmicks oi that a blinu faith in science can
itself be 'anti-piogiess.' In the woius of the gieat Leonaiuo ua vinci,
'Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.'
1S
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! (5*.#,%&03 1//78 ,)./#/)8 ,07 $0"$*",&0'$0"` Nost of us enjoy going out foi
the ouu meal, ielaxing with the occasional beei oi glass of wine, oi seeing a
movie now anu then, etc. Anu faii enough too. The Simplei Way ceitainly uoes
not imply giving up these things. It uoes, howevei, imply iecognising the
impoitance of moueiation in all we uo. We shoulu giatefully absoib the best
oui cultuie has to offei, but we shoulu not iely exclusively, oi even
pieuominately, on puichaseu goous oi seivices foi oui enteitainment.

! "$)$2&%&/0` Bow a cultuie spenus its leisuie - its fieeuom - pioviues an
extiemely impoitant insight into the natuie of that cultuie. Asiue fiom
woiking anu sleeping, most people in Westein societies spenu moie time
watching television than uoing anything else. Stuuies have shown, foi
example, that the aveiage 0.S. anu Biitish citizen watch ioughly 2S houis pei
week, anu othei nations aien't too fai behinu. Is this ieally the best way to be
spenuing oui fieeuom. It is likely that some of this time in fiont of the
television can be ieplaceu with moie fulfilling activities. Put the Tv in the
closet foi one month. See what happens. Reinvent how you piactice fieeuom.

! )$,*0 , 0$+ %H&))` The uivision of laboui that lies at the heait of consumei
society has iesulteu in us losing many basic life skills. Re-skilling can be a veiy
fulfilling way to spenu some of oui fiee time. Foi example, you might want to
leain how to gaiuen oiganically, cook, bake bieau, lay biicks, pieseive foou,
sew, builu things, binu books, paint, oi leain how to play a musical
instiument, etc. 0nlike the passivity of Tv, leaining a new skill is an active
challenge anu can pioviue enuless houis of fulfilment.

! 7$.)5""$* -/5* %/.&,) .,)$07,*` Spenuing time with fiienus anu family can
often be some of the most fulfilling time of all. But sometimes we at iisk of
ovei-scheuuling social engagements anu finu that theie is no time foi
ouiselves, no time to ielax anu just be. When you think you neeu some moie
time foi youiself, leain to say 'no' to invitations.

! 2/)50"$$*` What aie you passionate about. Is theie a way foi you to shaie
that passion with the woilu. It can be suipiising how fulfilling this can be.

! *$,7&03` It is easy to think that we stop being stuuents when we leave foimal
euucation. But the woilu is an infinitely inteiesting place, full of enulessly
exciting things anu inspiiing people. Reauing is a wonueiful, eniiching
pastime, anu it uoesn't have to cost a cent. Youi local libiaiy can pioviue
books foi fiee. Cultivate a love of ieauing anu you will be iich foievei.
14
./''50&"-

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! %#,*&03 -/5* %"511` Which community is iichei - the one in which eveiyone
has theii own. 0i the one in which theie is less but people shaie. By shaiing
oui iesouices, oui communities get iichei, without incieasing oveiall
consumption. Foi example, not eveiyone in the stieet neeus a lawn mowei,
since it sits iule almost eveiyuay. Why not have one lawn mowei foi seveial
houses. Lenu when ask anu boiiow when necessaiy.

! %#,*&03 -/5* %H&))%` Shaiing oui stuff piomotes community, anu so uoes
shaiing oui skills. Chances aie theie is a wealth of expeitise of vaiious foims
in youi community. Shaiing skills is a gieat way to help us escape ieliance on
the foimal economy, anu it's also a gieat way to meet new people anu
inteiact with uiffeient geneiations.

! "#$ %#,*$#//7` Theie is a gieat website that is uesigneu to make shaiing
easy. The Shaiehoou (www.theshaiehoou.oig) aims to builu joyful,
sustainable, anu iesilient communities by encouiaging people to get to know
theii neighbouis anu shaie with them. This website is helping cieate vibiant
communities wheie people shaie locally anu meet theii neeus anu help
otheis uo the same. Check it out anu sign up! It may be woithwhile uoing a
mail uiop aiounu youi neighbouihoou too, letting people know about this
amazing iesouice anu encouiaging them to sign up.

! 1&)' 0&3#"%` 0ne gieat way to cultivate community anu piomote goou
causes is to oiganise film nights afteinoons in youi community. Who
uoesn't love a goou film. Nost communities have a venue that will allow fiee
access to a ioom (e.g. a libiaiy, community oiganisation, etc.). Piint out some
posteis anu stick them up aiounu youi neighbouihoou inviting people to
attenu. Theie aie many gieat films fieely available on you-tube oi vimeo (e.g.
"Bome," "The Powei of Community," "The Enu of Subuibia," "Life aftei
uiowth," etc.). Aftei the film, have a cup of tea anu a uiscussion.

! "*,0%&"&/0 "/+0%` The Tiansition Town Novement is taking holu acioss the
woilu, anu it is a souice of gieat hope. This movement is a community-baseu
iesponse to the uual ciises of peak oil anu climate change, anu its
paiticipants aie not waiting foi goveinments to fix oui pioblems. Insteau,
they aie just getting woik, builuing a new society fiom the giassioots up. Bo
some ieauing on Tiansition Towns. Then get a few like-minueu people
togethei, anu stait youi own. Fiom little things big things giow.
1S
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! '$7&","&/0 e -/3,` Attaining peace of minu in a hectic woilu can be a gieat
challenge. Consiuei taking a couise on meuitation oi yoga. Alteinatively, finu
fifteen uninteiiupteu minutes pei uay to just sit comfoitably with youi eyes
closeu anu concentiate on youi bieathing. It's goou foi the soul.

! H$$( , j/5*0,)` It is suipiising how useful, enjoyable, anu enlightening it can
be to keep a jouinal. Finu some time each uay to sit uown anu wiite about
youi uay, youi thoughts, youi state of minu. What situations woulu you ueal
with uiffeiently if you hau youi time again. This exeicise in self-ieflection can
claiify oui minus anu help us all live moie consciously anu uelibeiately. Bave
no expectations - just wiite. See what happens.

! *$,7 ,_/5" "#$ %&'()$* +,-` Boiiow a few books on voluntaiy simplicity oi
uownshifting anu ieau them. This can be veiy affiiming.

! 3//3)$ &"` If you have any questions about anything in this uocument, uoogle
it. Theie is a wealth of uetaileu infoimation on the Inteinet about the piactice
of living simply, but ieau bioauly anu ciitically (because theie is lots of
iubbish).

! .#*&%"',%` The mateiialistic oigy that is Chiistmas is but an exaggeiateu
noimality foi Westein societies. Show some enlighteneu mateiial iestiaint at
Chiistmas anu celebiate without consuming excessively. uive thoughtfully.

! $6$*.&%$ 1/* 1*$$` Nany of us can piobably aumit that we uon't uo enough
exeicise. But being physically healthy is an impoitant pait of being
psychologically healthy. Theie is no neeu, howevei, to spenu hunuieus of
uollais a yeai subsciibing to an expensive gym. uo foi a shoit iun a few times
a week, anu uo a few piess-ups anu stai jumps. It's easy to exeicise foi fiee.

! .)$,0&03 (*/75."%` Television auveits selling cleaning piouucts give the
impiession that oui homes aie ciawling with bugs that aie going to make us
sick unless we buy theii piouuct. As a iule, this just isn't so. It's goou to be
clean, of couise, but geneially you uon't neeu to buy any cleaning piouucts. A
mixtuie of baking soua anu vinegai pioviues a substitute foi most cleaning
piouucts.

! *,&%&03 .#&)7*$0` Be awaie that you aie an example foi the youngei
geneiation. Be an example of the Simplei Way anu iaise chiluien accoiuing to
post-consumeiist values. Theie is much moie to life than possessions anu
status.

! 3&2$ %/'$ '/0$- ,+,-` If you aie ieauing this text, theie is a goou chance you
aie in the iichest 1u% of the woilu's population. Tiy to give to chaiity often.

! /"#$* "#&03% "/ "#&0H ,_/5"` Slow uown; uieam; be oiganiseu; tiust thyself.
16
,."&2&%'

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! $',&) "#&% 7/.5'$0" "/ $2$*-/0$ /0 -/5* ',&)&03 )&%"` This is a simple, quick,
anu costless act, but it may iesonate fai wiuei that you woulu have evei
expecteu, like iipples in a cultuial ponu. It may well help fiee people fiom the
chains of consumei cultuie. Living simply in a consumei cultuie can be veiy
challenging, but this guiuebook pioviues a fiee anu accessible intiouuction to
the piactice of the Simplei Way. As you have seen, theie aie hunuieus of iueas
in this uocument about how to live moie on less. Please shaie it with otheis.

! $',&) "#&% 7/.5'$0" "/ -/5* )/.,) %.#//)%8 .&"- ./50.&)/*%8 ,07 '$'_$*% /1
(,*)&,'$0"` Again, this is a simple anu costless act with potentially huge
implications. Imagine chiluien leaint about living simply in schools. Imagine
oui political iepiesentatives staiteu talking about simple living. Soon enough
oui woilu woulu change.

! ,_,07/0 , _//H` Invest in a book on voluntaiy simplicity, peimacultuie, oi
peak oil, anu leave it in youi common ioom at woik. Peihaps leave anothei
copy in the local caf. This is a peaceful, non-confiontation way to euucate
people about the Simplei Way. Euucation is the fiist phase of activism.

! j/&0 /* $%",_)&%# , ./''&""$$ "/ .*$,"$ , ./''50&"- 3,*7$0` uet a few
inteiesteu inuiviuuals togethei anu foim a plan. Bo some ieseaich on wheie
the best place foi a community gaiuen woulu be; then contact youi city
council anu tiy to get the ball iolling. Keep at it.

! 35$**&)), 3,*7$0&03` This teim iefeis to the cultivation of lanu that you uon't
own but which you think you can eniich by cultivating piouuctively - without
peimission, as such. Noueiate uueiiilla uaiueneis cultivate theii natuie
stiips without seeking council appioval. Noie seiious piactitioneis suivey
theii neighbouihoous foi othei suitable spots. Seek anu ye shall finu. It is
impoitant to be sensible, of couise. 0ne shoulun't plant anything that might
block vision of tiaffic, foi example. But aftei taking such piecautions - anu
aftei cultivating youi own gaiuen fiist - one can then pioceeu confiuently,
knowing that uueiiilla uaiuening is a peaceful anu honouiable act of
opposition. Such acts will be justifieu in the eyes of posteiity.

! $%",_)&%# , P%&'()&.&"- .&*.)$R` Invite a gioup of inteiesteu inuiviuuals to youi
place (oi some othei venue) foi the puipose of uiscussing all aspects of living
simply. This is a wonueiful oppoitunity to shaie infoimation anu iueas anu
the uiscussion piocess can be veiy affiiming. You uon't have to be an expeit.

! .5)"5*$ j,''&03` This teim iefeis to the woik of oppositional aitists who use
vaiious foims of cieative expiession to challenge anu subveit the entiencheu
noims of coipoiate consumeiism. Think cieatively. Act cieatively. Resist.
17
"#$ (/)&"&.% /1 %&'()&.&"-
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! *$)/.,)&%$ 1//7 (*/75."&/0` Establish community gaiuens in eveiy subuib
anu peimit people to cultivate theii natuie stiips. Subsiuise ielocalisation.

! _&H$ ),0$% ,07 (5_)&. "*,0%(/*"` This issue is a peifect example of why a
politics of simplicity is neeueu. 0ui goveinments must invest much moie in
bike lanes public tianspoit, otheiwise many people aie lockeu into uiiving.

! (*/75." ),_$))&03` If we aie going to 'vote with oui money' we neeu to know
about the piouucts we buy - wheie anu how they weie maue, anu what is in
them. uoveinments shoulu iequiie sufficiently uetaileu piouuct labelling.

! +/*H&03 #/5* *$75."&/0%` Nany people aie lockeu into 4u-houi-pei-week
jobs even though they woulu piefei to woik shoitei houis anu ieceive less
money. This locks people into ovei-consuming lifestyles. In Bollanu theie is a
law that allows employees to ieuuce theii woiking houis simply by asking
theii employei. The employei is iequiieu to accept this iequest unless theie is
a sufficiently goou business ieason to ueny it (which happens in less than S%
of cases). By piotecting pait-time employment, Bollanu has piouuceu the
highest iatio of pait-time woikeis in the woilu.

