Hope for Green 2.0 in 2010

January 6th, 2010 by BGM

Let’s face it, so many negatives couldn’t help but create a real malaise in 2009. The economic meltdown, corporate infidelity, Climate-Gate, war and disagreement in the Middle East, and the list goes on. We only perked up temporarily from time to time when a new statistic on jobs or the stock market was announced, then we fell right back into gloom.

But there’s a huge learning that’s come out of the mess and more and more folks are waking up to this. That we need to look at all of the above holistically and move on to Capitalism 2.0 and Politics 2.0 and Peace 2.0. That market forces need more management, with consideration to the long term and effects not just on the bottom line, but the populations affected.

Here’s the best summary we’ve seen on things like the renewable energy economy and COP15 and lots of other beginnings in 2009 that may act as a springboard for so many green possibilities this year and beyond:

http://www.worldchanging.com/archives/010923.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+worldchanging_fulltext+%28WorldChanging.com+Full+Text%29&utm_content=Google+Reader

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Shame on e-waste

November 15th, 2009 by BGM

The electronics industry was about the last on the planet to wake up to reducing energy consumption, and now electronic waste is a growing scourge. Discarded TVs and computers are going to landfills faster than any other kind of waste, and one of the few GROWING categories. All driven by technology innovation, planned obsolescence and a consumer culture of gotta-have-the-gadget. The energy trade-offs are the same conundrum as buying a Prius: you never catch up with gasoline savings to the environmental cost of manufacturing the car itself.

So any and all suggestions for what to do with this stuff are welcome. We can’t all wear CD necklaces or use CPUs as end tables!

Great Treehugger article on the problem: http://www.treehugger.com/files/2009/11/america-recycles-day-value–proper-e-waste-recycling.php?dtc=th_rss

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Consumers Will Buy Green – If the price is right

October 24th, 2009 by BGM

Interesting new data from Harris Interactive on green buyer behavior. BGM

Many People Prefer to Buy Locally Grown, or Organic, Produce and “Green” Products from Environmentally-Friendly Companies, But Not If They Are Much More Expensive

It`s quite popular for people to claim that they care about the environment. In fact many millions of people – from 18% to 39% of all adults – say that their purchasing behavior and other interactions with companies is sometimes influenced by environmental factors. However, in reality, only a very small minority is willing to pay substantially more for “green” products or goods produced by environmentally-friendly companies.
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Green Homes For All

September 8th, 2009 by BGM

We’re definitely getting somewhere when affordable housing gets green standards, too. — BGM

Habitat for Humanity Gets Greener

By Kate Galbraith

Habitat

Habitat for Humanity, the nonprofit home building organization headquartered in Americus, Ga., announced plans on Tuesday to build 5,000 “green” homes around the country for low-income families.

The homes, built over five years, will meet EnergyStar guidelines or other green building standards, like LEED. The project expands on a pilot program and is being done in conjunction with the Home Depot Foundation.
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Beyond Green

August 31st, 2009 by BGM

Great new take on how the public sees social responsibility and reason to ponder. BGM

by Susan Nelson, Marketing Daily

We read and hear constantly about social responsibility — what it means, how to do it, who does it best. Often anecdotal and top down, the cacophony of pundits is painful. It might be refreshing and even important to let real people tell us what brands and companies they see as socially responsible.

To find out, we tapped into Landor’s consumer brand equity tool, BrandAsset® Valuator. In the United States, we measure 3,000 brands annually on more than 70 key measures of equity and imagery.
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So Cool Sierra Names Colorado Top “Green” College

August 23rd, 2009 by BGM

We’re not biased, but mighty proud of our hometown school here in Boulder. BGM

Back in the day, high schoolers looking at colleges (and U.S. News and World Report) were mainly concerned with three things: prestige, location, and whether the place had a rockin’ social life. These days, however, applicants look for something more: a school with green credentials.

“Ten years ago, I don’t remember any student asking me about green campuses,” says Steven Roy Goodman, a college admissions strategist at TopColleges.com. “Now it’s quite common for students to be keenly interested in how environmentally responsible colleges are.”
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