You can GROW!

Why don’t you grow your own food?

1. I don’t have a green thumb.
2. I don’t have the time to garden.
3. I don’t have the space for a garden.

If you feel this way, then I have the event for you!  Unity Gardens Growing Summit.  At the Unity Gardens Growing Summit you’ll have the opportunity to learn from various gardening experts.

1. Don’t have a green thumb?  There is no such thing. Anyone can garden!  You’ll earn simple techniques for how to successfully grow your own food.
2. Don’t have the time to garden?  You’ll discover ways to plant and grow gardens that don’t require you to spend hours in the garden.
3. Don’t have the space for a garden?  Have an old boot, a bucket or a flower pot?  Then you can have a garden!

So they question is, “why don’t you grow your own food?”

 

Green Times Three

This is the story of three little pigs, Donald, Sonny and Mark.  After spending the first part of their lives on the farm together they decided to leave the country behind them.  They  each took their small inheritance and set out into the big world to puruse their dreams of owning their own business.

The oldest  brother Donald was determined to trump his brothers in every way. His goal was to increase his profits and get rich.  He started a construction company and began building inexpensive homes.

In order to maximize his profits, Donald found the cheapest wood available for his homes. He cut all corners and developed a method of completing homes in record time. His neighborhoods went up faster than any other construction company in the area.  Because he was able to get his materials so cheaply, he was also able to sell the homes at a price that beat any other builder in the region.  People flocked to his homes and snapped them up as fast as he could build them. Donald was thrilled with his success, but he wanted more.  Looking for more ways to cut costs in his business and increase his profits he fired most of his staff and hired a pack of wolves who would work for low wages because no one else would hire them.  He eliminated their health benefits and worked them long and hard.  He continued to cut costs by purchasing  inexpensive, unseasoned lumber from South America where rain forests were being cleared to harvest the wood.  In a very short period of time the community was filled with his homes.

Donald became extremely wealthy and well known from his speedy construction.

Things went well for awhile.  Donald enjoyed his success.  But it wasn’t long before homeowners began discovering the poor craftmanship of their houses.  Neighbors complained with neighbors.  The homes became maintenance nightmares.   A class action lawsuit was filed.  As the investigation ensued the media spilled the news that the pig was using undocumented wolves to build his homes.  Donald lost everything and was sent to prison for profiteering.

Donald’s younger brother Sonny was a quirky environmentalist.  He was often referred to as a “treehugger” by those who knew him, but he didn’t mind.  He earned this nickname because of his determination to not harm any trees in the building of his homes. Sonny spent his entire fortune trying to develop a building material that had a  zero carbon footprint.  After many, many attempts he finally created a durable, wood-like substance made entirely from renewable and recyclable materials. It was the most eco-friendly building product in the world.  He received much recognition for his development, but because the product was so expensive to produce he has yet to sell one home.  He became a poor environmental activist, with limited influence.

Mark, Gary and Donald’s younger brother also built a construction business.  Mark felt that profit and planet were not going to be his motivation.  What he cared about was people.  Mark believed that people must be be happy and comfortable.  So Mark built  large luxurious homes that would make people feel more comfortable than ever before.  Mark was of the opinion that if people were comfortable and happy, that everything else would just work out.  People loved his homes, but in order to make them affordable he had to cut his profits. Mark tried hard to please everyone who hired him to design and build his homes.  People wanted more and more from him.  Soon he had spent all of his money trying to please people.  With nothing left to invest back into his company and he was forced to go out of business.

People still speak fondly about what luxurious homes he built.

The three little pigs found themselves broke and confused. After Donald’s release from prison the three of them got together to discuss what went wrong.  Mark had heard about a wolf who had built a very successful, local demolition company.  The wolf was a respected entrepreneur, philanthropist and public howler (or speaker if you aren’t a part of the animal kingdom).

