Giving credit where credit is due
November 24, 2008
Posted by CindyW in : Opinions & Thoughts , 4 comments
Can you believe that Thanksgiving is this week?! Time seems to go faster and faster each year. Or is it just me?
Last year this time, I lamented on our seemingly thoughtless shopping culture and how the national shopping mania was damaging our environment.
My sentiment seems a bit different this year. We are in an unprecedented financial crisis. Many large companies in the Silicon Valley are in a panic mode, freezing all hiring, cutting jobs, and drastically reducing spending. Nationally it isn’t any better if not worse.
I almost feel guilty for not buying much stuff. Almost.
Here comes the biggest shopping day of the year, this Friday. What’s one to do? Honestly it is ridiculous that I am debating with myself whether I should go shopping to support the economy. Sigh.
Let’s say that somehow I decide to contribute to the economy this year, where should I put my dollars?
I’ve always been proud for not visiting Wal-mart, which has notorious labor and environmental practices.
So it surprised me to hear that the company announced in a sustainability summit in Beijing that all their suppliers were required to cut energy consumption by 20 percent, starting at the beginning of 2009.
Wal-mart has been working hard on supplier issues because they realized that the biggest part of their impact was not really their own operations, as big as they are, it’s what happens upstream, as they say, with all the products and where they’re made and there was only so long they could work on supply issues without going to China.
China supplies 70, 80 percent of the toys in the world, a huge chunk of the apparel, etc, etc. So they had to go there and what they’ve set is very tough goals – they said you have to meet certain environmental and social standards, you have to comply with the law in China, which is not something most manufacturers do.
Why is Wal-mart making such a seemingly stringent demand on its suppliers? I, for one, don’t believe a corporation is able to be or required to be altruistic.
Andrew Winston, a green consultant working for Wal-mart said, “I think the number of people who will pay more for green or sustainable products is still pretty small, and it’s probably going to stay small, especially now in tight times. But there’s sort of a different group of consumers, which is what some people call the conflicted consumers or conscious consumers. People who want more from their products. They think about where the product came from or how much energy it uses. And they care about those issues nearly as much as they care about the price and quality. But they want those things, I think, with no tradeoffs and that’s the big goal, I think, in sustainable products, finding ways to satisfy customers and satisfy their environmental and social needs without asking them to pay more.”
I think Wal-mart is just running a smart business. Years ago, little known to most customers, Wal-mart had the most advanced information system which served to reduce their operation cost a great deal.
Today they are simply betting that energy reduction IS the future. Product safety and labor fairness will very soon become a part of standard business practice. Wal-mart is staying ahead of the curve. When the rest of the retailers catch on, Wal-mart will remain to be the leader. This kind sound business strategy, I can respect.
Now that Wal-mart has talked the talk, it is time to watch whether they can walk the walk. For me, who remains to be somewhat a skeptic of Wal-mart for now, Walmart Watch is a place to monitor the company’s true behavior.
Shop at Wal-mart this year, anyone?
CindyW at Organicpicks
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Economy vs environment
November 17, 2008
Posted by CindyW in : Opinions & Thoughts , 7 comments
The daily dose of ever so depressing economic news does not exactly cheer up any of us. A couple of days ago, a friend forwarded me the now famous doom and gloom slides many entrepreneurs had recently received from one of their elite venture capital firms.
The gist of the 56 page presentation is that this recession is unprecedented in a perfect-storm sort of way – housing recession, over-leveraged financials, frozen credit market, global slowing, and a few other factors have all come together and pushed our economy to where we are today. Worse yet, there is no telling where this storm is taking us.
Yeah, all very depressing.
The slide that really caught my eye was the one that screamed consumer-driven economy. In 1987, the US GDP was $4.7 trillion, to which consumer spending contribution 66%. Twenty year later, the US GDP grew to be $13.8 trillion and 73% of which came from consumer spending.
In other words, we shop to generate three quarters of our GDP!
In comparison, consumer spending accounts for 55% of the GDP of Japan, the second latest economy in the world.
I have been an advocate for buying less and enjoying life more for a couple of years. But I am beginning to feel that I am contributing to the recession.
Do I feel bad about wrecking the economy? Not really. We have an unsustainable economy driven by an unsustainable consumption lifestyle both from the financial and environmental perspectives.
But in front us is a tanking economy that is threatening to take more jobs away from productive members of the society. Then what? Social unrest?
How do we approach this dilemma? Do we really only have a bad option and a worse one – economic collapse or consuming the planet to death?
Is it possible to keep the economic pie just as big and the consumer spending slice just as hefty without pillaging natural resources?
A friend of mine thinks buying high quality and durable goods that are made with more renewable material is a step forward. Instead of having twelve pairs of throw-away shoes, she suggests that we buy four pairs that are made from sustainable material with durable quality, “You use less raw material, but pay a lot more per pair, thereby still contribute to the economy.”
But isn’t the concept entirely anti-fashion? Can the fashion world ever be convinced that durability can be trendy and classy? I don’t see it.
