The summer of 08' will forever be referred to by me as the "Summer of Green". Right as my partners and I launched a sustainably focused business it seemed nobody could get enough of "going green", "triple bottom line businesses, "sustainable ventures", etc. etc. What's the name of this website we're currently on again?

Just like everyone else who saw this progress and attention build, i wondered 'will it ever stop?'. Things with that much momentum usually fizzle out just as quickly as they get moving. I started to worry that this movement seemed like a much bigger deal because i was emersed in it. Obvious signs of momentum included; green weeks by major television networks, green tours by bands, and the nobel prize awarded to Gore.

Regardless of the fact that we might not be able to 'save the world' with our efforts, people are realizing that even the simple idea of conservation, as to not be piggish, is in our best interest. You thought the price of gas and an unusually hot and dry summer of 07' made people perk up and change their ways...well what about the economy?! Focusing on sustainability has not only survived and continued but is actually starting to be mandated.

I'll admit for all of us that we look 5-10 years when we think about our immediate financial situation. I was at a roundtable discussion regarding the future of this movement and someone said "the cost of putting environmentally friendly equipment [solar panels, geothermals, etc.] into our home still isn't viewed as being worth while because it takes people up to 5 years to start to recoup. People just don't stay put that long anymore". This struck me as very interesting because, for example, now governments are starting to mandate that all new commercial construction inside the city be up to a certain standard and not just letting you choose. Why is that? Well because cities look just a little further into their financial future than an average person.

If the policies that individual businesses started to adopt, profit or not, become adopted by mainstream and government and built directly into their standards and practices...you've got yourself more than a decent run at it.

I encourage all of you to continue finding ways to not only green yourself and your businesses but look towards ways to educate those around you. At that same roundtable, the question was posed, "Out of all the methods that are being used to grow this movement (i.e. government changes, new forms of energy, building changes, etc.), if you had to pick one thing to focus on to keep the momentum alive, what would it be? My answer. Educate.