Socially Responsible Investment: Can it beat traditional mutual funds?

Wouldn't it be great to make money and do good for the world? What if you could make more money by investing in socially responsible causes? I think without a doubt every person in the world would love the ability to make more money and feel good about it.

I recently read The SRI Advantage: Why Socially Responsible Investing Has Outperformed Financially by Peter Camejo which investigates evidence which claims to show the benefits from socially responsible investing.

The SRI Advantage - Mini Book Review
The hypothesis that Peter Camejo presents is that socially responsible mutual funds perform better than other mutual funds that have similar risk profiles and size (small/mid/large capitalization). The book challenges the notion that Socially Responsible Investment may "feel good" but only by sacrificing performance.

The fundamental idea is that if a person were to invest in socially responsible stocks then the performance is better. The screening is what any other active fund manager would be doing, but looking at social and environmental aspects to determine a "bad stock". The idea is by only investing in socially responsible companies, it will minimize risk. The case study that they often cite is the tobacco industry. In this case, the lawsuits related to health issues hurt their stock. Thus, if a fund were to screen out companies like this, it would have a better profile that is less susceptible to future losses.

Each fund has its own criteria for determining whether or not a company should be screened out. Some of these screens include the following:

• Tobacco use
• Alcohol
• Military defense
• Gambling
• Animal testing
• Environment
• Human rights
• Labor relationships
• Community Investment
  

The book cites many studies that have been performed, and many show a correlation between socially screened funds outperforming other comparable mutual funds. There is not a strong consensus that the performance is greater because many index funds for socially responsible funds and indices have only been created within the last 20 years. Their performance has not been completely proven to outperform non-screened funds.

One aspect that the book did not address are the fees associated with the mutual funds. This topic is discussed in the next section and will explain their importance.

Why are expense ratios and mutual fund fees so important?
The old adage goes something like "nothing comes for free". The same is true is for mutual funds and there are costs associated. However, some funds come at a lower price than others. Before I start talking about specific mutual funds, I need to define a few key terms.

• Expense Ratio: Cost to pay the fund manager and other operation expenses related to running the fund. This percentage is the amount of money you pay from your total principal EACH YEAR to support the fund. Typical expense ratios are over 1% and can reach even 2%. This means that each year you have to pay up to 2% of your portfolio each year to support the manager.
• Sales Fee: The fee you have to pay the fund to purchase the mutual fund (% of initial investent). Typically between 0-5%. If the sales fee was 5% and you invested $10,000, only $500 would go to pay the fee and only $9500 of your money would be invested in the fund.
  
• Redemption Fee: The fee you have to pay the fund to sell your fee (% of the redemption/sale price). Typically 0-2%. If the sales fee was 2% and you cashed out your fund for $10,000, you would have to pay $200 and would net $9800.
  

As you can see, these fees are not trivial by any means. If you are buying and selling "loaded" funds frequently (those which have sales or redemption fees), the fees can add up very quickly. Picking a mutual fund based on the fees can be as important, if not more important than having a socially-screened fund or past performance.

Social Index Funds:
To find out information about socially screened I looked at the Social Investment Forum for general information about the funds and Morningstar and the prospectuses for the various funds for information regarding the fees and expense ratios.

There were many different funds with varying expense ratios and fees. One fund that stood out was the Calvert Alternative Energy fund which had a sales fee of 4.75% and an expense ratio of 1.85! I chose a few SRI funds to represent some of the more economic choices, but as you will see that even these funds still cannot compare to the low costs of owning a Vanguard fund or similar no load, low expense ratio fund. Although the fees for the SRI funds are similar to typical actively managed mutual funds on the market, they cannot compete with very low expense ratios of Vanguard funds.

Analysis
Using the SEC Mutual Fund Cost Calculator, I compared some socially screened index funds and compared them to two Vanguard funds which have are "no load" and have much lower expense ratios compared to the SRI funds. Here are the assumptions I made for the calculations.

• $10,000 initial investment
• 8% annual rate of return (constant for all funds)
• Investment is sold after 10 years
  
• Fees as displayed in the table below
• The redemption fees that are listed for funds are not applicable because the funds are held for over 30 days.
• These stocks are not necessarily in the same class of funds but were chosen to illustrate the effect of fees and operating costs of a fund.
  

	Calvert Social Index A	Calvert Social Index C	Domini Social Equity Fund	Vanguard Total Stock Market Index	Vanguard U.S. Growth Fund Investor
Sales Fee	4.75%	0.00%	0.00%	0.00%	0.00%
Expense Ratio	0.75%	1.75%	1.15%	0.15%	0.50%

Assuming a 8% constant rate of return on investment and an initial investment of $10,000, here are the results for investing some different funds. The "Final Value" represents how much the investment of $10,000 is worth in 10 years after paying the operating costs and fees. The "Effective Rate of Return" is the average annual rate of return over 10 years after the fees have been factored in.

	Calvert Social Index A	Calvert Social Index C	Domini Social Equity Fund	Vanguard Total Stock Market Index	Vanguard U.S. Growth Fund Investor
Final Value	$18,873	$17,723	$18,846	$21,268	$20,534
Effect Rate of Return	6.56%	6.10%	6.76%	7.84%	7.46%

Clearly, investing in a no load, low expense ratio fund has clear advantages when compared to one a "better-performing" socially responsible investment. I calculated what type of interest rates the Calvert Social Index A would need to be if it were held for 10 years to compete with the Vanguard Total Stock Market Index. The Calvert Social Index A Fund would need to have a rate of return of 9.2% (before fees and taxes) to compete with a fund that got 8% in the Vanguard Total Stock Market Index.

My Thoughts
Although I think it is a great idea to support "socially responsible" companies, however you may define "socially responsible", I think that the data is not conclusive yet to see if socially responsible investing is worth it in pure economic terms. They have cited some studies which have shown that SRI funds have outperformed non-socially screened funds. However, many of these studies are based on index funds that are very young.

Upon examination of the website "Social Investment Forums", it is clear that the majority of these funds DO NOT outperform their respective comparison indexes just like the majority (90%) of actively manged mutual funds. Until there is stronger evidence that socially responsible investing is more effective than traditional investment, I personally would not invest in them from an economic perspective.

Even if one assumes that they can perform as well or even better than a non-screened fund, there are still the fees, including the annual operating cost (expense ratio), the sales fee, and the redemption fees which all must be calculated into it. Unfortunately, because these funds are screened, it means that they are actively managed which invariably leads to higher fees, in particular the expensive ratio.

In short, why would you want to give your hard earned money to fund managers who cannot outperform the index or even other funds in a similar class. The advice I'm going to give isn't anything revolutionary, but I will say it again because many investors think they can beat the market by giving their money to a fund manager.

