Yeah, I guess I'm THAT guy now

Yes, I know have off-white shopping bags I take with me to the store. Yes, I shop at Trader Joe's. *sigh* Yes, I make sure my eggs are cruelty-free... and my meat. NO, I don't have dreadlocks now.

I saw a group of students at SDSU the other day promoting (as you can see by the picture) the Enviro-Business Society, or e3. I was very interested to see what they had going and was considering canvas shopping bags anyways so I stopped by and ended up buying a pair. They are (the bags that is) a little bothersome at first but I always thought shopping bags were such a waste. I consider this a "low-hanging fruit" type of change, one that is easy to implement and stay with.

Anyways, the bags made me feel good, the profits went to a (hopefully) good group of kids, it's a win-win folks. Check out the website and watch the video... it's entertaining to say the least. Also, make sure to click through the media gallery. This group put on a green fashion show that I'm sorry that I missed.

Per my usual M.O., however, I do have a critique...

I'm an environmentalist, I'm very green-minded, and I'm an animal lover, this is pretty well-established among people I know. I am, as well as all that, the son of a financial adviser and, as such, green-minded in a different sense. Business and finance is interesting from a "wow look at all that money moving around" perspective AND a sociological perspective as well. If you want to understand what is going on in the majority of public systems or phenomenon, you need to follow the money. Watch where the money goes, comes from, and moves between and you'll be able to explain a big chunk of how our world works. If you don't believe me, try it sometime and you might be surprised. By the way, this is probably one of the oldest axioms around, I'm not claiming sovereignty over this idea.

Point being, environmentalism has just as much to do with finance as it does with technology and good choices. If you want to know how to make green living a real thing, you have to first make it profitable through innovation and/or creative marketing (either make the value for real or make up a perceived value). An "enviro-business" society seems like the perfect answer to social problem of green living. However, as you will notice by leafing through the site, the SDSU group is just a group of environmentalists trying to raise awareness. This, while being a noble cause, is not the answer. We have had grassroots "save the ______" groups for decades and they don't make a lot of headway.

I donate to Environment California and I'll always pick up a shirt or a bag from a group like this. I sign petitions and, when I feel strong enough, I'll send an email or phone call to a member of congress. I wish e3 at SDSU the best of luck raising the public awareness but I'm just not looking for another mailing list to join.

My advice: contact the Finance & Investment Society and start aligning with each other. Get together with true business groups and start talking about a holistic solution. Branch out and make new connections and start thinking about where that symbiosis can lead. Don't be go down the same route other groups have; we don't need 30 groups saying the same thing, we need 30 different approaches to the same problem. Were a synthetic wool suit with leatherette shoes to a green rally and spread the same message. Embrace the "business" aspect of your name and you might just turn a few heads.

Stigma can be a b*tch

This is a picture I took on the bus this morning. These, sitting by themselves without an owner in sight, are peach pits. They are saliva-soaked perishables left out in the open by an inconsiderate ASS. I could not believe my eyes so I took a picture and now I can't believe my camera.

Can I be honest? I love public transportation. I love the trolley that operates here in San Diego. Its air conditioning is cold, its punctuality is excellent and the ride to school is smooth. I also like the bus. Yes, I like the bus. I have air conditioning and satellite radio and a smooth ride in my car but I take the bus because I like it. Reading while driving is difficult and dangerous but reading on the bus is allowed. You don't get a lot of walking done when you drive but when you take the bus you're walking all the time. You are also forced to slow down, take it easy, let things happen. I'll be honest: these are all things I need to improve on.

The bus is also humbling. How do I know this? Because I shared a bus ride with two peach pits that some animal left on the bus for another person to pick up. I've shared the bus with newspapers left all over 5 seats for no reason. I shared a trolley ride with a man dressed in camouflage yelling about conspiracies at 7 am. I've sat next to people that smelled so atrocious that I would be surprised if the experience didn't contribute just slightly to the decline of my overall health.

There is a stigma attached to the bus for all these reasons but I just can't get enough. I don't like filling up my gas tank, I don't want to jockey for parking with college students and I drive like crap in the morning sometimes. Buses and trolleys and trains are running all the time, just waiting to pick someone up.

Try it out sometime; plan a route and take the bus. Look up the times online, grab your $2.25 and wait a few minutes. Think about the extra time it took you to get somewhere and wonder whether it was really lost time. Make this "lost time" count and see how you feel. Experience a little humanity from the front lines. Save the miles, save the gas, save the stress, ride a bus.

And thank the driver on your way out. The poor guy/gal has a heck of a job sometimes.