Can't Do Business on a Dead Planet....

Another great morning in the water on a beautiful stretch of the North Shore. I had at least 10 delicious waves in just over an hour, with a handful of other surfers and a couple paddle boarders.

It was clean with just a hint of wind holding up crystal-clear head high water.
A perfect morning.

I wandered over to a coffee shop with a content smile and was kind of bummed out about a bit of green-washing going on at this popular, well-trafficked coffee joint.
I understand completely that it is not all black and white; a grey area exists for every issue and every action has a reaction…

At the coffee counter, there is a stack of old-school styro-foam cups, which are the default vehicle for one’s coffee. Next to this stack there is another load of organic cups with a small sign about the importance to go green and save the environment, but it will cost you 15 cents if you want the ‘friendly cup’.

C’mon guys…. This a non-committal way to jump on the green bandwagon no? Is this just your attempt to offset the stack of styros which have been used here for eternity?

It just seems to me that business needs to operate in conjunction with the environment, not the other way around. At what point did we, I, you, decide that we were above the general eco-system? We have operated so long without acknowledging our coexistence with pacha mama (mother earth), and still argue today that it will cost too much to run a business in a responsible way as it relates to our natural world.

How about this? There is no business to be done on a dead planet… David Brower said this ages ago and it such a simple idea to embrace, it seems to me.

Just a bummer to see this, especially in a place like the North Shore of Oahu where the environment is such a large theatre for the lifestyles of many.

I’ll probably go catch a few more waves this afternoon and let it all fall off my mind for a while until I go get my coffee in the morning, and pay my 15 cents for what, in my opinion, should be included in their cost of doing business in 2009.

Hasta Pronto Amigos