Invest your money in a no load, low expense ratio fund like those offered by Vanguard. Only invest in an socially responsible fund IF AND ONLY IF you can find one a no load, low expense ratio fund. Otherwise your too much of your money will be going to the fund manager. Even then, be sure to diversify your investment so that you don't have all of your eggs in one basket.

Disclaimer: This blog should not be considered professional financial advice. Please consult your CPA for more information about investing decisions.

Related Blogs:

• Microlending: Socially Responsible Investing

Related Links:

• Vanguard
  
• SEC Mutual Fund Cost Calculator
• Morningstar
• Social Investment Forum

Recommended Books:

• The SRI Advantage: Why Socially Responsible Investing Has Outperformed Financially - Peter Camejo
  
• The Bogleheads' Guide to Investing Taylor Larimore
• A Random Walk Down Wall Street: The Time-Tested Strategy for Successful Investing, Ninth Edition - Burton Malkiel
• Your Money or Your Life: Transforming Your Relationship with Money and Achieving Financial Independence - Joe Dominguez, Vicki Robin

Would a gay Asian-American dare vote Republican?

Background
I have been named a "bleeding heart liberal", "greener", "granola","crunchy" and countless other terms that are associated with hard core liberals. I believe in the social issues and have never really looked outside of the Democratic Party for a viable candidate. I've always considered the Republicans to be the "big fat cats" allowing the rich to get richer (and in many cases that is definitely true).

After the 2004 election, I vowed to do whatever I could to prevent another Republican candidate from getting into office. Whether it was Hillary or Obama, I frankly didn't care. The main issue was to get the "war mongering", "tax cutting" Republicans out of the White House and out of the legislature.

The Democrats
Although the different stances of Obama and Hillary played a role, the most important factor was if they were "electable" or not. My main concern was whether the American public (at least in certain regions of the U.S.) were more willing to vote for a black man or a white woman so that we could get a Republican out of office.

Unfortunately, both of the candidates offer the same old democratic rhetoric trying to play the middle in order to get the moderate votes and don't really offer anything new. Yes, Obama might be more change than Hillary, but is it okay to accept "more change" when "huge changes" are necessary?

Time for Change?
Last month, I watched the documentaries The Money Masters, Money As Debt, and America: Freedom to Fascism. It wasn't until I had watched these documentaries that I truly understood how the American economy ran based on the fractional reserve banking and the influence of the Federal Reserve.

Ron Paul appears in America: Freedom to Fascism and this was my first exposure to him outside of all the activists around San Francisco with their signs. Those movies listed above sparked my interest in the banking system and I truly believe that it is the most important issue facing America today. I had always wanted to see what Ron Paul was about with all of these people holding signs so I decided to do some research.

Who is Ron Paul?
I won't go into a detailed account of his history and stances but if you want more information check out his official campaign website at Ron Paul 2008 and his profile on the site On The Issues. Briefly, he is a Texas House Representative and is a Libertarian running on the Republican platform.

I have listed briefly his stances that I believe are good and are the reasons that I support him.

What I like:

• He is the only candidate who truly addresses monetary reform and understands the issue
  
• He wants to eliminate the Federal Income Tax, the IRS, and the Federal Reserve (See IRS blog for more information)
• He is the only presidential candidate who voted against the Iraq War
• He voted no on the $78B emergency fund for Iraq/Afghanistan
• He voted no on $266B Defense Appropriations Bill.
  
• He voted against the Patriot Act
• He is against the National ID
• He wants out of the WTO, UN
• He is against a North American Union
• He voted against constitutionally banning gay marriage
• He voted against constitutionally defining marriage between one man and one woman.
  

What I don't like:

• He wants to repeal Roe v. Wade (each state can decide individually)
  
• He voted against raising CAFE (Car mileage) standards and alternative fuel funding
• He is for "private property" related to environmental regulation (or lack thereof). Essentially people can sue companies for any damage to their property (air, water, house etc). This would internalize previously externalized costs, but only if lawsuits were effective.
  

My Thoughts

I think most of the criticism of Ron Paul can be linked to his stance on guns (very pro-gun), abortion (pro-life), immigration (anti-immigration), and LGBT rights. He does not say that abortion and LGBT rights will be completely turned over if he enters office. He merely wants each State to be able to look at these issues instead of the Federal government. The Constitution states that any power not granted to the Federal government will be given to the State. If the Constitution was followed, issues such as Roe v. Wade would be decided on a state by state basis.

I don't want to dismiss these issues too lightly because I myself am a member of a group that would be affected. But for reasons that I explain below, the rights of specific groups are insignificant when more fundamental civil liberties are under attack (See America: Freedom to Fascism)

The U.S. has been so paralyzed by issues such as abortion, the death penalty, and gun rights that we have largely ignored some of the more overreaching policies. Although these issues are important, what about the suspension of habeas corpus? The Patriot Act has taken away many simple guaranteed rights such as the right to a trial and has moved us further down the road towards a fascist state. With the National ID measure being pushed through congress, it is one more step for the government to track and monitor its citizens.

Ron Paul has consistently voted against these measures stands up for the civil liberties protected under the constitution. Maybe it hasn't happened to you or anyone you know, but it is wrong to allow habeas corpus to be suspended and continue on the rocky path to a police/fascist state.

My biggest reason for supporting Ron Paul is because of his monetary policy. Monetary reform will curb inflation and reduce or eliminate the so-called "business" cycle that has been artificially created by the central banks. It will allow the United States to get off the treadmill of never-ending interest payments and allow us to print our own money.

Before you dismiss him as "another Republican", just as I almost did, please look at his stance on issues related to military intervention, monetary reform, and civil liberties. If you don't understand fractional reserve banking, central banking, and the Federal Reserve thoroughly, watch the documentaries that I have linked below. If you still don't believe that monetary reform is a (or THE) pressing issue today and Ron Paul won't help solve those problems, then you can go ahead and criticize him.

But until then, keep an open mind. America needs change and he might be the change we need.

Related Blogs:
The IRS, Tax Protesters, and the Federal Reserve
Ron Paul on Tax Credits and Federal Reserve

Related Links:
Ron Paul Campaign Website
On The Issues: Ron Paul's Profile

Videos on YouTube
Ron Paul and Bernanke Part 1
Ron Paul and Bernanke Part 2

Related Links
The Money Masters
The Federal Reserve Bunk
Pay No Income Tax
Liberty Dollar

Recommended Books
The Federal Mafia

Recommended Movies:
All of these movies are free to watch on Google Video.
Money As Debt
The Money Masters
America: Freedom to Fascism

Blog Carnival Post #1

I have been applying to Blog Carnivals lately trying to get more exposure and traffic. Today a bit of it came to fruition. Two of my blogs recently were accepted and one of them was featured in the top three out of 40! Below are the blogs that were posted at the blog carnival organizer's site.

