I love Earth Day. I’m a veteran environmentalist and I love that on this one day of the year most other people are at least aware of the natural world they live in. I’ve been reading a ton of dystopian fiction lately and juxtaposed against this day of celebrating our planet, it makes me hopeful and filled with trepidation at the same time.
One of the reasons we are a virtual agency without a physical headquarters, instead distributed around the country in the home offices of our people, is because we are doing our part to save the planet. I walk twenty feet from my bedroom to my office. I look out over a forest of trees to the ocean. I spend most of the day using the internet and telephone to communicate with clients, pitch manuscripts, seal deals, and keep in touch. I write on a laptop and hardly print anything. I bookmark web pages instead of printing and filing them. I am trying to reduce my carbon footprint in any way I can.
And you know what? I’m much more efficient since I don’t have to drive to an office, spend time in endless meetings, can find information much more quickly on my computer instead of in a file cabinet, and can instantly call my contacts using my smart phone instead of using a business card or rolodex.
So, this Earth Day, I urge you to examine how you work in the 21st century. Are you using more paper than you need to? When was the last time you had your car tuned up? Do you recycle your printer cartridges? Do you recycle at all? How about reusing things instead of consigning them to the landfill?
Thanks for your indulgence. And GO GREEN!!!
