Let's Save the World! Um, where do we start?

If you are concerned with solving "the energy crisis", "global warming", "the destruction of the environment", "overpopulation", etc., etc., etc. this is the right place to start.

In order to solve any problem, it is first necessary to correctly define the nature of the problem.

So, therefore... If you really want to do something useful to help the current situation it is first necessary for you to actually understand what the problems really are, and this is my best attempt to help you.

You don't have to buy a single thing to save the planet. In fact, that's the biggest problem of all. If someone tells you you need to replace your current stuff with a new "energy efficient" car, refrigerator, (whatever) they are just making things worse.

Why? Embodied Energy. Concrete, steel, glass, plastic, or other highly-engineered materials -  are all very energy and pollution-intensive to manufacture. Here in the over-developed world of the U.S., engineered materials are so inexpensive and easy to obtain that it is easy for most folks to be completely unaware about embodied energy - the invisible debt of pollution, energy use, and mineral consumption inherent in the creation of such things. I'll give you a clue: 

The materials in a single tennis ball have travelled 50,000 miles in oil-powered ships and trucks before making a single bounce: 

https://www.wbs.ac.uk/news/the-50-000-mile-journey-of-wimbledon-s-tennis-balls/

If such a humble, everyday object has such an incredibly global, energy-dependent pedigree - what about far more complex items like household appliances, automobiles, and airplanes? The debt only increases. But size is no indication of embodied energy. The materials in a tiny cell phone, or a handheld computer contain more than 70% of all the known elements in the periodic table, have been sourced from more than 15 countries on five continents.

But the vast majority of people living in an over-developed manmade environment think their entire world is normal. They have no clue where anything comes from, because they never had to think about where their daily stuff of life comes from, much less make these items from scratch.

Therefore, it is very easy for anyone to be seduced by fake solutions to real problems. And that is why so may people believe in the false promise of so-called "green" or "renewable" energy.