Micro Lending: Socially Responsible Investing at Social Entrepreneurship Today
Earth Save: Website at Green Your Apartment

Both of these sites have good information about living green and being a social entrepreneur. They are aligned with the purpose of this website and you should check them out. Thanks to the blog carnival organizers for posting my articles!

Ron Paul on Tax Credits and Federal Reserve

Lanka Business Online recently posted an article on Ron Paul speaking against the $600-$1200 tax credit to be given to the American tax payer through the economic stimulus package and the Federal Reserve drastically cutting interest rates. Ron Paul is a congressman from Texas and is also on the House Financial Services Committee and the Joint Economic Committee.

Tax Credits
His criticism of the tax credit is that we are creating the money out of nothing. He is quoted below:

"We have consumed everything we have gotten. So, we either have to borrow it from China or we print the money, which is inflationary. So, I'm opposed to that."

In essence, is that the government is borrowing money it doesn't have to "help" the tax payers. Later the tax payers will have to pay taxes to pay off the principle AND interest on the money that was borrowed which will devalue the dollar. What kind of relief is that? Paul is correct and this tax credit is not sound monetary policy.

It is only a temporary solution that makes the tax payers happy because they will see a $600 check in the mail. In the end though, the dollar will be weakened because of the reasons that he stated above. There are fundamental monetary problems that need fixing before the United States can drag itself out of this economic mess. A "shot in the arm" will not be sufficient when the whole arm is decaying.

Interest Rates
On 01/22 the Federal Reserve cut interest rates by 0.75% down to 3.5% from 4.25%. In the January 29-30 meeting, it is expected that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates again perhaps another 0.50-0.75%. Although many investors and politicians are embracing the Federal Reserve interest rate cuts, Paul says Federal Reserve moves to cut rates would further hurt the US dollar.

"And we can't solve the problems of a weak dollar by printing more dollars."

"So, I think the dollar is still going to remain under attack, because you can't solve the problem of too much credit stimulus by more credit stimulus, because it will just lead to a weaker dollar. And I think they [Fed] are between a rock and a hard place."

Paul is right on the money (pun intended) related to the Federal Reserve manipulating interest rates. He also states that the current economic crisis that we are in is a direct result of the Federal Reserve lowering interest rates to 1.0% which "stimulated" the housing market.

My Thoughts
I am of course going to take the $600 tax credit because if I don't I will be at an economic disadvantage. But unlike most Americans, this is going straight to savings. However, I agree with Ron Paul on all accounts related to economics and monetary policy.

Not much change can be done unless real monetary reform is put through. I believe that monetary reform is the most important political issue today (See related blog and movies below for more information) and Paul stands out as the only candidate willing to make changes, much less address the issue.

Unfortunately the media has completely ignored him because of his upfront stance on monetary policy (see America: Freedom to Fascism) even though he has made a tremendous grassroots campaign. Although he is not 100% ideal on his social issues, he is a candidate that is worth investigating.

Related Blogs:
The IRS, Tax Protesters, and the Federal Reserve

Related Links:
Ron Paul Campaign Website

Videos on YouTube
Ron Paul and Bernanke Part 1
Ron Paul and Bernanke Part 2

Related Links
The Money Masters
The Federal Reserve Bunk
Pay No Income Tax
Liberty Dollar

Recommended Books
The Federal Mafia

Recommended Movies:
All of these movies are free to watch on Google Video.
Money As Debt
The Money Masters
America: Freedom to Fascism

Energyville Part II: The Discussion

Energyville Discussion
When I played the game on January 20th, there were 504 posts. Some of the posters were very knowledgeable and proposed certain solutions that will help with energy supply. For example one user talked about using waste heat for combined cycles and co-generation. Another talked about reducing the amount that we use instead of striving for eternal growth. In my opinion, this is what will happen, whether it is voluntarily or forced due to energy decreases resulting from peak oil. However, not all of the comments were intelligent and I would like to highlight a few.

Popular Science and God
The next quote is from one of the posts in the Will You Join Us Discussion Forum:

"There are so many innovative products cited in POPULAR SCIENCE every issue for the past two years...can't we tap into some of those now? It seems to me that God is providing many new resources to help us through such emergency times...they need to go into mass production while we are able to do so."

The first thing that concerns me is that he believes everything in Popular Science. My biggest problem with Popular Science is that they look at "emerging" technology that is often not commercially or even technically proven. It is definitely great material for a curious reader to think that these technologies are on the cusp of being realized, but in reality, most of these ideas are years down the road or won't ever be developed.

For example in this article, The Two Day Battery, from Popular Science, the author reports that scientists have discovered a way to make batteries last longer, going from 4 to 40 hours. Those who aren't skeptical probably think that it's just around the corner, but the author of the article makes the following concession his last sentence:

"Of course, this is still in the lab stage, and there are undoubtedly quite a few steps and hurdles between the campus and commercialization, but we're optimists."

I hate to be a Debbie Downer, but we do not have the time or the resources to be optimists. We can't hope for the next emerging technology to magically save us. We need to be REALISTS and understand the the current problems and the current (however incomplete they may be) solutions that exist and begin to implement them.

My second concern is relating to god. If we are relying on god to provide us with energy then I think we have a rocky road ahead. I think it is highly unrealistic to hope for divine intervention when the laws of thermodynamics and physics are at work.

What the !@#& are you thinking?
The user who commented above might have some issues with what the next person has to say about creating mechanical life to use it to provide energy. (Disclaimer:the quote below has NOT been modified in any manner from the original text)

"perhaps genetically modified biomechanical , half creature half mechanical,feeding it neutritous water could produce a sercetion to then power the mechanical part. Is this possible yet or do we not no about it yet?"

Spelling and grammar aside, there are significant problems with the ideas the person presents. Where would we get this "neutritous water"? Assuming there is an ample supply of "neutritious water", does the reader not understand that much of the caloric value of this water would be used in the biological process and less energy is available in the secretion than there was originally?

What I think, is that many people don't realize that energy just can't be extracted from anything. There are only certain sources of matter or energy in this world and universe that are useful and can be economically harnessed.

My Thoughts
I think that The Economist Group has focused on the wrong issue. They continue to work with the idea that we must continually provide more energy for mankind. However, thermodynamic laws and supply sets limits. I will admit that increased efficiencies and new technologies will provide some "free" energy that was previously not harvested due to inefficiencies.

But the overall picture is that we are already consuming more energy than is sustainable. As China and other developing countries continue to industrialize and copy the Western high-energy lifestyle, the pressure on energy supply and the environment will be even greater.

The reader who had a comment on Popular Science and God did have one nugget of wisdom: "...they need to go into mass production while we are able to do so." We must begin to acting today while we still have cheaper fossil fuels. Once peak oil hits, we will not have the extra energy to spend on infrastructure.