They called the wolf and arranged a time to meet him at a work site.  When they arrived wolf was in the process of deconstructing an old vacant home.  He was surrounded by his workers who seemed happy and well paid.  Wolf explained to the pigs that the reason their businesses failed was because they weren’t sustainable.  Wolf knew this first hand for he too had once gone about business quite differently.  Earlier in his life his demolition company consisted of merely huffing and puffing and blowing a house down…sometimes while the occupants were still inside!  Wolf angered and frightened people everywhere.  He couldnt find laborers to work for him. He also lost money because he didn’t try to salvage anything from the homes he blew down.  Everything went into the landfill and ate up his profits in dumping fees.  In addition he was only increasing the landfill problem in the community.As

As wolf sat across from the three eager pigs that day he explained that a business is like a three legged stool.  It just doesn’t work unless all three legs are working together equally.

Wolf explained that his business also had three legs or what some call “The Triple Bottom Line“.  People.  Planet.  Profit.  They have to be considered equally.  If you ignore any one of them, you are setting yourself up for disaster because your business is becoming less sustainable.

The pigs listened intently as wolf explained that sustainability simply means that you are meeting your needs today in such a way that it isn’t preventing people of tomorrow from meeting their own needs.  In other words, you aren’t using up all your resources, whether those be people, planet or profits.

The three pigs looked at one another wide eyed.  The energy saving light bulb had come on.

Today the pig brothers own a company called “Green x Three”  They combined their passions into one home building business that incorporates green building technology into comfortable spaces at affordable prices.

They keep a close watch on the triple bottom line.

The last time I saw them they were at Green Drinks sharing sustainable ideas with a pack of young wolves who were howling in approval.

Plant a Garden, Grow a Community

My dog Gigi and I went for a walk in my garden yesterday.  Since it was a cold, winery day in February, it was covered in snow.

All that remained from last summer’s harvest were the mounds that once held potatoes and a few brown, unrecognizably, withered plants in crumpled heaps along barely-visible rows. I had to think hard to recall what they once were: Tomatoes? Peppers? Tomatillos?

I spied a bit of quarter-sized green popping out of the snow. I knew instantly what it was. Only mustard greens could survive the harsh winter.  I smiled at their tenacity. Like the stubborn pioneer they seemed to proudly say, “By Golly, I made it this far and worked this hard, a little bit of winter isn’t going to get the best of me!”

The sight of that tiny plant caused my mind to race back to the Monte Cristo sandwiches with mustard greens that I made last summer. Oh! And the Indian style mustard greens with cumin that filled my house with a divine, spicy aroma. my mouth watered at the memory of the big pot of mixed greens I made with the mustard and kale. In one instant I was inspired to both garden and cook.

There were no other signs of life in the snow.

But my garden was quiet alive…with memories.

I recalled the day a car stopped on the adjacent street, rolling down her window she asked what I was harvesting.

“Mustard greens” I yelled.

“Oh I love me some mustard greens!” she yelled back. “Can I get some too?”

“You sure can.” I responded. “In fact you can have anything you want in the garden.

“Oh Good! I’m going to come back and get some and fix me a big pot of greens…with bacon!”

“You do that!” I smiled.

She drove off with a sense of purpose. The next day I noticed all the mature mustard had been harvested.

Another day while I was gingerly digging around the base of the potato plants to find new potatoes, three elementary age children stopped by out of curiosity. They wandered around the garden looking at the plants with no sign of recognition.

“Do you know what those are?” I pointed at the plant they were gathered around.

They shook their heads in response. I stopped my digging and introduced them to each plant. I showed them the cherry tomatoes that weren’t quite ready for picking yet, the blooms of the watermelon, the tiny zucchini and together we sampled the snow peas.

“What were you digging?” they asked

“New potatoes” I replied.

I could tell by their blank expression that my words meant nothing to them.

“Come over here and I’ll show you what I’m talking about.”

I opened my bag and showed them the small red, yellow and white potatoes I had just unearthed from the mounds. Their eyes got big with excitement.