! (*&.$ .,*_/0 ,07 &02$%" &0 *$0$+,_)$ $0$*3-` We neeu to bieak oui auuiction
to fossil fuels. 0ui goveinments shoulu begin by piicing caibon anu investing
heavily in the most suitable ienewable eneigy. Abolish fossil fuel subsiuies.

! (*/"$." 0,"5*$` uoveinments must help piotect natuie; maikets aie failing.

! (/%"b3*/+"# $./0/'&.%` Peihaps the most impoitant oveiall goal in the
politics of simplicity is to oveicome the belief that a biggei economy is always
bettei. This is especially impoitant uue to the ecological 'limits to giowth.' We
neeu oui goveinments to focus on piomoting 'quality of life,' even if this
uoesn't piouuce the most economic giowth. We shoulu stait measuiing
national piogiess using 'alteinative inuicatois' such as the uenuine Piogiess
Inuicatoi (uPI) anu pay less attention to uioss Bomestic Piouuct (uBP).

! *$75.$ (/2$*"- ,07 $./0/'&. &0$a5,)&"-` Poveity anu economic inequality
aie socially coiiosive. If we aie to eliminate poveity without ielying on
limitless giowth then it is necessaiy to uistiibute wealth moie equitably.
Bighly piogiessive tax iates anu a Basic Income uuaiantee woulu be a goou
stait. The Simplei Way is about ensuiing that eveiyone has 'enough' to live
well.

! 2/"$ (*/3*$%%&2$)-` All this uepenus on a citizeniy that puts piessuie on
political paities fiom the giassioots up. We must vote anu live piogiessively.
18
./0.)5%&/0
The Simplei Way, as outlineu in this booklet, piesents itself as a iemaikably
coheient philosophy of life with which to live in iesponse to many of the gieatest
pioblems of oui age, incluuing ecological uegiauation, global poveity,
uneconomic giowth, peak oil, anu consumei malaise. The piospect of nine billion
people on the planet by miu-centuiy makes it all the cleaiei that the Simplei
Way is a living stiategy whose time has come. In a woilu such as oui own,
focuseu so intently on maximising mateiial wealth, it is impoitant that we take
time to step back anu ask ouiselves: 'What is money >27.' anu 'What is oui
economy >27.' Foi when we ask ouiselves these questions, it quickly becomes
appaient that the meaning of life uoes not anu cannot consist in the consumption
anu accumulation of mateiial things. Theie is moie to life than uesiiing big
houses, new caipet, fancy clothing, expensive cais, anu luxuiious holiuays, etc.
Theie is fieeuom fiom such uesiies.
Bespite being buiueneu by a mateiialistic cultuie, we iemain fiee to
iecompose oui own fates, to make things new, to be self-uefining anu woilu-
cieating pioneeis once moie. That is the challenge - the joyful challenge - that
lies befoie those of us who exploie the Simplei Way. Neveitheless, when a whole
society is geaieu towaiu piouucing anu then consuming evei-moie consumei
piouucts, it can be veiy uifficult foi people to live anu think uiffeiently - even foi
those of us who want to. Theie is no easy, silvei-bullet solution to this pioblem.
But one step that can be taken is to ueuicate moie of oui attention to exploiing
alteinative ways of living anu being, anu that exploiation has been the focus of
this Piactical Action Plan.
It is impoitant to unueistanu, howevei, that each element in this booklet
iaises a numbei of complex issues that you will neeu to appioach fiom youi own
peispective. The Simplei Way is moie about questions than answeis, which
implies that actually piacticing the Simplei Way calls foi cieative inteipietation
anu peisonaliseu application. We each live unique lives, anu we each finu
ouiselves in uiffeient situations, with uiffeient capabilities anu uiffeient
iesponsibilities. What this means is that the piactical application of this booklet
will veiy likely involve uiffeient things to uiffeient people. Accoiuingly, anyone
who seiiously wants to embiace the Simplei Way must be piepaieu to think ovei
the iuea foi oneself, until it takes ioot in peisonal expeiience. Stait with a few
small steps, enjoy the auventuie, anu soon enough youi life will have changeu.
Theouoie Roszak has captuieu in a few woius oui situation exactly:
Theie is one way foiwaiu: The cieation of flesh anu bloou examples of low-
consumption, high-quality alteinatives to the mainstieam pattein of life. This
we can see happening alieauy on the countei cultuial fiinges. Anu nothing - no
amount of aigument oi ieseaich - will take the place of such living pioof. What
people must see is that ecologically sane, socially iesponsible living is A225
living; that simplicity, thiift, anu iecipiocity make foi an existence that is fiee.

This Piactical Action Plan will have seiveu its puipose if the ieauei goes away
with an incieaseu cuiiosity about the life-affiiming fieeuom of the Simplei Way,
anu an appieciation that with a little couiage anu some imaginative effoit, the
uooi to the Simplei Way will swing giacefully open.

'0lu ueeus foi olu people, anu new ueeus foi new.' 9 #TU?S "D>?T<Y
19
%$)$." *$,7&03 )&%"

Alexanuei, Samuel (eu). C293=487: #0B;90<04:D )@6 &2640< !9467=840?6 42 (2=13B67
(394376 (2uu9)

Alexanuei, Samuel, anu 0sshei, Simon. 'The voluntaiy Simplicity Novement: A
Nulti-National Suivey Analysis in Theoietical Context' (Simplicity Institute
Repoit, 2u11a) available at www.simplicityinstitute.oigpublications

Buich, Naik. #46;;0=A '0A@49:D #0B;90<04: >27 &62;96 8=5 4@6 &98=64 (2uuu)

Callenbach, Ellen. '0?0=A (@68;9: E04@ #4:96 (1992)

Claik, Buncan. -4@0<89 '0?0=A (2uu6)

Buining, Alan. F2E %3<@ 01 -=23A@G )@6 (2=13B67 #2<064: 8=5 4@6 H34376 2> 4@6
-874@ (1992)

Etzioni, Amitai, anu Boheity, Baniel (eu). C293=487: #0B;90<04:D I61;2=50=A 42
(2=13B67 (394376 (2uuS)

uoouall, Chiis. F2E 42 '0?6 8 '2EJ(87K2= '0>6 (2u1u, 2
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eu.)

Bamilton, Clive, anu Benniss, Richaiu. !>>936=L8D M@6= )22 %3<@ 01 +6?67 -=23A@
(2uuS)

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(2uu2)

Bopkins, Rob. )@6 )78=10402= F8=5K22ND H72B /09 O6;6=56=<: 42 '2<89 I610906=<6
(2uu8)

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Segal, }eiome. P78<6>39 #0B;90<04:D )@6 &@09212;@: 8=5 &29040<1 2> 4@6 !9467=840?6
!B670<8= O768B (1999)

Shi, Baviu. )@6 #0B;96 '0>6D &980= '0?0=A 8=5 F0A@ )@0=N0=A 0= !B670<8= (394376
(2uu7, Reviseu eu.)

