Shoes aren’t a big deal though, because we can just go back to making shoes from leather. A good pair of 100% leather shoes made in England or the US are about $350-$500 AUD, not really that expensive when you consider they can be repaired, rather than just thrown out when they wear out. Australian made all leather shoes start from about $500. A return to mass production of leather shoes would see them come down in price. However, this still runs headlong into the problem of transport. Even if they’re made locally you have to get them from the manufacturing plant to the shops, and then from the shops to people’s homes.

There’s quite a few things people can do to help combat this, without the need for government intervention:

1. Buy locally produced food and goods rather than overseas produced.
2. Buy products that have less or no plastic packaging.
3. Buy in bulk (Less packaging per KG)
4. Re-use the packaging you do buy.
5. Recycle the packaging you can’t re-use.
6. Eat less red meat, cheese and milk. Cows produce a lot of Methane, which is worse than CO2 for global warming (as Simon stated).
7. Keep your heater off and wear a jumper, or at least set the thermostat at 18-20 degrees.
8. Keep the air-conditioning off except during the hottest days in summer. Keep the thermostat at 28-30 degrees. Get enough water and you should be fine.
9. Buy cloths made from natural fibres (100% wool, 100% cotton) that are made well and will last, rather than cheap synthetic cloths.
10. Get a pushbike, and ride it. Demand bike paths from your local counsel and government.
11. Buy green energy, a few Australian power providers give you the option, and it’s not that expensive (if enough people do it, it’ll become cheaper than regular coal power).
12. If you own your house and/or investment properties, get solar panels put on your roof.
13. Move walking distance to shops, and don’t take the car, then buy a fold up trolley and walk. If you do have to drive, stock up so you don’t have to drive too often.
14. If you can, move closer to work.
15. Build double story houses, and subdivide your lot. More people closer together means shorter travel to essential services.
16. Once electric cars start being sold, buy them to support the development of electric drive systems. It’s not particularly important for cars (especially if you follow the advice above) but the technology can then be applied to trucks and boats.
17. The most important thing you can do is not buy products from companies that aren’t doing their best to reduce their environmental impact. That and vote for environmentally conscientious politicians.

In the long run the above steps will actually save you a lot of money, make you fitter and healthier as well as reduce CO2 emissions and slow the use of oil and other natural resources.