What Can You Do?
The Energyville game and discussion forums offer a great starting platform for learning more about energy. The game does a pretty good job of discussing the pros/cons of each energy and what technical or economical limitations may exist.

As always, education is the key. Educate yourself and your friends about the issues. We can't start making changes in this world until we know what needs to be changed.

Related Blogs:

• Energyville Part I: How will you Power it?
• Shell CEO Virtually Admits to Peak Oil
  
• The Party's Over - Richard Heinberg: Book Review
• Fuel of War: Article Review

Related Links:

• Life After The Crash
• The Rainwater Prophecy
• Energy Intelligence Blog
  
• Peak Oil Blog

Recommended Books:

• The Long Emergency: Surviving the End of Oil, Climate Change, and Other Converging Catastrophes of the Twenty-First Century - James Howard Kunstler
• Resource Wars - Michael Klare
  
• The Party's Over: Oil, War And The Fate Of Industrial Societies - Richard Heinberg
  
• PowerDown - Richard Heinberg
  

Recommended Movies:

• The End of Suburbia
• The Power of Community: How Cuba Survived Peak Oil
• A Crude Awakening - The Oil Crash

Shell Energy CEO Virtually Admits to Peak Oil

Two Paths: Which will we choose?
Shell CEO Jeroen van der Veer released an article which outlines the future of energy. He proposes that there are two paths that we can take. He titles one "Scramble" which is similar to how nations react to resource scarcity as described by Resource Wars by Michael Klare. This is the scenario in which nations will go to war over the resources remaining in the world. (See how the video game "Fuel of War" depicts the "Scramble" scenario in this blog).

The second path he calls "Blueprints" which is similar to Richard Heinberg's scenario "Powerdown: The path of self-limitation, cooperation, and sharing" as described in his book PowerDown. This scenario is one in which the nations will have to cooperate and set policies to use the resources to the benefit of the most people and avoid resource wars.

van Der Veer states the following opinion on which path that Shell, America, and the world should take:

"Shell traditionally uses its scenarios to prepare for the future without expressing a preference for one over another. But, faced with the need to manage climate risk for our investors and our descendants, we believe the Blueprints outcomes provide the best balance between economy, energy, and environment."

I believe that pretty much everyone would agree that going to war over resources is not a path that we should embark (or continue) on, and that we should look towards a future filled with cooperation and sustainability.

Peak Oil
The most powerful part of van der Veer's article was the following paragraph which is practically an admission to the existence and tremendous importance of peak oil.

"Regardless of which route we choose, the world’s current predicament limits our room to maneuver. We are experiencing a step-change in the growth rate of energy demand due to rising population and economic development. After 2015, easily accessible supplies of oil and gas probably will no longer keep up with demand." (Emphasis added)

These are extremely strong words for a CEO of a company that depends on selling these "easily accessible supplies of oil and gas". It would be similar to Starbucks saying "After 2015, cheap supplies of coffee probably will no longer keep up with demand". Simply stated, this is something that would not be said unless the company was truly concerned about the issue.

This marks the first time that anyone from a major energy company has openly admitted that peak oil will happen before 2020. Although there has been a strong, yet mostly underground movement for peak oil, the energy industry has been reluctant to admit that peak oil would even be a problem... until now.

My Thoughts
I am truly amazed that someone has finally stepped up to the plate and recognized the need for a drastic change. Jeroen van der Veer admits to "peak oil" without explicitly saying those words and recognizes the need for drastic change to ensure that we do not go down the path of Scramble, plunging ourselves into a never-ending resource war until there is only the "Last Man is Standing".

I must congratulate him for making such a bold statement to the public in light of what shareholders may think. However, as he stated, climate risk must be managed by balancing economy, energy, and environment. It is in the shareholder's and our descendant's best interest that we look at energy and greenhouse gas emissions and work to find a sustainable solution.

I can only hope that politicians and other leaders of corporations will follow Jeroen van der Veer's footsteps and confront reality. We cannot address the problem if we are not aware of . Once we have admitted that we have a problem, we can begin to work on fixing it.

Related Blogs:

• The Party's Over - Richard Heinberg: Book Review
• Fuel of War: Article Review

Related Links:

• Life After The Crash
• The Rainwater Prophecy
• Energy Intelligence Blog
  
• Peak Oil Blog

Recommended Books:

• The Long Emergency: Surviving the End of Oil, Climate Change, and Other Converging Catastrophes of the Twenty-First Century - James Howard Kunstler
• Resource Wars - Michael Klare
  
• The Party's Over: Oil, War And The Fate Of Industrial Societies - Richard Heinberg
  Review
• PowerDown - Richard Heinberg
  

Recommended Movies:

• The End of Suburbia
• The Power of Community: How Cuba Survived Peak Oil
• A Crude Awakening - The Oil Crash

Your Money or Your Life: Lessons Learned Part I

What Have I Done?
I have completely adopted the Your Money or Your Life program and am actively working on steps 2-7 (for more information see my review on the book). The core of the "program" is really steps 2-4 because it makes you look at your purchases and determine whether you were able to really get value out of the money (life energy). I have created an Excel spreadsheet to track my expenses and create my "Life Energy Chart".

Note: There are other options out there such as Quicken, Wesabe, Mint, and many other tools out there to help you track and budget your money.

My family used to joke around with me that I was so frugal with my money. I somewhat resented it because I believed that financial stability is very important and that I shouldn't just spend everything that I earned. In my opinion there is a fine, yet significant difference between "frugal" and "cheap". Cheap means that you will save money no matter what at the expense of yourself and other people. Frugal however, means that you will use your life energy wisely according to your values and only spend money that will give you and your friends/family real happiness.

Once I graduated and started my job, I had a sudden influx of money. I lost sight of my previous values and thought that I should "live up" to my income and get nicer things. I got caught up in the whirlwind of consumerism and I almost bought a $1000 projector on a whim. However, I'm glad that I didn't. Although it might have been appropriate for some, I only watch TV about 2 hours a week. I definitely wouldn't have received fulfillment proportionate with the amount of money that the projector cost.

I was feeling unhappy with the amount of money I was spending on life and decided I had to do something about it. That is when I read Your Money or Your Life. In the next section I detail some of the things that I've learned as a result of following the 9 Steps Towards Financial Independence.

What Have I Learned?
At the end of October (after I had finished my first month of tracking expenses) I saw many disturbing numbers. First, my food and clothing expenses were more than $400 and $300 a month respectively! It wasn't until I started tracking my expenses that I realized how much money was going to each of these categories.

