Dear Readers,

Lately, politics in the United States have been finance focused, but the green movement remains in full force.  Sustainability  efforts  have undergone transformations: a new (and then resigned) special advisor for green jobs at the White House Council for Environmental Quality, 150 billion dollars filtering to clean tech, promises of five million green collar jobs... to name a few. Still, hope is fading among some of the most renowned scientists. In their thirty year update to "Limits to Growth," M.I.T. scientists Donella Meadows, Jorgen Randers, and Dennis Meadows use computer models to predict that we may have overshot, or used up to the point of no replenishment, our planet's finite resources. In the United States we import 9,783 ,000 barrels of oil daily.

Oil pollution is a big concern of the green movement--especially considering oil pollution sparked the lake fires that jumpstarted the 1970s calls for stricter environmental regulations, but on page 34 Seth Leeper sniffs out human dung as an alternative. Be sure to also checkout pages 22 and 23 where Lindsey Barber swings through Sharp Park and unveils golfers' feelings about the possibility that their game may be endangering the San Francisco Garter snake and California Red-legged frog. Be uplifted, however, because this issue of [X]Press aims to prove green causes can also be fun, like by attending a green date, as Jamie Calnan takes us on in the page 24 and 25 cover story.

I will admit that with so many issues, it was hard to know where to drive the sustainability train, but the most effective change agent remains individuals. With you on board we can work together to make strides toward lasting advancement. My experience with greening was even fun. Yes, it does require restraint to use fewer napkins, along with eighty cents more for the whitened without chlorine bleaching eco-friendly toilet paper. Yet reducing consumption saves money and the toilet paper is hypoallergenic. At [X]Press, our mitigation ride entails printing this issue on one hundred percent recycled paper and sponsoring the planting of four trees in the Bayview. It takes much effort and as Alayne Chappell delves into on pages 8 and 9 trees alone may not save us, but they do absorb carbon dioxide. If each of us slashed our eco-footprint, then we would be even closer to winning the battle against a sixth mass extinction.

So yes, it is true that we may have overshot our limits, but we also may be at the tipping point, meaning we must act socially responsibly now. (Passing this magazine along to friends before recycling it is a great start! For twenty-five more green tips checkout pages 6 and 7). Just remember: technology can guide us, but to alter our roadmap we must also remind others of the importance of acting green and sharing ways to do so. For the sake of our planet, please expand your horizons. Allow [X]Press to be your starting point.

Happy greening!

Lea Wiviott
Editor-in-Chief