I’m planning a wedding. Actually, I’ve been thinking about planning a wedding. The thought of wedding planning - to me - is so completely overwhelming that I’ve procrastinated for a good 2 months now.
As any of you who have been involved in wedding planning know, there’s a never-ending list of things to consider, like the food, flowers, and venue. With all of these items, I’m trying to think of ways to incorporate some green elements while making it a very personal and lovely affair.
Here are some things I’m considering… in no particular order.
- Have the wedding and reception in the same venue to cut down on transportation
- Organize a carpool for guests
- Serve organic, locally grown food
- Use locally grown flowers for the bouquet
- Use potted plants & flowers for the centerpieces
- Refrain from using disposable items (e.g., paper napkins)
- Use a minimal amount of paper for invitations (e.g., no bulky inserts) - and use recycled paper
- Note to self: investigate inks as some can be toxic
- Rent a wedding gown (some of you women may shudder at this, but I personally have no desire to keep a dress post-wedding, nor do I wish to spend much $$$ on a dress)
There’s probably a lot more I can do, but this is a start. If you have any suggestions, let me know!
Seemingly inspired by my post, NY Times has an article today about how the FTC is asking about carbon offsets, and whether marketing claims about them are true. The article states that $54MM was spent last year on carbon offsets, including some offered by companies to bolster their green image. Many of the offsets that are sold are actually pretty lame, based on some of the criteria I noted in the aforementioned post. For instance, some of them count carbon offset by planting trees. Tree-based carbon offsets are dubious because:
- It’s unclear whether planting trees is actually beneficial in slowing global warming, or sequestering carbon and…
- Trees grow slowly, so even if it were effective, the carbon you think you offset won’t be offset for 50 years. So that will be good when we’re all underwater.
Also, there were lots of offsets based on RECS, and projects where additionality is questionable. Definitely worth a read, but also really illustrates why offsets can’t be the only answer - because alot of times they don’t do anything but excuse bad behavior.
In case you’re in the SF Bay Area, The MIT / Stanford Venture Lab is having a talk entitled “GREENtrepreneurs Help Individuals Go Green”. This looks like a great event:
Event Date: Tuesday, January 22
Time: 6:00pm - 7:00pm - Networking and Hors D’oeuvres
7:00pm - 8:30pm - Panel Discussion and Q/A
Event Location: Bishop Auditorium, Stanford University (directions)
Moderator:
John Rockwell, Managing Director, DFJ Element
Panelists:
Steve Westly, Founder and CEO, The Westly Group
Ron Gonen, Co-Founder and CEO, RecycleBank
Michael Murry, CEO, Lucid Design Group
Event Description:
There are endless news stories about the growth of the cleantech industry. We hear about large enterprises such as Google and Walgreens implementing cleantech. But what are the trends in the consumer market?
More and more venture capitalists are now backing greentrepreneurs who aim to invent green-consumer products that the mass market consumer will actually pay for. The press talks about the new green car in the driveway, the solar panel on the roof or the energy efficient light bulbs throughout the house. What will come next?
This panel will focus on green-consumer products that have the potential to trigger a tipping point for mass market adoption.
* How will green tech solutions transform your life and living space?
* What are the green tech trends for 2008 and beyond? Is green tech ready for mass market?
* What types of consumer green tech start-ups are getting funding today?
* What are the opportunities for aspiring “greentrepreneurs”?
* How do US greentech trends compare with other countries?
* What role will government play in promoting consumer greentech?
Register here, and maybe we’ll see you there!
New York mayor Michael Bloomberg, who I have posted about before is advocating a carbon tax, making him one of a few leading political figures, such as Al Gore and Christopher Dodd with that stand.He states, “If you want less of something, every economist will tell you to do the same thing: make it more expensive.” Of course, he says alot more, and the full text of his speech is posted here. It’s a good read.
Everytime someone advocates something sensible like this, reactionaries talk about how it will submarine the economy. ‘Oh no, it would destroy jobs and slow down our economy!’ This is bullshit. They said the same thing when gas was $1 a gallon, and people suggested increasing the gas tax by a few cents so we could, oh, I don’t know, maintain roads and bridges. And what happened? Gas prices have tripled (with all the money not going to roads and bridges, but to Exxon and Shell) and the world did not end. In fact, the economy is still humming along. As Mayor Bloomberg states in his speech, we can pay a tax on carbon, which would encourage new technologies and solutions, or we can pay in wars, fires, and other calamities. Oh, and fuel prices will probably still go up.
