Business leadership that gets it

Andrew Rudnick and Company, please make note: The Kansas City Chamber of Commerce has organized its membership to promote sustainable business practices under its *Climate Protect Partnership. The objective is achieving "the complementary goals of reduced regional greenhouse gas emissions and increased economic competitiveness."

The New York Times environmental blog, dot earth had a recent post on the initiative.

"Over 150 companies, with something like 100,000 employees, have joined the group, which is committed to reducing greenhouse-gas emissions from the metropolitan region of some 2 million people."

Bill Nowak and his Green Gold Development Corp. hold sessions for business the third Thursday of each month. The first three sessions have demonstrated there's a lot of green savvy in the community -- but not a lot of it in the region's largest companies, which pretty much continue doing business as though global warming isn't happening.

Upon seeing this post, Rick Reinhard, now with the Downtown DC Business Improvement District, sent me this update on what they're doing in Washington.

Seems to me that there's a leadership role for the Buffalo Niagara Partnership, or some other business organization, on this issue. There are some large companies in the region to learn from, including Ecology & Environment and HSBC, whose sustainability director for the U.S. is based out of Buffalo.

Comments

[Art Klein]

During the past eight years we have learned not to rely on Washington to spearhead action or reaction to Climate change and pollution. In fact environmental groups now have to regularly take Federal Agencies to court in order to get them to follow the law.

The realization is upon most reasonable people that the problems of pollution do exist and have to be dealt with. But local and state government has to take up the task.

Recently the US Council of Mayors focused on these issues and note Number 1:
In order to drill-down on the priorities contained in the Mayors 10-Point Plan: Strong Cities, Strong Families, for a Strong America, and to help raise public awareness, Diaz has decided to hold five Mayors ’08 Action Forums over the next several months. Subjects for the Forums will be: 1) Environment; 2) Crime; 3) Infrastructure; 4) Poverty; and 5) Arts and Tourism.

Progressive cities and states across America are mobilizing themselves to cope with the climate change and pollutants and of any area, all Western New York should be at the head of this movement.

If you haven’t noticed the three of largest public projects in Western New York are the Peace Bridge, the Route 219 debacle and construction of a coal burning plant in Jamestown. No matter what is going on elsewhere we are determined to find more reasons to burn fossil fuels.

Incidentally the need for building a twin Peace Bridge were traffic surveys and estimates from the early and mid-1990’s. Have these been updated?

[stew]

It’s funny how so many media freaks, and some religious freaks apparently, can't help but jump on unfathomably popular crackpot theory and speak like their opinion is the only possible truth.

[Russ Ewert]

Posted on 5/9 New Jerusalem time
http://www.alphaomeganewjerusalem.com/

I went to the Green Gold developement Corp website and noticed their goal:

"Our goal is to establish the Buffalo area as a recognized leader in solving environmental problems worldwide. In taking on this project, we aim to make Western New York the "Silicon Valley of Green Business."

Besides being an environmental leader in cleaning up the Earth, Buffalo needs to be a religious leader also. We need to clean up the religious mess so that the mental illness of war ends and people can focus all their energies into being green. Not only would Niagara/Buffalo be the green capitol of the world but the religious capitol of the world also since they go hand in hand.

The obelisk in front of city hall is a large reason for the incompetence, dysfunction and self-interest that plague the regional economy and local and state government. It should be torn down along with the ideology behind it and replaced with trees and logic and truth.