First of all, I apologize for my lack of expertice in moving through my own Blog. I included this Entry at the end of the Spanish versión, but for misterious reasons , the article appeared twice, but in both occassions in Spamich. Now I posted it as a separate entry and I hope that now you wil have an English versión.
I found in Facebook an entry from a friend who shared an important
message: to achieve sustainable human development : with small changes by each person is much that can be achieved.
Listed below are a number of minor steps and
little efforts we can make
This message is certainly very valid, but shows only the environmental dimension of sustainable development and do not show what makes sustainable development really “ human”. Two essential dimensions are missing in this equation, and they are much more difficult to meet than the ten listed above. Let us , par example consider some proposals from the social side;
- Pay fair wages to those who work with. Even if you cannot afford to pay more, at least pay the minimum legal wage.
- Pay all the social charges and benefits the law requires , as this will keep the existing public health system and also the pension system strong.
- Pay during December of each year the 13th month that in many countries the law requires. And do it on time , that is before the 15een December.
- Share your books with others to have access to culture. You can contribute to campaigns , such as some countries in which once you have read a book, you let it in a public space for otherds to read. And each has to make the commitment to share again the book once they have read it.
- Make the commitment to teach to read and write once a year to an adult person who is illiterate. Even in Europe and the USA there are illiterate persons . Or you can offer your expertise on a voluntary basis in the evening schools ( unfortunately sometimes teachers and their professional associations do not allow to do it) .
- Respect the working hours of your employees. Now we are in a culture of extreme consumption and Malls are open from Sunday to Sunday, and do not allow time for people to rest and live and share with their families .
- View films and theather of your own country ( and not only the suoper productions of Holywood). There are very good ones , with more messages than special effects. But Cinemas and Theaters only let the national production only a few days in exhibition and the films and plays fail to be profitable and producers and actors cannot live from their art. In addition that one's own culture is penetrated and go lost. Losing culture is as serious as losing biodiversity ..
- Public parks permit citizens to democratically socialize. Take your kids to the parks instead of the plastic playgrounds of the Malls . Eventake the streets back as spaces to play and to talk with your neighbour would make open places safer and criminality will be reduced..
From the economic side you can also do much
- Demand a bil for each thing you buy , stamped by the tax authority, permitting that way for the state to collect taxes . Then you have to exercise the right to control your taxes are spent properly. Even you should try the practice of participatory budgeting in you own town , which has given such good results in some parts of the world, as in Porto Alegre , Brazil . See
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2c3_p-n_WaY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y8NUSfVjc5Y
- Make the commitment to pay all your taxes. That is a true expression of honesty , citizenship and solidarity. Who does not pay taxes is a criminal. It is sad to know that in many countries , many of the privileged in society : traders , businessmen and professionals , fraudulently declare lower incomes and pay less taxes than they should. For example liberal professionals , such as dentists , doctors and lawyers , very few pay taxes or they declare lowrer incomes as the ones that they really receive. On the other side, aworker registered in a payroll has to pay the full amount of taxes that is deducted directly from their salary- If everyone paid their taxes , very few countries would have fiscal deficit , and education , infrastructure and health for example, would be much better .
- If you rent a house, pay the rent on time. The owner of the house you rent worked to build it and have an income and if you are an honest person, you must fulfill your obligations with that person. Who has a house for rent and charges a fair monthly rate, is not criminal and deserves the money you pay..
- Try to pay for everything with cash or debit card you and not with a credit card. In that way you avoid falling into the consumerism that makes you addicted to buying many things you do not need and spend more money than you earn.
- Avoid buying junk food. There are many reasons not to do that : it destroys the food culture of your country, it's not healthy , much of the value you pay goes abroad , etc, etc, etc. . . .
- Buy weekly in the Farmers Fair . Get fresh, healthy food and encourage at the same time the growth of agriculture and the livelihood of local farmers.
- Buy fruits, vegetables of the season. We are in a position , with globalization , to eat grapes and lpeaches anywhere and at any time of year, inhibiting local consumption and promoting foreign trade based on the abundance of cheap oil ( artificially ) . Eating a Pear in Costa Rica involves a journey between 2000 and 8000 miles by ship or plane and thus a high oil consumption. They are well-traveled grapes.
- Consume wood and other renewable materials if you're going to build or repair your house . Wood can and should come from sources of good management , takes little energy in its production , as opposed to glass , cement , iron and other materials.
Dear “ Resistentes”, you may see that to be sustainable is quite a thing , and is much more than a social fun or fashion. It involves the practice of equity and economic modesty. We should never stay on the surface of sustainable development, that is only in his environmental dimension, The two other dimensions, the economic and social are equally or even more important and much more difficult to meet.
Who wants to really try?
Santa Ana February, 2014