CEO's Decision

While working for a former company, the CEO decided to become enlightened with a new conscientiousness to what harmful effects his product had on the environment. Not just the natural environment, but also socially and economically. Taking one step at a time to learn and grow then in-turn, teach and educate the employees.

In his decision to change company processes, it led his employees to change the way they looked at their jobs/positions. In deciding to do what's right environmentally, it became fun to look at new ways of performing duties/responsibilities and actually look forward to arriving at work and spending the day.

It brought about a new attitude to take home to families and friends. Everything flows down. Will you "do the right thing" and change your life so that it influences real, permanent change for the environment?

His decision changed mine, not purposely, but the effects of that decision rearranged my future with a new direction. Doing what's right doesn't leave harmful effects behind, it builds a better environment around everything and everyone.

User-Friendly Term

Many people ask for a simple explanation to understanding Sustainability. After sometime of answering this question and many moments of frustration, its, finally, come down to two words. I challenge anyone to break down Sustainability into a better "user friendly" term.

It's finding balance in every intellectual, value-added or operational process. After trying to educate stakeholders for years to still have them look at you with a lost sense of feeling at the end of a workshop was frustrating. So in putting together a simplified form of training brought about a workshop built around two words. This brought revelation to my students of sustainability that has had overwhelming success and they leave confident to achieve greatness by applying two words.

People understand "Green" because they relate it to recycling. They understand "Conservation" because of extinction. But why weren't they understanding "Sustainability" through the same form of successful publicity that Green and Conservation had received? They were hearing "Zero to Zero," or "no longer taking from the Earth," but weren't grabbing the concept for reapplication. How do I know this? Ask a person saying they've heard about sustainability to explain it to you. Nine out of ten times they stutter or pause before being able to find the appropriate wording to apply and answer. Many will interpret sustainability as "green" or "conservation."

Now ask one of my students to explain sustainability! An immediate response will be...rolling off the tip of the tongue...they will say, ..."finding balance."

It's finding balance in social sustainability between community and workplace, or economic balance between a town losing business and enticing SMART business. Last but not least, it's environmental sustainability finding balance between wildlife and human life. Although, these are just a few examples in the three areas of sustainability, it will help you find better answers while learning or applying sustainability.

Peach and Apple Blooms Reduce Carbon Emissions

Do you live near an area that has high levels of carbon monoxide? Experts say, plant peach and apple trees. They absolutely love it.

As we discussed in the last blog, roses are lovers of carbon monoxide and look beautiful in gardens. It's all in the bloom. The same thing goes for peach and apple blooms, they thrive best in areas that produce high levels of carbon monoxide.

So if you live near high traffic areas, a good project to reduce carbon emissions is to plant a few peach or apple trees. If you don't want to bother with the fruit, then here's a few ideas to get rid of it.
Compost
Allow your neighbors to come and pick it
Donate to a local shelter
Sell to a local corner fruit stand

Lovers of Carbon Monoxide

Wonder why your roses are so beautiful this year? A farm agent in a nearby county annouced recently to local farmers complaining of poor pumpkin crops--that while their pumpkins might be doing poorly, they should look at the roses.

While Pumpkins cannot tolerate high levels of carbon monoxide, roses absolutely LOVE it and flourish beautifully.

Earlier this season, I complained of the deer eating the few rose blooms I had on my new rose bush, recently, bought at the local hardware store, thinking it may not produce more. Then to my amazement, the bush kept producing new sets of buds after the deer had their treat. It's still producing beautiful red velvet buds and it soon will be winter.

Is this a sign that if we do not reduce the carbon monoxide levels our eating habits may change? Instead of a pumpkin festival we will be celebrating an Autum Rose Festival. Can you imagine pumpkins going extinct?

Something to think about.

Asphalt Versus Green Houses

A local Westin Hotel is working through a LEED AP consultant to help manage the building's efficiency updates. One of the major projects is replacing all of the windows.

When a friend of mine called to ask what they were doing with the old windows, a Hotel VP mentioned that the LEED AP consultant had made arrangements for the windows to be recycled through an asphalt company. The windows then become part of the asphalt placed on our local roads and driveways.

