Germany wants to become the most energy efficient country in the world within 13 years. Mayor Bloomberg of New York City released a 127-part plan to make NYC deeply green as well as providing hundreds of thousands of new affordable homes.
The US needs policies like these at the federal level. Thinking big. Looking way ahead. Putting the well-being of everyone ahead of short-term interests.
Changes like this will have to occur at the governmental level because they are the only entities who can mandate them to happen.
Amen. We are doing what we can to reduce our consumption, but without government-level and structural changes, there are severe limits on what we can accomplish (and still make a living).