The Greening of Business

Let's discuss and explore our world, our green initiatives, and what we can do to make our world even better.

[59098abeaudoin-blog]

Greenwashing

SeaWorld

Greenwashing is the advertising of a company that is wrongly determined as a green company. This company advertises that they are eco-friendly and that consumers should be customers to that company to promote a greening community, but in fact, the company is not participating in the green practices that they are promoting.  

“We are listening to our guests, evolving as a company, we are always changing. In 2017 we will launch an all-new orca experience focused on natural environment [of whales]. 2016 will be the last year of our theatrical killer whale experience in San Diego.” Said SeaWorld’s chief executive Joel Manby (There’s Nothing "Natural" About SeaWorld’s New Plan, 2015)

SeaWorld has been under fire for several years about the practices they use to keep business running. One of which, that is heavily discussed, is the habitat in which their animals survive in. SeaWorld is not only continuing the theatrical killer whale experience in 2 of its locations, but it is also not addressing main animal survival concerns.  “In order to thrive, killer whales have three basic needs: space, social complexity and choice, and mental challenges.” (There’s Nothing "Natural" About SeaWorld’s New Plan, 2015) These needs are not being addressed by SeaWorld. In fact, SeaWorld advertises the company as a fantasized sea animal show. The company goes to great measures to make the show look as if the animals are healthy and living in a habitable environment. However, SeaWorld has also faced numerous “scrutiny over its alleged concealed mistreatment of the animals.” (EARTH AY 2019: COMPANIES ACCUSED OF GREENWASHING, 2019)

SeaWorld does have a rescue, where rescue teams assist sea animals who are injured or in danger into rehabilitation programs, however, the company should not use these injured or unwell animals for business purposes. Their business motto should be limited to rescuing and rehabilitating. The business should not captives’ those animals and use them for profit. Finally, if they do continue to use the rehabilitation to show customers the manic of hurt animals, all monies should be going into saving more animals and protecting their natural habitats.

Greenwashing from SeaWorld is costing the liveliness and well being of many ocean animals  in their facilities and is unfortunately, profiting and getting away with it. SeaWorld needs better facilities and practices to ensure that the animals they are holding captive as ‘zoo animals’ gets corrected. If people take a stand for what they believe in, Seaworld, and companies in similar situations, can be stopped.

Works Cited

EARTH AY 2019: COMPANIES ACCUSED OF GREENWASHING. (2019). Retrieved from https://www.truthinadvertising.org/six-companies-accused-greenwashing/

There’s Nothing "Natural" About SeaWorld’s New Plan. (2015, November 10). Retrieved from The Blog: https://www.kimmela.org/2015/11/10/theres-nothing-natural-about-seaworlds-new-plan/

[59098abeaudoin-blog]

Green Initiative Product

Lush is a natural beauty line company. They specialize in natural beauty products for the bath and shower. Lush was founded by 2 individuals, Mark Wolverton and Karen Delaney-Wolverton, in 1995 after the two thought of the idea of creating Lush after they visited a similar shop, to the now Lush, called CTG in London, England. Unfortunately, CTG was closing down and Mark and Karen agreed that such a significant shop needed to continue its initiatives. (A Lush Legacy, n.d.)Ironically, “Mark was a trichologist (an expert in the science of the hair and scalp)” (A Lush Legacy, n.d.) and had previously founded a natural cosmetic business he was no longer involved with, but Mark had experience and education in the natural cosmetic business. Mark and Karen developed their business for one year, and then in 1996, opened their first Lush Cosmetics store in Vancouver, British Columbia. (A Lush Legacy, n.d.)

A few years in business, just enough for the duo to get their feet wet, the invented Lush’s Naked Revolution. The naked revolution was developed as an eco-friendly act. (The Naked Revolution, 2017) Lush began selling products without any packaging to contribute to the elimination of unnecessary plastic waste. Instead, they gave their customers biodegradable paper bags to take their products home in.

Within the Naked Revolution, Lush began production of their own line of shampoo bars. The product was sold as just a naked bar of soap, a shampoo bar and “shampoo bar acted as the perfect base for all kinds of beautiful natural ingredients.” (All About Shampoo Bars, n.d.) These shampoo bars have grown quickly within the market; Since 2010, over nine million bars have been sold worldwide. “Most people only need two to three strokes across their wet hair to get a rich foam going, so each bar lasts about 80 washes—that’s the equivalent of two or three 8 fl oz bottles of liquid shampoo!” (All About Shampoo Bars, n.d.)