“Do you like potatoes?” I asked

“Yes! I like mashed potatoes! one of them said excitedly.

I took them to a row of potatoes and demonstrated how to gently dig around the base of the plant near the surface to uncover the tiny tender tubers.

It was as if I had shown them buried treasure…perhaps I did.

I gave them each a bag and they excitedly began unearthing new potatoes to take home. I told them to take only what they thought they would eat and to come back in about a week to get some green beans to go with them.

I love my garden.

I love it because it isn’t just MY garden,  it is the community garden.

I don’t own my garden. I didn’t plant my garden. I don’t harvest everything from my garden. I simply contribute to my garden along with many other people.  Some plant, some water, some weed and many harvest.

My garden is  just one of over 50 community gardens in South Bend established by Unity Gardens.

Frankly I take away very little produce from it because for me the greatest harvest is the investment in my community. Because that garden exists, I get to interact with neighbors that I wouldn’t otherwise meet. I get to help children learn joy of growing and harvesting your own food. I get to see hungry people fed and fed people give back to the community.

That’s MY garden. It’s your garden too. I hope to see you there.

But If you want mustard greens you better get there before I do!

—
Joel Barrett
http://www.reason2return.net
South Bend, IN
(574) 226-9550

Front Yard Gardens

Do you have a front yard?  What vegetables or fruits do you have planted in the front yard?  Last year I had about 12 different herbs, 4 kinds of tomatoes, swiss chard, kale and jalapeno.  Does that seem odd to you?  To many it does.  In fact, in many neighborhoods there are “lawn ordinances” that would prevent someone from planting vegetables in their front lawn.  This week I came across a really cool website and video about planting gardens in the front yards of homes.  Now that’s a neighborhood I could live in!  Please take a moment and watch this fun little video and take particular note of the great things that happen around the neighborhood when gardens start popping up all over.

Food Is Free

Ignorance Isn’t Always Bliss

I posted a somewhat complaining post earlier this week about my frustrations in trying to get the library at IUSB to respond to my request for an appointment with a reference librarian to assist me with my research.  I filled out the online form exactly as instructed and then waited, and waited, and waited.  No reply.  Thanks to my classmate’s suggestion, today I called the librarian directly and left a voicemail.  She returned my call this morning.  Apparently the online form is not working for everyone that submits a request.  They had no record of my submission.  The librarian Julie was apologetic and helpful.  She has already set herself into motion in helping me electronically rather than in person.  I feel much better now.  I also feel better because the library is now going to be looking into their online submission form and why it isn’t working correctly.

Isn’t that a lot like sustainability issues around us?  How many times throughout history have we just assumed something was working because no one had ever shown us differently?  It is easy to become complacent and have an if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” attitude.  But if we don’t know it is broken can we really say it doesn’t need to be fixed?

In 1970 the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) was created because people like Rachel Carson, author of Silent Spring were brave enough to say “It’s broke!  We must fix it!” (that’s an over simplified paraphrase of her book, but you get the point).  She warned us that if we didn’t stop using the chemical pesticides that were common in that time we would one day wake up to a silent spring in which no birds were singing.  Because of people like Rachel, the world was alerted to a system that was broke.

Today our air, water and land is cleaner than it was in 1970.  Ignorance is not bliss.  What are we ignorant of today that may be hurting us and we don’t even know it?

Sustainability Frustrations

Most days I’m quite a tolerant person.  Today is not one of those days.  Today I’m frustrated with the inefficiencies of my university’s library.  I submitted a request to meet with a reference assistant to help me discover new and exciting resources for my work.

I saw the first red flag go up when I was completing the online form.  On the form it asked a series of questions and then included 3 blanks in which I was to write my preferred days and times to meet.  I couldn’t help but notice there were no parameters on those blanks.  My schedule is not flexible right now, but since the library didn’t give me any guidelines of when they could or could not meet, I listed three different days and asked for 6pm on any of those days.

