why low-impact?

Low-impact living is a way of behaving and thinking that aims to reduce our impact on the ecology of our planet, on resources and on each other.

It requires awareness, a little discipline, and a desire to take control of our own lives.

It's not about giving up things - it's about gaining things, like healthy food, clean energy, leisure time, fulfilling work, connections with people and nature, interesting activities, greater contentment, and the satisfaction of helping to change things for the better.

Here are some things that might bother you about our current 'high-impact' system:

  • consumerism
  • commuting
  • high house and land prices
  • working just to pay off debt
  • junk food
  • ugly 'development'
  • pylons
  • plastic
  • half the world on $2 a day
  • resource depletion
  • extinctions
  • lack of community
  • stress
  • destruction of wild places
  • celebrity culture
  • modern housing
  • traffic jams
  • huge city bonuses
  • 'international competitiveness'
  • war
And I'm sure you can add a few more.

You must have heard people say: 'yes, but what can I do?' and the answer is - everything. Change is only going to come from grass-roots. Those at the top have done too well from this system to want to change it.

Here's what you can do: