Restoration Must Replace Love of Money If Survival Matters

Where does the term "green" come from...if not from the horticulture field...and the back forty...and the wilderness! 

It’s been said a lot in the past year, but it bears repeating: We are the “original” green industry. But at the same time, we are heavy users of energy, plastic and water. We need to do something about that. We need to work toward lessening the impact our individual businesses have on the environment. And we need to pay attention to our employees and their needs as fellow human beings.

This is “sustainable floriculture.” And we’ve come up with a formal definition of that:

“Producing and selling greenhouse or field crops in a manner that provides a profit for the business, minimizes the impact upon the environment, maximizes employee well-being and benefits the community.”

We hope the industry will adopt this definition simply because there’s so much confusion about what the sustainable movement is all about.  SOURCE: GrowerTalks

Every thinking person has a personal connection with the green part of our planet ... and a right to a personal definition of "green business"...since we all deal with business in one way or another.  Leaders in floriculture are  no exception.  Chris Beytes of Ball Publishing went on to  make his key points about green sustainability.

1) Sustainable floriculture is NOT a destination. It’s a journey, one that’s made up of thousands of small steps over many years. It’s a journey that your children or your staff will continue long after you’re gone.

2) Sustainable floriculture is NOT a feel-good, warm-and-fuzzy exercise. Sustainable floriculture is a way to make money.

I come from an unusual heritage.  My father was a rebel against business and "the love of money".  He believed in  his rebellion so much that he insisted that his family pay the price in terms of educational and  career options -- or lack thereof.  So I realize I have a biased viewpoint -- but when I hear the opposite of what my parents taught me -- that business is all about making money -- I am afraid my father is turniing over in his grave, and I share his concern.

Sustainable business is NOT about making money -- although some money can be exchanged in a respectful manner. Sustainability is more basic than money and wealth.  It's about survival.

We're to the point that survival truly is at stake.  And if a second car, or a bigger house is more important than your children and grandchildren's very survival...maybe the lesson taught a couple thousand years ago hasn't been learned.  Maybe "the love of money" needs to be revisited.

Restorative Habitat

We are past "minimal impact on the environment". We are at the point of numerous ecosystems and species collapsing.  We can no longer be content with a wink and a commitment to "minimal impact". Today's job is restoration of the natural systems because we have pushed them beyond their capacity to restore themselves without our intelligent interference.  Science and politics both are making guesses about how many years we have before the oceans rise -- and how far they will rise.  But they tend to agree that they are already rising.

Weather patterns are changing.  Species are going extinct.  And yet, habitats are still being devastated to grow more coffee, more beef, more hardwoods for elegant furnishings and MacMansions.

The original green industries -- horticulture, forestry, farming, floriculture, landscaping, etc. have the solutions.  They know about organic farming, permaculture, crop rotation, contour farming, integrated pest management, etc.

You know.  We know. The challenge facing us is how loudly we will insist that we implement these sustainable practices -- these common sense practices IMMEDIATELY.  How quickly we will restore our forests and plains and deserts and oceans.

The question for you is:  what can you do today to restore your land?  How close to a fully functional ecosystem can you recreate?  Do your  loved ones deserve that heritage more than they deserve  a new car and an expensive education, or an bigger house?  We are the adults. 

We know better.  And we're responsible adults, right?

"The fact that his efforts are also good for the planet is a nice side benefit."  Nice side benefits just won't cut it any longer.  When your children are drowning, you don't think about nice side benefits -- you act and you give it everything you've got to help them survive.  Our air, our water and our health is that serious.