Going green is more about changing our attitude or frame of reference. It is not, as politicians would have you believe, about adopting fads or policies to combat global warming. Global warming may or may not be due to human activity. The argument is irrelevant. The problem is about sustainability on a local, national and international level. The earth is a finite resource. Recent news stories about food shortages and about poisonous plastic waste in the oceans bring home what going green is all about. As the new economies of the East expand and the world population grows these problems will be compounded.

So what can the common person do?

It’s about thinking through our lives, at all levels, to analyse how we can be sustainable, be most efficient and be least wasteful and least destructive in our activities. And then put this thinking into action.

No one can honestly declare that this is an easy proposition. Life and human society are far too complicated for simplistic solutions or gestures. Bringing the the collective good and the individual good/freedom into one workable framework is the challenge. It is a big ask of us. Especially, in a world dominated by selfish consumeurism and capitalism.

Waiting for, and relying solely on, technology to solve this problem of sustainability is a form of denial. The problem requires a shift in our social and practical mind sets: perceiving the earth as a limited resource and dealing with this fact in everyday life, at all levels of social and economic activity.

Waiting for brave politicians to make hard choices for us unilaterally or collectively is a dismal prospect. Populism, procrastination and crisis management are their hallmark.

No, it has to be down to us making grass root incremental changes. The collective and creative approaches of individuals and communities developing sustainable lives is the best hope for the earth and future generations. So support VGT, this website and other like minded people - who are lighting beacons of sanity.

And spread the word. Global warming is a symptom of, not a cause of, our problems. Going Green is about sustainability!