The Accidental Environmentalist
This past week the official site of the Democratic National Convention offered an entire “Greening” page on their website, which included several useful Green Tips of the Week
My favorite is Tip #38:
Stop Mail Delivery of Catalogs
Catalog Choice is a FREE service which offers participants the ability to choose which catalogs end up in their mailbox. The steps are simple and you can opt out of most catalogs through one comprehensive website. Visit http://www.catalogchoice.org/ for more information and to choose which catalogs you wish to discontinue. The mission of Catalog Choice is to reduce the number of repeat and unwanted catalog mailings, and to promote the adoption of sustainable industry best practices. Choose to shop online at your favorite retailers rather than using their catalogs!
Source: www.catalogchoice.org
I'm not a big fan of catalogs anyway, so this is a win-win for me and for the environment. And really, at the end of the day, that is what will inspire me to be more green. Like most Americans, my sense of altruism only goes so far. At some point, I have to see a clear, positive outcome in order to stick with a learned behavior.
I am not an environmentalist by nature (no pun intended); but I am concerned about what is happening to our planet, and I do want to help make things better. I won’t debate with anyone whether global warming is real or not. The fact of the matter is, regardless, we are polluting our planet and squandering our natural resources to such an extent that even the most hardened skeptic must at some point address the issue of sustainability.
On January 26, 2007, President George W. Bush issued Executive Order 13423, which states:
…“sustainable” means to create and maintain conditions, under which humans and nature can exist in productive harmony, that permit fulfilling the social, economic, and other requirements of present and future generations of Americans…
If we stop bickering about the topics of the day and start dealing with the real issues – that is, what each of us can do, personally, to reduce, recycle, reuse, and rethink our current lifestyle and business choices – we might all become accidental environmentalists…and improve our bottom line while we’re at it.
Find out how climate change is a catalyst for innovation, growth, and prosperity and why what is good for the planet is good for you and your business too.
About Me
- K.B. Keilbach
- My interest in business and the environment began in the early 1970s when I was a teenager. The ecology movement was going strong, and I remember once asking my engineer-turned-CEO father, “When will you see how important it is to protect our environment?” His laconic response, “When it’s good for business,” stuck in my mind. As I later found out, my father was interested in preserving ecosystems; but he was more concerned about business ecosystems while I was more concerned about natural ecosystems. What I didn’t realize until recently is that both ecosystems are interdependent. What is good for one is good for the other, as long as we act sustainably. As the mother of three teenage sons, I am motivated to find the common ground in our natural and our business environments and to balance the needs of the free market with the needs of the planet. Only in so doing can we address the changes that are happening in our world right now.
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1 comment:
Thanks for the advice. I agree there is too much waste with catalogs that I never even look at, and I want to do something useful for the environment. I always bring my own bags to the grocery stores these days. It's become a habit for me now and I feel so good about not wasting paper or plastic bags.
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