In conclusion, Lush has many products throughout their company that have green initiatives, and shampoo bars is one that every human could use. Lush has begun the green initiative and raised the ‘bar’ for competing companies.

To learn more about Lush’s Shampoo Bars or to purchase one, follow this link: https://www.lush.ca/en/hair/shampoo-bars/

Works Cited

A Lush Legacy. (n.d.). Retrieved from Lush Cosmetics: https://www.lush.ca/en/stories/article_a-lush-legacy.html

All About Shampoo Bars. (n.d.). Retrieved from Lush Cosmetics: https://www.lush.ca/en/stories/article_raise-the-shampoo-bar.html

The Naked Revolution. (2017, October 9). Retrieved from Lush Cosmetics: https://uk.lush.com/article/naked-revolution

[thesociologicalcinema]

Rethink your choices. Refuse single use. Reduce consumption. Reuse everything. Refurbish old stuff. Repair before you replace. Repurpose, be creative, reinvent. Recycle, last option. Artist: Does anyone know who created this image?

[dizzymaiden]

DIY Mosquito Repellent Candles. I like this DIY because I hate the smell of store bought candles with citronella - so chemical!

Pint mason jars

Floating candles

Lemons

Limes

Basil

Lemongrass essential oil

[dizzymaiden]

Easy upcycle, recycle - snack container!

Wash those plastic containers, dry and fill - presto! Another piece of NASTY plastic that won’t float in our oceans!

[59098abeaudoin-blog]

Repurposing at Home & Work

By now, everyone and their great aunt have heard about the 3 R’s: Reduce, Reuse/Repurpose, and Recycle. But how many people actually utilize them in their everyday life? Hint: probably not as many as should! Let’s talk about ways that regular people and businesses can reuse and repurpose at home and at work objects into something new that will work for a totally different reason it was designed to!

Here is one that people can use at home and at work. Old clothes or uniforms that are too ragged up to be donated? Cut the used material into small squares and use them as dusters or towels. You can also turn these old materials into bathmats or small rugs by braiding the shirts or pieces of material and sewing the braids together. Additionally, you can turn old wife beaters into grocery bags by sewing the bottom seams together. Turning shirts into grocery bags will also help you reduce your plastic bag waste by using a reusable bag. (Baker, 2019)

Do you have old jars from jarred food? Wash the jar out and turn it into a multitude of different things: makeup brush holder, drinking glass, candle jar, toothbrush holder, pencil holder or another small stationery holder. By repurposing jars, you can reduce the amount of glass micro pieces that get dropped into landfills, and the ocean. (Baker, 2019)

At work, it can be a little harder to plan out some DIY projects to reuse products. Paper is a great place to start. Work may often have old envelopes or paper that may just be recycled. However, start reusing the paper! Can the envelope be reused as an envelope to mail? Can it be repurposed to hold business cards or small stationery, such as pins or paperclips? Can the old paper be going to be recycled to be used to write down small notes or ideas? Keep a small folder of “scrap” paper for those on the go paper needs. Reusing paper is a great way to start your reusing journey! Paper is often not recycled properly, meaning on occasion it cannot be fully recycled and often end up in the landfill.

Further, at work, consider implementing an upcycling station. When an employee or manager has stationary they no longer need or want they can bring those products to the communal upcycling station for other employees or managers to use. This way others in the office can use products that are “new” to them but were previously loved by others. (Clean River, 2019)

To find out more ways to reuse and repurpose check out: https://www.boredpanda.com/creative-reuse-upcycling-repurposing-ideas/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=organic&utm_campaign=organic

Sources

10 Tips To Increase Your Office Recycling. (2019, May 27). Retrieved from https://cleanriver.com/blog-tips-increase-office-recycling/

Baker, L. (2019, November 5). 10 Home Items You Can Reuse Over and Over Again. Retrieved from https://www.onegreenplanet.org/lifestyle/home-items-you-can-reuse-over-and-over-again/

D., L. (2019, March 13). 30 Creative Ways to Repurpose & Reuse Old Stuff. Retrieved from https://www.boredpanda.com/creative-reuse-upcycling-repurposing-ideas/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=organic&utm_campaign=organic

[bust-down-memeiana]

