m-cause

In their environmental business strategy book Green to Gold, Daniel Esty and Andrew Winston highlight their top 10 environmental issues to take up cause against:

1. Climate Change (obvious) 2. Energy 3.  Water 4. Biodiversity and Land use 5. Chemicals, Toxins, and Heavy Metals 6. Air pollution 7. Waste Management 8. Ozone Layer depletion 9. Oceans & Fisheries 10. Deforestation. 

 What happened to the ozone layer discussion?  Why has it dropped so far down the list (number 8)?  Now that I think about it, I rarely ever hear anything on this topic in the news anymore.  Maybe its because we have made some real progress globally in this area.  Esty and Winston mention that the Montreal protocol and other international amendments seem to have led to great progress and now the ozone hole has stopped growing.  It may even close by 2065.  The issue is still on their top 10 list and they do remind us that one EPA study has predicted 150 million cases of skin cancer & 3 million deaths during the course of the 21st century (oh by the way, at an economic cost of 6 Trillion USD). 

The ozone layer story gives some hope that we can beat global warming, but unfortunately tough govt.  regulations will be needed.  I am all for less govt. intervention, but I do not think that even the inspiring sustainability movement under way in many Fortune 500 companies & other big global titans will do the trick. 

Regulations will at first feel like a big business burden, but as companies develop innovative substitutes (like DuPont did for CFCs) then the regulations also help these smart companies develop new competitive advantages.

So, I am going to stay positive about the fight against global warming this weekend.  With a change of government coming in the US, 2008 should be an exciting year for progress.