We were hard pressed to think that we would ever write about the alignment of President Obama, Governor Schwarzenegger, James Cameron and the companies of Google, Apple, Microsoft, and Intel, but we are. These and others, including the California Teachers Association, the American Lung Association, and the CA League of Women Voters, are banding together to work for the defeat of Proposition 23 in California. Proposition 23 would effectively suspend AB32, AKA the Global Warming Act of 2006. Prop 23 ties California’s unemployment rate to AB32. AB32 would be suspended until California’s unemployment rate sinks to 5.5% or less and stays there for a year. AB32 is one of the initiatives we document in our book.
On the other side, in support of Prop 23, some strange bedfellows, too, like the CA Firefighter’s Association, The Coalition of Labor, Agriculture & Business, and the United Association of Journeymen and Apprentices of the Plumbing and Pipe Fitting Industry, traditionally democrat, and the CA Republican Party (sans the governor). According to http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/greenspace/2010/03/ab-32-ballot-initiative-global-warming-california-climate-change.html Ted Costa, head of the Peoples Advocate, withdrew initial support in March 2010, saying, “”Big money interests have come in and shut out the people.”
There’s pretty big money on both sides of the issue. Louise Bedsworth, a research fellow at the Public Policy Institute of California, predicted in April that total campaign spending on Proposition 23 could top the $154 million record set in 2006 by Proposition 87. (http://tinyurl.com/prop23-cost). The largest contributors on the support side are some CA based oil companies, oil refiner companies, or companies and associations supporting the oil and gas industry. The largest contributors on the “Vote No” side are the companies listed in the beginning of this post.
To quote from our book, “There may be quite a debate around the true causes (of global climate change) are, but one only has to look at the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s (IPCC) Fourth Assessment Report (2007) to answer the question on whether or not there is a significant change in the world’s climate….” the recent trend may or may not be part of a “much larger cycle”, but it is clear that something is going on and that green house gas emissions are contributing to the change.
As project managers, at the least, we need to know how the vote goes. No one is really sure how many jobs (projects) are being created and maintained while companies work to comply with AB32, but we can speculate that if Proposition 23 passes, those jobs will vaporize, except for those companies who agree with our assertion that “a project run with green intent is the right thing to do…”
And this is no British fantasy comedy, but the largest solar project ever to be built on U.S. public land. A $6 billion solar power project has been approved by the Obama administration. It is the start of a boom in solar power on federal lands. This project will be built in the Mojave Desert near Blythe, California. “Today is a day that makes me excited about the nation’s future,” (Ken) Salazar said Monday at a news conference. “This project shows in a real way how harnessing our own renewable resources can create good jobs here at home.”
“Opt Out of Print” screams the insert in the most recent PM Network Magazine. “Do your part to conserve resources.” That is a terrific idea with green intent. And, conserving resources doesn’t only mean saving trees. If everyone decided to read PM Network electronically, it would mean saving the human resources required to put together a print journal. Even if everyone didn’t “opt out of print”, only if some did, it would save trees, transportation (reduce carbon footprint), human resources, etc. Yet, the bottom-line is the bottom-line. How much would going electronic with PM Network , even some of the readers, save in $ resources for PMI®? Just like we say in 
Naked Fly Fishing Not Recommended
Those of you who know our book, know that Patagonia is one of those companies at the “Top of Their Game” when it comes to sustainability. Also, those of you who use the products probably know the story of how Patagonia got started when founder Yvon Chouinard felt that the current pitons were harming the rocks he was climbing and invented a more environmentally friendly piton. But what you may not know relates to fly fishing.
Well, you may ask, “Why is fly fishing relevant to me?” It may not be per sec, but while Rich and I are both fishermen, I am a fly fisherman bordering on fanaticism and obsession. Fly fishing may also be why I was drawn to project management or vice versa. You see, fly fishing to me is about the process; fly tying, getting ready for a trip, the precision gear, the anatomy of a river, stream, pond or lake, rather than catching fish. Although I do catch my fair share and practice catch and release. But that is getting a little off track.
In the most recent edition of Fly Fishing in Saltwater, there is small article about Patagonia continuing there sustainability efforts entitled “Patagonia – Green to the Extreme.” While I don’t think it is so extreme, more of a necessity, Patagonia is undertaking an effort to eliminatepaper catalogs. What a great thought! Tired of getting your mailbox stuffed with catalogs, especially around Christmas time? Patagonia has published their second e-catalog. While it does have the feel of a magazine, it can do so much more, especially with its videos. And, it is not only green, but the way I figure it, helps the company’s bottom-line.
The Environmental Defense Fund’s paper calculator estimates that Patagonia will save 1.5 million gallons of waste water, 220,860 pounds of
solid waste, 1,222 trees, and almost 600,000 pounds of CO2. While there are some development costs for the e-catalog, I am sure that the savings far outweigh those costs; thereby adding to the company’s bottom-line, and fitting well into the Triple Botton Line (People, Planet, Profits). I for one love the products and proudly display a Patagonia decal on the window of my SUV. Yes, I told you I tend to lean a little toward the Hummer side of the spectrum. But I’d have trouble towing my boat to the water or my trailer full of yard waste to the composting facility with a Prius. Although for trips other than to go fishing/boating or towing I do have a much more efficient vehicle, trading in a gas guzzler for that. Anyway, it is not about me, or maybe it is, my being a fly fisherman.
On page two of the catalog there is a “commitment” to fly fishing where they say that they spent untold hours on research and development to ensure that the products they povide are the finest that can be produced so that fly fishermen can concentrate on the sport rather than on the “vagaries of Mother Nature.” And, all is done in a sustainable way. Be assured that the e-catalog is not the only effort to reduce their impact on the environment. The World Trout® Initiative, is addressing the following issues: “overfishing and destruction of habitat threaten trout populations worldwide. Humans are the cause, though they may also be trout’s saviors.” Read more about the World Trout® Initiative. (The picture below is also from Patagonia’s website.)
I can only quote Robert Travers (better known for his novel “Anatomy of a Murder”);
“I fish because I love to. Because I love the environs where trout are found, which are invariably
beautiful, and hate the environs where crowds of people are found, which are
invariably ugly. Because of all the television commercials, cocktail parties,
and assorted social posturing I thus escape. Because in a world where most men
seem to spend their lives doing what they hate, my fishing is at once an
endless source of delight and an act of small rebellion. Because trout do not
lie or cheat and cannot be bought or bribed, or impressed by power, but respond
only to quietude and humility, and endless patience. Because I suspect that men
are going this way for the last time and I for one don’t want to waste the
trip. Because mercifully there are no telephones on trout waters. Because in
the woods I can find solitude without loneliness. … And finally, not because
I regard fishing as being so terribly important, but because I suspect that so
many of the other concerns of men are equally unimportant and not nearly so
much fun.”
Let’s try to keep it that way.