The second red flag was no communication verifying that my request had been received.  It’s been over a week now and I have heard nothing.   The third red flag for me was when one of my classmates sent us an email with a librarian’s contact info in case we hadn’t heard from anyone so we could contact her. I thought that was the purpose of the online form?

My assignment was to schedule and complete this appointment and then blog about the experience.  This is what I am doing now.  I’m blogging about my frustration with a system that doesn’t work and the fact that no one seems to be doing anything about it, and now others are suffering because of it.

But wait, isn’t that what really what my project is all about?  It’s about systems that we have in place that appear to work on the surface, but over time we’ve learned that not only are they not working, they are actually bringing harm  to others.  This is not sustainable.  In order for something to be truly sustainable, it has to be working for the present and bringing no harm to the present or the future.  Sustainability means a cycle just keeps going that keeps things naturally alive and thriving and replenishing.  It takes into account the triple bottom line: People, planet and profit.

This online reference appointment system is not sustainable.  I’m now stuck.  they missed all three of my suggested appointment times and now because of my trip to New York City next week i wont’ be able to get an appointment until two weeks from now.  I have had to write to my professor to ask him to please not let this negatively affect my grade since it was out of my control.

So what am I going to do?  I’m going to let the library know that their system is not working.  It would be better to not have a system than to have a broken one.

All this reminds me of so many unsustainable practices that we just tolerate because they are in place.  Inefficient fuel guzzling vehicles, typical front “lawns”, oil dependence, excessive plastic use, downtown South Bend’s lack of a commercial recycling program, pesticides, herbicides, GMO’s and more.

Why do we tolerate something that not only is hurting us, but will also hurt generations to come?

My Community is Smarter than your Community!

Photo Courtesy of Matthew Kraus

I’ve been working on an idea called Green Spaces in Everyday Places.  I’d like to explore the many facets of what a green space can be.  It isn’t just your local park, it could be your local parking garage.  The purpose is to get people to think outside the box of definitions that have become narrow, but social norms.

In her article Smart Communities Will Build Green Infrastructure, Annie Donovan challenges the narrow definitions of urban infrastructure. She does an outstanding job of acknowledging the validity of the popular ideas that come to mind when the word is mentioned, but then continues by encouraging a way of working smarter instead of harder.

For too long, most planners and investors have thought about the natural environment as an impediment to developing infrastructure.

innovative urban planners, policy-makers, social entrepreneurs and impact investors are advancing the development of natural or green infrastructure (GI).

Green infrastructure generally refers to the use of the natural landscape instead of engineered structures.

In other words, instead of working AGAINST nature, work WITH nature.

Donovan focuses her article primarily on stormwater management.  While this may not seem like a sexy topic, it is one that is impacting cities large and small all across the USA.  Not sure why that’s important?

Stormwater runoff, caused by rainwater running off impervious pavement, is a principal cause of urban waterway pollution nationwide.  According to the National Resources Defense Council, impervious spaces in the built environment generate 10 trillion gallons of untreated runoff per year.  What’s more, many communities have combined sewer systems, whereby sewage and stormwater runoff are captured in a single pipe system.  When storms hit, these systems can overflow, sending untreated sewage into rivers, lakes, beaches, and drinking water supplies.

She then uses Superstorm Sandy as a compelling reason why incorporating natural infrastructure into urban communities.

Natural infrastructure can help protect coastal communities from storm surges and catastrophic flooding.  As climate change increases the likelihood of extreme weather events,  we must be prepared for storms powerful enough to destroy whole communities.

In all fairness, Donovan does not try to oversimplify the solutions.  She admits that there challenges:

• There are multiple approaches to managing stormwater and that no one approach serves as the answer for all communities and  municipalities.
• Systems are underground and cross public and private borders along with city and county borders leaving the question “who’s going to manage this” as a serious question difficult to answer.
• Definitional problems.  Tax exempt bonds can refer to a “structure” but what is a structure?  A tree?  A rain garden?  A rain barrel?
• Lack of historical data to make investors comfortable.