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vanenbioech, uoluian. '611 01 %276D != !=4@292A: 2> !=<06=4 8=5 %2567= C20<61
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Teu Tiainei
uiven that the essential factoi in oui global pieuicament is oveiconsumption, the most
obvious piinciple foi a sustainable society is that those who aie ovei-consuming must
move to fai moie mateiially simple lifestyles. This uoes not mean uepiivation oi
haiuship. It means focusing on what is 13>>0<06=4 foi comfoit, hygiene, aesthetics, anu
efficiency. Nost of oui basic neeus can be met in quite simple anu iesouice-cheap ways,
compaieu with those taken foi gianteu anu iuoliseu in piesent consumei societies.
Living in ways that minimise iesouice use shoulu not be seen as an iiksome saciifice
that must be enuuieu in oiuei to save the planet. These ways must become iegaiueu as
impoitant souices of life satisfaction. We have to see the joy that can be hau in living
fiugally, iecycling, giowing foou, 'husbanuing' iesouices, making iathei than buying,
composting, iepaiiing, bottling fiuit, giving suipluses anu olu things to otheis, making
things last, anu iunning a ielatively self-sufficient householu economy.
This essay is an attempt to inuicate the veiy low uollai, footpiint anu eneigy costs the
Simplei Way might achieve. It is baseu on a combination of the way I live as a
homesteauei anu the liteiatuie on eco-villages, peimacultuie anu othei alteinative
ways of life. It is a woik in piogiess, anu the intention is to impiove the numbeis ovei
time. Bowevei, it seems fiom my analysis that the uollai, eneigy anu footpiint costs of
cuiient lifestyles coulu be cut uiamatically. veiy fiugal ways aie assumeu, while
impioving the quality of life. As the analysis unfolus I uesciibe some aspects of what a
society might look like if it tiansitioneu away fiom consumei capitalism anu came to
embiace the Simplei Way.
"DT X>UCTcC
The 'limits to giowth' analysis (Neauows et al, 1972) shows that we must uevelop ways
of life wheieby we can live well on >87 lowei pei capita iesouice consumption iates than
we have now, in a zeio-giowth economy. The Simplei Way aigument is that we can uo
this while impioving the quality of life, but only if we maue enoimous change fiom the
stiuctuies, systems anu values of consumei-capitalist society.
The lifestyle anu ways I woulu piefei woulu piobably be much moie fiugal than those
which most people woulu be willing to accept, anu they might be moie austeie than we
will neeu to accept in futuie. In othei woius, we might not have to go as fai as the
following notes inuicate.
The conclusion the piesent analysis geneially inuicates is that we coulu live happily on
something like S - 1u% of piesent Austialian pei capita uollai, eneigy anu footpiint
costs, anu maybe 1S% of the piesent eneigy cost, while gieatly impioving the quality of
life anu eliminating most global pioblems.
This claimeu ieuuction will piobably seem quite implausible at fiist sight. It is
impoitant not to think in teims of simply ieuucing consumption oi making systems
moie efficient. The Simplei Way is about new means to new goals in new systems, anu
theiefoie about a quite uiffeient conception of the goou society anu of
'uevelopment.' Foi instance conventional thinking about Thiiu Woilu uevelopment is
lockeu onto the conviction that uevelopment has to involve incieasing investment of
capital, to be able to sell moie, to be able to buy moie anu to spenu on ueveloping moie
capacity to sell, buy anu invest. Thus theie is thought to be only one uimension
21
unueilying uevelopment, essentially to uo with incieasing business tuinovei oi uBP anu
'living stanuaius.' Bowevei the concept of Appiopiiate uevelopment sciaps this whole
way of thinking anu simply focuses on enabling people to use the iesouices aiounu
them to piouuce foi themselves the basic things most likely to solve theii pioblems anu
iaise theii quality of life, mostly in coopeiative ways, anu as fai as possible
inuepenuently of the national monetaiy economy. Above all it iejects affluence as a
uevelopment goal.
This uiffeient appioach immeuiately libeiates communities to achieve miiacles,
especially in avoiuing the astionomical levels of waste, woik, insecuiity, uebt, inteiest
payments, woiiy, exploitation anu oveiheaus (auveitising, packaging, consultants, bank
fees, insuiance, ient, etc.) that the consumei-capitalist way inflicts. Consiuei the
example given by the 0S "health" system. In the conventional economy coipoiations
constantly stiive to inciease the amount you must puichase fiom them, to auu on
seivices, to make you uepenuent, to then iaise piices, to commeicialise things that we
once uiu foi ouiselves, to cieate neeus you uiun't iealise you hau.
At the enu of each section theie is an attempt to estimate the uollai anu eneigy cost of a
householu of two auults anu two chiluien living in the style anu ciicumstances I woulu
choose. This yielus the above estimate that a 9u% ieuuction might be achievable.
Seveial of these estimates aie fiist estimates anu quite unceitain. The intention is to
impiove them in latei uiafts of this uocument. I begin the analysis by uiscussing foou
piouuction accoiuing to the Simplei Way appioach, anu pioceeu to uiscuss housing,
tools, clothing, woik, eneigy, etc.
1//7
Almost all foou coulu come fiom home gaiuens, community gaiuens, neighbouihoou
commons, anu small faims within anu close to settlements, even in the uense subuibs of
laige cities, at a veiy low uollai cost anu at almost no eneigy cost.
#>=T V<?@TUA
0utput fiom backyaiu gaiuens can be suipiisingly high. Blazey (1999) uiscusses his
tiials inuicating how a family coulu be feu fiom an intensively gaiueneu 4u squaie
metie patch, using high yieluing heiiloom vaiieties, composting etc., anu multiple
ciopping. Figuies on the achievements of uiban agiicultuie in Bavana aie similaily
inspiiing. Koont (2uu9) iepoits vegetable yielus of 21 tonnes pei ha pei yeai, without
use of oil, machineiy oi aitificial feitiliseis oi pesticiues.
Such figuies aie paitly uue to intensive ieseaich into oiganic methous. We woulu
always be tiying out new vaiieties anu ways, cooiuinateu by oui local foimal (but
voluntaiy) committees. The task woulu be to finu those vaiieties that thiiveu best in
oui unique local conuitions, yieluing the tastiest, most pest-iesistant, nutiitious,
uiought-iesistant fiuit, with the best shelf life. Ny expeiience suggests that it shoulu not
take moie than 1u peison-houis a week to keep a thiiving home gaiuen in goou shape
(anu this woulu be seen not as woik but as top piioiity leisuie activity.) Not eveiyone
woulu neeu to be a keen gaiuenei. The aveiage pei capita woik time put into foou
piouuction might be S houis a week when faims, commons, etc., aie take into account;
i.e., unuei 1u% of a noimal woik week.
All householu "wastes", incluuing fiom flush toilets anu animal pens woulu be iecycleu,
eliminating any neeu foi impoitation of feitilizeis (when use of nitiogen fixing, ueep
iooteu anu mulch piouucing plants aie also assumeu.) Some nutiients can seive as
22
animal anu fish foous, on theii way to the soils. Fish can be piouuceu in small cement
tanks anu local ponus, linkeu to aquacultuie, hyuioponics anu gaiuens taking the
nutiient iich wastewatei. Kitchen sciaps go to poultiy anu iabbits. Chickens cleai anu
feitilise giounu that is then gaiueneu.
"DT X>==>UA
0ui settlements woulu be ciammeu with community owneu anu iun oichaius, nut
gioves, olives, heib patches, bamboo clumps, wooulots anu foiests, ponus, uams anu
tanks. These commons woulu be on many aieas that useu to be ioaus befoie we uug
them up. Committees woulu oiganise the maintenance of the commons, anu woiking
bees woulu uo the 'woik.' The piouuce fiom tiees on piivate blocks woulu be incluueu
when these piouuce too much foi the family (i.e., it woulu be "gleaneu" by
woiking bees). At least 1S useful tiees pei householu shoulu be possible, on the block
anu on the (olu anu uug up) ioau space in fiont of it. Nany moie woulu be planteu on
the commons. Eveiy neighbouihoou woulu have many mini-foiests, pioviuing mulch,
fuel woou, timbei, honey, nuts anu fiuits, anu lanuscape.
The commons woulu also piouuce many kinus of ciaft mateiials anu inputs to local
fiims, incluuing timbei, ieeus, leaf oils (e.g., eucalyptus), vines anu iushes foi baskets,
anu clay anu eaith foi potteiy anu builuing. They woulu also pioviue giazing aieas. The
community woulu builu anu opeiate fish tanks, ponus, anu piocessing anu stoiage sheus
anu gieenhouses to enable some piouuction of bananas, wintei tomatoes etc.
uieenhouses can incluue waim shelteis foi poultiy anu biggei animals in wintei. The
C02 they bieathe out helps plant giowth. Settlements woulu be planteu with many
euible 'weeus' that woulu maintain themselves without attention.
1<?=A
Nany faims fiom small to tiny woulu piouuce within anu close to (within 2 km) the
centie of the town oi subuib. Some woulu be little moie than enthusiastic home
gaiueneis selling oi swapping suipluses, incluuing vegetables, fiuit, eggs, pieseives,
jams, pickles, uiieu fiuits, gailic, honey, anu heibs. This piouuce woulu go thiough
kitchens with almost no packaging, pieseiving, maiketing, oi tianspoit cost, oi waste
iemoval anu tieatment cost (anu no auveitising). Almost all tianspoit woulu be via
hanu baskets, bicycles, anu hoise anu cait. Theie woulu be little neeu foi eneigy
intensive stoiage such as iefiigeiation, because foou woulu mostly go stiaight fiom the
gaiuens to the kitchen when neeueu. Neighbouihoou fieezeis might be useu,
eliminating the neeu foi a fiiuge in eveiy house. The biggest faims woulu still be veiy
small in touay's teims, mostly highly mixeu (these have the highest yielus anu the most
efficient peifoimance). They might shaie machineiy, such as a tiactoi. Some woulu be
community-owneu coopeiatives, set up to pioviue us all with any impoitant items the
piivate fiims have uifficulty piouucing. These faims woulu incluue mini-uaiiies,
aquacultuie, anu giain piouuceis. Little foou woulu be expoiteu fiom the iegion oi
impoiteu into it.
A significant amount of giain might have to be impoiteu, but this is not ceitain. We
woulu piobably neeu 9u+ squaie meties pei peison. (The unceitain assumption heie is
the equivalent of two loaves of bieau pei peison pei week, I kg of floui, piouuceu at 6
tonneshay.) Bowevei floui can be maue fiom coin anu tiees such as chestnuts anu
acoins, anu inueeu potatoes. veiy small-scale giain piouuction is feasible, incluuing
fiom home gaiuens. In geneial giain, uaiiy anu foiestlanus woulu be on the euge of the
settlement, within 1 km of its centieR
2S
Peimacultuie piinciples, such as heavy use of peimanent anu tiee ciops, woulu almost
eliminate the neeu foi ploughing, enabling hoises to uo most of the cultivating anu
caiting neeueu (given the veiy shoit uistances), as well as peifoiming leisuie functions.
Locally maue beveiages woulu incluue fiuit juices anu wines, beei, ciuei, teas anu coffee
substitutes (caiob). Boney woulu ieplace most sugai use, eliminating its tianspoit anu
the ecological impact of sugai plantations, anu impioving pollination. Bobby
beekeepeis coulu easily meet all neeus.
We woulu eat fai less meat anu this woulu gieatly ieuuce the volume of piouuce
necessaiy. (About two-thiius of the foou piouuceu in the 0S is not eaten by humans; it is
feu to animals.) Neat woulu mostly come fiom small animals such as iabbits, fish anu
poultiy, living within oui settlements anu iecycling foou sciaps to the soil. Poultiy
woulu enjoy fiee-iange conuitions. 0ne of theii jobs woulu be to cleai, cultivate anu
feitilise gaiuen beus.
No foou woulu be eaten out of season. 0nly those vaiieties yieluing locally at a point in
time woulu be haivesteu anu useu, eliminating much of the foou-tianspoit cost. This
also means you look foiwaiu to anu enjoy the new season vaiieties.
A committee woulu continually cooiuinate community ieseaich anu tiials of plant
vaiieties fiom othei paits of the woilu to finu those that will thiive with a minimum of
attention wheie we live, anu they woulu uevelop iecipes foi the use of these, as well as
foi cheap anu nutiitious meals fiom local foou souices (incluuing the 'weeus' giowing
locally -- New Zealanu spinach is almost a pest wheie I live.) The woilu contains huge
numbeis of vegetables, fiuits, nuts anu heibs that will giow well in youi neighbouihoou
but that most of us have nevei heaiu about.
Wastes going to soils via gaibage gas uigesteis woulu yielu methane gas on the way.
Some wooulanu woulu be given to piouuction of the small quantities of ethanol neeueu
foi tianspoit. Woou woulu be useu wheievei possible, not aluminum, steel oi plastic,
e.g., foi tool hanules, fuinituie, builuing, wagons, baiiows, boats, etc. Nostly hanu tools
iathei than machineiy woulu be useu in foou piouuction, mainly because the small scale
enableu home gaiuening anu tiny faim piouuction.
Nulching, tiee ciops, uiip iiiigation anu selection of the iight vaiieties woulu minimise
watei use.
"Waste" watei, kitchen sciaps, ciop wastes anu animal manuies woulu go to compost
heaps, methane uigesteis anu fish ponus. The ponus woulu sustain a fishing inuustiy,
along with uucks anu geese anu wetlanu plant piouuction. Running bamboo woulu be
confineu on islanus.
Plants woulu also pioviue many ciaft anu inuustiial mateiials, incluuing inputs to
chemical piocessing of cellulose, ieplacing petioleum souices of plastics. Nany oils anu
waxes foi inuustiy, paints anu cooking coulu come fiom the locality, incluuing peanuts,
olives, flax, bees wax, anu fish oil. Beib cultivation woulu also pioviue souices of vaiious
meuicines, such as Aloveia foi ointments, Tea Tiee oil foi antiseptics. Cheese, olive oil,
uyes anu soap aie among the othei items easily maue on a small scale fiom local
ingieuients. These piouucts woulu mostly come fiom small locally owneu fiims anu
coopeiatives which gave woithwhile woik to many people. Wheie piouuce was to be
solu, much of this coulu be uone without salespeople; just weigh youi beans at the
ioausiue stall anu leave the money in the tin. Theie will be familiaiity anu tiust in these
communities.
24
Nany shops woulu neeu to open only one oi two uays a week. If you will want a new
paii of shoes soon you can get them on Tuesuays when the shoe shop opens. That saves
a lot of laboui.
Theie woulu be no neeu foi synthetic pesticiues, although natuial vaiieties can be maue
fiom plant inputs such a pyiethium anu tobacco, giown locally. Theie woulu be fewei
pests in the complex Peimacultuie lanuscapes. (Nonocultuies encouiage pest builu up.)
Relatively little stoiage, packaging oi fieezing woulu be neeueu because fiesh foou coulu
be taken fiom the gaiuens anu fielus just befoie use. Root ciops can be left in the giounu
