The Word “And” Will Save Us All
I am an environmentalist. I don’t belong to organizations or advocacy groups, but I care about the environment. I think anyone living today who understands and appreciates science and technology and everything man has brought forward in this world can appreciate the environment and want it to be clean and safe. That makes me and many people I know environmentalists. And none of us belong to the Sierra Club.
Environmentalism boils down to this simple idea: We all enjoy our modern conveniences and want our communities to thrive and people to have jobs. For many of us, that is what we are paid for. However, the question is, at what cost?
Consuming vast amounts of resources that end up putting our existence in mortal danger, and for some, more importantly, our children and grandchildren and sustainability in danger is non-negotiable. How selfish can we be? And how arrogant is it to dismiss science when it isn’t convenient for us?
The great thing about this is that there are opportunities in these obstacles if reframed properly. The specter of global warming and climate change is daunting. Still, there are opportunities inherent in the idea of climate change. These opportunities create jobs and capital investment and enrich our communities if we are open to possibilities.
The one thing I have learned in my years of economic development and community leadership is to keep your mind open to endless ideas, innovation, and opportunities in what might seem like a problem. Look to the obstacles in your way and ask yourself, what else could come of this?
In improvisational comedy or improv, a skit is created on the spot from audience prompts. There are no scripts. The operating word in improv and other comedy writing is “and.” Someone suggests an idea, and the next contributing person must say “and” to complete the concept. The use of the word “but” is forbidden.
The first person says, “The lady rode in on a pink horse”…the next person says, “And the horse spoke Lithuanian.” The following person says, “And the horse wore Lululemon tights,” and so forth. I know you are thinking that this script is not very funny, and I don’t know where this was going, but that is the nature of improv, innovation, and creativity. It’s an additive activity.
Note that the word “but” is never used, as the word shuts down any previous idea as having any potential.
So, what does this have to do with the green economy? We live in a world of innovation and improvisation. Those are the ruling concepts for getting ourselves out of this manufactured mess. There should be no “buts” in our conversations about climate change, only “and.”
We can employ this technology to capture carbon. We can do this process to eliminate the use of fossil fuels. We can try this technology to improve electric power storage and employ these methodologies to reduce power consumption.
As community leaders it is imperative that we do everything we can to improve the economy in our towns and cities and rural outposts. It’s our job. We need to use whatever legal and ethical means necessary to do so. We must also remember that there will be economic loss, job loss, and some difficult times. But when in the history of world economics has that not been the case?
The world is full of “AND;” it’s time economic developers and other community leaders use it to create jobs and capital investment in our communities and save the world for our children and grandchildren.