I think it is important worth repeating, but the authors don't set any guidelines on "how much you should spend". This is important, because each person is unique and will place different values on different expenditures. You are encouraged to determine what seems appropriate based on your values and if you will fulfillment proportionate to the amount of life energy you spend. For me, $700/month on food and clothing was WAY too much.

My food expenses have gone from $400>$300>$270>$230 within a period of four months. I accomplished this mainly by limiting how often I went out to eat and eating fewer processed foods, which in turn has been healthier for me. Many will think "well it's a good time to socialize with friends" and I completely agree with them. I will still go out with my friends and enjoy that time. It's just I don't have to do that at the trendiest restaurant or 3-4 times a week.

Also, my clothing budget has gone down significantly from about $400 to under $100 (projected) for January. I must admit that the clothing budget might have been somewhat artificially inflated by the fact that I had to start my wardrobe from scratch because I lost 30 lbs over the period of 3-4 months (See my post My Decision to Become a Vegatarian for more information about my shift towards a plant based diet). However, the purchases I have made this month have been at an outlet mall and a used clothing store.

The second major thing I noticed was how much money I spent on my "hobbies" in October and November: ZERO. How could I spend so much on food and clothes and completely ignore my hobbies? I changed that immediately and diverted some of the money previously used on food/clothing into the hobbies category and I am definitely happier as a result.

My Budget
Although the book doesn't explicitly recommend creating a budget, I thought making one would be best for me. It is still under review, but I currently have 35% of my pre-tax income going towards savings/retirement with a healthy amount still going towards my hobbies, clothing, and vacations. If I am able to stay with this budget I will be happy with myself. However the program is ongoing and I will always be looking at ways to find other sources of income and continuing to find the correct balance of spending.

My Values
Through this program, I realized that I had forgotten about my passion for reading books, watching documentaries, and trying to educate people about issues. Before I mostly talked to my friends at school and told them about the newest documentary I had watched and that they should also check it out. However, you can only reach so many people that way. I needed to find a way to reach more people and create something that people can access at any moment. Thus, that is the primary reason I created the "Meaningful Issues" blog.

The second reason I chose to do this blog is that I wanted to see if I could provide a source of income in addition to my current job. Step 7 is the step where you "Maximize your Income". If you can increase your income, you can increase the amount you save. Naturally, the more you save the faster you can become financially independent. Using some conservative assumptions, I projected that I could definitely become financially independent by 40 and possibly as soon as 35. This knowledge has motivated me to keep the longterm goal in sight.

I don't expect this blog to become an appreciable source of income unless I get a tremendous boost in traffic. However, all my time and effort put into this is still worthwhile as long as people continue to read this and take action.

Personal Finance Posts
You might wonder why I am posting about personal finance where all of the other issues are much larger issues such as climate change, peak oil, and media. There are tons of other personal finance sites out there that discuss Roth IRA's, 401(k)'s, "snowballing debt", and many other topics but I don't intend to turn this blog into one of those.

The main focus on this blog will be on Meaningful Issues and on creating awareness on these issues. I believe that if you are able to take control of your personal finances and use your life energy wisely, that you will have more tie to focus on "your cause". This can be activism, blogging, donating, or volunteering for your cause. No matter what, you are making a difference for what you believe is right.

Again, if you haven't read the book, I highly suggest picking up a copy of Your Money or Your Life by Vicki Robin and Joe Dominguez. Do it before you choose your money over your life.

Related Links:

• Your Money Or Your Life Website
• New Road Map Foundation
  
• Get Rich Slowly Blog
• Free Money Finance Blog
  

Recommended Books:

• Your Money or Your Life: Transforming Your Relationship with Money and Achieving Financial Independence - Joe Dominguez, Vicki Robin
• Affluenza: The All-Consuming Epidemic (Bk Currents) - John de Graff

Recommended Movies

• Maxed Out

Energyville: Part I - How will you power it?

Energyville Overview
Energyville is a game developed by The Economist Group for Chevron to look at providing energy to a city using various resources. A game that is based on something as intricate as the world energy supply will no doubt have some major assumptions. I've quoted parts of the disclaimer for the game below.

... Assumptions for the game, both present and future, are based on The Economist Intelligence Unit’s assessment of global facts and trends obtained from numerous credible sources... The game has limitations and many elements have been simplified to facilitate game play... Additionally, although you are able to determine how to power your city, the game does not take into account the time and investment needed to replace exiting energy infrastructure with your choices.

Even the best modelers in the world still have difficulties forecasting because there are so many different factors that will affect a global market. However, for the purpose of the game, these have been simplified and many assumptions have been made to make the game work.

This is your city. How will you power it?
The game lasts two rounds with the years between 2007-2015 and 2015-2030. Your city has various energy needs and you must supply enough energy using different sources. Each energy source has been evaluated on three impacts: economic, environment, and security. Simply put, the lower your impact of your city, the higher your score.

The economic and environment impacts are a given because they are typically discussed in the media. "How much will it cost compared to conventional fuel/energy" and "How much CO2 does it emit compared to conventional fuel/energy" are the typical questions that need to be addressed.

Also, I understand the importance of security related to being able to protect the infrastructure and having a reliable source. This is extremely important for the United States because much of our energy (oil/petroleum in particular) is imported and there is a risk associated with not being able to supply your own energy.

However there is one factor which is often forgotten, the "social" impact. At the Earth Summit in Rio De Janeiro in 1992, leaders from around the world discuss sustainable development and determined that there were three factors that must be taken into account: economic, environment, and social. A diagram of how these three factors interact can be seen in the figure below.

Source: http://www.eoearth.org/image/Sustainable_development_triangle.gif

Unfortunately corporations are forced by their charter to focus on the economic. The only way that a corporation can focus on the others, is if they will make an impact on the bottom line. (See The Corporation for more information about what corporations are and how they work). Recently more attention has been focused on the environmental aspect and corporations are changing their practices to include some environmental impacts (again, only to increase the branding of their company and to improve their economic sustainability).

It is unfortunate that the social aspect has been left out, but nonetheless I have compiled all of the impact values for the game in the table below.


Petroleum is by far the worst (I wonder how much input Chevron had into this game) at a total of 22% and hydro power is better than all of the rest at 8% (if we can assume that all impacts can be weighted equally). I believe that most of the numbers are relatively accurate of the impact with the exception of the economic impact of nuclear. It is rated as the second cheapest option (tied with coal).

Although I don't have access to the data that they use to calculate the impacts, I assuming that the data is only looking at the operational costs of nuclear power and doesn't take into account the huge subsidies that the government has to provide to dispose the radioactive waste. If the true cost of nuclear power was known, I don't think it would rate as well as coal in terms of economic impact.

Powering Your City
In both rounds the user has to power up their city by selecting a portfolio of energy sources. To mix things up, two random events occur between each of the game rounds which will affect your city based on what energy sources you have chosen. For example, international conflicts will cause the economic and security impacts of petroleum/oil plants to increase, thus decreasing your score.