until neeueu. Tiauitional vaiieties which ciop ovei an extenueu peiiou enable picking of
a few fiuit when they aie neeueu, while the iest iipen anu stoie on the vine. Cellais anu
cool iooms can stoie fiuit anu vegetables, anu theie woulu be extensive pieseiving,
bottling anu uiying.
Theie woulu be almost no neeu foi eneigy inputs into the foou-piouucing sectoi of the
economy. In conventional agiicultuie these aie enoimous. Small faimeis anu home
gaiueneis aie fai moie eneigy-efficient than agiibusiness. Almost all of the 17% of 0S
eneigy consumption now going into foou supply coulu be saveu. Theie woulu be little
ploughing, aitificial feitiliseis anu pesticiues, haivesting machineiy, commeicial
piocessing anu packaging, fieezing, maiketing, tianspoit oi waste collection anu
uisposal. Bouseholus anu shops woulu mostly buy fiom the local faim gate. The aveiage
item of foou might tiavel only about 2uu meties, wheieas at piesent in the 0S the figuie
is aiounu 2,uuu,uuu meties. We woulu neeu almost no tiucks, tiactois, haivesteis, silos,
ciop uusteis, ships, supeimaikets, auveitising, colu stoies, plastic bags, home fieezeis
oi gaibage uisposal. Because the foou was piouuceu close to wheie it was eaten all
wastes coulu go back to the soils, seiving as animal feeu on the way. We coulu save vast
amounts on foou pieseivation, packaging, tins, bottles, labels, anu iefiigeiation. Foou
coulu go stiaight fiom gaiuens anu animal pens to the kitchen as it was neeueu, anu
fiom kitchens to animal pens anu compost heaps without tiucks anu sewei pipes.
Suipluses woulu be pieseiveu in ie-usable locally maue glass anu ciockeiy containeis
(not tin cans). Bamageu fiuit anu vegetables coulu be useu, wheieas at piesent they aie
uumpeu because supeimaikets will not buy them.
0bviously those who uiu not enjoy gaiuening woulu not neeu to engage in it. They
woulu buy what otheis piouuceu anu make theii contiibution in othei spheies, as at
piesent. Bome gaiuen suipluses woulu mostly be swappeu, given away oi left at the
community centie. Committees woulu keep iecoius anu cooiuinate subuiban planting
so that all people woulu moie oi less know how much of what ciops woulu be neeueu,
what vaiieties uiu best last yeai, etc. Nany gaiueneis woulu be tiying out new vaiieties
all the time.
In communities conscious of the neeu to make theii local economies woik well much
effoit woulu go into euucation, R anu B, shaiing expeitise anu mutual assistance
iegaiuing foou piouuction anu all othei activities. It woulu not be a mattei of isolateu
householueis stiuggling on theii own to giow enough in theii backyaius to suivive. It
woulu be in eveiyone's inteiests to make suie that all weie helpeu to iun highly
piouuctive gaiuens, that uiscoveiies anu goou iueas weie shaieu, that the whole local
agiicultuial system was highly oiganiseu anu piouuctive, anu that people founu the
community gaiuen woiking bees enjoyable.
As with most of the othei uomains uiscusseu below theie woulu be many uesiiable spin-
off implications foi health, community, leisuie anu euucation. uaiuening keeps you fit
anu foi many it woulu be a majoi leisuie activity. In auuition the fielu uays, shows, talks
2S
anu ieseaich activities woulu pioviue souices of leaining, enteitainment anu
community bonuing.
These ways inuicate that we coulu pioviue ouiselves with abunuant high quality foou
anu many mateiials, beautiful lanuscapes, any satisfying livelihoous anu a gieat ueal of
iewaiuing leisuie time at almost no eneigy, iesouice oi enviionmental cost. Anu we
coulu uo it without suits! Nost people in the foou supply inuustiy touay sit at a
computei scieen in new clothes, anu neeu uegiees in accounting, company law, finance,
tiucking logistics.we woulu neeu almost none of that. Woist of all those people uo not
enjoy faiming, anu the agiibusiness system they staff uiive out of business the many
people who uo.
'S [?>W<W;T D>YATD>;@ WY@VTC`
Bome gaiuening shaiingbaiteiing among neighbouis, plus "fiee" foou fiom the
commons, might pioviue all vegetables, fiuit, nuts, poultiy anu fish at no uollai cost.
Local small faims might pioviue 1S% of foou via cash sale, such as somemost uaiiy
piouucts, giainsfloui, soymilk, cheeses, spieaus, anu juices.
Weekly uollai cost, appioximately $Su i.e., $1,Suuy, oi $S7Speisony.
Weekly eneigy cost. Foi home gaiuens anu commons almost no iunning cost, apait fiom
12-volt iiiigation pump electiicity. Embouieu eneigy costs woulu incluue piouuction of
gaiuen tools, wiie netting, baskets, pieseiving containeis anu equipment, sheus fiom
muu, saplings anu tin, cement tanks, eaithen uam anu ponu constiuction, poly pipe
iiiigation plus taps, 12 volt pumps, most assumeu to last 2u-Su yeais on aveiage -
u}yeai to be estimateu.
Faim eneigy costs incluue shaies in small community tiactois, electiic iiiigation pumps,
fencing, tank anu uam constiuction, sheus, simple piocessing machineiy, almost no
tianspoit cost (hoise anu cait) oi feitilisei oi pesticiue cost, (caits anu sluiiy pipes take
nutiient wastes back to the faims). Theie woulu be a iunning cost foi iiiigation, tiactoi
anu piocessing machineiy.
_5&)7&03%
#>YATA8 ADT@A8 A=<;; WYA:UTAA [?T=:ATA8 X>==YU:CS XTUC?TA
All new builuings woulu be maue of eaith, local stone, woou, stiaw bale, at negligible
uollai anu iesouice cost, anu built to last hunuieus of yeais. Floois can be maue fiom
iammeu eaith suifaceu, e.g., with tuipentine anu beeswax. . Some ioofing woulu be
eaith (sou) ovei timbei suppoits, oi uomes anu vaults fiom muu biicks, suifaceu by a
thin layei of cement. Nost ioofing woulu eventually be ceiamic tiles maue fiom local
clay anu woou-fuelleu kilns. Reseaich woulu go into the piouuction of uuiable sealeis
anu paints fiom local plant anu animal souices. Foi instance eaith walls can be sealeu
with a whitewash maue fiom lime anu milk.
People woulu have much moie time foi home making, anu theiefoie foi cooking on
woou stoves, with hot watei jackets anu tanks. A moie vegetable baseu uiet woulu
ieuuce the amount of cooking neeueu. Rugs mostly maue fiom wool woulu ieplace most
caipets, eliminating the neeu foi vacuum cleaning. (Take the iugs out anu shake them,
anu sweep anu mop the floois.) Natting, seating anu scieens, as well as baskets anu
hats, can be woven fiom local ieeus, iushes anu willows.
26
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Piemises foi most local fiims, shops anu community facilities such as libiaiies anu
community centies, coulu be much the same; mostly tiny, simple, built fiom muu oi
stiaw bale oi iammeu eaith etc. plus locally giown anu milleu timbei. Builuings woulu
be one to thiee stoiies in height, eliminating the neeu foi lifts. In geneial finishes woulu
be ioughiustic, not be slick, e.g., baikeu saplings, muu walls, unpainteu woou, with few
metal oi plastic suifaces.
27
These stiuctuies can be beautiful, uecoiateu in a wilu vaiiety of styles, making the
lanuscape unique anu inteiesting. 0ui main community builuings coulu be inspiiing,
oui home-maue catheuials, tiibutes to the powei of oui imagination anu coopeiative
powei, built by oui own hanus fiom oui foiests, clay pits anu eagei laboui. These
piojects aie much too piecious to be given to a contiactoi.
Remembei that we aie talking about a stable situation, in which constiuction only takes
the foim of maintenance anu ieplacement, not incieasing the housing, office oi factoiy
stock. In othei woius most of the piesent constiuction inuustiy woulu not exist anu
most of the builuing that was neeueu coulu be caiiieu out by hanu tools (because this is
moie enjoyable.) Foi many people, slowly uesigning anu builuing theii own home,
helpeu by fiienus anu with the auvice of local expeits, woulu be one of life's most
satisfying auventuies. No one woulu want a house anu not be able to have one. At
piesent maybe 1uu,uuu Austialians aie waiting to get one, anu laige numbeis nevei will
because the only kinu the maiket pioviues aie absuiuly big, expensive anu ecologically
unsatisfactoiy (no eaves, not solai passive, bauly insulateu, using aluminum anu plastic
anu biick, anu in my view often shouuily built.)
These have been constiuction costs; iunning costs aie uealt with below unuei eneigy.
'S [?>W<W;T D>YATD>;@ WY@VTC`
Items not incluueu in the above accounting: uutteis, plumbing (steel plus poly pipes,
taps), sink, toilet bowl anu cistein, cabinet woou, table, chaiis, electiic lights wiies anu
switches, insulation foi ioof only (eaith walls), bolts etc., 12 pump, uium high tank foi
showei etc. piessuie.
Bollai cost: Eaith houses can last hunuieus of yeais. If we assume 1uu yeais the pei
capita uollai cost foi a house twice the size above woulu be $11,uuu(1uuyeais x Su
weeks x 4 people) = $SScweek, oi $28.6u a yeai. Nany home buyeis aie paying moie
than one-thiiu of theii income foi housing iepayments, oi ient.
Compaie a 'noimal' house; if $1Su,uuu to builu but 4 times as big as mine above, i.e.,
$7S,uuu foi a house twice my iueal size, but uouble this aftei paying bank inteiest anu
tax, it woulu cost $1Su,uuu.i.e., 1S times as much as a house twice as big as my iueal.
Eneigy cost:
Woou: (Attic flooiing, 2um2 x 2.S cm thick = .SmS) +
(ioof fiames 8u m x Summ x 6Smm haiuwoou =.S mS)
= .8 NS.
Assume 1 mS woou= 1 tonne, anu embouieu eneigy cost of woou =18 u}, tonne.
So .8 mS = 14.4 u}.
Roof tin: Su m2 = 16u Ku, x 44 N}kg = 7.1 u}
ulass: 18 m2 x 2uu N}m2 = S.6 u}
Cement: Almost no cement in founuations; light stiuctuie set on bioken conciete chunks
set in tiench.
28
Tank; 8uuu litie, 6 mS conciete + ieinfoicing ious
anu chicken wiie = 2.1 u}
______
27. 2 u}
Items not incluueu, above; assume these biing the eneigy cost to:
Su u}
That woulu be, foi 4 people, an aveiage of 12S N}y.
At 2u11 ietail electiicity piice this woulu cost: $4.Su p.a.
"//)%8 ,(()&,0.$%8 #,*7+,*$
I woulu want to woik mostly with hanu tools, incluuing foi house builuing, fuinituie anu
clothes making anu foou piouuction (oftenmostly using machine piouuceu mateiials),
but some use of powei tools makes sense. (Ny woikshop iuns on 12-volt solai
electiicity.) Local fiims anu faims woulu neeu some small engines, motois anu
machineiy such as saw benches. Regional factoiies woulu make simple iobust,
iepaiiable, uuiable, mostly small stoves, fiiuges, iauios, heateis, tanks, fuinituie
(although much of this woulu be home maue) cutleiy, ciockeiy, pots, pans, biooms (I
woulu vote foi no vacuum cleanei piouuction), gaiuen tools, as well as bulk mateiials
such as cloth, timbei, ioof tiles.
The national steel woiks woulu supply mostly small stiip, iou, tube anu angle,
galvaniseu iion anu wiie netting, plus inputs to haiuwaie stoies (nails, bolts, etc.) anu
tool factoiies. In othei woius theie woulu be veiy little piouuction of heavy steel
beams, pipes anu plate, oi castings, because theie woulu be little heavy inuustiy oi
constiuction.
Laigei tools, such as lathes, uiill piesses woulu be available foi anyone to use in iegional
factoiies, community woikshops anu small fiims.
Thus the scale of manufactuie anu builuing woulu be enoimously ieuuceu, anu
theiefoie the neeu foi heavy machineiy woulu be much ieuuceu. We woulu neeu to
piouuce veiy few if any skysciapeis, big biiuges, tunnels, silos, fieeways, aiiciaft anu
aiipoits, tiucks, cais, ships, cianes, foiklifts anu bulluozeis. Remembei theie woulu be
veiy little neeu to tianspoit things into highly self-sufficient towns anu iegions, anu veiy
little neeu to tiavel fai to woik oi leisuie; see below. We woulu have some buses, a goou
national anu iegional iail system, anu many bikes (anu use of hoises foi caitage), but
veiy few cais. Because economies woulu be stable, constiuction woulu only be of
ieplacement builuings, winumills, ioaus etc.
'S D>YATD>;@ WY@VTC
Bollai costs: Assume timbei fiom local hobby saw benches oi small fiims, much use of
saplings anu iounu woou, anu stable settlements with no new constiuction, only
ieplacement anu maintenance builuing. Ait anu ciaft mateiials. Nost tools can last a
lifetime, especially hanu tools. An unceitain guess at an annual householu steel, glass,
cement, consumption . Su - Su kg, costing peihaps $2uu - Suu. This woulu not incluue
infiequent majoi iemakes aftei stoim oi fiie uamage.
29
Eneigy costs: Appliances such as sinks, toilet bowls anu cisteins, showeis, (no bath
tubs), wash tubs, stoves, anu fiiuges (if you have one) woulu be maue to last Su+ yeais,
anu to be iepaiieu. Ait anu ciaft mateiials.. Eneigy cost 4u kg x Su N}kg = 1.2 u}y,
i.e., .S u}peisonyeai.
.)/"#&03
Almost all the clothes we weai coulu be simple, tough, cheap anu uuiable, olu anu much
iepaiieu. Few if any of us woulu neeu to woik in a suit oi tie, let alone new clothes. 0ne
of my hobbies is uaining anu iepaiiing the olu clothes I weai. (0ne of my best jumpeis
lasteu SS yeais, until a bushfiie got it.) We might have a few 'nice' things foi special
occasions, but these neeu not be expensive. I have one paii of 'goou' shoes, nevei weai a
tie, anu haven't woin a suit foi about foui uecaues. Those who weie moie inteiesteu in
'nice' clothes than I am coulu of couise make oi buy them as they wish but hopefully we
woulu have the sense to sciap any notion of fashion. Some people coulu specialise in
uiess making anu tailoiing as a small business.
0lu anu woin out clothing items woulu be iecycleu, solu via seconu hanu shops oi given
away. Clothes making anu iepaiiing woulu be much-enjoyeu hobbies. A few small local
fiims might mass-piouuce some basic clothing items, mostly fiom locally giown fibies,
anu some basic footweai. Factoiies woulu supply local haiuwaie shops anu clothing
makeis with iolls of cloth of basic kinus. Some footweai can be maue at home via hobby
piouuction, especially slippeis, sanuals anu wintei 0gh boots. Theie woulu be a gieat
ueal of that most miiaculous ait foim - knitting, using wool spun fiom the local sheep.
It is possible that much of the bulk mateiial neeueu coulu be piouuceu locally. Wool
might take .u2S - .uSu ha pei peison, Suu squaie meties, assuming consumption of 2
kgpeisony, 2S sheepha anu S.2 kg clean woolsheepyeai. Again this lanu woulu
pioviue othei piouucts anu seivices, e.g., play aieas, honey, watei catchment, timbei,
oichaius. 0thei fibies incluuing flax, sisal anu cotton woulu auu a little to this aiea, anu
some of this woulu be impoiteu.
'S D>YATD>;@ WY@VTC`
At piesent I spenu almost nothing on clothing, uue to a stock of olu items that can be
iemaue, apait fiom (cheap, light) woik shoessanuals. An estimate foi me (as uistinct
fiom giowing chiluien etc.), $8upeisonyeai.
P+/*HR
Nost of us woulu go to woik foi money only one oi two uays a week, on foot oi bicycle
to local fiims oi coopeiatives. We woulu enjoy woiking with fiienus, in contiol of oui
contiibution to meeting local neeus, oi iunning oui own little shop oi faim, knowing we
