Why are you Going Green?

Greening your business, be it large or small, isn’t easy. Sometimes it isn’t cost effective, and often, it is simply less time consuming to go another route.

Yet we still plow on. Why?

Today, I’m reminded of why I am going green. My baby sister graduated from high school tonight, and I traveled a few hours to my hometown for the ceremony. I already live in an area that it fairly rural (Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, PA), at least in relation to the nearby cities of New York and Philly.

My hometown though? You can drive for miles without passing other cars. It isn’t I can see three different cornfields from my seat by the window as I type. Their idea of an “exciting day” is when the cows get out or someone’s tractor catches on fire. Saying that this area is rural is an understatement.

And there are definitely bad things about that. Growing up, I had to drive 45 minutes to get to a mall or movie theatre. If you have an emergency, it takes a half hour to get to the hospital. Everyone has their noses in everyone else’s business because really, most people are related through marriage some way or another.

But I love it. I love the open fields of grass. I love the idea that I can hike back into the woods and pitch a tent and not hear any cars or people. I love breathing in the fresh air, even if it does smell like cow manure from time to time.

My sister’s graduating class already saw this world change a lot since they were born. 1990 feels like forever ago, and while I can’t say that the world has gotten “better,” at least in my opinion, the world has gotten more self-aware of growing problems. 20+ years from now when my future kids are the ones graduating, I want them to be able to go places that are fresh and open and clean…and I want to be able to look back and say that yes, the world has gotten a bit better.

That’s why I’m going green. It isn’t easy and I am not always successful, but I’m doing it for my future children.

Why are you going green?