Donovan then proceeds to give several examples of  pioneers who, despite the challenges have become “mold breakers”.  These examples extend to include federal, state and local levels.  Her list explains how these solutions have gone about financing their work.  So she leaves us with a great sense of hope, rather than a “what’s the use?” feeling.

Her closing remarks call for action.  She challenges us to begin investing in these solutions so they can gain momentum and make us smarter!

After all, who doesn’t want to live in a smart community?

I See Green People

I see green people.

It was in my late twenties when I first became aware of this sixth sense of mine. It was Rush Limbaugh who helped me recognize my gift. As a loyal “dittohead” (as his listeners are called) I heard him repeatedly warn of the destructive agenda of those “Environmentalist wackos”. He told us they were willing to sacrifice anything for the sake of the environment, even if it meant our nation’s security, economy and well-being. He pointed out their close alliance with other radical, left-wing groups such as the “animal rights crowd” and feminists or “feminatzis” as he liked to call them. Thanks to Rush, my sixth sense was highly developed.

There I was, going about the day, minding my own business, and then I would see them…the green people. They were so obvious to me. Walking pretentiously down the sidewalk in their ill-fitted vintage clothing they reeked of patchouli oil, most likely to cover up the musty odor of their secondhand outfit. They clearly wanted to be seen. They plastered the back of their cars with bumper stickers about saving spotted owls, Greenpeace, or supporting some liberal politician. They appeared on the evening news protesting job-producing businesses that needed to clear land in order to manufacture our luxury goods. They rushed to rescue stranded whales on beaches. They ate vegetarian meals and drank organic tea in the restaurants. They disgusted me. I feared them. They seemed to be shrieking doom and gloom at me. Wide eyed they wandered about moaning of global warming, world hunger and clean air. I tried to ignore them, hoping they would go away. But they did not. I knew they were always present, waiting for the next opportunity to complain about some successful capitalistic endeavor. As the years passed I grew accustomed to their presence. Eventually they no longer caught my eye. Perhaps Kermit the Frog was right. “It’s not easy being green.” I was sure their numbers were dwindling like a needless endangered species.

A lot of water has gone under the bridge since my twenties — much cleaner water, thanks to the Safe Drinking Water Act. Recalling the words of Ray Kroc, “When you’re green you’re growing. When you’re ripe you rot.” the question burning inside me was: “Am I green and growing or am I growing green like a forgotten hunk of cheese in the refrigerator?” I turned off the life-sucking poison of Rush Limbaugh and decided to allow myself to grow again. It was only natural that I then rediscovered the nutrient rich soil of National Public Radio and let myself take root in my local station working as an account executive. Suddenly I began seeing them again…the green people. But this time, they seemed different – almost normal. They weren’t shrieking, moaning or complaining. They weren’t hugging trees or dancing naked in the moonlight around a fire. Yet they were indeed green. I wanted to know more.

In my quest to understand these people I initiated a conversation with Mike Keen, the director of the Center for a Sustainable Future on the campus of Indiana University South Bend. He showed up at my office in professional clothing. I couldn’t help but notice, he didn’t smell of patchouli oil. When he spoke he didn’t warn of doom and gloom nor did he give me a list of things that must immediately change in my life. He barely mentioned the environment and instead he calmly presented new ideas like: living a more sustainable lifestyle, considering the triple bottom line and The Natural Step. This was the first of many conversations with Mike. A friendship was formed. I met other green people and with their help a network was built. I found myself at the center of all things green. I embraced my new friends and their ideas, which weren’t “wacko” at all. They actually made sense. Sustainability simply meant meeting my present needs without compromising the ability of my children and grandchildren to meet their own needs. It simply meant viewing ourselves as stewards of natural resources rather than consumers of them. It meant making decisions according to what was best for the triple bottom line, which included people and planet and not just profits. It meant I could think for myself. I could make my own decisions for what was best for me. I simply had to look at where I wanted to be in my life and then start taking the next natural steps toward that goal of a more sustainable life. I began to reduce, reuse, recycle and all those other “r” words that I now realized my own dad had taught me, only his “r” word began with “f”. It was frugality.