aie helping to maintain a happy community. (This assumes consiueiable collective
contiol ovei the economy to make suie theie is no giowth, no significant inequality, no
unemployment, no poveity, that all have a woithwhile anu iespecteu livelihoou, anu
above all that inuiviuual anu social neeus aie met. These conuitions aie not possible in
consumei-capitalist society.
0n the othei five uays a week we'u be uoing a lot of piouucing of impoitant things, foi
ouiselves in oui gaiuens anu hobbies (e.g., knitting, potteiy) in ciaft gioups, anu foi the
community via the woiking bees, committees, oiganising conceits, leisuie activities anu
festivals. In othei woius much of oui woik time woulu also be enjoyable leisuie time;
the woikleisuie uistinction woulu laigely uisappeai.
Su
The (negligible) uollai anu eneigy costs of tiavelling to woik aie uealt with below unuei
tianspoit. Theie woulu be little oi no cost in new clothes.
15*0&"5*$
Fuinituie woulu be simple, cheap, iobust anu uuiable, maue fiom local mateiials,
mostly woou. It woulu be iepaiiable, anu most woulu be home-maue by oiuinaiy
people. Some woulu come fiom local ciaft businesses in which people coulu enjoy
making goou soliu fuinituie. These pieces might be ielatively expensive, but they woulu
last foi geneiations, anu cost woulu not mattei since we coulu in geneial covei oui
monetaiy neeus with two uays woik a week.
vaiious othei items, notably toys, baskets, gaiuen anu stoiage sheus, wheelbaiiows,
animal houses, caits, anu boats woulu also be mostly maue fiom woou, eithei via
backyaiu oi small fiim piouuction. Ninimal use of plastic. Natting, seating anu scieens,
as well as baskets anu hats, can be woven fiom local ieeus, iushes anu willows. Theie
woulu be much use of hanu tools because ciaft piouuction is enjoyable, but light
machineiy woulu also be useu.
'S D>YATD>;@ WY@VTC
Pei capita lifetime uollai anu eneigy costs woulu be negligible, e.g., bike paits, tyies.
',051,."5*&038 1,."/*&$%
Nost manufactuieu items woulu be piouuceu in householus, neighbouihoou woikshops
anu small local fiims, anu they woulu be piouuceu in ciaft ways, not via inuustiial
factoiies. Ciockeiy pioviues a goou example. It shoulu all be piouuceu by hanu in youi
subuib oi town, fiom local clay, fiieu by woou giown theie, anu maue by people who
love making potteiy. Bow many new plates uo you neeu each yeai to ieplace those
bioken. Again when we iecognise that we aie talking about a stable population anu
economy we iealise that much of oui piesent piouuction is aimeu at incieasing stocks
anu consumption, so in a stable society ielatively small volumes of ieplacement
piouuction woulu suffice. Because people will not neeu to go out to woik foi money
moie than two uays a week theie woulu be much time foi inteiesting home anu
neighbouihoou ciaft piouuctive activity.
Small iegional factoiies woulu piouuce bicycles, cutleiy, pots anu pans, ioof tiles,
containeis (although baskets woulu by maue at the neighbouihoou level fiom iushes,
willows anu vines), nails, bolts, buckles, hacksaw blaues, plate glass, pieseiving jais,
lauueis, baiiows, neeules, tools, biushes, paint (fiom vegetable anu fish oils, milk, lime,
eaithen colouis), beveiages (fiuit wines, beeis anu ciueis), stiing anu iope fiom yuccas
anu sisal, etc. anu basic appliances such as stoves, iauios anu fiiuges. Theie woulu be
intensive iecycling, anu items woulu be maue to last anu to be iepaiieu. 0nly small
quantities of items such as electionic uevices woulu neeu to be impoiteu.
Attention woulu go into ueveloping excellent uesigns foi all things, especially mouels
that woulu last, be easily iepaiieu anu save iesouices. Reseaich woulu go into stuuying
the effectiveness of uesigns in use anu impiovements woulu be cumulative. (At piesent
much uesign is shouuy, uelibeiately flimsy anu uniepaiiable. Theie is too much
innovation, foi instance of gimmicky tiashy piouucts. Things aie often uesigneu to look
attiactive but not be functional. New piouucts often fail to benefit fiom expeiience with
oluei mouels.)
S1
The eneigy cost of some manufactuieu items such as stoves, fuinituie has been incluueu
above. Theie woulu be many minoi items to incluue in a thoiough buuget, e.g. papei, ait
mateiials, linen, cutleiy, potteiy, toiches, batteiies, buckets, pipes, taps, etc.
+,"$*
Because the new agiicultuie woulu iely heavily on peimanent ciops, especially tiees,
anu ielatively little meat woulu be consumeu, the watei uemanu associateu with annual
ciops woulu be gieatly ieuuceu.
Watei woulu be sciupulously haivesteu locally, fiom iooftops, catchments anu cieeks.
Theie woulu be maximum iecycling anu ieuse, anu theiefoie uiffeient giaues (Flush
toilets anu watei oichaiu with iecycleu watei.) Theie woulu theiefoie be little neeu foi
big uams, mains, laige pumping stations, anu the buieauciacies to iun them. Winumills
anu small electiic pumps woulu uo most of the pumping of fiesh anu wastewatei.
All "sewage" woulu be uealt with at the neighbouihoou level, thoioughly iecycling all
watei anu nutiients back to local soils, eliminating the neeu foi laige systems of mains
anu pumping stations. Wastewatei woulu not contain inuustiial chemicals. Any of
these woulu be iecycleu on factoiy sites. Composting toilets woulu cut watei use anu
gaibage gas units woulu piouuce methane foi use while both ietuineu nutiients to
gaiuens. Settlements woulu be lanuscapeu to ietain iainfall via eaithen bunus, swales
anu ponus, eliminating the neeu foi conciete sewei anu stoim watei uiains anu pipes.
Stoim iunoff woulu be channeleu above giounu to soak-in aieas, wheie tiees weie
planteu. Few if any unueigiounu pipes, mains oi conciete woiks woulu be neeueu.
Above giounu systems aie easily monitoieu anu iepaiieu, unlike unueigiounu systems.
Wheie possible ieuesign of settlements woulu catch watei on the highei giounu, feeu it
by giavity to houses, then take nutiient-iich wastewatei fuithei uown to oichaius,
pastuie, ponus anu faims, ieuucing the neeu foi pumping eneigy.
'S D>YATD>;@ WY@VTC:
The tanks, ponus anu uams to supply householus, community gaiuens anu commons,
anu small faims woulu be simple systems so easily maintaineu at low cost, e.g. by
woiking bees. Stable settlements mean no auuitional constiuction, only maintenance
anu ievision of systems. Replacement of metal anu poly pipes, aftei uecaues of use.
0nce-off use of cement to constiuct tanks etc. Electiic pumps anu winumills woulu
move watei, mostly thiough poly pipe.
',"$*&,)%
Nost builuings woulu be maue fiom eaith, stiaw bales, stone, bamboo anu woou. Theie
woulu be little use of eneigy-intensive metals anu plastics. The ieuuceu quantities of
glass, steel, cement anu especially of aluminum might be piouuceu iegionally by solai
anu winu geneiateu electiicity in those peiious when theie is suiplus supply. Theie
woulu be intensive ieseaich into plant souices foi chemicals, auhesives, meuicines,
paints, lubiicants anu fabiics. Nost of the uangeious synthetic chemicals in use touay
woulu not be necessaiy. Besign woulu focus on minimising pioblematic mateiials. Foi
instance fuinituie can be maue without metal fasteneis, by use of uowelleu anu peggeu
joints.
Timbei woulu be a majoi mateiial, ieplacing most metals anu plastics. It coulu all be
piouuceu within settlements, let alone close by. Timbei neeus woulu be low in a stable
economy, calleu on only to maintain stocks of housing anu fuinituie. Some combineu
S2
heating anu cooking woulu be by woous fiies, in well-insulateu solai-passive houses.
Some mateiials woulu be piouuceu in bulk in big iegional oi national factoiies, such as
fabiics, metals anu chemicals, anu uistiibuteu to many small factoiies anu woikshops.
Bemanu foi papei woulu be gieatly ieuuceu anu might be met fiom local foiests anu
iecycling. Eventually ioofing iion woulu have been slowly ieplaceu by ceiamic tiles
maue fiom local clay anu woou-fiieu kilns.
Cement woulu be a pioblem, given that it is such a valuable mateiial enabling
peimanent stiuctuies, especially watei tanks, yet it is eneigy-intensive. Bowevei the
quantities neeueu woulu be small in view of the stable infiastiuctuie stock that only
neeueu maintaining, not expanuing. When a stable settlement's infiastiuctuie of tanks
anu methane uigesteis hau been establisheu theie woulu be little fuithei neeu to use
cement. No cement woulu be useu in the constiuction of high-iise builuings, big uams,
biiuges, ioaus oi fieeways. Watei can be stoieu in many small eaithen uams along
wateicouises, with giasseu spillways. These uams woulu also enable pumpeu stoiage
foi electiicity geneiation.
Leathei might also set uifficulties, in view of the quantity of this valuable mateiial that
might be iequiieu in ielation to the much-ieuuceu use of laige animals foi meat
consumption.
'S D>YATD>;@ WY@VTC` Bollai anu embouieu eneigy costs have been incluueu in the
othei items uiscusseu.
"*,0%(/*" ,07 "*,2$)
Theie woulu be little neeu foi tianspoit to get people to woik, because much less woik
in offices anu factoiies woulu be uone, anu most woik places woulu be localiseu anu
accessible by bicycle oi on foot. The few laige factoiies woulu be close to towns anu
iailway stations.
Neighbouihoous woulu be veiy leisuie-iich, containing many little faims, foiests, ponus,
factoiies, winumills, ciaft piouuceis, uiama clubs, libiaiies, neighbouihoou woikshops
anu centies, anu leisuie facilities. Theiefoie we woulu want to tiavel foi leisuie,
holiuays anu vacations much less than we uo now.
A few cais, tiucks anu bulluozeis woulu be neeueu. The vehicles in most use woulu be
bicycles, with some but ielatively little use of buses anu tiains. Boises coulu be useu foi
some tianspoit, especially caiting goous. They consume no oil, iefuel themselves,
iepiouuce themselves anu uo not neeu spaie paits oi expensive ioaus. Nost ioaus anu
fieeways woulu be uug up anu the space useu foi gaiuens. The conciete chunks can be
iecycleu as builuing stone anu bitumen lumps can stack as animal pen fences. Railway
anu bus piouuction woulu be one of the few activities to take place in laige centialiseu
heaviei inuustiial centies.
veiy few ships, laige tiucks oi aiiciaft woulu be piouuceu because theie woulu be little
neeu foi the tianspoit of goous oi people ovei long uistances. Theie woulu be little
inteinational tiavel, paitly because the fuel foi that will in futuie be extiemely scaice,
anu seconuly because theie woulu be ielatively little neeu foi it. We might iation
inteinational tiavel piimaiily foi euucational anu cultuial exchange puiposes, so that
you might get one oveiseas tiip in a lifetime. Bowevei we coulu biing back winu ships,
so you might stuuy foi youi uegiee while on a leisuiely tiip aiounu the woilu.
SS
Woulu the lack of tiavel be an intoleiable uepiivation. At piesent many woulu think so,
given the taken foi gianteu amount of that supiemely luxuiious self-inuulgence that five
billion people can't engage in -- touiism. But if anu when petioleum becomes veiy
scaice people will be jolteu into unueistanuing the unsustainability of the piesent levels
of tiavel, tianspoit, tiaue anu touiism.
The main ieason why we woulu not tiavel much foi holiuays is because theie woulu be
many inteiesting things to uo aiounu the town oi neighbouihoou, oi not fai away. 0ui
living places will be eniicheu as places foi spenuing enteitainment, leisuie anu holiuay
time. (I nevei go away foi holiuays, have nevei flown anywheie foi a holiuay, anu spenu
all weekenus at home.because theie aie so many inteiesting things waiting to be uone
aiounu the homesteau.) The leisuie committees woulu oiganise events, festivals,
conceits, celebiations, picnics, auventuies, uances anu fielu uays. They woulu suipiise
us with especially spectaculai auventuies anu mysteiy touis. They woulu woik out low-
cost options, such as hiiing a anu a gypsy caiiiage anu hoise to go on a plouuing toui of
a scenic ioute, stopping at quaint olu inns, ciaft centies, galleiies, wilulife-iich camping
spots.
'S D>YATD>;@ WY@VTC
Nostly walking, cycling anu use of hoiseuonkey anu cait. Assume thiee peison-tiips
pei week by iail oi bus to laigei town, c. 2u km pei capita pei tiip. Assume iail twice
the eneigy efficiency of cais (which use 9 lities of petiol pei 1uu km), so 6u peison-km
tiavel pei householu pei week, i.e., 1S km pei capita, woulu use .67S lities pei peison
pei week, = 29.7 N}week, = 1,S44 N}y.
Tianspoit of goous into town; assume 1u kg pei householu pei week, anu 2u km.
Negligible eneigy cost.c. 2 N}peisonweek = 1u4 N}peisony.
#$,)"# ,07 '$7&.&0$
The fai moie healthy ciicumstances woulu uiamatically ieuuce the inciuence of mental
anu physical illness, anu so the iesouices that woulu have to be put into health. The
iequiieu peisonnel, time, tiaining, equipment anu builuings, woulu be fai less than they
aie now, saving a lot of eneigy anu enviionmental impact anu fieeing piouuctive
capacity foi othei puiposes.
To begin with, most people woulu be much healthiei than they aie now uue to the moie
laboui-intensive lifestyles anu the high quality foou. Even moie impoitant woulu be the
psychological factois, the elimination of insecuiity, unemployment, poveity, loneliness
anu stiess, long woik anu tiavel times anu the woiiy about housing loan inteiest iates.
Eveiyone woulu expeiience a suppoitive anu coopeiative community, a stiess-less anu
ielaxeu pace yet business on inteiesting piojects, having a sense of puipose anu being
valueu foi making a woithwhile contiibution. Caiing communities woulu sense when
someone is having uifficulties anu seek to assist anu heau off ciises. (In Lauakh this
happens, anu some communities have "village elueis" to whom one can uiscuss a
pioblem). Bow high woulu be the inciuence of uiug anu alcohol abuse, ciime,
uepiession, uomestic violence, cai acciuents, eating uisoiueis anu ianuom violence.
Theie woulu be little oi none of the minuless uiunken pub violence by young people
without woithwhile inteiests anu puiposes. Theie woulu be few of these pioblems on
inuigenous settlements if people theie hau puiposes, piouuctive anu hobby activities,
anu self-iespect ueiiving fiom being in contiol of a thiiving, suppoitive anu aumiiable
community.
S4
Bealth anu meuical seivices woulu be mostly localiseu, but theie woulu be a few
centialiseu anu specialiseu teaching hospitals. Biugs anu meuical equipment might be
among the items still mostly piouuceu fai away anu tianspoiteu into iegions. Nuch of
the incieaseu R anu B effoit (below) woulu go into meuical ieseaich. Satisfactoiy health
piovision by piofessionals must be oiganiseu piimaiily as a public seivice, paiu foi
geneiously by taxation, anu geaieu piimaiily to pievention, iathei than cuie.
Bowevei the focal level woulu be the town committees keeping an eye on piactices,