How about electronics? Stop making crap that falls apart at the magic two year mark (so called planed obsolescence)? But the computer industry, and by extension the electronic gadget industry, are based on Moore’s Law – a new generation every 18 months.
Then we also have the question about the employment. If we purchase fewer items, albeit things with much higher quality and durability, do we still require the same number of designers and workers? Shall we institute a 35 hour workweek to spread the work like some European countries? I’d personally enjoy the shorter workweek, but also recognize that it would be somewhat an anti-competition policy.
Instead of stimulating the consumer-based economy, should the government boost a green economy that is based on overhauling our long-term infrastructure?
Build national grid to connect energy sources (where solar and wind energy can be optimally generated) to consumption centers (where the energy is used)? A huge project with work for a whole lot of people.
Weatherize millions of old buildings to significantly cut down energy waste? Another tremendous project with massive employment opportunities.
Support innovative companies in driving renewable energy cost to lower than coal?
Alas, I have a lot of questions and clearly no answers. But by asking myself these questions, I begin to see opportunities rather than just the doom and gloom.
With crises come opportunities. If you are down from listening to the morning news, just imagine if we do it right this time, we may just be able to survive the perfect storm and change the world.
One can always hope.
CindyW at Organicpicks
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Just one more, I promise
November 10, 2008
Posted by CindyW in : Opinions & Thoughts , 4 comments
I know I know, we are all very tired of the election. It’s all done. Let’s move on to the real tasks, and our equally historic challenges aren’t getting easier by the day.
I for one, really want to move on to a personal rant about how instead of giving $25 billion (they already got $25 billion not long ago) bailout to the big three auto companies, we can kick start a green economy, no matter how local, small and nascent it may be.
But I will do one last election related post - a forwarded letter from a good friend’s dad, who has been a minister in the rural areas of North Carolina for more than forty years. It made me want to work hard towards a better and a greener world.
Dear (my friend and his wife’s names),
I hope that you all are as happy today as we are about yesterday’s election. We have never been as involved in an election before as we have been this year–actually going out and knocking on doors some this past Saturday. This has put me in a reflective mood and I want to share some thoughts and observations with you.
The leadership of the country has passed to your generation. (I am really relieved that it didn’t pass up to my generation.) Since I still think of you as young (parents always do) this is an astonishing change, but it is also an exciting and important step forward into the future for our country. You are now in charge! This means we can really look forward to the future and get away from focusing so much on the past. But this is an awesome responsibility for Barack Obama and all of you in that generation. Your children’s future and the future of the world which are a matter of real interest to grandparents is in your hands. I have great confidence in Obama and in all of you to fulfill those responsibilities. For the remainder of our lives mom and I will watch the unfolding future of our family and all the world’s families with great interest.
Of course, this is has been a transformational election with the elevation of an African American to the Presidency. This is even more marvelous to my generation than it might be to yours. I grew up in the segregated South. I vividly remember my childhood movie theater in Clemson where all blacks had to sit in the “colored balcony.” I remember separate bathrooms and water coolers for whites and coloreds. The only black persons I knew as a child were a few women who worked in our home occasionally and for my grandparents. I never attended school with a black student until I was in graduate school at Duke Divinity School.
I lived, studied and began work during the Civil Rights days of the 1960s. Post 60s persons may have a hard time believing the tension and difficulty of those days–but then so do I! I will never forget the horror of the night that M. L. King was shot in 1968 (a year before Eric and Sara were born). As the operating head of Brevard College that year I was hosting the Executive Committee of the Board of Trustees, when someone came in the room with news of King’s death. The President of the board, a man I had always respected as a leader and generous benefactor to the college, actually clapped and said something like, “it’s about time!”
Now just 40 years later many millions of white men and women have helped to elect a man of African descent to become our President. As your mom and I said to each other this morning as we got up–”It’s a new day!” I am just grateful that I have had the opportunity of living through such a time as this and to be able to see the changes for the better that are occurring. Though I still know that in many quarters racism is still alive and I fear the nuts that are still out there somewhere hating Obama and all people not like themselves.
But enough about the past. As you can tell mom and I are excited about the future even at our age. We are proud of all of you and thankful for the wonderful children you have brought into the world and the positive direction you are giving them. Continue to let them learn about the world and life. Help them to have faith in the future and not to ignore the spiritual side of life. I cannot begin to comprehend the world they will live in when they are 68 years old.
In any case this is an historic week. I face the future with more confidence than before. I am proud of and love my family very much. Thank you for letting me share some of my reflections on the meaning of what has happened this week. AND REMEMBER YOUR GENERATION IS NOW IN CHARGE!!!
CindyW at Organicpicks
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Seems like a dream. Yet…
November 5, 2008
Posted by CindyW in : Opinions & Thoughts , 1 comment so far
From New York Times:
His triumph was decisive and sweeping, because he saw what is wrong with this country: the utter failure of government to protect its citizens. He offered a government that does not try to solve every problem but will do those things beyond the power of individual citizens: to regulate the economy fairly, keep the air clean and the food safe, ensure that the sick have access to health care, and educate children to compete in a globalized world.