I just learned sea turtles can breath under water for 4-7 hours. They slow their heart down sooo much it’s beats once every 9 minutes. And they actually take naps underwater too. But none of that is possible if ppl keep throwing trash and plastic in there homes. So help a turtle out and pick up after yourself and others

[natureisthegreatestartist]

[59098abeaudoin-blog]

Go Green for the Animals- Sea Turtles

By now, we have all heard it, “Save the turtles!” “Stop using straws! It kills the turtles!” But it isn’t just straws that are hurting sea turtles. Turtles are fighting for their lives, for many different reasons. Turtles live in the ocean which has a lot of threats from several things, not limited to, pollution, habitat destruction, and fishermen killing the animal.

Sea turtles are severally affected by pollution in the oceans. Have you ever wondered what Sea turtles eat? Unfortunately, a lot of the time they are eating plastic. They often mistake plastic bags for jellyfish and end up eating the bag. This plastic is undigestible, which results in the turtle’s internal organ system to begin shutting down and ultimately this process is fatal. (Busiello, n.d.) Sea turtles also easily get tangled up in lost fishing gear. When a turtle gets tangled in lost or discarded fishing gear the sea turtle will struggle to get out, which can also lead the turtle to drown or not allow the turtle to swim away from predators.  (Busiello, n.d.)

Turtles are also heavily affected by climate change. Turtles lay eggs on the sand on a beach and leave them there until they are hatching, at which point the newly hatched turtles head for the water to begin their life. Unfortunately, the increasing temperatures can result in the eggs not being able to survive. Further, climate change storms and rising sea levels can disrupt the eggs in the nest and break the eggs before the turtle has developed. (Busiello, n.d.)

Habitat loss is also a factor in the endangerment of turtles. Turtles have several habitats, including beach sand, coral reefs, and seagrass beds. With increasing traffic on beaches, it makes it almost impossible for turtles to hatch their eggs on the beach for offspring. The eggs that get laid get picked up and moved or destroyed from the activities on the beach. Coral reefs and seagrass beds are quickly being destroyed by land pollution as well. Oil runoffs, and pollution are among the highest reasons for the damage.

A large business in the ocean area is fishing. Unfortunately, turtles are considered a high price market item. Turtle meat and eggs are a way fishermen often create income for themselves. Turtles have a devasting endangerment from fishermen.

There are many things humans can do to help not online the turtles, but sea life in general. Cutting back on the intake of seafood is a great place to start. Or ensuring that the seafood you do eat, is all caught in ethical ways. If you are ever on a beach and see a turtle that looks sickly or injured, there are places to inform a sea life protection agency so they can help them. Further, gaining knowledge on the topic and spreading the word. (NOAA Fisheries, 2016) For more information about what you can do to help save wildlife and sea turtles, visit:

https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/feature-story/what-can-you-do-save-sea-turtles

https://www.seeturtles.org/help-save-turtles

https://www.worldwildlife.org/species/sea-turtle

[travelinglighttoday]

Simply exquisite! The Great Barrier Reef located in the Coral Sea off the coast of Queensland is nature’s greatest gift to Australia; a living treasure so beautiful it really makes you wonder. A home to thousands of species, a mosaic brimming with diversity with over 4,000 coral reefs, cays and islands. You should like this stunning short video. The cinematography, the music and the colorfulness all combine to make a memorable viewing and listening experience. Activate the start button and appreciate the variety, allure and richness of nature. It’s amazing what goes on in this world under the water at the sea bed level. Wow!

[59098abeaudoin-blog]

The Osborne Reef

In the 1970’s, our world wanted to assist the underwater habitats, and so they decided to create a human-made reef. They designed this reef by taking note that many ocean creatures liked to make a habitat inside of old tires in beach areas. Due to this, they decided to throw approximately 2 million tires into the coast in Florida to create a habitat for sea creatures that imitates a coral reef.

A non-profit organization called Broward Artificial Reef (BARINC) was researching ideas to help maintain the underwater wildlife and suggested implementing man-made coral reefs. The idea quickly became a game of deciding how to create this project. The organization realized that crabs and other land to sea wildlife often would hide inside of old tires while on land. BARINC then decided to utilize a recycling program and began collecting old or inefficient tires from Florida and surrounding areas. Over several years they collected the tires and began dumping them into the coast off of Fort Lauderdale. They dropped over 2 million old tires into the coast. (Patowary, 2018)

The project was a success for a short amount of time. However, over the years, several severe storms moved and disrupted the human-made reef, which caused the tires to move and further destroy and disturb other reefs. BARINC realized their plan was beginning to fail, and they immediately had to try to solve the issue they had created.

