If you are worried about the fate of the earth, if you are concerned that the human race is headed for catastrophe, either through all-out war or through the destruction of the planet, don't fall into despair. There are many reasons to be hopeful.

According to Vaclav Havel, "Hope is...not the conviction that something will turn out well, but the certainty that something makes sense regardless of how it turns out."

One of the purposes of Earth Action Index is to encourage not just hope--but optimism--among those who believe in social transformation based on an environmental ethic as the best strategy for saving the planet.

Earth Action Index lists hundreds of positive efforts by organizations to develop solutions to the global problems we face.

Dedicated people, working in many different fields of endeavor, are applying these solutions in demonstration projects throughout the developed and developing world. Here are some examples...

• At the global level, the United Nations launched a decade of education on sustainable development beginning in 2005.
• The Rainforest Action Network successfully pressured two of the world's largest banks into an agreement to use sustainable development criteria when deciding which loans to approve.
• At the local level, the Heirloom Harvest Farm in Westborough, Masssachusetts, is an example of a successful community-supported agriculture project. Financed through shares sold to its members, this cooperative project grows organic vegetables and distributes them weekly to members in the Boston suburbs. Members also learn the value of sponsoring a locally-based, ecological enterprise. In 2004, 4 tons of surplus produce were donated to charity.

Although there will always be issues on which people disagree, there are plenty of issues that all people of goodwill can agree on and act upon. May this website help you to find a basis for shared hope, shared belief, and shared action.