We've got a problem

And it's a rather big one. We're running out of planet. Don't believe me? Since 1988, our global consumption has expanded to the point where it would take more than four Earth-like planets to sustain our one planet. Western consumers contribute a lot. But the fact is that less developed countries are expanding and emulating our model, too. To make matters worse, areas with the most unique plants and animals are often found in these areas where populations are exploding.

It is estimated that by 2050, our population is going to reach over 9 billion people. We're losing species at rate which is a thousand times higher than that of the event which killed the dinosaurs. Some scientists call this the next great extinction event. If rates continue, we're going to lose half of the current species in the next twenty years.

Think of your ten favorite zoo animals. Now imagine them gone forever. That's a problem.

The problem is only going to get worse if we don't do something.

I can't do much. I'm just a college student, not a policy maker. Here's the thing: we (as in everyone) needs to change how we live, how we eat, how we consume. We can campaign to save the whales, introduce legislation, but does it matter if there's still a trash flotilla the size of Texas in the Pacific Ocean? If 60% of our ecosystems are eroded?

We can't keep going as if we have an extra three planets lying around for a rainy day when we run out of everything. And it's got to be long-term, lasting change, not because it's fashionable, but because it's right.

Here's the plan. We're a green generation, but we can do even better. This blog is here to help. Let's use the financial crunch as a way to help further this. Going green, truly green, isn't expensive. Big changes are, but the little changes can add up, too. It takes a bit of work, a bit of inventiveness, and a true desire to change.

So, contained herein will be the gamut. How to eat greener, drive greener, consume greener. Not just down-cycling, or recycling which just prolongs the death of a certain piece of trash, but also up-cycling, where the trash isn't waste anymore.

Think globally. Act locally. Do what you can. And let's do it together.