Since 2001, people from all over have been attempting to fix this issue by retrieving the tires from the coast. Due to having 2 million + tires throughout the coast, now moved by waves, currents, and storms, it has become near impossible to remove them all. As of 2009, approximately 700,000 tires remaining the depths of the coast. (Patowary, 2018)

Not only do these tires continue to disrupt natural habitats underwater for millions of sea life, but the tires have also been heavily polluting the oceans. In 2017, a study showed that tires distributed 10 % of microplastic waste in the world’s oceans. These tires will continue to break down, resulting in a higher microplastic waste in our oceans. (National Geographic, 2019)

To see how you can assist and reduce the ocean pollution, visit https://www.oceanicsociety.org/blog/1720/7-ways-to-reduce-ocean-plastic-pollution-today

Sources

Hutchinson, B. (2017). 7 Ways To Reduce Ocean Plastic Pollution Today. Retrieved from https://www.oceanicsociety.org/blog/1720/7-ways-to-reduce-ocean-plastic-pollution-today

Patowary, K. (2018, November 26). Osborne Reef: A Failed Artificial Reef of Discarded Tires. Retrieved from https://www.amusingplanet.com/2014/09/osborne-reef-failed-artificial-reef-of.html

Whitaker, H. (2019, October 18). Tires: The plastic polluter you never thought about. Retrieved from https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/2019/09/tires-unseen-plastic-polluter/

[59098abeaudoin-blog]

“A Cool Greening Practice” – Minimalism

It seems everyone has a general idea of how to live an eco-friendlier life. People change their lightbulbs to more energy-efficient ones, use cold water when washing clothes, reduce waste, reuse products, use reusable bags at the grocery store or even reduce their plastic waste in general. There are so many different ways to be more eco-friendly that many people incorporate into their everyday life. However, there are so many other things you can do to eliminate waste and have a greener mind. One trendy thing that many people have gotten a grasp on is minimalism. I know, you probably just groaned, “ugh minimalism, I don’t want to get rid of my memories and prized possessions.” Please hear me out! Minimalism is a new trend that can make your life feel so much more organized, you’ll be able to concentrate on the essential things, you will save money, and you will have more control over your life, relationships and possessions.

Minimalism is all about living with less. The idea is that you go through all of your possessions and only keep what you regularly use and anything that brings you joy. When you clutter your home with things, you unintentionally clutter your mind. Cluttering your mind can have adverse effects on your day-to-day life. It can:

1.    Damage your relationships

2.    Make you feel overwhelmed, or stressed or even cause depression

3.    Lead to unhealthy habits

You may be saying to yourself, “okay, great minimalism will make me a happier and healthier individual, but how is it eco-friendly?” By owning fewer tangible objects, you are likely to own fewer things that are toxic to the environment, and you may even donate the materials that don’t spark your joy.  Minimalists typically purchase products that are made to last for an extended period and are likely to have less non-renewable resources.  If a minimalist does not need to buy something, they will borrow it or avoid it in all. For example, instead of buying the newest New York Times bestselling book, they may go to a library and borrow it. By borrowing tangible objects or renting them, they are encouraging the idea of “reduce, reuse, recycle.”  (Earth911, 2020)

Some questions that minimalists live by is “have I used this in the past six months? Will I use this in the next three months?” Another idea of deciphering goods to keep is using the Marie Kondo method. The Marie Kondo method is pretty much going through all of your things and asking yourself, “does this spark joy?” If the object does not spark joy, you either donate it or see if there could be a different purpose for it.  (Kondo)

For more information on the Marie Kondo method, you can watch her Netflix series, or visit her website: https://konmari.com

Many companies and individuals have implemented a minimalist view of their lives and businesses. One person who applied minimalism into their business and life is Jac McNeil. Jac McNeil is a blogger who owns a company to help other businesses with coaching. After Jac’s father got worried about Jac, Jac implemented minimalism, and it turned Jac’s life around. Jac curated a list of 11 things that Jac thought about when minimalizing Jac’s life and business. When Jac was reviewing these decisions and thoughts, Jac knew it was time to do something about Jac’s overwhelming and work-based life. Jac became Jac’s boss in a minimalist business and has been on a path to success for 11 years. To read about Jac’s journey, you can follow Jac’s blog and read about those thoughts and decisions that Jac made for minimalism.  (McNiel, 2018) http://www.jacmcneil.com/2017/09/20/10-decisions-i-made-to-design-a-minimalist-business/ 

[davidhudson]

Greta Thunberg.

