www.iamecowarrior.com in partnership with https://www.youtube.com/user/EarthIns... Jeffrey Sachs is the Director of The Earth Institute at Columbia University and is best known for his work in economic development, environmental sustainability, poverty alleviation, debt negotiation, and globalization. He is among the most sought-after lecturers at Columbia's School of International and Public Affairs and School of Public Health and was named one of Time Magazine's "100 Most Influential People in the World" twice for his contributions to the field of economic development. Transcript -- My own involvement in the world of sustainability came when I left the classroom and began working on real and very dramatic problems in very poor countries. That was 27 years ago. And, for me, the world changed phenomenally -- to be confronting challenges, challenges of poverty, climate change, drought, famine, hunger, disease, burdens that are so interconnected and are scourges that hit so much of the world and that imperil all of the world because of the various risks and dangers we have from this very crowded planet. Sustainable development is a very complicated challenge and it's an unprecedented one because never before has human society been so populace, so productive, but ironically using so much resources as a result, that it's threatening the planet itself. So sustainable development is about life choices: what kinds of diets, what kinds of transport, what kinds of urban design and settlement patterns we have, how we live, how we move. But it's also about the technology systems that we have. How do we produce electricity? How do we till the soil? How do we protect biodiversity? So it's smarter ways of doing some of the things that we're doing now. And I don't think that this has gotten into our psyches, and it certainly has not gotten into our political processes. People in extreme poverty are often trapped by their circumstances in a vicious cycle. They know what to do. They can see the way out, but because they are so poor they don't have the savings, the investment, the credit-worthiness to get out on their own. And that's what I often stress -- that there are ways out, a helping hand is needed, and poor people themselves will lead the way. They can undertake tremendous heroic efforts but they need a bit of help to pull them over that barrier, to get out of the trap and on their way to 21st Century economic standards of life. Eco Warrior means fighting for our survival. And it doesn't mean fighting each other, and it doesn't mean fighting the planet. It means fighting the bad ideas, the bad impulses, the addictions, the corporate propaganda and the barriers that could endanger us. And it means recognizing that we, this generation, have to shape a better future, a better society for ourselves and for the generations to come. Find your eco Solution www.iamecowarrior.com Directed by Roger Moenks