Last week, I linked to a TriplePundit post about the death of the words “green” and “sustainability,” asking what words we should replace them with, if we should replace them at all. The piece’s author, William Brent, suggests “red and black” and “sustaINABILITY” as phrases that are more honest and indicative of the current state of the environmentalist movement. I find both of those expressions demoralizing and unhelpful. Sure, “green” carries as little meaning as “organic” these days, but do we really need to introduce the public to a new set of colors to identify such a divergent array of efforts? Read the full story

You’ve seen it quoted a million times in these kinds of articles, usually accompanied by a picture of Kermit the Frog: “It’s not easy being green.” But let’s drop the B.S. for a second: it’s freaking hard.

Beyond the small stuff—replacing your toilet paper, changing your air filters, etc.—you have to rethink your business model, invest differently, re-train your employees (or hire new ones), and maybe even move to a completely new building. And then there’s all the green news you have to keep up on, the language you have to speak, the money and energy you have to devote to the right kinds of PR to attract the right kind of customers, the challenge of educating your old customers on your new policies, the time you have to spend getting acquainted with web-based technologies, the struggle for outside accreditation, and the ever-present anxiety over your carbon footprint, just to name a few of your worries. Read the full story

Didn’t you read the title? Stop whatever you’re doing. If you care about the environment, turn off your computer right now.

Do it.

Seriously, do it.

I’m waiting.

…

Still here? I thought so. Read the full story

In this corner, weighing in at 328 (stores) with a nearly $8 billion revenue in 2008, with a right hook as strong as his fancy cheeses, Trader Joe!

And in this corner, weighing in at 2.9 million worldwide members, the Not-So-Jolly Green Giant, the hippie collective with a modern perspective, Greenpeace!

Let’s get ready to rumble! Read the full story

It’s hard to imagine a world without Starbucks. The coffee giant serves almost six million customers a day or 2,190,000,000 beverages a year. That’s enough to give every American seven grande cappucinos (though I’m sure there are quite a few people who drink about that amount daily). There’s no denying the power and influence Starbucks has over not only the United States, but the whole world. Read the full story

With a late-spring weekend approaching, I felt it was a good time to let go of some frustration so that I could head off to my weekend without the baggage. I have been thinking of some of the things that really bother me about company practices around sustainability, and thought I’d throw out a list of a few of my favorite ‘unacceptables.’  I am focusing this list on tactics. I could do a larger list on issues of strategy but I’ll save that for another day. Enjoy the weekend! Read the full story

When it comes to sustainable development, Canada is yet to set a leading example for the world. Although it has set carbon reduction targets, Canada is still struggling with ways to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Read the full story

Iceland has no coal, no petroleum reserves and no trees. Yet it produces the cheapest electricity in the world. How? From green energy – all of it. Iceland makes electricity using 70.1% hydropower and 29.9% geothermal energy. The country is blessed with a tremendous amount of renewable energy from sources, such as volcanoes that provide geothermal energy and glaciers that power electric turbines. Read the full story

A couple of interesting blog posts look at the fight to get stimulus package money to improve the Smart Grid. Expect issues like this to appear throughout the Clean Energy community. Phillip Bane proposed a scorecard for rating stimulus projects, and Josie Garthwaite takes a quick look at the companies who are jockeying for position. Interesting to see both the interest in the smart grid, as well as some early insight into how companies will need to posture to get access to funds.

My grandparents had enough money to be comfortable. But they never stopped being careful about how they spent their money. My grandfather was an attorney and a CPA and had a great career with the government. But I’ll always remember calling them and getting rushed off the phone ‘because long distance is very expensive.’ These comments came well after long distance calls were cost prohibitive.

Their values for spending came out of the depression. Ours come from a time period quite the opposite.

Read the full story