John Muir's long walks through the Sierra Nevada mountain range was an individual, seminal event that began a grassroots groundswell that evolved into the American conservation movement.

Similarly, the long term solution to the current financial crisis that has enveloped the world will not come from the top down, but rather must begin with a change in perspective at the individual level.

Fortunately, the individual has a big head start. The basic principles and benefits of conserving our natural resources for current and future generations have, for the most part, entered the collective consciousness. Financial Conservation is a slight broadening in the application of these very same insights to our individual financial resources. Relying on the integrity of individual common sense in assessing appropriate risk and bringing awareness to the necessity of "Core Asset Preservation" (regardless of the economic cycle) for the individual to stay in step with the normal life cycles, I believe, is the way forward.

Many of the frontline casualties in the massive triage and cost-cutting we see the government and business world applying to this situation are the conservation and humanitarian organizations whose survival depends on financial responsibility.  The perspective of Financial Conservation will help to ensure the ongoing funding sources for these vitally important human endeavors.