It was light enough to carry, and contained everything I needed. If it became too heavy, I carefully assessed my requirements, and shed some load in the direction of someone who needed it more. Then I came home, got a ‘proper job’, a car, a house, and started the process of accumulating more things than anyone can justifiably claim to need. It seemed to me to be the ‘grown-up’ thing to do. Now as I raise my children, lavishing upon them more than they need, I realise the folly of my ambition.

Very few of us can truly attest to being green. While I would like – and certainly believe I ought – to be green, I am not, if the way I live my life is anything to go by. This lifestyle might prove to be ‘sustainable’ for me in my lifetime, but it is clearly based on a faulty set of premises. Adult responsibility is not just about paying taxes and serving on community committees.