If we don’t know where we’re going, we’re unlikely to get there. If we don’t understand principles, we won’t make sense of details. If we identify essentials, we can give meaning to specifics. If we remember what’s important, we can judge the relevance of the particulars.

These aphorisms apply to strategy, to the art of knowing what to do and when to do it. They allow us to move through problems toward solutions. And perhaps no one does this better than Guy Dauncey, a Victoria writer and thinker who is earning a widening reputation for his grasp of our civilization’s environmental predicament and the practical steps that will help us reach a sustainable future. (Dauncey’s ideas and newsletters can be viewed at http://www.earthfuture.com/econews/)

Perhaps Dauncey’s most outstanding attribute is his optimism, a gift that seems to arise from a clear framing of our problems, together with the principles of sustainability they violate. Understand the problems and the solutions become evident. His solutions — however numerous and complex — easily follow from a few simple principles. If we can remember these principles as overarching strategies, then we can individually manoeuvre our way toward a more promising tomorrow. The collective effect of our personal decisions will eventually be profound. Dauncey outlines six guiding principles (Econews, June 2007).

1. Use triple-bottom-line accounting. Instead of using only economics to measure the wisdom of our decisions and actions, give equal weight to the social and environmental consequences. Cheapest is not necessarily best if it brings with it a host of later costs and a multitude of other problems that compromise quality of life. Is it wise to travel to distant cities to shop for bargains if comparable goods can be bought locally? Consider the cost of travelling, the carbon dioxide produced, the loss of time that could be spent with family or friends, with hobbies or projects. Think more broadly about the costs of saving. Saving can be expensive.

2. “Internalize” all costs when examining the wisdom of an industry or activity. Conventional economics too often “externalizes” costs such as air pollution, cancer, habitat degradation and climate change, as if they were not liabilities that deserve accounting. If salmon farming creates jobs but jeopardizes wild salmon populations, then its net benefits must consider the costs of these external effects. How many wild salmon are lost for each farmed salmon grown? (A worldwide study suggests a 1% loss for each 1,000 tonnes of farmed salmon.) What are the deleterious effects on commercial salmon fishing. Or recreational
salmon fishing, which provides not only jobs but a huge range of quality-of-life benefits. A full accounting of salmon farming needs to consider the external damage to ocean and river ecologies, to marine mammals and even to bears, all of which have values. We are as healthy as our ecosystems. We live on a self-contained planet on which nothing can legitimately be “externalized”. Our taxation system should reward or penalize our activities based of how they improve or damage the health of humans and nature.

3. Design all manufactured goods for “cradle-to-cradle” use. With no “graves”, everything we make can either be recycled or re-used. Apply the same principle to manufacturing processes. The result of this would be no waste, no garbage dumps, no effluent and no smokestacks. All human activity would mimic the biosphere as one great re-cycling system. Our individual awareness of such a vision can direct everything from our voting, to our buying habits and vacation plans.

4. Strive for a tenfold reduction in our ecological footprint so that, perhaps within a century, all humanity may be able to live within our planet’s ecological limits. Always ask how your individual actions can lessen the impact on the planet’s environment. Find the comfortable limits of change which you are personally willing to undertake. Every little bit helps. This reduction can be reached with little or no compromise to quality-of-life.

5. Build communities around people rather than businesses and industries. Commerce is our servant, not vice versa. Make human well-being the criterion that determines what we do in our towns and cities. Fulfilling work, adequate leisure, vibrant cultural life, strong social connections, good education, healthy family life and necessary medical care are the essentials of life. Remember these priorities.

6. Re-shape our global instruments of governance so organizations such as the World Bank and International Monetary Fund support the best interests of humanity rather than protecting the planet’s existing financial structure. The same principle should apply nationally, provincially and locally. Existing democratic processes can be improved to provide fairer representation. People who are empowered and secure will create contented and peaceful communities and countries, enabling the entire world to function more harmoniously. From the United Nations to city councils, all citizens have a role to play here.

Perhaps Dauncey’s basic message can be abbreviated as: think big while doing the best you can. Everything we do has environmental implications. By considering the broadest ramifications of our individual behaviour, we can each move our lifestyle toward sustainability. Each of us can be a member of a new, efficient way of living. Endorse the politicians and political actions that support this new ethic. If necessary, lead politicians in the direction we all must go. Buy thoughtfully and discard reluctantly. Be responsible.

Think principles. Try to move more consciously and lightly in the world. Be caring and considerate of all the living things that are our neighbours. Remember that we are them and they are us.