Incidentally Green

It's no secret to anyone that we are living in some tough economic times. After all, I can personally vouch for the present state of the U.S. as my husband has been out of work for over a year and I work to keep my business running and I feel like I am running uphill the whole way! But as an optimist, I have to look at the bright side of life; the silver lining etc. etc.

As I looked at this from an environmental standpoint I noticed something interesting. As a nation, we are becoming more "green" - by necessity - not design.

Think about it. Companies have cut down on their air travel and other business trips in favor of video conferencing. It not only saves time and money for the company but it also saves the environment by not generating all that extra "travel trash". The energy use and pollution from cars, planes, trains; the extra expenses and trash generated by the snacks and unhealthy food we grab on the way; the hotel expenses and the energies used to clean rooms including water, electricity, and non-eco-friendly cleaning products. The list goes on and on. Due to the need to save money for the business - some businesses have become greener!

Okay, so this is not such good news for the travel industry as a whole but if those industries recognize the need and adapt accordingly, they, too, can benefit from this shift.

And it's not just the economy that has things changing.

I met a photographer recently at a networking event. We discussed how the photography business has changed over the years. Remember when you shot a roll of film at a family party and then drove off to the store to have it developed only to find that most of the pictures didn't even come out good? Think about the time and energy put into that one roll of film to get it developed - from taking the shots to picking up the packet of pictures. The solutions and chemicals used to produce the pictures, the packaging etc. What do we do today? We take pictures on our cell phones, digital cameras and many of us will print the selected best shots on our own home printers. Just think about impact this has had on the environment! As we create better photographic technology, it just keeps getting better for the environment.

Did the photography industry wake up one day and say "let's go green!"? No! As a whole, industries are looking to create easier, more efficient and more cost effective ways to do what they do. Many times, this shift is creating greener solutions.

Look at the big PC chip maker Intel. In an effort to build a faster, more efficient processor, they have created chips so small they can fit on the tip of your finger and yet hold a world of information - fewer materials, better product. Couple that with Intel’s desire to "go green" as a business and they have reduced the amount
of packaging they use in their shipments as well as made their manufacturing
plants more sustainable.

As the world gets smaller, resources get scarcer. Many big companies are starting to pick up on this and they are looking for new ways to produce their wares. This is a good thing for everyone.

Next time you make a purchase, no matter what it is, stop to consider the time and effort it took to get that item from beginning to your hands. Then think of what happens to it once you are done with it.

They say "necessity is the mother of invention". As the world gets smaller and more people fill it up, we all need to be conscious of the resources we use. A few will see the opportunity this creates and help to provide solutions for us all!