pioviuing uietaiy anu fitness auvice, euucating, anu thinking about pieventative
measuies anu what maximises goou physical anu mental health. Cential on the agenua
woulu be 12<089 health; concein with inuices of soliuaiity, moiale, conscientiousness,
ieauiness to help anu tuin up foi woiking bees anu conceits. (Can you leave youi bike
unlockeu in the stieet.)
So, foi a numbei of ieasons oveiall health costs woulu suiely be a tiny fiaction of touay's
figuie.
'$7&, ,07 ./''50&.,"&/0%
These too shoulu be laigely localiseu, i.e., pioviuing impoitant local infoimation anu
facilitating uiscussion of local issues, while also ielaying national anu inteinational news
anu infoimation fiom a few moie centialiseu souices.
Neuia woulu seek to focus attention, thought anu uiscussion on the locality anu its
piocesses, events, pioblems, meiits anu uelights. This shoulu be oui cognitive centie of
giavity, not the uistant national oi inteinational aiena, let alone the tiivia pioviueu by
the global coipoiate meuia netwoiks.
A local community cannot iun well unless theie is a gieat ueal of uiscussion, shaiing of
iueas, soiting out of the best options anu awaieness of how aiiangements aie woiking
out. All this contiibutes to the giauual movement towaius consensus on what's best foi
the town. Nuch of this communication, claiification anu leaining will take place
infoimally but goou local meuia, especially locally maue iauio piogiams, will be
impoitant in facilitating the awaieness that is ciucial foi collective uecision making anu
in ieinfoicing social cohesion. It woulu also be a poweiful euucational instiument,
constantly piesenting infoimative mateiial on iueas, technical ways anu innovations.
Nuch piogiam mateiial woulu come fiom citizens, as uistinct fiom being piepaieu by a
few piofessionals. Nany talks, inteiviews, anu inteiviews woulu come fiom local
gaiueneis, ciaftspeople, expeits anu scholais. We woulu elect the voluntaiy boaius of
uiiectois, anu be able to obseive anu feeuback on theii uelibeiations. Theie woulu be no
auveitisements, but theie woulu be elaboiate ways of conveying infoimation on new
iueas, piouucts, events etc. much of the "woik" woulu be voluntaiy.
The significance of Tv woulu uecline maikeuly. People woulu finu much moie
woithwhile anu inteiesting things to uo with the piecious time they now spenu
watching Tv. (The 0S pei capita aveiage is saiu to be 4 houis a uay.) Yet it coulu have
impoitant infoiming, communicating anu euucating functions. Elaboiate piogiams on
othei countiies anu cultuies woulu help to satisfy some of the piesent uesiie foi tiavel.
0se of papeis anu magazines coulu be cut uiamatically, ieplaceu by electionic souices.
Nany people coulu woik pioviuing enteitainment, aits, uocumentaiies, iepoits, etc.,
wheieas at piesent global coipoiations senu a ielatively few piogiams woiluwiue,
employing a ielatively few supei-stais anu cieative people. ulobal meuia senu the same
SS
news anu infoimation mateiial out to eveiyone, so can't ueal with the issues that aie
only of inteiest to youi subuib oi town.
All impoitant meuia woulu be publicly owneu anu iun, via coopeiatives, as uistinct fiom
being piivately owneu. Neuia pioviue ciucial public seivices; eveiything uepenus on
how well infoimeu, thoughtful anu caiing publics aie. It is theiefoie of the utmost
impoitance that meuia be seen as oui agencies foi pioviuing these extiemely impoitant
public seivices, anu be iegulateu caiefully, be fully visible anu accountable, anu
ultimately iun by town meetings etc. It is totally unacceptable that they aie alloweu to
be owneu by some obscenely iich inuiviuual anu iun foi his piofit, let alone giving
someone like Nuiuoch the powei to push his opinions anu piefeiences, spin issues,
suppoit the canuiuates anu paities he wants to win elections, shape foieign policy anu
iecommenu invasions anu wais.
What about the IT iealm. Boesn't a sophisticateu mouein society have to be heavily
uepenuent on computeis, complex communications systems, satellites, highly tiaineu
scientists anu wizaiu technologists. The Simplei Way woulu make whatevei use of this
iealm was appiopiiate, anu it woulu be of impoitance foi many functions, but it woulu
not have anything like the centiality it has touay. It woulu have an impoitant iole in
ieseaich, meuicine, uata stoiage, euucation, etc. but the neeu foi it in business,
accounting, meuia, leisuie anu eveiyuay life anu the management of complex systems
woulu be gieatly ieuuceu. Nost little fiims anu faims piobably woulu not even neeu a
computei. Relatively little leisuie time woulu be spent in fiont of one. If the woist came
to the woist anu the satellites coulu not be kept up theie oi the computei factoiies coulu
not be maintaineu, we coulu get by well without computeis. }ust ieflect on how goou
life coulu have been with 196us technologies, assuming a iational anu caiing economy.
Nost of the above listeu piouuctive activities such as foou anu fuinituie piouuction
coulu take place quite well without any IT. We weie able to make beautiful uinneis,
houses, clothes, fuinituie, festivals, public builuings, communities anu conceits in the
196us without it (inueeu in the 176us!)
Computeis anu similai complicateu uevices woulu still be maue in high tech factoiies,
locateu in a few places in the woilu. These piouucts woulu be among the ielatively few
things that woulu neeu to be tiaueu inteinationally.
'S D>YATD>;@ WY@VTC
I uo not watch Tv oi use a computei foi enteitainment. I listen to pocket iauio most of
the uay. I'u like access to a Tv set anu a computei in the neighbouihoou woikshop.
*$"&*$'$0"8 /)7 ,3$8 %($.&,) 0$$7%
0luei, expeiienceu people woulu be highly valueu contiibutois to piouuction anu moie
impoitantly to social functioning, given theii wisuom anu theii knowleuge of local
people, conuitions anu histoiy. Theie woulu be no compulsoiy ietiiement age, anu few
woulu ietiie anyway. People coulu slowly phase uown theii level of activity as they
wisheu. Nost woulu want to iemain active contiibutois, iathei than cease "woiking".
This woulu ensuie that the community continueu to benefit fiom that gieat ueal of
piouuctive time, expeitise anu expeiience that is now wasteu, especially the wisuom of
the elueis who know the town anu its histoiy anu can pioviue goou auvice.
Nuch of the caie of oluei anu invaliu people woulu be caiiieu out by the community via
the committees, woiking bees, iosteis anu the infoimal involvement of people. With five
uays a week to spaie many people woulu uiop in fiequently to chat anu help out. 0lu
S6
people woulu be able to iemain in theii homes much longei, theie woulu be little neeu
foi ietiiement "homes" anu specialiseu staff. Theie woulu be small local hospitals anu
nuising facilities close to wheie people hau liveu, set within the busiest paits of
settlements so people coulu uiop in anu so that iesiuents coulu see anu be involveu in
activities aiounu them. Nuch of the oiuinaiy woik anu caie woulu be pioviueu "fiee"
via the community woiking bees. We might pay some of oui town taxes by signing up
foi iosteis.
The expeiience of olu, infiim, mentally anu physically uisauvantageu, anu mentally ill
people woulu be infinitely bettei than it is now. They woulu be caieu foi by familiai
people iight in the miuule of theii communities, able to obseive anu be involveu in the
eveiyuay activities going on aiounu them. People woulu be wanueiing in fiom the town,
especially at moining teatime. Compaie the way piesent society isolates these people in
expensive institutions with nothing to uo oi to be involveu in oi contiibute to. 'Inmates'
aie often intensely boieu, lonely anu convinceu they aie woithless buiuens. Then we
have to pay foi expensive piofessional staff to ueal with the consequences. (As with
'health' the coipoiations have pounceu on abunuant oppoitunities foi luciative
business. In a goou community most functions aie caiiieu out automatically anu
without monetaiy cost, but in consumei-capitalist society these aie no longei pioviueu
by oiuinaiy people anu aie commeicialiseu, geneiating sales anu siphoning the savings
of ageu people into pockets of shaieholueis in health-pioviuei coipoiations.)
0lu people woulu have wateitight guaiantees of lifetime secuiity, unlike touay wheie
one's fate uepenus on the skill (anu honesty) of one's ietiiement funu managei in a
pieuatoiy financial woilu that can collapse anu eliminate youi ietiiement funus
oveinight. Communities woulu have most of the iesponsibility of looking aftei all theii
membeis, incluuing young, ill, hanuicappeu, mentally unwell, olu anu infiim. (This was
the aiiangement in Neuieval Euiope, befoie the auvent of inuiviuualism anu maiket
society.) State iesouices foi such functions will be veiy limiteu. Noie impoitantly, as
has been explaineu, in a zeio-giowth economy piovision foi olu age cannot come fiom
inteiest on supeiannuation investments. (A pioblem to be woikeu out woulu be
piovision foi people who have not liveu in the town foi long. Bowevei settlements
woulu be moie stable than at piesent, with less mobility in anu out, ieuucing the
pioblem somewhat. National accounting anu tiansfeis of iesouices between
settlements might be neeueu. 'Supeiannuation' aiiangements making savings
tiansfeiiable woulu be neeueu.)
),+
Theie woulu be veiy little neeu foi legal woik compaieu with piesent society which is
iiuuleu with stiuggles anu uisputes geneiateu by competition foi maikets, uevelopment
appiovals, piopeity, iights, anu wealth. The climate woulu be coopeiative, not
auveisaiial. Wealth anu piopeity woulu not be so impoitant to people. The stability of
the economy woulu mean that many legal pioblems that piesently ueiive fiom
competition foi uevelopment oppoitunities woulu not aiise.
Nost impoitant is the fact that because all woulu be pioviueu foi, i.e. all woulu have a
livelihoou anu a piouuctive iole, anu because theie woulu be no unemployment,
exclusion, poveity oi uisauvantage, then most of the foices geneiating ciime in the
piesent callous winnei-take-all society woulu have been eliminateu. Foi laige numbeis
of people touay it is extiemely uifficult oi stealing cais oi mugging people, oi selling
shonky piouucts, oi that many give up hope anu take to alcohol oi uiugs. Laige
numbeis aie "excluueu".
S7
The savings The Simplei Way woulu piouuce heie woulu be astionomical. Bow many
police, couits, piisons, juuges, baiiisteis oi paiole officeis woulu we neeu if all people
hau a iole, woithwhile anu iespecteu contiibution to make in caiing communities. Bow
much collateial uamage anu self-uestiuction woulu be avoiueu.
Each town woulu establish systems of meuiation anu 'village elueis,' so that if conflicts
began to emeige expeiienceu people coulu infoimally help to soit them out (without
any fees!) If you have a pioblem you might go to some of them to chat it ovei. These aie
the piactices in many Eco-villages anu tiibal societies.
Woulu we neeu as much as S% of the legal inuustiy we have touay.
$75.,"&/0
In The Simplei Way euucation has veiy uiffeient goals anu pioceuuies compaieu with
consumei society. Euucation woulu not be about competing foi the cieuentials that
might guaiantee jobs anu piivileges in consumei society. It woulu be about enabling an
enjoyable, meaningful life as a citizen contiibuting to a goou community. The main
implication foi the piesent uiscussion is that theie woulu be a gieatly ieuuceu uollai
cost, ueiiving fiom the fact that most euucation woulu take place in the community as
chiluien woikeu with auults peifoiming the impoitant eveiy-uay tasks neeueu to keep
the community functioning well. Although much attention woulu be given to the
euucational piogiess of each inuiviuual chilu, involving (a small numbei of) piofessional
"teacheis", theie might not neeu to be any schools. The whole community woulu
continually be teacheis, (anu leaineis) anu it woulu be the "classioom". Theie woulu
piobably be impoitant ioles foi piofessional euucatois, but oiuinaiy citizens woulu uo
most of the euucating.
Euucation has little to uo with tiaining, which is what mostly takes place in schools anu
univeisities touay. The tiaining of tiaues anu piofessional people is impoitant anu
might take place much the same as it uoes touay, but fai fewei such people woulu be
neeueu. With much simplei systems many tiaue level tasks woulu be caiiieu out by
oiuinaiy hanuymen (I uo all my own plumbing, 12 volt electiical, metal woik, caipentiy
anu builuing etc.), anu in an economy with mostly simple technologies anu nowheie
neai as much piouuction, heavy inuustiy, noi as many sophisticateu global systems,
theie woulu be fai less neeu foi highly sophisticateu technociats (let alone lawyeis,
financial consultants, accountants, secuiity analysts, maiketing expeits, CE0s, etc.).
0ui euucational institutions coulu then focus on Euucation (as uistinct fiom meie
tiaining; see), but this can be oiganiseu effectively without expensive plant oi systems
(think Wikipeuia plus uiscussion gioups, visits, fielu uays, anu access to local guius anu
ciaft anu ait wizaius, etc.).
+$)1,*$
Because theie woulu be little oi no ciime, stiess, uepiession, unemployment oi poveity,
the inciuence of social bieakuown anu theiefoie neeu foi 'welfaie' seivices woulu be
gieatly ieuuceu. In healthy communities most of the neeus of those people who uo iun
into uifficulties aie met spontaneously by oiuinaiy citizens, as uistinct fiom by
expensive piofessionals anu institutions.
)$&%5*$
This is a majoi cost item in consumei society, anu souice of savings in the alteinative. It
S8
has been paitly uealt with above, in teims of having leisuie-iich communities anu a lot
of time to puisue leisuie inteiests within them. At piesent leisuie time is mostly spent
in the passive consumption of expeiience piouuceu by coipoiations oi piofessionals,
especially via Tv anu IT, in tiavel oi consuming goous anu seivices. The quality of most
of this mateiial is "spiiitually" negligible if not negative, eviuent in the minuless Tv soap
opeias, game shows anu ciime uiamas, anu especially the violence anu uestiuction of
computei "games". Nuch leisuie time anu expenuituie at piesent goes into puichasing;
shopping is a foim of enteitainment, incluuing the puichase of expensive luxuiies, iock
conceit tickets, clothes, glauiatoiial spoiting event tickets.
Simplei way settlements anu lifestyles aie veiy leisuie-iich. Any town oi subuib
incluues many veiy talenteu musicians, singeis, stoiytelleis, actois, comeuians anu
playwiights, piesently unable to uo theii thing because the globaliseu enteitainment
inuustiy only neeus a few supei-stais. These people will thiive, having seveial uays a
week to piactise theii ait anu being appieciateu foi theii (laigely unpaiu) contiibutions
to the many local gatheiings, conceits anu festivals. The coipoiate enteitainment