CindyW at Organicpicks
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Earn your right to complain
November 3, 2008
Posted by CindyW in : Opinions & Thoughts , 8 comments
Tomorrow is a big day. If you can vote, vote. If you cannot vote, take a friend to vote.
When it comes to this particular political process, I must admit that I have a very pathetic record. Embarrassingly I have never voted until this year. You are aghast. I know, I know.
I never thought my vote mattered. Texas , where I lived for 10 years, reliably went Republican regardless how I voted. California , where I live now, is staunchly blue.
But that is not the point. It took me a dozen of years to realize that voting is my way of earning the right to complain. It has broken my heart to see the environmental destruction in the last eight years. But you know what? I could not be bothered to vote in 2000 or 2004. So I shouldn’t be whining.
Vote. I have sent in my absentee ballot.
But before you vote, please consider a number of recent events.
The White House is working to enact a wide array of federal regulations, many of which would weaken government rules aimed at protecting consumers and the environment, before President Bush leaves office in January.
Those and other regulations would help clear obstacles to some commercial ocean-fishing activities, ease controls on emissions of pollutants that contribute to global warming, relax drinking-water standards and lift a key restriction on mountaintop coal mining.
Thanks, this is really timely, since our drink water already contains rocket fuel.
Definitely check out the environmental scorecards of presidential candidates, senatorial candidates, and house candidates, thoughtfully put together by League of Conservation Voters.
Last, but not the least - if you are in California, you know that proposition 8 is highly contested. Please please read the incredibly touching and personal letter written by one of Greenbean’s family members. Every time I think about it, I am in tears.
It reminds me of Loving vs. Virginia case in 1967. I am stealing Wikipedia’s notes here:
“The plaintiffs, Mildred Loving (a woman of African and Rappahannock Native American descent, 1939 – May 2, 2008) and Richard Perry Loving (a white man, October 29, 1933 – June 1975), were residents of the Commonwealth of Virginia who had been married in June 1958 in the District of Columbia, having left Virginia to evade the Racial Integrity Act, a state law banning marriages between any white person and any non-white person.
Upon their return to Caroline County, Virginia, they were charged with violation of the ban. They were caught sleeping in their bed by a group of police officers who had invaded their home in the hopes of finding them in the act of sex (another crime). In their defense, Ms. Loving had pointed to a marriage certificate on the wall in their bedroom. That, instead of defending them, became the evidence the police needed for a criminal charge since it showed they had been married in another state.
Specifically, they were charged under Section 20-58 of the Virginia Code, which prohibited interracial couples from being married out of state and then returning to Virginia, and Section 20-59, which classified “miscegenation” as a felony punishable by a prison sentence of between one and five years.
On January 6, 1959, the Lovings pleaded guilty and were sentenced to one year in prison, with the sentence suspended for 25 years on condition that the couple leave the state of Virginia. The trial judge in the case, Leon Bazile, echoing Johann Friedrich Blumenbach’s 18th-century interpretation of race, proclaimed that
“Almighty God created the races white, black, yellow, Malay and red, and He placed them on separate continents. And but for the interference with His arrangement there would be no cause for such marriages. The fact that He separated the races shows that He did not intend for the races to mix.”
The Lovings moved to the District of Columbia, and on November 6, 1963 the American Civil Liberties Union filed a motion on their behalf in the state trial court to vacate the judgment and set aside the sentence on the grounds that the violated statutes ran counter to the Fourteenth Amendment.”
After years of going in and out of different levels of federal and state courts, the Lovings was finally vindicated in 1967.
“The U.S. Supreme Court overturned the convictions in a unanimous decision, dismissing the Commonwealth of Virginia’s argument that a law forbidding both white and black persons from marrying persons of another race, and providing identical penalties to white and black violators, could not be construed as racially discriminatory. The court ruled that Virginia’s anti-miscegenation statute violated both the Due Process Clause and the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. In its decision, the court wrote:
“Marriage is one of the “basic civil rights of man,” fundamental to our very existence and survival…. To deny this fundamental freedom on so unsupportable a basis as the racial classifications embodied in these statutes, classifications so directly subversive of the principle of equality at the heart of the Fourteenth Amendment, is surely to deprive all the State’s citizens of liberty without due process of law. The Fourteenth Amendment requires that the freedom of choice to marry not be restricted by invidious racial discrimination. Under our Constitution, the freedom to marry, or not marry, a person of another race resides with the individual and cannot be infringed by the State.”
Despite this Supreme Court ruling, such laws remained on the books, although unenforced, in several states until 2000, when Alabama became the last state to repeal its law against mixed-race marriage.”
Mere forty years ago, my husband and I would have been considered criminals by marrying each other.
We’ve come a long way and we have a long way to go.
Please vote.
CindyW at Organicpicks
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Copyright 2007 Organicpicks
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