There are limitations to your energy sources and you cannot just build unlimited hydro plants. Also, one point that I thought the game represented very well was the types of energy that were needed. For most of the city, electricity is generated centrally and sent through the grid. However, there are sectors such as transportation that are reliant on petroleum/oil. If you build only energy sources that can only be used for stationary electricity generation you will get the following message:

Warning! Hungville requires petroleum. Though alternative fuels can reduce the need for petroleum, airplanes and significant portions of ground vehicles will continue to rely on petroleum for fuel.

I am glad that they did not gloss over this fact because oil accounts for approximately 96% of the energy needed for transportation with biofuels and natural gas providing most of the remaining 4% with approximately 2% each (Data from the Department of Energy: Annual Energy Review 2006).

How Did I Do?
Playing it 5-6 times I got consistently in the top 5-15% scores. Best score was 688,061,046 which was in the top 3.5%. It is merely about making the least amount of impact and you can do this by looking at the numbers that are given. I think a lot of the players didn't look at the impact of each energy source (about 6% of the energy chosen was hydrogen and oil shales, which based on the data the game gave you, is a terrible choice).

I suspect that the top scores are from people who heavily favor the technologies that present the lowest % gain, and they play it enough such that their technologies aren't affected negatively in the random events.

Rating the game
Overall the game play is pretty bland. All you need to do is pick hydro, wind, and some petroleum in the first round. The second round you pick some more wind/hydro/solar because it has become more efficient. Rinse and repeat and you'll be in the top 10% of the scores out there.

That said, the game offers a wealth of information about each of the different energy sources. Even if the information may be incomplete or is biased towards particular energy sources, the game at least brings the awareness of energy issues and serves as a starting platform for people to learn more.

However, it's not all just fun and games and at the end of the game it is possible for the player to then click on a link to go to the discussion forum. In my second blog about Energyville, I address some of the discussion which is occurring in the forum and offer some of my own thoughts and opinions about energy.

Related Blogs:

• Energyville Part I: How will you Power it?
• Shell CEO Virtually Admits to Peak Oil
  
• The Party's Over - Richard Heinberg: Book Review
• Fuel of War: Article Review

Related Links:

• Life After The Crash
• The Rainwater Prophecy
• Energy Intelligence Blog
  
• Peak Oil Blog

Recommended Books:

• The Long Emergency: Surviving the End of Oil, Climate Change, and Other Converging Catastrophes of the Twenty-First Century - James Howard Kunstler
• Resource Wars - Michael Klare
  
• The Party's Over: Oil, War And The Fate Of Industrial Societies - Richard Heinberg
  
• PowerDown - Richard Heinberg
  

Recommended Movies:

• The End of Suburbia
• The Power of Community: How Cuba Survived Peak Oil
• A Crude Awakening - The Oil Crash

The IRS, Tax Protestors, and The Federal Reserve

W2's, 1099's, and 1040's oh my!
The dreaded tax season is coming up. Most people will be getting their W-2's and hoping for a refund. Virtually everyone automatically signs up to have their income taxes withheld and then mail in any remainders after they have filed their tax return. This is typically done without even questioning the system because it is "right" to support the government. But what happens to those who don't file their returns? Wesley Snipes, an actor made famous in the Blade movies has chosen to do exactly that: not pay his taxes.

Tax Protesters
CNN recently posted an article on the Wesley Snipe's Tax Trial which outlines the case and the defense that Wesley Snipes plans to use. The attorney Robert Bernhoft is representing him and has previously represented Joe Banister a former IRS agent (More information on Banister here).

These topics have more or less gone unnoticed and the media has demonized the "tax evaders". But no attention has been focused on why they are avoiding the income tax and why the income tax even exists. If the general public actually knew what the income tax pays for, there would be an uproar...

Income Tax and The Federal Debt
Here's a question for all of the readers out there: What would you do if you were told there was no law for paying income tax? Would you pay it? I'm guessing not.

Even those of you who may be thinking "Well what about public education and highways that are necessary? Shouldn't we pay taxes to support those things?". Schools are mostly funded through property taxes and highways are funded through the gas tax. Where does most of your federal income tax go you might ask? To pay the interest on the federal debt. (For more information why we don't need an income tax, see the movies I listed below and this article.)

The Federal Reserve: It's not who you think they are
Who then is the federal debt owed to? The Federal Reserve creates money and is lent at interest to the United States government. The interest on this debt is paid with YOUR income tax. Having taxpayer money going towards interest seems ridiculous when the government could create its own money interest free. Instead the government uses your income tax to pay off the interest owed to the Federal Reserve. But here's the fact that most taxpayers do not know: The Federal Reserve is NOT a government agency. It is actually a PRIVATELY OWNED, FOR PROFIT, bank! The private shareholders of the Federal Reserve are the ones making money from your income tax!

Crazy you say? There are many free movies on Google Video which go through these topics in depth. The Money Masters is a thorough 3.5 hour history of international banking and the Federal Reserve system. Money as Debt is a 45 minute animated video which goes into detail about money, debt, banking, and the fractional reserve system. Lastly, Aaron Russo's America: Freedom to Fascism discusses the federal income tax and IRS enforcement.

My Thoughts
I only became aware of this issue within the last month and it has completely changed my view on everything. The Federal Reserve has always been put on a pedestal and given credit for bringing economic stability to our country. However, if you watch The Money Masters, you will see that the Fed does not smooth out the economic cycle, but actually artificially creates the economic cycle for their own profit.

There is a reason why Alan Greenspan was considered "the most powerful man in america" or perhaps even the world. By reducing the interest rates to 1.0% after 2001, the Fed fueled the sub-prime mortgage crisis by allowing a tremendous influx of money and spending. When interest rates were raised, those who took out Adjustable Rate Mortgages were then unable to make their payments.

But now the Fed is trying to "correct" the problem after raising interest rates to over 5% in June 2006 by taking a drastic measure and cut interest rates today by 0.75% to 3.5% with more cuts in the immediate future. Regardless of the effect on the U.S. or world economy, the international bankers will profit.

If you are having skepticism on this issue, I completely understand. If someone would have told me this, I would have labeled him/her as a total nut-job and a conspiracy theorist. But after watching those videos I am 100% convinced that the Federal Reserve needs to be eliminated. Although this is a very new topic for me, I plan to blog extensively about this topic because I it is of paramount importance and unlike environmentalism does not get the proper media coverage that it deserves.

I know that most of you have extremely busy lives and that 3.5 hours seems like an eternity for a documentary on banking, but I would highly recommend watching The Money Masters. It WILL change your view on money, the economy, and the banking system.

