Bonum Certa Men Certa

Environmentalism and Free Software Can be Viewed as Closely Connected and Help One Another



"Someday we'll all be free"

Waiting tables



Summary: Modest lifestyles are an overlapping pattern in the Free software community and green activists; there's room for alliances and collaboration, bettering society by reducing consumption and discouraging voyeurism

"Environmentalism" is a broad label or a generic term that typically alludes to well-being of nature, including but not limited to flora and fauna (air and water too may count). There are many branches to it and words like "sustainability" or "green" get thrown around quite a lot. The recurrent theme is non-intervention (or reduction in intervention with respect to one's natural surroundings).



"I met rms several times in the past and we always get along very well; the people whom he doesn't like and cannot get along with, in my experience, are probably not very pleasant people. He doesn't have much patience for them."Free software may sound like it's about price, but it is not "freeware" (or "shareware", which isn't really about proper sharing; see the licensing). Free software in the traditional and old sense is code one can freely share (not only binaries) and modify; this is reducing waste and replication of effort, but that's not the main goal as the principal objective is to obstruct subjugation of software users. Richard Stallman (rms) put it very well in his manifesto, which he wrote when I was a little baby. Stallman still lives a very modest life; when he travels to give speeches he flies "coach" (if flights are the only option), he doesn't own a car, and as far as we're aware he's still renting a place to live in. I met rms several times in the past and we always get along very well; the people whom he doesn't like and cannot get along with, in my experience, are probably not very pleasant people. He doesn't have much patience for them. If they can't stand him either, fine. They can go back to their Netflix (DRM) on some iPhone with a golden case. Vanity items don't always speak as favourably as those who have them would like to think. Frugality is nothing to be ashamed of.

The carbon footprint of rms is very small (excepting/annulling the flights, which I suppose are the sole option for physical presence that greatly assists his advocacy and raises funds). His dietary preferences/options aren't too demanding and he rarely eats out (no need to). When we met in someone's dormitory/flat in Oxford (a young couple who had helped facilitate his talk there) he insisted on very simple snacks, nothing too fancy. He came there by rail (train from London) and met me at the station. He's still living and acting like a student, except the partying and fashionable consumerism. He's backpacking in an urban setting/context. Nothing wrong with that; it's a form of exercise, too.

To a lot of geeks in the software freedom 'circles' the concept of Free software extends somewhat to a lifestyle. It's a life of moderate means, no unbridled greed (we don't judge one another based on wealth), limited spendings, and deep consideration for other people's endeavours/feelings (no need to bother people or reduce them to 'slave' status, e.g. people whose job is waiting tables -- a dignified, difficult and respectable job by the way, often more stressful that that of a "big shot" suit in some office).

"To a lot of geeks in the software freedom 'circles' the concept of Free software extends somewhat to a lifestyle."Many Free software users and developers are vegetarians and as figosdev noted several times in the past (in his long essays), FSFE had compared Free software to veganism or took advantage of veganism to promote software freedom at events (and vice versa). It sort of makes sense because the driver or motivator behind Free software is typically if not always ethics; and people who are attentive to other people's needs and feelings extend such sentiments of compassion to animals as well.

The "greens" or the "green movement" would be wise to openly (freely?) embrace or to liaise with the Free software community; we're natural allies in a lot of ways. People tend to base their lives and their expectations based on their peers' (or colleagues'). If more people thought like rms and lived like rms (he has no children by the way, by his own choosing), the planet would be better off and sentimental values cherished, solidarity improved, racism reduced, and nationalism blur away (Free software is almost always developed internationally once it becomes widespread; there tend to be no centralised 'headquarters'). ⬆

Recent Techrights' Posts

EPO Union Bemoans Lack of Social Dialogue as Dictator Wishes to Govern Forever (No Elections, No Rivals), Hide the Many Issues
"Exchange of open letters"
IBM Cannot Hide the Layoffs Forever
we welcome whistleblower to tell us more and send us documents related to that
What is a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA)? When Law Firms Become the Litigants.
And the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) needs to be more serious about tackling this
Brigading Against Women - Part XX - Attempts by Lozza to Deplatform Techrights and Tux Machines Only Days After I Sued Garrett and My Wife Also Sued Garrett (Shortly Before the Serial Strangler From Microsoft Joined)
in 2024
Links 06/10/2026: A Year Since "NSA Whistleblower Reality Winner Released From Prison", World Tries to Deal With El Niño
Links for the day
 
