The average citizen in the developed countries now enjoys security and comforts undreamt of by royalty a bare century ago. Of course reading the papers or watching television you wouldn't think so – journalists are far too busy pursuing sensational headlines in their inter-necine circulation wars to be bothered with conveying the whole truth. (A true account of society requires unearthing what is not printed as well as what is.) Nevertheless it's unquestionably true that most people's lives in the developed world are now healthier, longer and safer than ever before in human history and the only reason you'll never see this headline:

99% HAVE A GOOD DAY

is that contentment doesn't sell newspapers. Unfortunately, journalism's endless emphasis on the 1% who didn't have a good day engenders cynicism and despair, which in its turn means that, though most thoughtful citizens agree we can't go on despoiling our miraculous planet, few are prepared to change their personal behaviour. It seems that we simply don't believe it will make enough difference. So, despite virtuously claiming to care about the environment, most people carelessly breed numerous offspring, drive and fly whenever and wherever they fancy and eat diets that depend entirely on environmentally-harmful factory-farming. Even existing parents, who might be expected to care about the environment their children will inherit, seem indifferent that it is their own behaviour that is damaging it so irrevocably that if humanity continues on its present path, in another hundred years or so there may only be termites, cockroaches and bacteria left alive. If you think I'm exaggerating, look at this:

Look at this graph carefully and consider this: every single one of the six billion people alive right now thinks it their inalienable right to have as many children as they want. Furthermore all those in the west think it's also their inalienable right to own a house and at least one car plus all the latest gadgetry to put in them. So humanity continues its headlong rush towards catastrophe. I'll soon be gone of course and have no children myself so why should I care? I don't know but like the early Stoics believe that it's good for our souls to live in harmony with nature. So here's my personal list of the absolute minimum changes of policy needed to heal and sustain a planet-friendly society. I sincerely believe most of the problems we are busily spawning could be solved now if only political leaders had the will to act. So here's my personal minimum list of...

An environmentally-friendly government would use grants and tax concessions to encourage:

• Childless and single-child families of both genders and all orientations.
• Safe legal brothels for both sexes and all orientations.

An environmentally-friendly government would use tax penalties to discourage:

• Families with more than one child per parent.

Visit the: Optimum Population Trust for facts and ideas on how you can help.

An environmentally-friendly government would use grants and tax concessions to encourage:

• Labelling of all manufactured goods and produce to show exactly how damaging their production is to the environment - to help us all to choose wisely.
• Recycling and re-use of all household, commercial and industrial waste.
• Healthy eating based on local seasonal fruits and vegetables and non-animal foods.*
• Manufacture of long-lasting, environmentally-friendly products.

An environmentally-friendly government would use tax penalties to discourage:

• Products and produce that harm the environment and human health including cars!
• Unnecessary packaging and waste.
• Unseasonal imports and their unnecessary, wasteful, polluting transportation.

An environmentally-friendly government would use tax concessions and grants to encourage:

• Walking, cycling and public transport.
• Bulk deliveries by rail, canals and rivers.
• Traffic-calming.

An environmentally-friendly government would use tax penalties to discourage:

• Private motoring.
• Non-essential air travel.
• Commuting.
• Bulk deliveries by polluting lorries and trucks.

An environmentally-friendly government would use planning laws to encourage:

• Ecologically-friendly, energy-efficient, zero-carbon buildings.
• Local, sustainable, small-scale power generation.
• Genuinely affordable housing that meets the above criteria - to enable ordinary people to live within walking distance of their work.
• Congenial tree-filled streets and calm, quiet, townscape.
• Parks with areas set aside for allotments.
• Public works: trees, gardens, fountains, conveniences etc. funded by developers' profits.
• re-use and rehabilitation of old buildings

• Unnecessary redevelopment schemes.
• Unnecessary air-conditioning.
• Redevelopment schemes that harm local communities by their inhuman scale.
• Empty buildings.
• Light pollution of night skies.
• Demolition of buildings that contribute to the architectural diversity of the streetscape.

An environmentally-friendly government would ensure that education in the interconnected-ness of all living things is included in the national curriculum so that every citizen will understand how the sum total of our individual acts damages our shared environment and so, conversely, learn to take pride in environmental-consciousness. (Most children are already more environmentally aware than their parents but even they often fail to see the environmental impact of their personal craving for trendy clothes, mobile phones, junk food, DVDs, videos, computers etc.)

This is the minimum I believe environmentally-friendly governments must do if we are to halt our present disastrous downward spiral and reinstate human beings in our rightful place in the web of life.

See also Eat well to stay well
             *Seven Reasons to be Vegan
              The Root of Humanity's Problems