Remember that awareness is the first step and change will not happen unless we educate ourselves. Please educate yourself by watching movies or reading books and distribute those resources to whomever you can.

Note: The information provided in this blog should NOT be considered advice to avoid paying your income tax. Although it is right to protest a system that is unjust and stand up for what is right, people are still being prosecuted for it. If you want more information about not paying your income tax, look at a free PDF of The Federal Mafia by Irwin Schiff for more information.

Related Links
The Money Masters
The Federal Reserve Bunk
Pay No Income Tax
Liberty Dollar

Recommended Books
The Federal Mafia

Recommended Movies:
All of these movies are free to watch on Google Video.
Money As Debt
The Money Masters
America: Freedom to Fascism

Your Money or Your Life: Book Review

Making a dying

"This is a wonderful book. It really can change your life"
-Oprah Winfrey

Your Money or Your Life by Joe Dominguez and Vicki Robin is without a doubt is the most influential book that I have read. It challenges and triumphs over the common belief that happiness can be bought. The book forces you to really to be self-critical and determine what actions in your life are worth keeping and those that are completely against your values and beliefs. Consider the following questions:

• Do you wonder where all of your money "disappears" before your next paycheck?
• Do you want to work in a field that is your true passion instead of the job you took for the money?
• Do you want to retire early so you can focus on what is important to you?
  
• Do ever feel excited about shopping but feel guilty when you get home?
• Do you buy something and then never use it after a week or two?
  
• Do you spend more than you earn?
  

If you answered "yes" to any of these questions, then you need to read Your Money or Your Life!

What is Money Anyways?
We typically view money as something we can buy material goods with. Most of the time we forget that in order to get this money you have to use the most precious resource of all, your life energy. If you are 40 years old, you have approximately 329,601 hours left to live based on average life expectancies. It seems like a lot until you calculate that you need to invest 1500 hours to get that luxury car. Is it really worth ~1/200th of your remaining life for some metal and four wheels that costs even more of your life energy to drive, maintain, and insure? This is an example of the questions that you will automatically question once you start following steps towards "Financial Independence".

9 Steps Towards Financial Independence
The first question you might have is "What is Financial Independence?". The 9 steps all lead to this point which means that you will be able to live without having to work for an income. That means your assets (saved money) earn enough interest to support your living costs. Once you have reached financial independence, you will be able to do what is important to you without having to worry about money. That can mean taking a pay cut to work at a job that aligns with your values or quit outright and volunteer for your passion.

I've listed the 9 steps in the Your Money or Your Life program below. If you want more information on the specifics of each step, refer to the summary of Your Money Or Your Life online.

Step 1: Making Peace With The Past
Step 2: Being In The Present -- Tracking Your Life Energy
Step 3: Where Is It All Going? (The Monthly Tabulation)
Step 4: Three Questions That Will Transform Your Life
Step 5: Making Life Energy Visible
Step 6: Valuing Your Life Energy -- Minimizing Spending
Step 7: Valuing Your Life Energy -- Maximizing Income
Step 8: Capital And The Crossover Point
Step 9: Managing Your Finances

A Penny Saved is a Penny Earned
Steps 2-4 are the core of the program. These steps make you track every penny that enters or exits your life and evaluate your expense categories based on three questions:

• Did I receive fulfillment, satisfaction and value in proportion to life energy spent?
• Is this expenditure of life energy in alignment with my values and life purpose?
• How might this expenditure change if I didn't have to work for a living.

The book doesn't tell you how much you should spend on each category such as food, clothing, and transportation. Instead, you must look at each category, and evaluate your expenditures based on your answers to the three questions above.

One of the mantras of the program is "no blame, no shame". The purchases in the past are exactly that, in the past. You shouldn't be ashamed or blame yourself for your previous purchases. The purpose of tracking your life energy is to see if the purchases were appropriate. If they weren't, then you can make changes in the next month. The process is ever evolving and your expenses will naturally move towards your optimal amount of spending.

It seems like a lot of effort to track every penny that you spend or earn, but it is important because it will show you where all your expenses are going. There are a variety of tools (Quicken, Wesabe, Mint) there that can help you with this.

Next Steps
After tracking your income and spending, the next steps include minimizing spending and maximizing income. Your spending will eventually level out and will show you where you get the most value from what you spend. After finding the optimal amount of spending, it is then important to maximize your income so that you can achieve financial independence faster. Once you achieve financial independence, you will be able to live life according to your values without worrying about "making a dying".

Conclusion
Most Americans today are too interested in affluence, material wealth, and "keeping up with the Jones's". Despite all of the new technologies and gadgets that we now have, polls consistently show that we were not as happy as we were 30-40 years ago. Marketing has conditioned us to think that our self-worth is derived from what we drive, what we wear, and most importantly, how much money we make. This is so far from the truth. We should value our friends, community, and self-worth for what we have accomplished in life.

Your Money or Your Life completely shatters the idea that you need material wealth to be happy and I truly think that everyone in America really should read this book. There are many actions that readers can take to bring their values back into their lives.

Most people in the society today will benefit from "down-shifting" from their current high-paced, high-stress lifestyles. Voluntary simplicity is a movement that is gaining popularity not only because it saves money, but it affects what should be most important of all, the quality of life.

There are tons of used copies of this book floating around including on Amazon.com and Half.com and it is also available at most public libraries. Try to find it used or free at a library before you buy it!

In my next post related to Credit/Debt/Finance I will discuss how Your Money or Your Life has affected my spending habits and ultimately my life. Hopefully the book will have the same impact on your life as it has had on mine.

Related Links:

• Your Money Or Your Life Website
• New Road Map Foundation
  
• Get Rich Slowly Blog
• Free Money Finance Blog
  

Recommended Books:

• Your Money or Your Life: Transforming Your Relationship with Money and Achieving Financial Independence - Joe Dominguez, Vicki Robin
• Affluenza: The All-Consuming Epidemic (Bk Currents) - John de Graff

Recommended Movies

• Maxed Out

Fuel of War: Game or Virtual Reality?

Fuel of War: Overview
Money on CNN recently posted a new article about Frontlines: Fuel of War, a video game by Kaos Studios. The premise of the game is described by Steve Hargreaves in the quote below:

"Over the last two decades prior to 2030 oil production has peaked and is declining rapidly, renewables never panned out, plagues hit, and starvation ensued."

Hargreaves practically dismisses the issue of peak oil and doesn't get into any of the arguments at all. All he writes is the following:

"Most oil industry analysts say peak oil production is many decades, if not hundreds of years away, and a transition to other sources will likely be more orderly than the scenario depicted in Frontline.

But a small and growing number of experts -- some well-respected -- say peak oil production is close or has happened and the transition will be much more painful than mainstream analysts predict."

