A Crazy Summer

I am just back from a two week trip to Morocco that was fantastic. The country was amazing, the people friendly and I was so checked out that I missed the vast majority of the stock market craziness that has everyone in a panic.

Coming back relaxed and refreshed I took a deep breath and entered my overflowing email in-box to catch up on the latest happenings in the world of technology and social entrepreneurship. Once of the many newsletters pointed me to a blog by sustainability consultant Andy Savitz, author of a book called the Triple Bottom Line. Though I have not yet read his book (it's summer which is not business book season!) I thought his recent blog about his family trip to the Mall of America (MOA) as a great metaphor for the struggles we're facing today in the US as we face the energy crisis, environmental degradation, the recession, etc. In a well written, humorous piece highlighting his visit to MOA, home of "America’s Biggest Indoor Water Park" Savitz clearly shows the tension between being completely blown away by the amazing (and really fun!) engineering feat that pumps a gazillion gallons of water through endless tubes, pools and slides to entertain us, and feeling a tidal wave of embarrassment about the energy use (waste?!) and consumption that MOA so proudly displays 24 hours a day, 365 days per year.

It's this struggle between what we want and enjoy in the short term vs. what we want for our future that is shaping our energy and other policies today. Let's hope that this summer's craziness makes a "big splash" of an impression on us as we consider our decisions on how we work, play and live.

Don't Forget Your Greenwash When Sporting Your Red, White & Blue

There's no doubt that people are really starting to pay attention to and in many cases really care about the environment - funny what $4/gallon gas can do to sway people! But among the real efforts to make positive change is a good bit of "greenwashing." I'm sure at some point this holiday weekend I'll hear about "natural" coals roasting organic vegetables and farm raised beef on the BBQ, while watching non-toxic fireworks explode in the sky. To this point, a very funny post was submitted to treehugger called "5 steps to effective greenwashing."

I wonder what this person will think of Waste Management's beta launch of "greenopolis.com" which they are calling "the first green, interactive, collaborative, educational website to bring together communities, environmental organizations, universities, foundations and corporations to reward individuals for making incremental positive environmental changes." I mean who better to build a site like this than the guys who collect your trash?! To their credit, they've partnered with several real environmental groups, but I have a hard time swallowing their claim that they an environmental company.