The foundation of The United States government and our way of living is driven and motivated by the basic ideals of a capitalist society. This mentality and way of life has made our very young country very wealthly indeed, along with many of its society members. According to www.dictionary.com, by definition, capitalism refers to: an economic system in which investment in and ownership of the means of production, distribution, and exchange of wealth is made and maintained chiefly by private individuals or corporations, esp. as contrasted to cooperatively or state-owned means of wealth. In other words, business is business, and money makes the world go round. Given the ongoing and current concerns of the environment, is it even feasible for our businesses to go 'green' while maintaining a profit?
One theory suggests that continuous growth can be environmentally compatible if clean and efficient technologies are adopted, and if economies abandon production of material goods and focus on services. This is known as sustainable prosperity. Sounds pretty good, right? There's only one major concern: the cost it would take for businesses to adopt and comply might be inconcievable for many of them-literally putting them out of business. Most of American businesses are smaller, privately owned and operated; and the affordability factor to go 'green' is the major issue. In addition, in an effort to raise the capital needed to adopt the newer, more efficient technologies, layoffs would be inevitable.
It's so easy to point your finger at these companies and demand they be environmentally friendly; but if it meant losing your job, would you still be pointing? Bottom line: it's not easy going green in a capitalist society.
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We are four college students here to inform you of the good, the bad, and the ugly that exists in the current movement to go green. We dare to explore every frontier of the popular green trend by exposing the hidden truths to the untrained eye. We hope that you will listen to our ideas and return the favor by posting your own thoughts on the subject.
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3 comments:
Good insight. Expressive writing.
Well researched. I agree. I am all for not going green.
While I agree that "going green" definitely can be expensive for commpanies, those looking to do so typically have the funds to make the change and are looking at the money it could conceivably save them in the long run (in lower energy costs, lower water bills, etc). There are definitely some companies going green so that they can tout it "oh look, we went green!" but most are doing it to help their bottom line with the added bonus of being able to then say "oh look at us, we went green!" Arguing that "going green" may cost jobs and put companies out of business may have some validity, but then we get into the same area as the costs of healthcare for employees and higher minimum wage increasing spend and putting companies out of business too. In the end I think companies should be (and are) looking at it like we as individuals should look at it - do what you can, when you can and make a conscious effort to make better choices when you have the money to do so.
And by the way....the "green industry" is ramping up in a huge way - more and more jobs in this field every day. So maybe someone let go because their company "went green" might be able to find a new job working for a company or a group who provides "green" products or services.
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