It's unfortunate that he doesn't explain or give evidence for either side. But in the end, it appears that this game is getting media coverage and if people buy this game they might get interested in the topic and have an awareness to the issue. Craig Anderson, a profession of psychology was concerned for the players and stated the following:

"It may well change attitudes towards the use of these tactics as a political tool," he said. Players may think "of course we have to use military tactics to go take oil"

It seems that he is unaware about many of the current conflicts in the world centered around resources including, but not limited to, minerals, timber, water, and perhaps most importantly oil (Read Resource Wars by Michael Klare for more information on resource wars or see and excerpt of his book)

Fortunately, the game's general manager is more open to the idea that resource wars are already occurring:

DeLise dismisses such concerns, saying nations go to war all the time over resources, and that the game is merely a reflection of reality.

"When it comes down to it, it's about what countries will do to survive,' he said. 'That's not going to change.'"

My Thoughts

Resource Wars
Resource wars are a reality and are occurring throughout the world today. Many times, resource wars are masked as "religious" because those are for some reason deemed as inevitable and it is acceptable to have wars over religion because they have "always happened".

However, if the wars were truly labeled for what they were, most people probably wouldn't tolerate the wars. For example, most people are unaware of the significance of the Golan Heights and West Bank in terms of water resources. During the Six-Day War, Israel seized both of these territories.

What is their significance you may ask? The West Bank contains many valuable aquifers and the Golan Heights is where the Baniyas River is located. The Baniyas is the direct tributary to Lake Tiberias which later flows into the Jordan River and is a source of water for Israel. Jordan had planned to diver water from the Baniya river, and thus, by seizing the Golan Heights, Israel secured its water supply from Jordan.

If you're interested more on this topic, I would highly recommend reading Resource Wars by Michael Klare. He focuses primarily on resource wars related to water and oil, but has one chapter dedicated to timber and minerals. Also, Water Wars by Vandana Shiva offers more specific information about resource wars over water.

Peak Oil
Peak Oil will soon become a reality for the world (whether it has occurred already or not). Peak Oil has already occurred within many countries around the world in the United States. The only reason why the United States was able to recover from this crisis was because the world oil market had not yet peaked.

But the imminent question is what will happen when oil peaks globally? Many scientists and authors believe that it will be catastrophic and result in wars and violence as described in Fuel of War. Considering that resource wars are already occurring, it is not a far fetched idea that this could happen.

Either way, peak oil will affect every person on this planet. We will not be able to maintain the high energy lifestyle that we currently take for granted. Let's hope for humanity that the world will be able to manage the decrease in oil supply and manage the available resources without having to result to wars.

Recommended Websites:

• Life After The Crash
• The Rainwater Prophecy
• Energy Intelligence Blog
  
• Peak Oil Blog
  

Recommended Books:

• Resource Wars: The New Landscape of Global Conflict - Michael Klare
• The Oil Factor: Protect Yourself and Profit from the Coming Energy Crisis - Stephen Leeb
• Water Wars: Privatization, Pollution, and Profit - Vandana Shiva

Recommended Movies:

• The End of Suburbia
• The Power of Community: How Cuba Survived the Peak Crisis
• A Crude Awakening

EarthSave.org: Website

What is Earth Save?
EarthSave.org was founded by John Robbins who is the author of Diet for a New America and Food Revolution. He was the former heir to the Baskin-Robbins corporation but turned down away a fortune of money and an "easy" life in order to live a life that was in sync with his values. The website has a tremendous amount of resources for people who are looking to learn more about the health and environmental benefits of a plant based diet.

I have recently became a vegetarian and Food Revolution along with Peter Singer's "The Ethics of What We Eat" strongly influenced my decision. Check out the related blog "My Decision to Become a Vegetarian" for details on how I became a vegetarian.

Our Food Our Future:
EarthSave has an brochure titled Our Food Our Future which is available for free download. The brochure has 16 pages of text and is pretty much a summary of Robbins' "The Food Revolution" book. For those of you who are interested in the idea of a plant based diet but don't have the time to read his entire book, this brochure is a great overview of his key topics. Here is a list of some of the topics that the brochure covers:

• You Can Make a Difference - For Your Health
• Heart Disease
• Cancer
• Obesity
• You Can Make a Difference - For The Environment
• Air and Water Pollution, and Water Depletion
• Energy Use
• Global Warming
  
• You Can Make a Difference - For World Hunger
• You Can Make a Difference - For the Animals

Environmental Impact of Food:
My main reason for becoming a vegetarian is because of the huge environmental impact that animal products has on the environment. Here are some statistics that I have pulled from the "Our Food, Our Future" brochure.

• Amount of fossil fuel energy needed to produce animal protein: 8 times that of plant protein
  
• Amount of water to produce one pound of steak: 2500
• Amount of excrement produced by farm animals in the U.S.: 130 times more than humans

What Can Be Done?

"Other than not driving a car, not eating meat is the second most important positive environmental decision that a consumer can make"
-Union of Concerned Scientists

The general population has recently become conscious about sustainability and environmentalism related to transportation. Increasingly, people are taking action in order to reduce their transportation environmental impact. Some drive hybrid cars, some buy carbon offsets, some carpool to work, some use mass transportation, some bike to work, and some just work from home. The point is that these people want to reduce their environmental impact and have changed their habits.

The same thing can happen for food and the meat/dairy industry. It does not require that every single person become vegan and completely eliminate all animal products in their diet. Any reduction in meat consumption, which is then replaced by a plant based alternative, will lead to a reduced environmental impact.

Some can eliminate beef, some can eliminate eggs, some can eat one vegetarian dish each week, some can eliminate dairy. It does not have to be an all or nothing effort, but every part helps. Hopefully someday soon people will think about eating a steak in the same way they think about filling up their gas tank.

If you are conscious about the environment and do things such as recycling, carpooling, or anything else that has a positive effect on the environment, consider a plant based diet as another way to reduce your environmental impact on our world.

The VegPledge:
For anyone who is interested in trying a plant based diet, you should check out VegPledge. It is for anyone who is willing to make a pledge to reduce their consumption of animal products whether they eat steak on a daily basis or even are lacto-ovo vegetarians. If you pledge to reduce your animal product consumption for 60 days, they will send you a "Healthy Beginnings Care Package" which is a starter pack for vegetarians. At the end of your 60 day trial, you will be given a 6 month subscription to Vegetarian Times Magazine.

Additional Links on EarthSave:

• Health Articles related to plant based diets
• Environmental Articles related to plant based diets
• Lifestyle Articles related to plant based diets
• Download Free Brochures

Recommended Books:

• The Food Revolution: How Your Diet Can Help Save Your Life and Our World - John Robbins
• The Ethics of What We Eat: Why Our Food Choices Matter - Peter Singer

Recommended Movies:

• The Future of Food