To the editor:

Those things that are most important to a person are central in determining what that person does with his or her life. If making money and accumulating wealth are very important, the person who has these values will devote much of their life to doing business. If having a good relationship with the Earth and one’s fellow living beings is important, one will spend the days of life endeavoring to live with minimal negative impact on the environment and gathering experiences of nature. Doing business and making money will be kept to a minimum.

There are many people who highly value money-making and wealth. These are the people who are causing much harm to the Earth and nature. These are the humans who are responsible for causing the multiple crises now facing the inhabitants of Earth: the nature/biodiversity loss crisis, the climate crisis and the pollution crisis. The present Life on Earth crises will continue to worsen and additional crises will develop so long as money-making and wealth remain widely held values.

For the good of all life on Earth, wild animals and humans alike, great changes must be made to prevent the worsening of the crises. In the case of the climate crisis, a global accord was reached for the purpose of minimizing the worsening. The 2015 Paris Agreement was adopted unanimously by nearly 200 nations. This landmark accomplishment set forth a timetable for rapidly reducing and finally bringing to an end the use of fossil fuels. The Paris Agreement was created to avert the extreme worsening of the climate that would inevitably lead to large areas of the Earth becoming uninhabitable. Despite the best efforts of climate diplomats, activists and scientists, with the future of habitation of the Earth hanging in the balance, the use of fossil fuels has continued to rise. The use of oil, gas and coal reached record highs in 2024.

Clearly, something deep and far-reaching needs to change in the hearts and minds of the human beings who prioritize making money and accumulating wealth. The people who love money and amassing wealth must change within their inner selves, change their hearts and minds. The transformation of these people is essential to the success in dealing with the global environmental crises of our time.

How will the businesspeople, so focused on money and wealth, be transformed into people who love nature and love protecting the Earth? I believe that businesspeople will be transformed by seeing the love of nature and protecting the Earth in the lives of their fellow human beings. Turning away from consumerism and embracing a low-impact way of living similar to the consumption level of the 1800s goes far toward making one’s Earth-loving known to others. I believe that transformed businesspeople can do great work, bringing an end to fossil fuel use. All of us working together can make the big changes that ensure the continuing habitability of the Earth.

Don Hassig

Co-Leader Living Lightly on Earth

Colton