What's green?

Business Week October 29, 2007

Article: "Little green lies"

I was recently looking through magazine's in RIT's Wallace Library and I stumbled upon an old Business Week magazine headlined Little green lies. I figured it was referring to this whole Earth friendly idea that many companies are doing now a days. It got me thinking, "When was the first time I heard this term "green." Well probably when I was in kindergarten going over colors. Yet in all seriousness, I can exactly recall the term being stated, for it's more Earth friendly meaning. I was in Form II class, sophomore year(2005) with Stan Rickle. So this term is obviously new to me and new to many people.

The article I read touched upon one man, Auden Schendler, who is the Environmental Affairs director for Aspen Ski Company. A friend of the wilderness Auden has always been an outdoors person. He continually researches green design and is quoted as stating, "How do you really green your company, it's almost impossible." Almost is the key word because people are trying to go green, nevertheless green will have to be the way or else we will deplete ourselves of all resources. He has continuously found that companies claim they are green, when they are not. While at Aspen, Auden has tried to make a difference, but it has been an uphill battle.

For Example,he told one hotel owner that he would save thousands of dollars (esp. in energy costs) by switching his light bulbs from incandescent to fluorescent, yet the owner felt that the lights were weaker and it wasn't the tone he wanted to set for his Five Star Hotel, people just wouldn't buy it. Auden found many companies are stating they're Green to increase their REC or Renewable Energy Credits, which are are credits that a company can use to claim they are using renewable energy, while not contributing to Global Warming.

Auden states, "RECs have as much effect on the development of new renewable energy projects as would trading rocks, IOUs and pine cones."

Thus, companies are cheating the system in a sense. Is this what we want, obviously no, but this seems to be the way, until a majority of companies jump on. Thus it's such a challenge when everyone is competing for profit, but if it stays like this for much longer we won't have anything else to compete for. We need more Auden's in the world, preferably designers, who are the future of creating a better world for everyone.