What would help the environment most is what I refer to as "radical
materialism". Radical materialism is the belief that the things that
we use should be best possible quality, made to last as long as
possible, and economically repairable. They should all be made the way
artisans and craftspeople make precious things, to the highest
aesthetic and durability standards, to be valued, cared for, even to
be passed on from one generation to the next the way great art works
are passed on to the future. Whether it is furniture, tableware, cars,
clothing, or appliances, we need a radical renaissance of redesign
that ends the throw away society, the junk culture, that we live in,
that has taken over the world economy. Nothing will help the
environment as much as ending the endless mountains of scrap and junk
that come from poorly made, made to be thrown away, planned
obsolescent, ugly and thus uncared for and poorly valued things.
Radical materialism is a change in our values, that values things and
environment.