Construction is the second largest carbon emitter in the U.S. At 16.6% of the total U.S. carbon footprint that is warming our planet, 80% of construction is due to population growth. At 1,211 mmt/year, the U.S. construction industry emits more CO2e than the total emissions of 98% of the world’s countries. Population growth is 80% of the reason for construction in the U.S.

Here are 8 ways to reduce your carbon footprint. At 20.7% of the average U.S. carbon footprint, food is the highest priority of emissions reductions. It's easy to reduce the carbon footprint of your food with simple changes in diet that will help our planet and wildlife recover quickly. Avoid beef and dairy, and eat organic, unprocessed vegetables.

It’s easy to reduce your carbon footprint. You can help our planet and wildlife quickly with simple changes at home. Julie Smith, 5/23/26 This is a summary of Chapter 16, Reducing Our Carbon Footprint Per Capita, in the book, “2050: What’s it Gonna Be?”. You can download the full chapter, as well as other chapters. References are here. In 2019, global human activities resulted in 42 billion metric tonnes of CO2e emissions worldwide. With a human population

Oh, it’s real. The evidence is horrifying. We are in a global emergency that most of us are unaware of. We need to take action now to save humanity and wildlife. Julie Smith, 5/18/26 This is a summary of Chapter 15, The Skies Above, in the book, “2050: What’s it Gonna Be?”. You can download the full chapter, as well as other chapters. References are here. After decades of increasingly obvious man-made changes for the worse in our atmosphere from our uncont

The environmental impact of wastewater is significant, and we humans are responsible for poisoning wildlife with our wastewater. Julie Smith, 5/14/26 This is a summary of Chapter 14, Dirty Water, in the book, “2050: What’s it Gonna Be?”. You can download the full chapter, as well as other chapters. References are here. Like water, it’s unrealistic to have a complete discussion of balanced sustainability on planet Earth without including wastewater. Just like

The U.S. consumes three times as much water as the global average, as droughts increase and water tables drop. Drinking water consumes large amounts of energy to produce. Since water is absolutely necessary for life, we'd be wise to respect the limits of this extremely important resource. Julie Smith, 5/14/26 This is a summary of Chapter 13, Water is Life, in the book, “2050: What’s it Gonna Be?”. You can download the full chapter, as well as other chapters.

Wildlife has just 9.5% of U.S. land. No wonder we've lost 70% of wildlife in the past 50 years. Let's give it back. Julie Smith, 5/13/26 This is a summary of Chapter 12, The Land, in the book, “2050: What’s it Gonna Be?”. You can download the full chapter, as well as other chapters. References are here. Of the 2.4 billion acres of total land in the United States, we humans have commandeered 90% of it, leaving a measly 9.5% of land for wildlife. Clearly, th

We can save what’s left of the wildlife on Earth with our personal consumer choices. Julie Smith, 5/7/26 This is a summary of Chapter 11, Can We Save What's Left?, in the book, “2050: What’s it Gonna Be?”. You can download the full chapter, as well as other chapters. References are here. If the past 50 years of actual experience and complete lack of results has taught us anything, it’s that we obviously need to completely change our ways, forever, to save our

Freshwater species are more threatened than terrestrial or marine wildlife, and each of us can stop it with our choices and behavior. Julie Smith, 5/6/26 This is a summary of Chapter 10, Freshwater Wildlife, in the book, “2050: What’s it Gonna Be?”. You can download the full chapter, as well as other chapters. References are here. 90% of fresh water ecosystems are being stressed by pollution, dam building and invasive species. The freshwater wildlife lives i

Three ways that we’re losing marine life and what you can do about it Julie Smith, 5/5/26 This is a summary of Chapter 9, Under The Sea, in the book, “2050: What’s it Gonna Be?”. You can download the full chapter, as well as other chapters. References are here. The decimation of oceans on planet earth is even scarier than the land, if you ask me. Why would I say that? Well, it might have something to do with the fact that oceans cover more than 70% of the p

Why Causing Wildlife Extinction is Dangerous for Humans and the Planet Julie Smith, 5/5/26 This is a summary of Chapter 8, The Intricate Web of Life, in the book, “2050: What’s it Gonna Be?”. You can download the full chapter, as well as other chapters. References are here. We should be proud of our earth and its diversity. We are very lucky to be here, to live here, to have the perfect ecosystem to match our needs. An ecosystem in which we humans have evol

Humans are Causing Loss of Nature and Ecosystems on Earth Julie Smith, 5/4/26 This is a summary of Chapter 7, Death to Others, in the book, “2050: What’s it Gonna Be?”. You can download the full chapter, as well as other chapters. References are here. We humans are decimating wildlife on our planet. And, it matters. It matters big time. It matters because we humans have evolved alongside said wildlife for millions of years, and if we trash the wildlife thr

Controlling population growth is easy, and must be done as soon as possible to save our planet. All we have to do is provide contraceptives to women who don't want to have a baby. Educating women reduces unwanted pregnancies. Population reduction makes economic sense. It's almost 20 times more expensive to deal with an unwanted baby compared to contraceptives to prevent the birth. Population reduction will improve economic prosperity and help our planet.

Basically, we have too many people using too many resources. And, we’re not only trashing the planet for future generations, we’re driving other species to extinction in the process. Since the mid-80’s we’ve been consuming these resources faster than the earth can supply them naturally. We are currently running out of energy, food, water and land. One million species face extinction, more than ever before in human history, and humanity is responsible. We must get our pop

Julie Smith, 4/1/26 This is a summary of Chapter 4, The Elephant in the Room, in the book, “2050: What’s it Gonna Be?”. You can download the full chapter, as well as other chapters. References are here. Uncontrolled human population growth is at the bottom of every environmental issue that we have. Since 1970, the year of the first earth day 50 years ago, human population has more than doubled. Every time we add another human to the planet, our carbon emissions increase b

This book is different from other sustainability books because it breaks down the silos of the various issues, and links our everyday choices to our planet and our wildlife, and specifies exactly what each and every one of us needs to do, if we want to salvage what’s left of our wildlife diversity.

Human population is our worst environmental problem.

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