Green bubbles in my beer

St. Patricks Day provides us an opportunity for an important object lesson. As we watch the bubbles rise and disappear in our green beer, we should be reminded that there are opportunities in the rising and inflating bubbles of the green and sustainability movements, but these bubbles too will burst, just as do the ones in our beer. Long term business and personal plans should not be built around green.

Our world has been beset by bursting bubbles: the tech bubble, the housing bubble, the stock market bubble, the tamper-evidence bubble..... Bubbles create opportunities for a time. The mistake that we make is believing that these bubbles will expand forever. If we don't get off soon enough, before the bubble bursts, the fall may be significant.

In the 70's we saw an environmental bubble move through industry. Folks became environmental engineers, companies created management positions to focus on the environment, and special consideration was given to projects that were perceived to have positive environmental consequences. Apparently this movement didn't work. Most of those folks found themselves seeking second careers. And arguably, the impact on the environment wasn't that great.

Similarly, the Tylenol scare led us to aggressively pursue tamper-evident packaging. That brought unexpected consequences and negative consumer reactions. While some good practices resulted from this, much time and money was wasted riding this bubble.

We should have expected the technology companies to create profits just like any other business. We should have purchased housing to live in and enjoy, not to speculate. We should have recognized that business can't improve every quarter for ever.

Similarly, we should be good stewards of the environment, not use the environment as a means to an end. We should conserve resources because it makes sense for our lifestyle and business, not because of edicts or incentives. Green is neither a means nor an end. It is merely one of many considerations to be given adequate account as we pursue our lives and our businesses.

It is good to pursue living green and being sustainable as long as it is done in balance. But don't build your life or business plans on the assumption that these movements will last. These bubbles will burst, probably sooner than later.

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Comments Thank you. You are most assuredly correct, but I hope that some ecological conservation survives the current wave. Posted by: The Labeler Guy on March 31, 2009 Post a comment (If you haven't left a comment here before, you may need to be approved by the site owner before your comment will appear. Until then, it won't appear on the entry. Thanks for waiting.) Name: Email Address: URL: Remember personal info? Comments: (you may use HTML tags for style) Type the word 'packaging' (required):