The average citizen in the developed countries now enjoys security and comforts undreamt of even 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 internecine 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 we simply don't believe it will make enough difference. So, despite virtuously claiming to care about their environment, most people carelessly breed numerous offspring, drive and fly whenever and wherever they fancy and eat diets dependent on environmentally-harmful factory-farming. Even parents, who might be expected to care about the environment their children will inherit, seem indifferent that their own behaviour 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: most of the seven billion people alive right now think it their inalienable right to have as many children as they want. Furthermore all those in the developed world also think it their inalienable right to own a house, a car and all the latest gadgetry to put in them. So humanity continues its headlong rush towards catastrophe. As an elderly gay singleton, 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 more on this.

An environmentally-friendly government would ensure that education in the interconnectedness of all living things is included in the national curriculum so that every individual understands how our shared environment is damaged by the sum total of our individual acts and consequently learns 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.)

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:

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

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 use grants and tax concessions to encourage:

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

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

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

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.