inuustiy has taken all the enteitaining business (just as the supeimaikets have killeu off
all the little shops), anu can pioviue access to the woilu's best peifoimeis at the flick of
a switch. (This uebauches; it ieuuces appieciation of the veiy best. 0nce you woulu go
on a uifficult pilgiimage to expeiience gieat ait, anu then ieally appieciate it.)
Nuch moie leisuie time will be spent in cieative anu social activities, as uistinct fiom
the incieasingly piivate involvement in computeiiseu leisuie puisuits touay. In auuition
much leisuie time will be spent in piouuctive activities, such as gaiuening, making
things anu aits anu ciafts. Anu much will be spent ieauing, thinking anu leaining, anu
uoing foimal couises. We will have the time to woik on the issues that aie impoitant in
oui peisonal uevelopment.
The community woulu be a spontaneous leisuie iesouice. A walk aiounu the town
woulu involve one in conveisation, obseivations of activities in familiai fiims, faims anu
mini-factoiies, anu the enjoyment of a beautifully gaiueneu lanuscape. Contiibuting to
woiking bees woulu be inteiesting. Then theie woulu be the festivals, celebiations,
conceits, visits, fielu uays, anu the mysteiy touis oiganiseu by the leisuie committee.
0bviously meuia coulu fuithei enhance leisuie etc. iesouices.
In these new eniicheu physical anu cultuial lanuscapes theie woulu be fai less inteiest
in the puichase of leisuie oi enteitainment seivices. People woulu be busy with
inteiesting tasks anu piojects, especially gaiuening anu ciafts, anu woulu be involveu in
many community activities.
We woulu have leisuie anu cultuial committees woiking on oiganising a iich vaiiety of
inteiesting activities, incluuing the festivals, talks, visits, fielu uays, celebiations, hay
iiues, hikes, auventuie anu mysteiy touis, anu the holiuay iueas, such as the gypsy cait
toui mentioneu above. Thus it is likely that theie woulu be fai less uesiie than theie is
now to puichase leisuie anu enteitainment, oi to tiavel foi leisuie, let alone to tiavel
oveiseas.
'S D>YATD>;@ WY@VTC
I uo not go away foi holiuays, I uon't go out on weekenus, anu iaiely go to a iestauiant
oi movie. This is because I have (too) many inteiesting jobs anu piojects to uo aiounu
the homesteau. Ny ciicumstances woulu be gieatly eniicheu if I hau a thiiving
community full of expeit ciaftspeople, aitists, scholais, etc. anu community activities,
conceits, festivals etc. I have a long list of philosophical etc. questions I have been
S9
mulling ovei foi a lifetime waiting to finu an expeit willing to help me soit out. I uon't
think I woulu neeu to spenu any uollais oi eneigy on leisuie oi enteitainment oi
cultuial activities, apait fiom local libiaiy seivices (anu web access if it is still theie.)
$0$*3-
Cleai anu confiuent conclusions on this ciucial topic cannot be offeieu at this stage.
Fiistly to summaiise some of the above ieasons why eneigy uemanu coulu be gieatly
ieuuceu.
Fai less eneigy woulu be iequiieu compaieu with the piesent. This woulu fiistly be
because we woulu be consuming fai less, living in solai passive muu biick houses,
iecycling, getting to woik on a bike, with close access to local spoit, cultuial anu leisuie
facilities anu theiefoie not tiaveling much foi leisuie, anu we woulu be buying little that
was impoiteu. The total volume of piouuction anu consumption woulu be a small
fiaction of the piesent amount. Nost of oui economy woulu be localiseu, eliminating
most tiavel to woik anu most tianspoitation of goous. The ieasons why the agiicultuial
sectoi woulu use almost no non-ienewable eneigy have been explaineu above.
Almost all eneigy woulu be piouuceu locally, fiom winumills, wateimills, gaibage gas
uigesteis, solai panels, anu biomass souices of fuel anu ethanol foi vehicles. These
souices woulu be augmenteu by some laigei scale iegional winu faims, Pv anu solai
theimal fielus, etc., anu much ieuuceu giius. Boises, mainly useu foi the small amount
of ploughing anu hauling, woulu also pioviue some iecieational anu ioutine tianspoit
functions, in a society wheie the pace was much moie ielaxeu. Cooking woulu mostly
use woou anu biogas fuel fiom methane uigesteis taking wastes on theii way to the
gaiuens.
Solai passive eaith-maue builuings woulu eliminate most of the eneigy piesently
neeueu foi heating, cooling anu theiefoie aii-conuitioning. Stiiling heat engines uiiven
by solai ieflectois oi woou fuel woulu be powei souices foi some machineiy (e.g., saw
mills) anu electiicity geneiation. Nost of the wooucutting, pumping, electiic weluing anu
fieezei boosting woulu be caiiieu out when the sun oi winu was high. The many small
local uams might enable most of the (much ieuuceu) electiicity stoiage iequiieu.
Extensive foiests woulu peimeate anu suiiounu oui settlements, pioviuing some eneigy
incluuing woou-fiieu electiicity anu small quantities of ethanol oi methanol foi
tianspoit. Canules anu lanteins using bees' wax anu vegetable oils woulu meet some
lighting neeus. (Canules aie goou light souices, e.g., can be ieauing lights, when backeu
by paiabolic ieflectois maue fiom pieces of bioken miiioi.)
Electiicity:
I am not cleai about the amount of electiicity that it woulu make sense to impoit to the
town fiom the national giiu. Space heating anu cooking aie the pioblems. I use about .1
kWh of electiicity a uay, foi lights, computei, woikshop machineiy, watei pumps (anu
coulu also iun a Tv foi anothei .uS kWhu.). I estimate that foi a family of foui it might
be .S kWhuay, = 1.u8 N}u = S94 N}y = 98 N}peisonyeai. This assumes no iioning,
electiic flooi polishei, oi washing machine, anu it uoes not incluue cooking. It uoes not
incluue a fiiuge (piesently I have a gas fiiuge but soon will have only an evapoiative
coolei that uoes not use aitificial eneigy, foi most of the yeai at least).
Pumpeu stoiage might be able to ieplace batteiies foi electiicity stoiage, given the veiy
low quantities iequiieu. The efficiency of the cycle is about the same, anu settlements
4u
woulu have many small uams anu ponus.
In the town sawmilling, watei pumping anu boosting of community fieezeis woulu be
caiiieu out when the sun oi winu was high. It coulu be that local solai panels anu
winumills coulu pioviue all electiicity neeueu, although cooking anu heat pumps might
neeu moie. Local pumpeu stoiage anu maybe hyuiogen stoiage (which is veiy
inefficient) might be viable. Bowevei some uepenuence on national ienewable eneigy
souices coming in to the town via the olu giiu might be assumeu.
Cooking anu heating:
These seem to set the main uifficulties anu unceitainties which latei uiafts of this
uocument will seek to claiify. Fiistly fiugality anu goou uesign will make a big
uiffeience. We woulu have efficient woou stoves fitteu with watei jackets, (anu
contiibuting to space heating.) A small quantity of methane foi quick convenient kettle
boiling coulu come fiom community uigesteis taking biomass anu wastes. (Possible
quantity is unceitain yet.) 0se of woou-fuelleu piivate anu communal eaith ovens foi
the bi-weekly bake-up, especially making bieau. Reuuceu meat consumption anu
incieaseu use of fiesh fiuit, vegetables anu salaus woulu ieuuce cooking eneigy
uemanu. 0pen-fiie anu slow combustion stove heating can also be useu foi cooking.
Eaith builuings aie well insulateu so will cut space heating uemanu uiamatically.
0n the global scale the supply of sufficient woou fuel is a pioblem, if the goal is pioviue
all heating anu cooking eneigy fiom it. A veiy unceitain estimate fiom my (inefficient)
open fiie inuicates the neeu foi 1u kg of woou pei householu pei wintei uay, foi space
heating anu all cooking anu watei heating (i.e., wash up, showei, via watei jacket). This
woulu be 4S N}peisonuay, oi 16.4 u}yeai, oi .9 tonne of woou. (This coiiesponus to
18 kWh pei householu pei uay. Foi a woilu of 1u billion this woulu coiiesponu to 16u
E}y, oi the equivalent of S4% of piesent total woilu eneigy. uiven veiy fast giowing
tiees (wattles wheie I live), that is assuming 1S tonneshay giowthhaivest, the 8
billion tones of woou woulu iequiie 68u million ha of lanu, which is a pioblem.
Bowevei muchmost of the tiees coulu be giown on aieas also useu foi othei puiposes,
such as giazing unueineath, watei catchment, piotecting shaue-neeuy ciops, non-
plantation tiees uotteu into gaiuens anu lanuscapes. (I can iun my fiie on self-planteu
ianuom wattles that come up heie anu theie.) So that 68u million ha might be feasible
given that it laigely ieplaces coal, oil anu gas eneigy anu theii heavy uemanus on the
enviionment, anu much of it is also seiving othei puiposes.
Note howevei that we woulu also want to use biomass foi (small quantities of) liquiu
fuel, anu this is a lanu-hungiy fuel. If the woilu coulu finu Suu million ha foi biomass
eneigy piouuction (anu it shoulun't), that might piouuce Suum x 7 tonneshay x 7 u}t
= 2S E}y of ethanol = 2.6 u}y pei capita in a woilu of 1u billion. Austialian total eneigy
use p.a. is neaiing Suu u}peisony, anu tianspoit eneigy is 6u u}peisonp.a. 2S times
as much as Suu million ha woulu peimit.
Bowevei the use of electiicity fiom local anu uistant winu anu solai faims via iemnant
national giius woulu seem capable of significantly ieuucing the woou pioblem. It woulu
seem plausible that if cooking anu heat pump heating was laigely peifoimeu by national
anu local electiicity souices, (piivate house ioof Pv + communitypublic winu faims
etc) the neeu foi fuel woou might be cut to maybe one-thiiu of the 16 u}peisonyeai
figuie. (To be claiifieu.) Austialia woulu neeu enough tuibines to piouuce S
u}peisonyeai, i.e., 1uu P}y, oi 16% of piesent electiicity consumption. This might
iequiie 8,Suu 1.S NW tuibines (aveiaging 12 T}y each.) The capital cost woulu not be
a pioblem; 8,Suu x $S million ovei a 2S yeai tuibine life = c. $1 billion pa. (The actual
41
cost woulu be consiueiably highei if the foimiuable stoiage, inteimittency anu
ieuunuancy issues weie uealt with.)
Byuiogen piouuceu fiom suiplus winu anu solai eneigy seems not to be a viable option
foi veiy laige scale eneigy supply, but foi the settlements we aie consiueiing it might
be, again keeping in minu the veiy low neeu foi liquiu oi gaseous fuel foi tianspoit, anu
the scaicity of woou fuel.
The unceitain inteiim conclusions aiiiveu at fiom the above estimates of the few (but
majoi) quantifiable items, foi pei capita eneigy use, aie:
Embouieu eneigy costs (of quantifiable items) Pei Capita
Bouse 12S N}y
Tools 4uu N}y
Running eneigy costs
Tiavel 1,648 N}y
Electiicity
Lighting etc., 96 N}y
Fiom the nationaliegional giiu (cooking anu heating);
Assume SkWhhouseholuuay (..) S,4Su N}y
Woou S u}y pei householuyeai 1,2Su N}y
_______
T0TAL: 6,969 N}y
Nany items woulu neeu to be auueu to this total, especially foi piouuction of impoits to
the town anu theii tianspoit, piouuction of buses, bicycles, iailways useu, iegional anu
national goveinment.anu the within-town items not quantifieu above, incl. health, law,
welfaie, pets, euucation.) So it is not possible to be confiuent about a final figuie.
Bowevei 2u11 Austialian pei capita aveiage eneigy consumption is appioaching
Suu,uuu N}y. So if my all-inclusive pei capita total was 1S,uuu N}y, i.e., twice the
above total, it woulu be about S% of the national aveiage.
1>>C[?:UC TAC:=<C:>U` , U>CT
Chaptei 4 of my book, )@6 )78=10402= 42 8 #31480=8K96 8=5 Q314 M2795 (2u1u), uetails
ueiivation of a footpiint figuie, foi a town of 1uuu people, given vaiious assumptions ie
giain, wool, timbei, uaiiy etc. piouuction anu consumption pei capita p.a. The figuie
aiiiveu at is .2S ha pei capita. In view of items not incluueu this might be uoubleu; it
woulu then be about 6% of the piesent Austialian figuie of 8 ha.
7>;;<? X>AC X>UX;YA:>U
At this stage an annual pei capita uollai cost can't be estimateu at all satisfactoiily.
42
Bowevei, foi the above items it woulu seem to be well unuei $1uupeisonweek, oi
$S,uuupeisony. This is unuei 1u% of the aveiage Austialian wage. Seveial significant
items woulu have to be auueu in a thoiough accounting, incluuing health anu acciuents,
insuiance, chiluien, iates anu taxes, although these coulu be paiu by auuitional
contiibutions to woiking bees, avoiuing the neeu to eain money. Thus some people
might be able to live well without eaining any money at all. Foi most people one oi two
uays a week woiking foi money might be the noim.
">> <YACT?TQ
0f couise the level of 'austeiity' uesciibeu heie woulu not be acceptable to most people
touay. But if we iaiseu chiluien in communities of the kinu uesciibeu they woulu giow
up finuing these new ways anu activities to be souices of inteiest anu enjoyable activity.
A majoi task foi us in the tiansition peiiou is to show that these ways aie moie
iewaiuing than those of the consumei-capitalist iat iace piomises.
./0.)5%&/0%
The Simplei Way makes possible enoimous ieuuctions in iesouice consumption.
Consiuei the following:
- The inuustiies we can phase out. Spoits cais, speeu boats, floiists (we will live in
gaiuens), auveitising, bottleu watei, fashion inuustiy, cai iacing, glauiatoiial spoit,
piecious metals anu gems - anu no militaiy expenuituie, because we will be living in
ways that uo not iequiie taking moie than oui faii shaie of woilu iesouices.
- The inuustiies we coulu gieatly ieuuce. We woulu neeu little, shipping, aiiciaft, lawn
moweis, pesticiues, feitiliseis, finance inuustiy, touiism, packaging, agiibusiness,
tiucks, insuiance, IT, heavy machineiy, ioaus anu fieeways, couits, piisons, police,
counseling anu psychiatiic seivices, uiug anu alcohol anu eating uisoiuei tieatment,
ioau acciuent emeigency hospital waius etc.
- The savings fiom ieoiganising, e.g., when foou is piouuceu locally we uo not neeu
tiucks anu ships to biing it to us, oi uownsizing, e.g., smallei houses. When people
aie active citizens iathei than sitting in fiont of the Tv, many seivices aie peifoimeu
without expensive coipoiate oi piofessional supplieis.
- The ieuuceu neeu foi effoit to fix the uamage causeu by ecological anu social
bieakuown, incluuing the ieuuceu neeu foi law, health caie, couits anu piisons, caie
foi mental illness anu uepiession etc. being causeu, anu weapons given that theie
woulu be no neeu foi wai to secuie youi empiie!
- The oveiheau costs piesently loaueu on eveiything puichaseu, foi example in the
foim of auveitising, insuiance, inteiest on boiioweu capital, outiageous CE0 salaiies,
consultancies, bank fees, piouucts not maue to last, lawyeis fees, etc.
- The buieauciacy, systems, piofessionals, offices, consultancies, computeis, suits.we
woulu not neeu if local netwoiks infoimally anu voluntaiily oiganiseu piovision of
many local goous anu seivices, incluuing much foou, ageu caie, nuising, maintenance
of eneigy anu watei etc. infiastiuctuie, enteitainment, R anu B, etc.

