The Next President Won't Save Our Environment: Only You Will

Is your faucet dripping? What temperature is your thermostat set at? Did you drive three blocks to the grocery store? What did you eat for lunch today? Did you leave a light on unnecessarily? As Americans, we are over consuming. We make up less than 5% of the world's population yet we are using more than 25% of the total resources that are consumed annually.

Our current consumption habits are not sustainable according to a report that was released by the United Nations in 2007. For every product a citizen of our largest trading partner buys, China, we purchase 53. Or from another perspective, one American's consumption of resources is equal to that of 35 Indians.

"Worldwide, from the 1950s to the 1990s, our consumption of timber, steel, copper, meat and energy on a per capita basis doubled. Our use of plastic quintupled." In turn, "the world lost more than 30 percent of the resources it needed to sustain life and 10 percent of its forests between 1970 and 1995, Sierra Club says."

So what are we to do? According to many environmental groups, the greatest change one can have with regards to reducing their environmental footprint is by modifying their diet. For more information on the impact one's diet has on the planet, the internet is an excellent resource. EMagazine wrote an excellent article on the subject. Authors Eric Schlosser and John Robbins have also written two entertaining and educational books on the subject, Fast Food Nation and Diet for a New America, respectively.

While governmental leadership on the environmental front is a luxury to have - it is you - the consumer who has the power to make the change that is necessary to protect and preserve our planet. Educate yourself on the issues, make the sacrifices that are necessary and be a part of the solution.