Do investors really care about sustainability?

According to Peter Lacy of Bloomberg Business week – they don’t. Good article found at http://www.businessweek.com/managing/content/nov2010/ca2010118_925615.htm but I think it misses the point. He’s right that investors don’t really care – that is until something goes wrong and there is a massive recall of product or a shipment is denied at Christmas because it is not “REACH” compliant. I think we are entering the age of verification and assurance of sustainability information. Investors just want to know their money is safe. Sure there are a few out there that actually care about the planet and will go to great lengths to only support companies that align with their values but most don’t really care. KPMG, Deloitte and others are now offering “stamps” on sustainability areas for companies. It’s kind of like saying “my dad looked into this and It’s OK”. Investors care about loosing their money – and oh – making money. Turns out sustainability initiatives make money. Finding efficiencies in energy and production are tried and true areas for improving margin, it’s just the last mile of that plan. Find the cash and reduce the risk – that will keep them investing. Sustainability software can help with that.

Fracking Haynesville

It is up to the EPA and State agencies to enforce the law. Get active and put pressure on the local politicians!


You will always have damage to the environment in these type of drilling and mining operations. However, the damage can be mitigated by proper containment and treatment of resulting drilling muds, tailings and waste water. There are also more modern methods of solids separation and membrane filtration for the waste fracking fluid solutions. It is worth the extra $$ from the resulting profit bonanza to protect our precious water supply. The proximity of the East Coast Mega-opolis demands it.

http://www.calscience.com/PDF/Hazardous_Waste_Regulatory_Limits.pdf

Top 10 green Christmas

1) Use recycled cloth or material where ever possible to wrap presents – secure using ribbon


2) Gift an experience for someone instead of an object

3) Use LED Christmas lights and lighten up – go easy on the use of them

4) Master the art of re-gifting - its okay - really - just not  back to the person who gave it...

5) Get some green gift ideas from http://www.treehugger.com/giftguide/

6) Make your Christmas dinner all local food

7) Drink organic wine – you will feel better and help the planet

8) Use recycled cards for Christmas cards – or make them - put your kids to work - they'll love being creative

9) Give to a green charity at the office

10) Wear a green Santa Suit – why not

Could Tie Dye save our planet?

Somehow it is comforting to think that law will save us from our environmental and energy collapse.  The bad guys have got to answer to a higher more powerful force like a father dealing with a school yard bully.  The problem is there is just too many bad guys now.  Namely all of us.  Regulation can't be our last best hope to sort out the mess of pollution and energy crises - We'd have to arrest ourselves.  So what is the answer?  Who or what do we turn to for redemption?  I say that brewing in the fabric of our society are the seeds of a green rebellion.  History could repeat itself with a grand stand 60's revival if anti environmental power takes seat in the political arena and the natural world is scarified further in the name of greed.  While they may choose an axe the youth now making loving study of the natural world may choose song, dance and peaceful resistance to any coming establishment that truly threatens their Green DNA.  Perhaps whole sale adoption of sustainable life instead of it being forced on us by law will gain the most ground.  Maybe we need to fall down politically thereby making the battle less about the unseen and more a rally point for mother nature.  I wonder if tie dye would come back?

Reality Television

Recently my cable provider issued me free TV which has given me a chance to watch some of the productions for the "unwashed masses".   It seems little has changed in the reality TV shows since I last checked in somewhere around 911.  After taking a sample of a few I can see the value of exposing right behaviour and bad behavior and all the drama along with it.  One program that caught my interest last night was the Trump one - "you fired".  I think he just like saying that.  They did an bit on advertising for some big telcom which is all well and good but it struck me that it would be so interesting is one of these shows factores in sustainability issues.  How about Dragon's den for green business or Trump turns green.  Wow, how about survior based on energy, waste and air usage - not saying - just saying...

Fear Not

I'm always completely awe struck with people having children these days.  Children are such a blessing but it's got to be hard with so many messages out there about a bleak future for our environment.  In listening to Mark Driscoll from Mars Hill on his talk entitled, Fear Not, it highlighted the tension that surrounds the human experience.  That said, fear does drive action and really has been the sole reason we have collectively addressed a response to climate change in step wtih actual global changes.  Dispute over connections  between clmate change and actual events and situations rages so it will remain a careful balance of healthy fear and optimisim

The future of energy

Beyond the lightswitch - recomended by SWF

"This two-part, two-hour documentary series thoughtfully considers the trade offs of carbon capture and storage, hydraulic fracturing for natural gas, a nuclear renaissance, the costs of solar power, the sprawl of wind power and the feasibility of a super grid.
Comprehensive and timely, Beyond the Light Switch will add a much needed balanced perspective to a national energy debate that will surely become more heated and more critical than anything since health care."

Great general commentary.  As we address these issues in the future we should agree on some sort of framework to assess energy types.  I'd suggest the 6 capital points of sustainable community.  Ohters can be used but we should start thinking about methodology.

Abstract
Rising levels of ultraviolet radiation (UVR) secondary to ozone depletion are an issue of concern for public health. Skin cancers and intraepidermal dysplasia are increasingly observed in individuals that undergo chronic or excessive sun exposure. Such alterations of skin integrity and function are well established for humans and laboratory animals, but remain unexplored for mammalian wildlife. However, effects are unlikely to be negligible, particularly for species such as whales, whose anatomical or life-history traits force them to experience continuous sun exposure. We conducted photographic and histological surveys of three seasonally sympatric whale species to investigate sunburn and photoprotection. We find that lesions commonly associated with acute severe sun damage in humans are widespread and that individuals with fewer melanocytes have more lesions and less apoptotic cells. This suggests that the pathways used to limit and resolve UVR-induced damage in humans are shared by whales and that darker pigmentation is advantageous to them. Furthermore, lesions increased significantly in time, as would be expected under increasing UV irradiance. Apoptosis and melanocyte proliferation mirror this trend, suggesting that whales are capable of quick photoprotective responses. We conclude that the thinning ozone layer may pose a risk to the health of whales and other vulnerable wildlife.
apoptosis
ozone depletion
photoprotection
pigmentation
skin lesions
whales
Received September 3, 2010.
Accepted October 18, 2010.
This Journal is © 2010 The Royal Society