Welcome to ECOcorner (From Gazette & Herald)

Welcome to ECOcorner

As the plundering and wrecking of our world accelerates, not by necessity but due to commercial greed, we feel powerless to confront the global marketing giants.

We see our connections to the natural world gradually being severed, the countryside destroyed and fear that the damage may soon be beyond repair.

The situation is desperate, but just as short-term commercial gain is the cause of the problem, it is also the key to the solution.

The silent majority has, over recent years, become a great deal noisier. The state of our environment and wider concerns about how we live and what we believe to be important, are subjects of daily discussion in the media, and even more on the internet.

Individuals are making themselves heard and beginning to make a difference, as has been clearly illustrated by the attendance at the recent debates on GM.

Each one of us, by just making small changes to the way we live and what we buy, can add significantly to the surge of resistance to the direction in which we are being pushed.

Refusing unnecessary plastic bags and packaging when shopping, buying at least some organic food, reducing our consumption of energy by a few kilowatts, having a shower instead of a bath - each tiny gesture contributes to what we all desire - a saner and more wholesome world.

Someone said recently that they had found the missing link between the great apes and true humanity: it's us.

Fortunately, it isn't quite all of us, and the thinking but usually quiet section of humankind is beginning to speak out.

Small actions are just as important as big ones, and are more sustainable too.

We hope this column will be a source of small but effective ideas that will make a difference, and a forum for sharing experiences and useful tips.

'Let no one underestimate the influence of public opinion and the voting power of its purse.' - Patrick Holden, director of The Soil Association.

Updated: 13:04 Wednesday, October 01, 2003