I liked the green people.  They weren’t radical at all. They simply cared about their world. The more I learned the more green I became. I started a blog called “The Accidental Environmentalist”. I helped organize the Sustainable Business Roundtable. I began the Green Initiative for WVPE. I organized a mayoral proclamation of thirteen area mayors to declare June to be “Green Michiana Month”.

In 2009 Mike and I started South Bend Green Drinks. It was the natural thing to do. Every third Tuesday of the month green people come together for a drink at a locally owned bar, restaurant or business. They don’t carry signs of protest or wear sad faces. They meet, laugh, talk, and make friends while sharing a drink together. It happens…organically! The idea isn’t unique to us. It began in 1990 by a green man in London named Edwin Datschefski. He liked meeting with other green people at a pub for a drink, so he organized it into a monthly gathering and created an informational website called Green Drinks. Soon other cities started their own monthly Green Drinks and asked Edwin to include them on his website. His website still exists today. When you go to Green Drinks.org you’ll find the number of cities around the globe that now have Green Drinks is rapidly approaching 1000. You’ll find chapters in well-known cities, small towns and even in those far away places with strange-sounding names. Try telling Edwin that it isn’t easy being green!

I still see green people. I see them all over our community. It isn’t always easy to spot them. They blend in quite well. But if you’d like to see fifty or more of them together in one sighting, I encourage you to come to South Bend Green Drinks on the third Tuesday of each month. There you will find green people from all walks of life. I’ll introduce you to Scott the attorney, Becky the small business owner, Mitch and Sara the community gardens organizers, Jonathan the city leader, Scott the educator, Carol the writer, David the dancer, Myles the college student, Kellirae the musician, Tracy the interior designer, Dan the entrepreneur, Sue the baker, Bill the architect and many, many more. When you come you’ll find people. People who care about the world in which they live. People with children, pets, jobs and houses. People whose common interest is a desire to leave the world a better place than when they found it and they are doing it one natural step at a time.

I see green people. I hope you do too.

Whatcha growin’?

Whether you’re growing grass, vegetables, cutting flowers, fruit, trees, shade plants, herbs or maybe just growing your interest in gardening you have room for knowledge and inspiration.  In March there is an opportunity for those who grow…to grow.

Me at the 2012 Growing Summit

Unity Gardens 3rd Annual Growing Summit
March 22, 23 & 24

There will be workshops, demonstrations and tables of information.  If you attend, I promise, you’ll GROW!

Stay tuned for more details.

 

Keeping Sustainability Sustainable

My google search alert for “sustainability” led me to a surprising conservative source Townhall.com.  Often the topic of sustainability is associated with a more left-wing crowd.  The word green has long carried with it connotations of hippies, tree huggers, a liberal agenda and heavy government regulations.  So bearing this in mind, I was surprised to find an article by Paul Driessen that had portions which resonated with me.  He asks the question:

What is sustainability?  What is – or isn’t – sustainable?

He refers to the accepted, popular definition established by the UN in which sustainability in its simplest form means:  meeting the needs of the  present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.  I don’t get the impression that Mr. Driessen disagrees with the intent of that definition, in fact his closing words would generate a hearty “amen” from even the most godless liberal.

We should and must always strive to conserve energy, water and other resources, reduce dangerous air and water pollutants – and be sustainable.  But we cannot afford to let “sustainable development” become just one more pretext for ceding more power to unelected, non-transparent, unaccountable overseers.

I don’t believe any of my “green” friends want to live in a world controlled by “unaccountable mandarins who impose policies, regulations, decisions and consequences on others.”  In fact, that would be unsustainable itself!  To discuss sustainability without also including the companion piece commonly known as the Triple Bottom Line: People, Planet and Profit or Environment, Economy and Society is pointless.  Mr. Driessen makes no mention of this important principle.  Sustainability has to take into account the impact it will have on all three.  In order for a sustainable idea to work it has to be feasible for all three.

