BIBLE: Nahum 3:16

You have increased the number of your merchants till they are more than the stars of the sky, but like locusts they strip the land and then fly away. Nahum 3:16

Nahum must have seemed pretty negative to the crew in Nineveh since all 3 chapters of his little book are against them. But this verse especially stands out to me since my graduate studies were in business. Do I support modern Nineveh?

The only way for the merchants to decrease is for the customers to reject their goods, to choose to pack light. Power is in the hand of the consumer, not the producer, but marketing departments work overtime to make sure this thought is never accepted.

Some people vote for a president once every 4 years, but we vote with our dollars every day. The more we buy, the more the system produces. When we buy less, inventories pile up and producers cut back on production. (but if we go for this, we have to understand the tiger we ride. as business production decreeses, people are laid off and are forced to pack light.)

And when we are in need, the more we buy goods from companies that follow sustainable policies, the more we protect our world. If you're interested in more detailed info, here are a few books (yes, more products) and websites that can help us pack smart when we do have to pack something:

Ethical Shopping : Where to Shop, What to Buy and What to Do to Make a Difference

The Consumer's Guide to Effective Environmental Choices

Shopping for a Better Environment

Natural Capitalism: Creating the Next Industrial Revolution

Sustainable Capitalism: A Matter of Common Sense

Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things

Diet for a New America: How Your Food Choices Affect Your Health, Happiness and the Future of Life on Earth

Organic Living in 10 Simple Lessons

The Newman's Own Organics Guide to a Good Life : Simple Measures That Benefit You and the Place You Live

Let My People Go Surfing : The Education of a Reluctant Businessman

www.ethiscore.org
www.getethical.com
www.ethicalconsumer.org
www.ethicalconsumer.org/aboutec/tentips.htm
www.greenchoices.org
www.naturalcollection.com
www.greenbabyco.com
www.viridian-nutrition.com
www.corporatecritic.org
www.organic.org

So anyway, it sounds like Nahum was in favor of packing light. And we know who Nahum was getting his ideas from.