No More Excuses: There are Green Guides for Everything!

TreeHugger.com is a website devoted to helping individuals go green in all aspects of their daily lives. For this reason, they have developed “Go Green” and “Buy Green” Guides to make our attempts at going green a little simpler. Topics of the Go Green Guides range from how to green your kitchen, your workplace, and even your funeral. Each guide offers the Top 10 Green Tips for the particular topic, as well as sections on how to do more, as well as statistics. The Buy Green Guides are divided into several categories including shoes, jeans, desktop computers, and furniture. Lists of green products are located under each heading. The author explains why these products are considered green, in addition to how much they cost. As stated on the website, “TreeHugger knows that we can't shop or buy our way to global sustainability…but there comes a moment when your favorite shoes are finally worn beyond repair, and when you need to upgrade your work clothes, or kitchen utensils, or living room furniture, and we're here to help you do it green.” Check out TreeHugger for more information!

Lawyers Can Go Green, Too!

Meritas, an international affiliation of over 6,000 lawyers in ten countries worldwide, has recently initiated a project called the Meritas Leadership Institute. The Leadership Institute is made up of people who are committed to studying new sustainability projects. The culmination of their efforts led to the publication The Green Guide For Lawyers. This guide is divided into three separate tiers: Sustainability Advocate, Partner, and Leader. According to ecopreneurist.com, “each tier contains initiatives that fall into the Triple Bottom Line categories of people, profit and planet.” For example, law firms in the Sustainability Advocates tier may follow some of the following tips: - Adopt a sustainability mission statement. - Encourage employees to carpool or use public transportation. - Use environmentally friendly cleaning items. Firms under the Sustainability Leaders tier may follow much more service-oriented guidelines: - Allocate a certain number of pro bono service hours to an environmental organization. - Provide education for clients through a newsletter, sponsored events, or discussions. - Include “green” information on their websites. Click Here for more information and to download this educational handbook! What can your firm or company do to help the green initiative? Do you think your firm or company already falls under one of the guide's three tiers?

Choose an Issue and Voice an Opinion

“Why Women Earn Less than Men” or “Why Work Sucks and How to Fix It” Do women earn less than men because of discrimination? The National Committee on Pay Equity thinks so. Another point of view is that there are different (and more complex) issues involved, and these issues need to be considered in taking a final position on the matter. A significant part of the problem is that overall earnings by gender are not the same as equal pay for people doing the same job. That is, the choices women make about their work determine pay differences. Women are underrepresented in the science and math fields, which lead to better paying careers. The statistics are that only about two-fifths of science and engineering graduates are women. One important fact in terms of the future of pay equity for women is that there are now more women graduating with bachelor’s degrees than men. The estimate is that in a few years, 60% of all college graduates will be women. The argument is that as more women enter the workforce, the pay differential will narrow. If that is to happen, the problem should solve itself. A new book, “Why Work Sucks and How to Fix It,” has hit the workplace, and it has an interesting premise: “Our beliefs about work…are outdated, outmoded, out to lunch.” The book was authored by Jody Thompson and Cali Ressler, founders of CultureRx. The present approach is that “time + physical presence + hard work = results.” However, Thompson and Ressler argue that this standard of work culture is not productive. Rather, they recommend a “results-only work environment” method on their website – which you are encouraged to visit. So, which of the two issues is most intriguing? Weigh in with your opinion!