Mr. Driessen doesn’t use the word “greenwashing” but he illustrates it by mentioning companies who use creative public relations to promote their so-called green efforts.  He mentions one who boasted in their annual report of having reduced the number of paper cuts among employees.  While this may seem to be a laughable thing to applaud, it could very well be a quite creative way of illustrating how the reduction of paper impacted the triple bottom line.  If less paper is being used then the environment wins because fewer trees are being destroyed and landfills filled.  The economy wins because the company is spending less on paper and band aids.  The people win because they have less paper to deal with and therefore fewer paper cuts.    So does it seem absurd to call that sustainability?  Perhaps on the surfaces it does, but I would challenge Mr. Driessen to looking beyond the surface of what may have been a creative annual sustainability report.

What Mr. Driessen proposes something he refers to as real sustainability.

Real sustainability seeks constantly improving technologies and practices: conserve energy, be more efficient, cut costs, to keep companies profitable and employees employed; tune up cars, keep tires inflated, and improve traffic light sequencing, to move traffic along, increase gas mileage and reduce pollution; use high yield farming to get the most crops per acre, reduce water use and improve nutrition.

Once again I believe he would find agreement with 99% of this statement (with the exception being his reference to high yield farming, but that’s another topic for another blog post).  Good sustainable decisions  look at improving technologies and practices in ways that are sustainable for people, planet and profit.  Making my house have a zero carbon footprint could be achieved, but to do so would not be financially feasible and therefore would bankrupt me.  This does not mean I can’t have it as a goal, but I’m going to have to address it in small steps that won’t break my budget or me!

Mr. Driessen thinks that sustainability “dogma” requires hat policy decisions be made while looking in a crystal ball that will tell us how what the future is for developing new energies, metals, or other resources  and if they are sustainable or not.  Sustainability is not without some uncertainty.  But if history has taught us anything, it has taught us that all too often we have erred on the side of destroying resources rather than preserving them.  The focus was all  too often on only the “profit” portion of the triple bottom line.

Perhaps the most egregious error Mr. Driessen makes is in his choice of examples of what “they” declare as sustainable:

• Ethanol – I am not sure who told him this, but Ethanol is widely considered an extremely detrimental product to both the planet and people.  It requires mass corn production in huge expanses of mono-crops which use harmful pesticides, herbicides damaging our soil and water.
• Wind Energy – Driessen declares that because millions of birds and bats are killed through wind turbines that they should not be considered sustainable.  He must not be aware that this has indeed been a serious concern among sustainability advocates and has resulted in improved technologies and designs which are reducing or eliminating this problem
• US use of foreign oil, gas, rare earth, platinum, gold and other resources while refusing to develop our own – This too is a serious concern among sustainability advocates.  The use of foreign resources is not a sustainable one.

Mr. Driessen arguments seem to be based in fear:

The fundamental problem with UN/activist/EPA “sustainability” is that it is infinitely elastic and malleable. No one can really know what it means, and it’s the perfect weapon in the hands of anti-hydrocarbon, anti-development activists. Whatever they support is sustainable. Whatever they oppose is unsustainable.

To the extent that their agendas foster “social justice” and “poverty eradication,” they will do so only in the context of climate protection, biodiversity, green growth, renewable energy, and an end to “unsustainable patterns of consumption and production” – as defined, evaluated and implemented by UN or EPA-approved scientists, regulators and activists, assisted largely by assumption-laden, agenda-driven computer models.

Worst of all, this UN/activist/EPA version of sustainable development would mean unelected regulators will increasingly control energy use, economic growth, wealth redistribution, and people’s lives, living standards, health and well-being. And they would do so without the essential safeguards, checks and balances of robust science, independent courts, democracy, transparency, honesty and accountability.

Some of my green friends.