The sad part seems to be the popularity of this action amongst most LEED consultants to get rid of glass. Because its the simplest, easiest method without the consultant having to work very hard and still retain the majority of profit in his/her fees along with still receiving publicity for going green.

There are so many projects that would love to receive used/old windows. Just to name a few...greenhouses for local high schools, recycling back into other glass products, etc.

Unfortunately, the carbon and environmental footprint of asphalt production and use is far heavier then concrete thoroughfares.

We still aren't educating fast enough to understand that sustainability is finding the best practices along with finding balance. Finding balance in recycling glass windows should not be encouraging unsustainable practices.

Sole' Power Tile

SRS Energy (http://www.srsenergy.com/) is installing Sole' Power Tiles to roofs. It is an electricity generating system that looks much better than having solar panels on your roof. I'm all for beauty if its available in sustainability. This works if you have HOA requirements. If they don't allow the ugly panels (as they usually call them) then still be sustainable and allow your home to look better than your neighbors.

Only 20-25% of your roof needs to feature the Blue tiles and the rest could be covered with clay tiles, or do the entire roof.

Zwahlen's in Pennsylvania went green in June 2009 with the Sole' Power Tiles. Read the article at http://www.srsenergy.com/Files/Zwahlens%20release.pdf.

Climate Change Treaty: US Will Lose

Page 122, Item 17 of the Climate Change Treaty is quite questionable. How will the LDC's (least developed countries) and future generations interpret this wording?

{[Developed [and developing] countries] [Developed and developing country parties] [All parties] [shall] [should]: } (a) Compensate for damage to the LDC's economy and also compensate for lost opportunities, resources, lives, land and dignity, as many will become environmental refugees;
(b) Africa, in the context of environmental justice, should be equitably compensated for environmental, social, and economic losses arising from the implementation of response measures.

Really look at this wording...if America goes broke, will war be declared because we have no resources or funding to give? All eyes look to America because they interpret us as rich. Will industrial taxes be enlarged because of this treaty on top of the already planned Carbon Emissions taxes proposed? Will it eventually cause America's industry to go broke? How far do you think LDC's will milk developed countries for finances?

Dignity? How far will a LDC take that one? How do "they" interpret dignity? We are responsible for their dignity? Was Russia held responsible for the loss of dignity in allowing their peoples to live in poverty? Is America going to compensate our own peoples for the loss of their dignity because of poverty and environmental losses here? I haven't seen it, have you?

Have we really stopped to contemplate how we've committed America in this treaty? Could we have come to a better understanding or agreement without promising something we may not be able to give in the future?

What does our future hold? What MUTATION are we giving our children?

2010: A Green Winter

In 2010 all eyes will see 'green' in Vancouver, BC for the Olympic Games. Will it become part of the protocol for cities bidding for the Olympics in the future?

A few months ago a large festival called me to acquire some consulting, but the work and effort that it would have taken to make a successful 'Green' event, didn't happen. It was so disappointing. So much like everyone else they reverted to mainly recycling. Well, at least they brought public attention to that.

I give Vancouver a salute for putting significant effort in bringing attention to sustainability. Periodically, we will be posting articles on Vancouver's green efforts to keep you up-to-date.

This article boasts of 'Green Buildings' and the many efforts that went into building them: http://www.vancouversun.com/sports/Olympic+venues+awarded+environmental+impact/2021651/story.html.

Career Recycling

Isn't it funny how not more than 50-60 years ago, it sounded ridiculous to think that caring for the Earth and its resources would be a paid career?  This thought was so foreign to the very being of our nature, that we would have told someone to get a real job in an automobile factory.    It sounds like a double negative doesn't it?

We now have a more sophisticated method of taking care of the Earth through academia, media, and advocacy.  The list of new careers in caring for the Earth is so vast.  Its no longer just an agriculture, rural concern. 

Isn't it sad that it took human, economic, and environmental crisis to bring about this new sophisticated line of careers.  What happened to it just being an everyday habit of practices that was second nature to life?  Because we forget and cultures are lost. 

Long ago farmers learned to love the land and not take too much from it or it would go into famine of some sort.  Such as loss of nutrients, water, helpful insects, the list could go on, but you get the idea.  Then we began to get greedy and lost this wisdom.  Now old wisdom has come back into a new form called, Conservation, Green and Sustainability careers.

