Saving the Planet

What are we doing as individuals to save the planet?  Emily asked that the other night.  We are seeing the havoc we are wreaking on our planet.  Water levels are rising, the summers are getting hotter and the winters are getting colder, the icebergs are melting, and much more.

How do we all do our part?  Lego just announced that the companies first sustainable blocks will be made from plant-based plastic that comes from sugarcane.  Many clothing manufacturers are turning to recycled materials.  States are requiring (or allowing) groceries to charge for a bag making consumers think about bringing their own bag to the store.  I think we should ban styrofoam as a product but that is another conversation.

What are we doing?  We are using solar panels in every single project we are building.  In one of the projects, we are using geothermal power for heat and air conditioning.   We drive electric cars.  We are building a passive building including energy sources that will essentially allow us to be able to use our own electricity.  I have invested in companies like Evrnu that transforms textile waste into new fibers.

I am a big believer that the generations of today will figure out ways to fix the faults of the generation before.  Change always wins and change is what pushes us forward.  When it comes to the environment, we also all need to do our individual part to make sure that our planet is here for every generation to come.

Comments (Archived):

  1. awaldstein

    I think each of us does our part according to our passions, our networks and our influence.I can’t do everything so I do what i can, choosing small pieces that I can influence–discovering how to support the agricultural and artisanal on the blockchain, how to think about redefining philanthropy with Crypto, lending my skills as a marketer to only projects that matter to me.That is not enough, but individually what I can do and hopefully, collectively in aggregate many doing their piece will drive things forward.

    1. Gotham Gal

      Very true. We can only do so much

  2. lisa hickey

    I’m a big believer in individual environmental actions being both helpful and necessary—for example, I’m excited that in Pasadena CA almost no one uses supermarket bags, instead either bringing their own or simply carrying their food out bagless. But I don’t want that to give a false sense of security—individual actions are not enough.Systemic problems need systemic solutions.We have to eliminate fossil fuels industry-wide and nationwide, we have to reimaging housing, and we have to understand the economic forces at work, perhaps changing the very nature of capitalism itself.But that is why I love that even though it is only the two of you writing about this here, today—both of you are in a unique place where you can understand the way economic systems create environmental change, and do what you can to drive innovation in this area forward.That is what you are already doing. Don’t underestimate yourselves. (Not that I think you do LOL.) Thank you for your leadership.

    1. Gotham Gal

      lol. Never underestimate

  3. LE

    States are requiring (or allowing) groceries to charge for a bag making consumers think about bringing their own bag to the store. I can’t tell you the amount of Amazon boxes that pile up at my office. And they go straight into the dumpster. No recycling at the office complex.That said (and I don’t know how true) much of recycled materials got shipped to China who no longer is taking that. So apparently it’s stacked up in warehouses.Remember when the homeless collected cans? I think a viable business would simply be collecting Amazon boxes. In my Dad’s wholesale business years ago he used to buy used boxes rather than new to ship out merchandise. Someone would show up and he would buy those boxes saving I think a great deal of money. It’s a business model that someone could do most office workers don’t want to schelp boxes to the dumpster or even the recycling bin if there is one. [1][1] Have not done a napkin on it other than knowing it used to be done years ago. And there are more boxes now than back then and some are getting thrown out with regular trash.

  4. Shalin Shah

    I would urge anyone interested in environmental preservation to investigate the global environmental impact of the factory farming of meat and dairy animals. The sheer scale of the (negative) impact continues to shock me. I agree w/ comments below that we can only do so much, but education remains the key towards enacting any meaningful change across the board.