Only YOU can stop destruction.

You. Not the government or the automobile companies or the mining companies or the energy companies, but YOU.

This is as much a moral issue as it is a public policy or economic issue.

Each of us has to take personal responsibility as the greatest consumers of resources history has ever known in order to reduce the likelihood of environmental catastrophe. Faith in leadership or technological advances isn't going to cut it. It never does. Neither political leaders nor corporate leaders are driven by morality (though some of the former seem to believe they are), but you are. Whine all you want about Bush pleasuring various industries with lax environmental protection, but you are still driving your SUV and drinking Starbucks out of a disposable cup.


STOP!

Stop driving. Or drive a lot less. Move closer to work. That's a hassle? You like your suburban lifestyle that sucks life from this planet? Tough. YOU will need to start making sacrifices. YOU will need to have fewer children or have none at all (though I believe the act of raising a child, especially if done well, is one of supreme sacrifice, the decision to have one is completely selfish). YOU will need to stop building homes. YOU need to force your government to stop the subsidization of the auto and home building industries by stopping them from building new roads and highways. YOU will need to face the reality that unrestricted economic growth is not only unsustainable, it is destroying everything.
"But I don't want to suffer," YOU say. "This isn't my fault." Yes it is. All of us are as culpable in the destruction of this world as we are in the proliferation of nuclear weapons. If enough of us did something about it, it would stop.

So what do we do next? There's lots to do, but mostly it is a change in attitude. You need to start acting as if your behavior matters. Every economic decision no matter how small (taking a plastic bag from your convenience store) or how large (buying a new house) matters.

EVERYTHING you buy or steal has an environmental, social and economic consequence.

Start here:
http://www.treehugger.com/gogreen.php
and here:
http://environment.columbia.edu/docs-wycd/reuse-recycle/reduce.html
and here:
http://www.nrdc.org/air/energy/genergy.asp

There's lots of places to go. You're clever. You're dedicated. You need to start telling everyone else, too. Your parents, your siblings, your children, your friends, the checkout lady at the grocery store, the creepy guy you work with. The government can't legislate morality. It tries, but it can't. Only we can change the world view. Only we can change culture. This is going to be a LONG period of change, generations likely, but we HAVE to start NOW!