What can we do?

Something is clear, we need to improve the world that we live in. But how can we contribute to this global goal as individuals? Well, here I present eight actions stated by Jeffrey Sachs in his book Common Wealth: Economics for a Crowded Planet that can guide us.

1. Learn about this generation's challenges: this basically refers to being informed and read about what's going on in the planet, being aware of problems we face as humanity.

2. Travel, to the extent that it is personally possible: seeing other places and cultures is the best way to understand the common interests and aspirations that unite us as well as the special challenges that are unique to different parts of the world.

3. Start or join an organization committed to sustainable development: you and your organization may change the world and inspire others to do so as well.

4. Encourage the engagement of your community and inspire others to join the cause of global sustainable development.

5. Promote sustainable development through social networking sites: this way we can take advantage and use the most popular and advanced tools of the internet for the spread and support of social activism. It can be Facebook, mySpace, Tuenti... you name it.

6. Get politically engaged: demand of our politicians that they honor our government's Millennium Promises.

7. Engage your workplace: every company can add to global sustainable development. This is where corporate social responsibility comes on stage.

8. Live personally according to the standards of the Millennium Promises: donate time, money and the energy of your social networks; seek out contacts across countries, cultures and class divides; lead among your friends and colleagues; act honorably as a consumer; act honorably as a citizen.

So remember, ours is the generation that can end extreme poverty, turn the tide against climate change, and head off a massive and thoughtless extinction of other species. Ours is the generation that can grapple with, and solve, the conundrum of combining economic well-being with environmental sustainability. Ours is the generation that can harness science and a new ethic of global cooperation to maintain a healthy planet to future generations.