Why being green is hard: it's a revolution
I get to talk to some innovative people and companies about
sustainability, many of them with practical, solid ideas on making
sustainability easier to achieve in an enterprise. Some of these
approaches entail bigger investments, though many are about smaller
green steps that cumulatively boost energy efficiency.
There is value in focusing on smaller, practical measures,
especially at a time of shrinking budgets in manufacturing. On the
other hand, it can be deceiving to think that a few simple steps
can make our companies or the overall economy green and
sustainable. In reading New York Times Columnist Thomas Friedman’s
recent book, “Hot,
Flat & Crowded,” which delves into the challenges of what
he calls the “Energy-Climate Era,” Friedman rails against the
notion that adjusting to this new era can be simple. In chapter
nine, he points out that the consumer media is awash with headlines
like, “20 quick and easy ways to save the planet.” As Friedman
intones, “who knew that saving the earth could be so easy–and in
under a minute!”
In his
April 29 press conference ealier this week, President Obama
spoke of legislation that will spark a “clean energy revolution,”
while pundits and press regularly talk about the clean energy
revolution underway. But as Friedman rightly points out, by
focusing only on simple steps, we deceive ourselves into thinking
such as large-scale revolution can be pain free. “Have you ever
seen a revolution where no one got hurt?” Friedman asks. “That’s
the green revolution we are having.”
It’s hard to sum up the issues outlined in Friedman’s book, but
they entail macro-level challanges such as establishing a true cost
for carbon, adoption of electric vehicles on a grand scale, and how
to replace conventional (pulverized) coal-burning electricty
plants. He’s right that these are major problems that can’t solved
by following tips in a magazine’s green special issue.
The sustainability challenges in manufacturing are also huge, even
if steps like stopping wasted energy from air compressors make
complete sense. Just consider:
- We are likely going to enter some sort of cap &
trade system on a federal level, and some states or
regional authorities might get there sooner. Cap & trade is
going to cause many big industrial companies to rethink their
supply chains, or possibly some manufacturing locations. Suppliers
who can’t quantify their impact on a customer’s carbon
footprint could lose business to suppliers who are able to provide
the needed data. Industries that rely on coal-fired boilers might
have to add some costly new technologies or think of ways to offset
what can’t be feasibly changed out over the short term. - The rise of Smart Grid technology in the way electricity is
distributed and sold will present industrial customers with an
opportunity to save energy costs if they can implement a
demand-response approach to energy management. Unfortunately, most
facilities aren’t close to being able to do this. For one thing,
many facilities lack the type of submetering and real-time energy
monitoring software needed to know what they are using down the
asset level, and few are able to correlate that real-time data with
production management and scheduling systems. The companies and
facilities that are able to figure this out will be winners in a
clean energy revolution. Others could end up as casualties.
So let’s assume we are on the cusp of a clean energy revolution.
Maybe as Friedman points out, we really haven’t felt the pain yet,
but I think most everyone would agree a clean energy revolution
needs to happen. What’s the best response people in industry should
take?
To press the revolution metaphor further, we need to respond like
our fore fathers did at the time of American Revolution. Yes, we
need big ideas and high-level plans that call for sacrifice, much
like the Founding Fathers pursued with actions like the Declaration
of Independence. But at the ground level, managers in industry need
to be like the Minute Men–willing to take quick, small actions
without waiting for the grand plan to be handed down to them. I’ll
stop the metaphor there before you feel compelled to whistle Yankee
Doodle, but you get the idea: We are on the cusp of a revolution.
That revolution is going to take some grand efforts and public
policy, but also many small steps at the individual and corporate
levels. And like all true revolutions, it’s not going to be pain
free.
Roberto Michel commented:
Thanks everyone for your comments on this post. It's not my best written post. I didn't mean to say we should be all religious about being Green. I simply meant to say that for a manufacturing company or a society to be successful at being Green, some big changes may be necessary. You can't do it just by switching to new light bulbs. And at the corporate level, being Green is also about saving costs and helping the bottom line. Dow Chemical, for instance, has sunk $1 billion into Green efforts during the last decade, but has seen a return of close to $4 billion. That's not religious, that's good business.
Epictitus commented:
The idea of Green as religion is usually used negatively, an argument for why they shouldn't become a government mandated religion. My new perspective is, yes, they are a religion and, yes, they have a very good chance of "taking over" the US, but it has happened before. In the Roman Empire. In the Middle East (Islam). In Asia (Buddhism vs Hinduism). I'm thinking it's most likely inevitable. It's too big to stop now. Join or die. It took Christianity roughly 300 years to "conquer" Rome. Most likely this will be faster. Then, at some point it will run out of steam and give way to something else, perhaps worse, perhaps better.
Epictitus
hiatttn commented:
The green movement has become a religion. Thats not a joke or an irony its a fact. You actually have to have faith in it to believe because all of the science is not there. And a good many scientists have disproved it. You can allready voluntarily pay a penance for your sins. (see carbon credits) But unlike most religion it has moved into our government. What all of us are witnessing now is what the founding fathers were talking about when they wanted a seperation between church and state. The green movement is about to become a govt mandated religion. We will be forced to pay penance (see cap and trade) and practice its beliefs as the article above suggests. This is no different than the govt. telling us to do hail marys everyday. Religion is a good thing and caring about the enviroment is a good thing. But to force people to practice a certain religion or follow the green movement is a bad thing.
hiatttn commented:
Are you freaking serious??? Not only is the green movement total and utter bs it hand control of private citizens lives to the government. Perhaps you should read US history. The founding fathers fought against what you are talking about.