20th Anniversary Next Month
We are currently trying to agree on a plan for next month's celebrations
Taking Photos With Richard Stallman (RMS)
What's the point?
GAFAM Attack on FreeDesktop
Now they push lots of LLM slop into Linux
GNU/Linux Has Risen in France Since the Order to Adopt GNU/Linux (in Public Services)
We can expect the same in countries like Denmark, Switzerland, Germany, and The Netherlands
On Microsoft Hiring Freeze or No Permanent Jobs at Microsoft Anymore (Amid Many Silent Layoffs)
Microsoft has changed what it can offer workers
EPO's Central Staff Committee Asking The Council to Get Rid of Corrupt Campinos
We'll be covering EPO scandals around the time of that meeting
Gemini Links 06/10/2026: EU Kids Act, Practicality of Gemini, and Games
Links for the day
Links 06/10/2026: Data Breaches Epidemic and Turkey Blocking Journalists
Links for the day
The Whole Point of Computing is That Computers Are Deterministic (Speed With Predictable Accuracy)
Unlike stochastic parrots that stochastically utter out lies
It's Not a Linux Back Door If It's an Unpatched Device
"Linux Backdoor" is a glaring misfit, a possibly 'obscene' term
"SIRIUS CORPORATION LIMITED" as Evidence of the Financial Shell Games in the UK
Rianne and I still have some fond memories of the time the ex-wife of the CEO treated us like human beings
Lots of Silent Layoffs at IBM Last Week, Employees Explain Patterns of Those Impacted
It wasn't just gossip, it actually happened even if the media chose to look the other way (as usual)
Gemini Links 06/10/2026: Fighting for Purpose, Gemlogs, and Gemtext
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Monday, October 05, 2026
IRC logs for Monday, October 05, 2026
Red Hat is Phased Out of Existence This Month Onwards
Within a few years we'll probably not see many redhat.com addresses anymore; many became ibm.* last week
Finland's GNU/Linux Share Measured at 12%
Last month GNU/Linux was measured at about 10% in Finland
UK Layoffs and Closures by Microsoft. In Expected Blow, Microsoft Likely Shuts Down Another Studio.
Microsoft's layoffs are never-ending, they just try to keep them all secret.
NVIDIA Buys the Media With Companies It Sponsors to Pretend to be Customers (Circular Funding Scheme)
The media crisis worsens
Discussion About Potential Sale of EPO Buildings and Enshittification of Europe's Largest Patent Office
It's noteworthy that only one hour (or 70 minutes) was devoted to so many topics
Brigading Against Women - Part IXX - Overreaction From Young Female Professional After Invalid Threats Made and Sent From an Incel in Another Continent
Cowards who send threats after committing crimes online
Stonewalling by Bots
We'll now turn our attention back to EPO and other matters
Gemini Links 05/10/2026: "Posthumanism", Cardputer, and More
Links for the day
Links 05/10/2026: “I’m Embarrassed on Behalf of the Tech Industry” and Slop Scammers "Lobbying the Vatican"
Links for the day
SIRIUS OPEN SOURCE LTD Officially Insolvent, Is Reform UK Next?
Sirius no more
Links 05/10/2026: "Congress Must Investigate War Profiteers Once Again" and Update on Thomson Reuters v. Ross Intelligence
Links for the day
libera.chat is an Agenda-Peddling Platform Run by Agenda-Peddling Individuals
The volunteers of libera.chat ("staff") aren't working for free, they work towards an agenda
Nobel Season is Plutocracy Week
Later this week the billionaires will give a fake "Nobel" (in "Economics") to someone who parrots their preferred narrative and those same billionaires will use "Nobel" to bless the promoter of their latest pyramid scheme/buzzword
GNU/Linux Market Share in North America 13% This Past Weekend
It is perhaps not shocking that adoption of GNU/Linux is very high there
When Did Europe Begin to Side With White-Collar Criminals (or Participate in Suppressing People Who Oppose Them)?
How much corruption can we tolerate before the European Union becomes another Russian Federation?
Libera Chat's "Level of Control Might Make Sense for a Corporate Platform"
IRC is not centralised
Brigading Against Women - Part XVIII - Turning Censorship Attempts (Articles About Matthew Garrett) Into Mild Redactions
What Lozza did two years ago
Greenland Needs Digital Sovereignty
the large icy island isn't moving to GNU/Linux as quickly as the rest of Europe
Tracker of Internet Relay Chat Networks Out of Service (But Not Down) Since Thursday
We should note that the number of unique networks they track has grown since we last checked
Gemini Links 05/10/2026: NixOS, Guix, Codeberg Banning Slop, and "Gopher Apps on Android"
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Sunday, October 04, 2026
IRC logs for Sunday, October 04, 2026
Secret Microsoft Layoffs and Maybe Another "Voluntary Exit Program at Microsoft in October"
there's a morale crisis at Microsoft
MIT Technology Review (MTR) Reinforces MIT's Role in Promoting Slop (Pyramid Scheme) in Exchange for Money
MIT is a poster boy (or child) of institutional corruption, perverts, and corporate takeover
Many Topics to Cover
Drops in a big ocean
Proving Wrong Those Slop Maximalists and Boosters, GAFAM Says Slop is a Nuisance and Bans/Hides the Slop Submissions
People who say slop in projects is inevitable or even desirable are usually cheaters with self-guilt
Links 04/10/2026: “AI Torture Chamber” and "Aggressive Push to Integrate Hey Hi (AI) Slop Into Schools Is Turning Into a Disaster"
Links for the day
How Microsoft Hides Massive Layoffs From the Media (as Explained by Microsofters)
"rewards" are not exactly rewarding
Brigading Against Women - Part XVII - The Appeal
more to be known towards the end of the year
Gemini Links 04/10/2026: Peace in Outage, Pen Pals, and deGoogling
Links for the day
Links 04/10/2026: Fires Rage in Borneo and Mass Layoffs at Disney
Links for the day
Garrett's Litigation Partner is Unemployed Again
losing one's job
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Saturday, October 03, 2026
IRC logs for Saturday, October 03, 2026