Green vs Green

So what does sustainability mean? Where does it start? What benefits does it have? Who's responsible for this? This effects everyone in the world and as the world keeps evolving, the need for sustainability increases. I can recall a couple of years ago other students talking about how sustainability was important to them and they wanted to major in it. I was like what are they talking about. Well it has taken me some time, but I now understand the importance and the need for sustainability in numerous aspects of the world. So let's get educated.


William McDonough-


Over the past several years our description of environmental regulations as "a signal of design failure" has often been taken as an outright rejection of regulations of any kind. This interpretation couldn't be further from the truth. We need regulations to protect our air, water and soil precisely because design failures are so prevalent.

There is an alternative. When we see a heavily regulated industry, rather than condemning either the industry or the regulations, we see an opportunity for re-design, a chance to make energy and manufacturing systems so inherently healthful, productive and socially beneficial regulations become unnecessary. This shift from mere compliance to creative innovation is a key to competitive advantage in the global marketplace.

Regulations In A Time of ChangeThe transition, however, is just under way. We have only begun remaking the way we make things. While new designs are yielding products and processes that create habitat or purify water or safely generate renewable energy, strong signals of design failure persist and regulations still have a role. When women's breast milk is regularly contaminated with persistent organic pollutants the chemical companies that produce them need to be regulated until they have redesigned the products and processes that cause harm. This is especially urgent: Over the past 19 years, frequent testing in the countries of the EU has not revealed a single case in which a woman's breast milk would be allowed as drinking milk.

 As Thomas Jefferson said, "life is for the living," and diminishing the life and the choices of our children and grandchildren is a kind of remote tyranny. Regulations that preserve choice and environmental health preserve democracy.

http://www.mcdonough.com/writings/regulation_redesign.htm

At some point our safety has to come first before sales and advertising and the fastest way to make money. Sustainability effects our health and safety and now corporations are getting smarter and smarter on how they design in order to persuade us to purchase what they want. For instance a grocery store will have "green" signage throughout the store or even adjust pricing to allow us to purchase foods that are unhealthy but easy to produce and manufacture. Here's a clip on how this is affecting us.

Is it time to take back our lives yet????   Individually we need to enforce the force. What I mean by this is simple, the force of sustainability. Enforcing sustainability within your own lifestyle is a great way to start.

Look out for green washing.  Green washing is another form of mis-leading the consumer by advertising that the product is environmentally friendly. Although as a society, out conscious effort is there to contribute to this "green" trend but be aware of what is in your products whether it be food, cosmetics, cleaners, paint, flooring, etc. Just because the package is green doesn't mean it is any different than any other on the market.