Sometimes It Takes A Flood

Houston, the city hardest hit by this latest epic storm with the benign almost comical name of Harvey, sunk nearly the entire city under and average of 4 feet of water. Displacing tens of thousands, and creating an estimated 160 billion dollars in damage.

Every time I see something like this, and it feels like it’s happening more and more often and the attacks more and more severe, I thank my lucky stars that I am sitting in the middle of the continent and elevated from the water by a good 25 feet.

I also feel like a bit of a weenie when, this spring we received what we considered to be an ungodly amount of rain that saturated the ground and forced water into our basement. Fortunately, our basement was gutted down to the studs at the time, and I was able to vacuum up most of the water that seeped in.

But during this time I got the slightest of hints at what it must be like in a situation where you simply have no control of natural elements.

Nature or Greed?

The answer to a complex question is never simple. Myself, I believe it’s probably a bit of both. And it’s probably been happening for quite some time now, because the earth moves in cycles that can last hundreds of thousands of years.

We, as a species have taken from the earth for only a few thousand years now. Our early ancestors didn’t dig into it to pull stuff out. They merely subsisted on what was there on the surface.

But once we did start taking, we did so without a lot of thought to putting back. Sometimes, in the case of oil and natural gas and minerals and gems, it’s really not possible to put back, and the amount of energy that needs to be used to process what we are taking from the earth only adds to the problem.

Right Now, The World Is At A Tipping Point

I know this because, even though the massive rainfall we got here in southern Ontario in the spring was literally a drop in the bucket compared to what happened as a result of storms like Katrina and Sandy and Harvey, it still made the point for me that anything we can do to stop spewing toxins into the atmosphere without any regard for the long term effects they will have on all of us, the better it will be for all of us.

Currently, there are a number of countries that are suffering from an overload of corruption and or ignorance that is preventing them from moving forward in this direction.

Most notable among them is, you guessed it, the good old USA.

It’s not that they cannot see the obvious. It’s that they are deliberately ignoring it because many of the industries that are part of the problem are going to have to suffer though a good deal of change, or even disappear altogether, as the world continues to smarten up.

These people aren’t going down without a fight. Sadly, however, the age of industries that exploit the earth is coming to an end. This is inevitable. And it’s painfully obvious to anyone who wants to look at the world in a realistic way.

The Alternative Energy Explosion

Tesla Motors is in the process of building a 4 million square foot auto assembly plant for electric cars that is completely powered by renewable energy.

Countries like German and Norway and even Great Britain are making tremendous stride in creating completely renewable power grids.

The alternative energy industry is literally exploding right before our eyes. It’s creating entrepreneurial businesses and a new class of business hero. It’s creating jobs by the score and it’s working from the bottom of the pyramid out into the population, who are embracing it.

The trouble is the the dying behemoths of big oil and big natural gas and big automotive, are pouring millions into lobby groups to maintain the old school status quo.

The weird thing is this: If they were to put even a part of the resources they have at their disposal to converting their businesses to providing sustainable energy solutions and building sustainable vehicles, they would realize a number of advantages that they cannot realize now.

1. Their businesses would benefit greatly from the positive PR they receive.

2. They will be making a huge difference in the amount of toxic waste that gets spewed into the atmosphere from the mining and refining process.

3. They will dramatically reduce the amount of hydraulic fracturing,
 they are doing to unearth minerals and oil and gas pockets. This fracturing is both decimating the fresh water supply and polluting
 the water tables and major rivers.

4. Their work forces will benefit from going through the process and  that learning can create new entrepreneurs and new business 
ideas. Not to mention a work force that will not be left behind when  change eventually becomes mandatory.

Certainly many of these business will have to suffer some setbacks, in terms of re-tooling costs. But at the end of the day, the long term benefits will far outweigh the short term expenditures.

Trouble is that there are a great many executives in America and many other countries who wear blinders, and are genuinely incapable of seeing or afraid of looking beyond their basic job descriptions and their obligation to their shareholders to increase stock prices and dividends.

IMHO, these people need to change their thinking or they will simply be left behind as the world moves forward.

It’s A Whole New World And Its Just Starting To Take Shape

Sometime I wish that I was a lot younger and had the time to really get one of these alternative businesses going. But I can and intend to work with as many of these new world businesses. Hopefully some of my old school wisdom and insight will be useful for them going forward.

We saw a great little Nancy Meyers movie last night called The Intern (on Netflix) which really pointed out that some of the old school values and smarts can be beneficial to the new generation of business owners out there.

And it’s true. We’re all in the same boat here, and one of the things I learned very early on in the advertising business is that good ideas can come from anywhere.

And today, more than ever, we all need as many good ideas as we can get.

Jim Murray is a marketer, communication strategist, writer, art director and blogger. His partner, Charlene Norman is a business systems and operational analyst. Their collaboration is called Bullet Proof Consulting, headquartered in St Catharines, Ontario. Bullet Proof is designed to help companies change their thinking for the better, to become more productive, efficient better branded and successful in today’s highly competitive business world. You can get a very clear impression of how we think by reading our business blogs at www.bulletproofconsulting.ca/blog