A justified question to ask now is...will these new careers come up with answers that can be implemented now or have to wait for the next recycle session to make real progress?  Will everything become bogged down in greed, government and higher-education politics?  Will we find ways for companies/organizations to appease their conscious through finding short-term answers or holding them accountable for long-term solutions?

What are we doing with this blessing of opportunity to make real change?

Bury Instead of Release

Many of our fossil-fuel energy plants are trying to come up with ideas to retrofit themselves to fit into future government mandated accountability.  These monstrosities were built decades ago and generate tons of carbon dioxide.  A coal-fired energy plant in West Virginia is installing a method to capture and bury its carbon dioxide for millennia.

This company's answer to accountability for requirements and regulations is to bury the problem to the sum of $73 million.  China and India are watching the test process closely.

Could you have come up with a better idea of getting rid of carbon dioxide with a budget of $100 million? 

Do you think future generations would have expected us to generate a better solution?

To read the complete article click onto: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/22/science/earth/22coal.html?_r=1

Using the Potty Saves Carbon Emissions

There's an article that was released recently that is getting down to the REAL basics of life.  Remember when your mother always told you to use the potty before getting into the car, getting on the bus, or going into church?  Now a Japanese airline is doing just that to save carbon emissions. 

ANA is running a test with its passengers to see if asking them to use the potty before boarding their flights saves fuel--among other things.  Read more by clicking onto the following link:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1218473/Airline-goes-green-asking-passengers-use-toilet-boarding.html

I would call this "Out-of-the-Box" or should I say, "Staying out of the Lavatory?"

Recycling: Is it Overkill?

The most popular Green activity is recycling.  You've heard about it for years.  The most valuable action that we lost through our Grandparent's generation is conservation.  Do you remember your Grandmother or someone talking about how their Grandmother used to wash their aluminum foil and then fold it or add it to a ball that they had started?  Nothing hardly ever was thrown away.  Then we became impatient and said, "That's too much trouble" and threw it in the kitchen trash can. Now we are scrambling to educate our younger generations the importance of reducing their waste because our lack of proper action that has put us into an environmental crisis.

In our home we recycle aluminum and ask other homes that do not recycle for their cans.  A few years ago, I asked my youngest daughter if her high school had a recycling program.  She said, "No."  I was shocked; because her high school was only 4 years old and had around 4,000 students.  I was amazed that one of the clubs had not jumped on this idea to make money. 

In an effort to help my daughter make some spending money, I told her to ask the high school if a she could put collection containers by the drink vending machines.  She came back with yes, she could because there was no recycling program and they didn't see any harm in it.  Although, she never took advantage of this opportunity to make extra money, the whole idea of not having a recycling program in a high school was just foreign to me.

Here in our county we have 12 mega high schools.  How many do you think has a regular recycling program? 

At an environmental network meeting the other week a person asked me if I thought we had made real progress in environmental education.  My answer is...you can pretty much guess...

Sustainability Isn't Green

Recently, I attended a networking meeting among the "Green Elite" as my friend called them. A lady attending up and decided to start adding "Go Green" into her marketing strategy to small businesses.

The story goes like this...as, I introduced myself as a Sustainability Consultant, she said, "Oh, that's why I'm here is to become a Sustainability Consultant and add Green into my marketing strategy." Then she asked, how did you become a consultant? I replied, before answering your question, my question to you is, do you understand that there is a difference in Sustainability and Green? She looked at me with confusion. I said, visit my web site at www.eatonsustainability.com and click onto "Out-of-the-Box" and find Understanding the Basics of Sustainablity.

As I'm out and about educating others on how to incorporate Sustainability initiatives into their processes, I'm constantly running into Directors of Sustainability or those that wish to be, and they have become frustrated with people because of the effort it takes to educate them in order to bring about great change.

Their supervisors and corporate leaders are expecting immediate results and their one or two courses that they were required or elected to take in college on Sustainability did not prepare them for educating the real world. Especially, if they really don't understand it themselves or ever incorporated it into a real project.

If you really want to know Sustainability: start by understanding what is Green.