[marianagoesgreen]

We don’t need a handful of people doing zero waste perfectly. We need millions of people doing it imperfectly.

Anne Marie Bonneau (via marianagoesgreen)

[59098abeaudoin-blog]

Young Global Community Leader- Greta Thunberg

“We can’t just continue living as if there was no tomorrow, because there is a tomorrow,” (Thunberg, 2019) Greta has a strong belief in voicing for Climate Change and is hoping for the world to follow her in her initiatives in understanding and helping the environment.

Greta Thunberg, a 17-year-old girl with Asperger’s syndrome from Sweden, was named the youngest, TIME’s Person of the Year 2019, for Greta’s green initiatives. At the age of 15, Greta Thunberg started a school strike to promote awareness of climate change outside of Sweden’s parliament. Since this occurrence, over 100,000 schoolchildren are now involved with this action, in Sweden alone.  (TED, 2019) Within 16 months, she has met with the United Nations and the president of the United States to discuss her actions on climate change. She has continued to inspire and voice her thoughts to over 4 million people. (TIME, 2019)

Greta has continued her actions and has launched a campaign called #FridaysforFuture which has had individuals from across the world standing outside their parliaments protesting against the lack of action on the climate change crisis. (FridaysforFuture, 2019) (https://www.fridaysforfuture.org)

Greta will be travelling to Madrid to host the United Nations Climate Conference and discuss how the world plans to meet deadlines of the Paris Agreement. (TIME, 2019) Greta does not have a “solution” but is encouraging and taking the first step to change. Greta wholeheartedly believes we, as a global community, can help in improving the climate crisis.  

Greta had no desire from fame; Greta only wanted change. She had a passion for taking the first step and continues to move forward every day. Greta is only 17. Imagine what our global community could accomplish if more people, and older people, and people within politics, or media which have a stronger voice, took action. Our world has one decade to help save the world from a climate crisis. Our community needs to work together and follow our young populations' footsteps to help raise awareness and physically do something to lessen greenhouse gases and other effects of climate change.

[darling-with-no-problems]

[nasa]

2019 Temperature By the Numbers

The Year

2nd Hottest

2019 was the second-hottest year since modern record keeping began. NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration work together to track temperatures around the world and study how they change from year to year. For decades, the overall global temperature has been increasing.

Over the long term, world temperatures are warming, but each individual year is affected by things like El Niño ocean patterns and specific weather events.

The global temperature is an average, so not every place on Earth had its second-warmest year. For instance, the continental U.S. had a cold October, but Alaska set records for high temperatures. The U.S. was still warmer than average over the year.

Globally, Earth’s temperature in 2019 was more than 2°F warmer than the late 19th Century.

The Record

140 years 

Since 1880, we can put together a consistent record of temperatures around the planet and see that it was much colder in the late-19th century. Before 1880, uncertainties in tracking global temperatures are larger. Temperatures have increased even faster since the 1970s, the result of increasing greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.

10 years

The last decade was the hottest decade on record.

20,000 Individual Observations

Scientists from NASA use data from more than 20,000 weather stations and Antarctic research stations, together with ship- and buoy-based observations of sea surface temperatures to track global temperatures.

The Consequences

90%

As Earth warms, polar ice is melting at an accelerated rate. The Arctic is warming even faster than the rest of the planet. This northern summer, 90% of the surface of the Greenland Ice Sheet melted.

8 inches

Melting ice raises sea levels around the world. While ice melts into the ocean, heat also causes the water to expand. Since 1880, sea levels globally have risen approximately 8 inches, although regional rates of sea level rise can be even higher.

100+ fires

As temperatures increase, fire seasons burn hotter and longer. During June and July 2019, more than 100 long-lived and intense wildfires burned north of the Arctic circle. This year also saw intense, record-setting fires in Australia.

46% increase in CO2 levels

This decades-long warming trend is the result of increasing greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, released by human activities.

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