thinking about the impact of carbon emissions / footprint / global warming versus the financial future of their families in present times.
I wonder if anyone has stopped to take a look at the relationship between how much time the individual average small - medium enterprise owner (or employee for that matter) places thinking about carbon emissions / footprint / global warming versus the financial future of their families in times like this.
Let's be honest.
When your personal financial back is against the wall because of the rising costs of doing business, brought about by an economy that the government of the day struggles with daily, or your job is in peril bought about by the hardship of the financial economic fallout combined with your boss' incompetence to actually run a good business, then why, on this earth, would you be stopping to change your life, let alone try and change the world and focus on the carbon footprint?
Don't get me wrong, in a very, very, very small way, I, like you, no doubt, do the simple things; conserve water, recycle, and turn lights off when you don't need them.
But, I still took over 100 plane flights last year to do business, cut down about three forests of trees for the paper we used in the office, and then to relax took my race car out to burn fuel at a rate of miles per gallon at every moment I could. In short, like many, I only thought about it when it suited me, or when I had the time to think about it.
And if this truly is how small - medium enterprise thinks then why is it that politicians continue to try and make global warming the headline when in fact all the average person is looking for is a way to buy cheaper fuel to get to their 'maybe' job, cover the electricity bill to stay warm, and afford that next flat screen TV (that uses a serious amount of nitrogen trifluoride, estimated to be 17,000 times as powerful as carbon dioxide, to create*) .... so they have something to do watch they sit home and save money?
What an interesting score card to keep in the coming weeks as the economy continues to shift both here and overseas. Take note of who is on the soap box and what are they trying to 'sell you.' Because right now, I'll put money on it that while politicians might be putting on a green face, they are really turning quiet blue with the impact of the world around them. And as a business consultant I can tell you that right now, business leaders are more interested in saving their business, than saving the planet.
*source Professor Michael Prather from the University of California has highlighted the issue in an article for the magazine New Scientist.
