Simpletom

You don’t necessarily need an expensive MBA or a degree in environmental sciences to learn about social and environmental responsibility. In fact, many could learn from school children armed with about $17.

One of my favorite quotes I was lucky enough to hear in person. It was imparted by one of my favorite people — David Attenborough, the famous naturalist and owner of a voice that sends women over 60 weak at the knees (at least true in my mother’s case). Asked when he first became interested in the natural world, he boldly replied, “I prefer to ask most adults when they stopped being interested … after all, you won’t find many children that aren’t fascinated by nature, it’s just that my adolescent curiosity just never went away.” Perhaps not the most perfectly crafted of sound bites, but one that captures Attenborough’s magic and the boundless curiosity of youth.

A little while back I teamed up with a friend, Oli Barrett, to help create a scheme called “Make Your Mark with a Tenner.” The aim is to challenge youngsters to see what they can achieve with just £10 (slightly less than $17 in the U.S.) in one month. In the last couple of years, close to 30,000 school kids have participated in the program, aiming to make a profit and assessing the difference their schemes made, if any. (The photo to the right and the one below show the problem tackled by the Torquay Boys Grammar School and “The Chillow,” the product the students created to solve it.) The largest profit was £736 and the average £42, compared with a return a savings account would have provided in the same month — a heady 2p! That’s 4,200 penny sweets, versus a mere two. In a world of economic crises, these enterprising teens are proof that measures to support young entrepreneurs and startups are of vital import.

I’ve also been lucky enough to participate in a BBC2 series called “Beat the Boss,” in which our team of “bosses” was trounced by a team of enterprising children. Plus, I was a trustee of Young Enterprise, an organization that encourages young people to start businesses, with a bit of expert guidance, while at school.

It comes as no surprise to discover that the youth of today are resourceful, entrepreneurial and enthusiastic. What continues to surprise me is the passion that children have for making a positive impact. Although social awareness seemed somewhat of a misfit for a profit-focused enterprise, we asked “Make Your Mark with a Tenner” participants to report on the difference that their £10 schemes had. An overwhelming number wrote passionate and insightful pieces, demonstrating a deep thoughtfulness and understanding of the interconnectedness of their actions within their local environment. A large number of students donated all of their profits to charity, despite there being no compulsion to do so. In fact, money seemed to be one of the least important of their motivators.

So when exactly does the materialism kick in … when the pocket money ends? Perhaps.

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You’ll be relived to know that this is still the well-buttered/battered computer in action. In the last post, I didn’t even have to bang on about the environmental rationale behind keeping this old beast alive – it makes sense, even before I have to leap into the pulpit.

But for those of you that like an entertaining preacher, check this video – The Story of Stuff – on consumption.

My last post dealt with computers and, perhaps, electronics. Another of the most ridiculous habits of modern man is the need to continually upgrade ones car.

A few weekends back, on a trip to the old blighty, I went camping with some friends in Suffolk. Our chariot was a 15-year old Citroen which looks as if it’s been utilized to develop a new system of vehicular braille. It was that or borrowing a rather swishy, spotless, leather-seated affair.

The beauty of this old beast was that it was less likely to be stolen than a two-week old baguette, could be driven through a farm without concern for muck or scratches, and enabled us to fill it with firewood, tents, groceries, samphire and muddy shoes without concern for the interior. All-in-all this car, which would probably retail at 1/30^th of the price of the other option, enabled us to have greater pleasure, with less stress. My friend, the proud owner, has driven it for the last 5 years without ever having to get it repaired other than taking it in for its MOT.

I’m all for safety, especially if you’re driving your loved-ones about the place. It would also be sad to let a perfectly good piece of machinery go to waste through neglect – but superficial damage to your interior or exterior doesn’t need to be worried about by anyone but the superficial. Let’s start using things properly and fully rather than worrying about what others might think. As the wise Leo Babatua states, let’s Live a Better Life with Less.

Here’s the car and owner, the great CEO Toby Sawday of my second favourite company after Bright Green Talent, Sawdays, caught mid bikini change shortly before diving into the Alde and starting one of the greater mud battles of recent history. It was a fantastic weekend that required only 10 friends, a few tents, a bonfire and some burned sausages. If only all weekends could be that simply magical.

The computer I’m tapping away on has seen better days. As a result of a couple of butter-fingered moments, it’s sporting some curves that the designer never intended. As a result of a couple of more literal butter-fingered moment, pointing to no-doubt fascinating points, the screen is more colourful than it should be. Plus it’s a little slower than it used to be. I sometimes have to wait an extra 10 seconds (computer seconds are the opposite of dog years – this constitutes about two human decades) or so for a programme to spring to life.

And so my consumer-conditioned mind has suggested, as the advertisers have trained it, to think about buying another. The latest model is much shinier, has a bigger hard drive for more music (my current collection would only take 15 computer years to listen to) and is awash with new and ‘better’ features.

Then I remember that the book I am reading, the great Atlas Shrugged, was probably written on a typewriter. Then I remember that the works of Shakespeare, Tolstoy, Austen, Eliot et al, were written by hand. Then I remember that the dynasties of the Carnegies, Rockefellers, Astors et al, were built without a computer in sight.

It is with that knowledge that I, perhaps we, are forced to remember that our minds, our knowledge, our thoughts, our time and our focused effort are the most valuable things we posses. Whether shiny or dented, a computer is merely a tool for its user. I have no doubt that Steve Jobs or Bill Gates could extract far more value from my computer than I could from the largest super-computer. I have no doubt that Bill Bryson or Eddie Izzard could make many more people laugh using a pencil than I could with an extensive library of comedy-filled servers.

A new computer would cost me a couple of thousand dollars, all in. Plus a few hours of time to buy it, another couple to set it up and another couple to find out which wonderful new features are worth using. That’s a lot of 10-second waits, or butter-cleaning wipes to make up. That’s a lot of time spent earning money to buy the thing, instead of learning some new jokes.