How we spend our money shapes the world.
But I’m getting ahead of myself. Allow me to rewind a little…
400 million years ago a plant stored some light energy from the Sun as glucose.
With this beautiful equation:
6CO2 (carbon dioxide) + 6H2O (water) + light energy = C6H12O6 (glucose) + 6O2 (oxygen)
A short time later the plant was eaten by a sea creature and the energy was stored in its body.
1 month ago that energy was pumped from deep underground, where immense time and pressure had converted it into oil.
This incredibly useful (and finite) base material could then be used to make chemicals and plastics (found in nearly every product we use).
This particular batch was refined into gasoline.
I think you know where this is going…
A tank full of fossils
Last week you filled up the fuel tank of your car.
This morning you converted that 400 million-year-old energy into enough kinetic energy (with some waste heat, sound, and light) to push you and an average of 2 tons of car on your commute.
Throughout the year this habit will cost you over a month of work (based on average running costs and earnings). Plus potentially over a year of work to buy the car (if new and bought with finance).
It is likely some extra energy (and money) was wasted due to all the other people, in the way, in their 2 ton vehicles.
Some of these journeys were necessary and some were not. Some of the people in that queue could have chosen to cycle instead.
Instant improvements
Imagine if everyone who could, woke up tomorrow and decided to cycle to work.
Roads would be instantly clear for those journeys that had to be made: by ambulance, car, van, or truck (most of which are electric and self-driving … in this Utopian future of course).
Benefits for you and for the world
For those who had chosen to cycle: their fitness levels and overall health would begin to improve immediately.
As would their mental health as they reconnected with nature and the changing seasons.
A feeling of well-being would flood through them, as the exercise triggered endorphin production.
Their sleep would improve immediately as well.
The honking horns, impatience, and road rage that come from constantly being stuck in traffic are replaced by smiles exchanged with oncoming cyclists on the bike tracks.
This catalytic change of habit, leads to a cascade of benefits:
- You appreciate nature more when you spend time in it
- Air pollution is reduced massively
- Cities could be designed around people rather than cars
- This encourages a virtuous circle where more people choose to move closer to where they work and walk or cycle
- Our impact on the climate is reduced
- Unnecessary waste of this useful material is reduced overnight
Any day you choose to cycle you boost your health, fitness, and wealth.
The money you spend changes the world
Imagine if those same people decided to switch their electricity supply to a renewable energy supplier.
Maybe they add photo-voltaic cells to their roofs.
If they made the simple changes to buy fewer things.
And pay attention to the amounts and types of packaging the things they buy have.
The money we spend has an almost instant impact on what gets created and how it gets created.
You don’t have to wait for someone else to change the world for the better.
You really can be the change you want to see.
Choose how you spend your money. Be the inspiration for those around you. Change the world.
A beautiful future
There is a beautiful future ahead of us. This future includes all that is good from humanity’s progress. Just without the unnecessary waste.
A future where we look after the only planet we have (for now). Where we live in balance with nature. Where we realise where the true value lies and we appreciate the abundance.
The moment you step onto the path that leads you to grow rich enough, you make the immediate changes that improve the world.
It’s the ultimate win-win 🙂