"Buy American"

After watching the “Story of Stuff” video and reading the Cradle to Cradle book, I was interested in learning more about how buying “stuff” impacts our environment and our economy. I found a very interesting article about the stimulus bill and new clean technology. With the downturn in our economy the government passed a stimulus bill to encourage people to buy more, which would boost our economy. What many people do not know is that in that stimulus bill was a “Buy American” regulation. This regulation states that everything must be bought in America using the stimulus money. While buying locally does help the environment and economy, the “Buy American” regulation has some very bad consequences for the implementation and progression of “energy-saving building technology.” Not only are companies not able to produce energy-efficient technologies (due to the fact that most circuits and parts are built overseas), but also it is possible for trade partners to retaliate and “90% of the world's consumers live outside of the United States, which remains one of the world's three largest exporter.” While the environmental benefits of a “Buy American” regulation are obvious, the fact that it takes away from advances in clean technologies and causes economic problems shows that the “Buy American” plan is not working. Instead of a large corporate “Buy American” regulation, the government should take this opportunity to help local governments provide information about buying locally in their communities, which would be more beneficial.

For more information visit the web site: http://www.greenbiz.com/blog/2009/11/11/buy-american-bad-america

Outdoor Education as a Business Opportunity

We have had various discussions this past semester in Ecopreneurship about the realm of education and the importance of informing the general public on issues concerning the environment. As the world of eco friendly business expands it is important to consider this environmental education of our future generation. No matter what goods or services a “green” business provides, its success depends on environmentally conscious individuals at every level. This past summer I had the incredible opportunity to work at the Green River Preserve summer camp for “young naturalists”. The camp sits on 3,400 acres of pristine wilderness and teaches kids the importance of respecting our environment, living sustainably and understanding the interconnectedness of all life. The program director has taken this model and implemented it into the local schools in the area along with other environmental leaders. A program called Muddy Sneakers has come about due to his vision and is currently found in 18 schools around the district. Muddy Sneakers uses values and practices, like that of the Green River Preserve, to get kids outdoors and help them understand our intimate connection to the natural world.
Programs like Muddy Sneakers are beginning to pop up all over the country and for good reason. The understanding our society is beginning to have about our effect on the environment is causing a “green revolution” to sweep the nation. The business world is being affected just as much any other area of society. In my opinion green business should not only provide eco-friendly products but should also work to support the environmental education system that is beginning to develop in the US and around the world. This would aid green businesses in two ways. One, with more support from local businesses, education programs like Muddy Sneakers could continue to do the great work they do while receiving more financial support from local green business owners. Green businesses could improve their reputation, their networking and their advertising market by helping support communities with strong environmental education programs.
Secondly, the more financial aid green businesses can provide to environmental education systems the greater the amount of people those systems will be able to educate. With more environmentally conscious citizens, come more potential customers for green businesses. The benefit could go both ways. Green Businesses are constantly in need of more public relations and a larger customer base. Environmental education programs are constantly in need of financial support and interest from their local communities. Green businesses, no matter what their product line may be, need to start seeing these areas of education as business opportunities in order to help out our future generations.

For more information on the recent news of Muddy Sneakers, please check out:
http://www.blueridgenow.com/article/20090421/NEWS/904209947?&tc=autorefresh