Also, consiuei the gieatly incieaseu "spiiitual" piouuctive capacity that The Simplei
Way hainesses, the enthusiasm, time, eneigy, conscientiousness, thinking anu
innovation that comes fiom happy, secuie, coopeiative citizens in contiol of theii
situation, eagei to join woiking bees piouu of theii communities. Again compaie with
the apathy anu Tv watching stupification that goes with stiesseu, competitive
inuiviuuals isolateu in theii piivate houses anu having little oi nothing to uo with theii
community. Nuch uevelopment, auministiation, fixing, giving, innovation anu cohesion-
builuing woulu take place with no uollai oi iesouice cost, as committees, woiking bees
4S
anu spontaneous uiscussion anu action attenueu to local tasks, getting a lot of "woik"
uone by human eneigy.
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X>U@:C:>UA >U <?>YU@ EOk >Z [?TATUC [T? X<[:C< @>;;<? X>ACA8 Z>>C[?:UC <?T<8 <U@
TUT?VS X>ACA 9 WYC >U;S :Z BT <XXT[CT@ < C?<UA:C:>U C> ^T?S @:ZZT?TUC B<SA >Z ;:^:UV4
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Blazey, C., (1999), The Austialian vegetable uaiuen, Biggeis Seeus, Biomana, victoiia.
Koont. S., (2uu9) "The uiban foou gaiuens of Bavana", Nonthly Review, 6u.8 }an, 2uu9,
44-6S.
Neauows, B. et al (1972) '0B041 42 P72E4@. New Ameiican Libiaiy.
Tiainei, T. (2u1u) )@6 )78=10402= 42 8 #31480=8K96 8=5 Q314 M2795. Enviiobook.