Off-hand, I can name at least eight people who are composting their kitchen and garden waste. In fact, composting has been a hot topic on a number of occasions. I've even heard debates of the benefits of backyard composting versus worm composting. Other discussions include water conservation using rain barrels and the many ways unused items can be kept out of the landfill.

Not only is this a nice surprise, it also means people are taking more responsibility for their lives and safeguarding their environment.

And if this all sounds off the wall, here's a statistic that I recently read: Mother Jones, the magazine known for covering environmental issues, just last week announced that unique visitors to its website have jumped 125 percent year over year for the second quarter of 2010. Its digital revenue has climbed 61 percent over the same interval. There's a message here.

While this is all great, I'm also seeing growing concern and even anger from people I talk to about how businesses and governments are lagging behind in these areas.

Harmful insecticides are still being used along with outdated methods for everything from trash and garbage disposal to weed control. In fact, at a recent conference for risk managers, I attended a seminar where use of insecticides and the associated hazards were discussed. But when I asked whether these dangers were being addressed by less harmful chemicals I was met with a wall of silence. To be sure, environmental risks are the next hot button.

With an increasing number of people growing their own vegetables and farmers markets and community gardens popping up everywhere, isn't it time for businesses and municipalities to get with it? I'm happy to say that some things are being done. More businesses advertise going “green,” towns and counties are acquiring land for green space and setting aside plots for community gardens, but much more is needed.

The disgust and rage towards BP for its inept handling of the Gulf oil spill should be an indication of where many people stand on these issues. Hopefully this ongoing, out of control spill isn't a sign of things to come. This is a good time for businesses and municipalities to take the lead in finding creative ways to do things—and still keep costs down.

In fact, maintaining the status quo isn't always the best way to get the job done and keep spending down.

Here are a few suggestions:

• Instead of mowing the entire green area along highways and parkways, why not mow the strip adjacent the roadway and leave the rest of the grass alone? Nothing wrong with wildflowers and this would save a bundle of money.

• When cutting down dead trees, where there isn't a danger of a tree falling directly onto a structure, leave the entire trunk and just remove the limbs. A tree without limbs isn't going to be blown over and there is a lot less time, labor and space in the landfill needed if the trunk remains standing—not to mention providing habitat for wildlife.

• Instead of clear cutting for a parking lot, leave islands of mature trees. Shade is a good thing in the summer and having exposed land will greatly help the problem of water runoff after a storm.

• Municipalities can go even further by installing porous parking lots and requiring them of business. As water becomes scarcer and much of it is lost to runoff, new ways must be found to save this precious resource. Do the math—saving water is much cheaper than building desalinization plants.

• Rather than resorting to dangerous, indiscriminate use of insecticides, look into other, less lethal products. Keep buildings clean and empty trash quickly. By using strong products such as insecticides and herbicides, we are simply growing “super bugs” and poisoning our soil and water. This is another problem that will eventually have to be dealt with. Why not now?

Special Reports /

Business, Government, Listen To The People

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