Even though we are beginning to see the negative effects of man-made climate change, we continue to fill up at the pump! Why? Because we still think it’s cheaper than owning an alternative energy vehicle!  We are waiting for the day when clean air vehicles and power generation are cheaper than fossil fuels. Shouldn’t we be looking at the total costs of a tank of gas? Shouldn’t we be measuring miles per dollar instead of miles per gallon?

Super storms, deadly winters, droughts, and generally unseasonable weather are already here. The costs are adding up, and we are paying to repair the damages and higher food prices. Shouldn’t all this be added to the dollars per mile? Just because it comes out of a different pocket, aren’t we all paying for it anyway? So is it really “cheaper” to continue with fossil fuels?

The UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change recently released its report. Among other warnings, it stated carbon dioxide levels are rising almost twice as fast as they did in the last decades of the 20^th century. Otto Edenhofer, a German economist and co-chair of the committee who wrote the report said, “If we lose another decade, it becomes extremely costly to achieve climate stabilization.”

Sure, we all should be considering the real cost of climate change, but as human nature would have it, we are more concerned with the immediate cost of getting to work, the store, and the vacation. Never mind the down-stream financial consequences (let alone the survival of man as we know it). We somehow think the day of reckoning is still way off in the future. So we continue to wait for a cheaper solution.

How far away is that solution anyway? How much longer do we have to wait until we reach the economic tipping point where alternatives to destructive methods of making power and getting around are more economically desirable?

According to the UN climate report, some alternatives are already cheaper! The cost of wind and solar have dropped dramatically as a result of mass production, government subsidy and tax advantages. It now competes directly with coal, the major culprit in climate change. Hopefully developing countries like China will make the right financial choice for the long run and (finally!) for the short run as well.

What about getting around? Progressive governments have already slapped increased mileage and emission standards on fossil fuel vehicles. However, we are very heartened by last month’s announcement by Elon Musk. He is the founder of electric vehicle manufacturer Tesla, and investing billions in the world’s largest battery manufacturing plant which will dramatically reduce the cost of batteries and significantly extend the range of electric vehicles. Bravo!

We all vote with our dollars but we all still look for the most efficient short-term use of those dollars. We are finally at the tipping point where we can begin to satisfy our short-term needs and reduce our long-term costs. Alternatives are getting cheaper all the way around! So now the earth, and everything and everyone on it, has a better chance of having a good future. Use your dollars to vote for a happy Earth Day, everyone!

Who We Are

Michael Houlihan and Bonnie Harvey co-authored the New York Times bestselling business book, The Barefoot Spirit: How Hardship, Hustle, and Heart Built America’s #1 Wine Brand. The book has been selected as recommended reading in the CEO Library for CEO Forum, the C-Suite Book Club, and numerous university classes on business and entrepreneurship. It chronicles their humble beginnings from the laundry room of a rented Sonoma County farmhouse to the board room of E&J Gallo, who ultimately acquired their brand and engaged them as brand consultants. Barefoot is now the world’s largest wine brand.

Beginning with virtually no money and no wine industry experience, they employed innovative ideas to overcome obstacles, create new markets and forge strategic alliances. They pioneered Worthy Cause Marketing and performance-based compensation. They built an internationally bestselling brand and received their industry’s “Hot Brand” award for several consecutive years.

They offer their Guiding Principles for Success (GPS) to help entrepreneurs become successful. Their book, The Entrepreneurial Culture: 23 Ways To Engage and Empower Your People, helps corporations maximize the value of their human resources.

Currently they travel the world leading workshops, trainings, & keynoting at business schools, corporations, conferences. They are regular media guests and contributors to international publications and professional journals. They are C-Suite Network Advisors & Contributing Editors. Visit their popular brand building site at www.consumerbrandbuilders.com.

To make inquiries for keynote speaking, trainings or consulting, please contact sales@thebarefootspirit.com.

The post Earth Day – Put a Buck on It! appeared first on The Barefoot Spirit.

This prompted New York Mayor, Bill de Blasio to say he was skipping the parade this year. In Boston, Mayor Martin Walsh, the son of Irish immigrants, says he’ll do the same unless the Boston St. Patrick’s Day parade organizers let a gay military veterans group march along with the rest.

What are the organizers thinking? We hope they will change their tune before St. Patty’s Day. As modern Americans of Irish decent, this is downright embarrassing for us. What kind of a message does the conspicuous absence of such a large portion of our citizens send to our youth? We ALL have friends, relatives, customers, suppliers, service providers, or constituents in the LGBT community.

Parades are opportunities for diverse groups to say, “Hey, you know us, we are part of your family, we’re part of your community, we serve you, and we are proud of who we are!” This type of public exposure acknowledges their contributions to our society and thereby discourages marginalization and intolerance. To specifically disallow members of the LGBT community from identifying themselves as such is like trying to say the Irish community does not have, or even condone, its LBGT members.

Of the gay veterans group being prevented from participation in the Boston parade, Mayor Walsh says, “It’s 2014 – it’s far beyond the time where we should be even having this discussion because they’re veterans who fought for this country, just like any other veteran.” It can’t get much clearer than that.

Although the LGBT community is considered mainstream by most folks who have been reading the news, the community still faces ongoing challenges from ultra-conservative groups who continue to try to marginalize them. This type of behavior from the organizers of the New York and Boston St Patrick’s Day parade doesn’t help. Why not be on the right side of history by allowing these folks who have suffered discrimination for so long to identify themselves – and thereby reduce the perpetuation of ignorance and fear in the next generation? The choice is clear. The organizers can be part of the future or part of the past. They can be heroes to the Irish LGBT community or pariahs that can give the Irish community, and the cities in which the parades are hosted, a black eye. At least these mayors recognized the political, social and financial implications to their towns.

The last time we looked, the rainbow flag had a prominent green stripe in it! And isn’t the proverbial pot o’gold at the end of that rainbow? So, happy St. Patrick’s Day to all our friends, be they Irish or not, be they LGBT or straight!

Who We Are

Michael Houlihan and Bonnie Harvey co-authored the New York Times bestselling business book, The Barefoot Spirit: How Hardship, Hustle, and Heart Built America’s #1 Wine Brand. The book has been selected as recommended reading in the CEO Library for CEO Forum, the C-Suite Book Club, and numerous university classes on business and entrepreneurship. It chronicles their humble beginnings from the laundry room of a rented Sonoma County farmhouse to the board room of E&J Gallo, who ultimately acquired their brand and engaged them as brand consultants. Barefoot is now the world’s largest wine brand.

Beginning with virtually no money and no wine industry experience, they employed innovative ideas to overcome obstacles, create new markets and forge strategic alliances. They pioneered Worthy Cause Marketing and performance-based compensation. They built an internationally bestselling brand and received their industry’s “Hot Brand” award for several consecutive years.

They offer their Guiding Principles for Success (GPS) to help entrepreneurs become successful. Their book, The Entrepreneurial Culture: 23 Ways To Engage and Empower Your People, helps corporations maximize the value of their human resources.

Currently they travel the world leading workshops, trainings, & keynoting at business schools, corporations, conferences. They are regular media guests and contributors to international publications and professional journals. They are C-Suite Network Advisors & Contributing Editors. Visit their popular brand building site at www.consumerbrandbuilders.com.

To make inquiries for keynote speaking, trainings or consulting, please contact sales@thebarefootspirit.com.

The post St. Patrick’s Day should Celebrate ALL Irish appeared first on The Barefoot Spirit.