Are we paying attention?
In 2009, the climate change debate in the United States has fueled and focused attention on the Go Green movement. Then speaking of “fuel”, the fuel shortage and rising gasoline prices got a lot of people’s attention in 2008. Hence, for selfish, financial reasons, the people of the United States started watching and limiting their usage of that particular resource – gasoline. We weathered a three year drought in the Atlanta, Georgia area. That caused many to modify their behavior around water use. All of which are “go green” tactics. Preserving planet earth’s resources is contributing to the greening of America.
Is Green Heating up?
My theory is that one of the main reasons for many of our economic and social woes is due to the rising population. More people per square foot. More demands on resources and municipal infrastructures and services. Landfills are filling up with plastic bottles, diapers and the like. The population will continue to increase, so the quest is to support the earth in supporting the growing and aging population. China has begun going green. The Chinese recognized the relationship between pollution and disease. So going green is expected to reduce the escalation in healthcare costs in China.
And lastly, this whole Go Green movement is about honoring the earth. One company has a slogan to protect, preserve and enhance the environment. We are all in this together – not just people, but animals, plants, minerals, water, etc. It is supposed to be a symbiotic relationship where we all support each other. We need to be good stewards of the earth. We also need to honor future generations. By not polluting and trashing the current environment, we are enhancing the quality of life for future generations. Toxins in the environment contribute to health problems. So it’s not all about money. Money cannot compensate for ill health.
One definition of sustainability is to use resources at a rate that does not exceed the rate at which those resources are naturally renewed. Apparently we are out of balance. We can’t affect or influence the resource renewal rate, but we can control and make better choices about our usage of natural resources. That’s what the going green movement is all about.
Do Americans Have the Will?
President Obama’s administration and the supportive Democratic controlled and the U.S. Congress is mandating that businesses reduce their carbon footprint. Many feel that imposing more environmental regulations on business will further retard the economic recovery process in the United States. Business and industry, of course, pass the cost of compliance on to the consumer in the form of price increases. Or the businesses may need to cut more jobs. If you consider Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, then during a recession, many people are in Physiological / Survival and the Safety / Shelter modes. Going green may be at the Self-Actualization level. Is it worth the sacrifice? Can we afford the price? I think the spirit of the American people is willing but the finances are weak. Perhaps now is not the time.
Sandra Noble – Sandra Noble worked for many years in corporate America. Her experience in the information technology realm includes mainframe systems, multiple U.S. and European implementations of …