Big City Small Footprints

I’m always slightly conflicted when I find out that people we revere are not all they are made out to be.  On the one hand, I’m a stickler for finding out as much about things as possible, so I’m almost always skeptical about things I hear.  On the other hand, you need heros and role models.  Where would we be without those?

I think the first time it happened was when I found out that Ben Johnson had been caught cheating with drugs in the 1988 Olympics.  I would have been 10 years old and just starting to enjoy sprinting. I can still remember watching the final, and the deflated feeling of realising he had cheated.  I’m sure we can all think of other examples of our heroes disappointing us.

To be fair, for sports starts it’s not their fault.  At least, it’s not their fault that they are heroes. They’re just off doing what they want, maybe cutting a corner here or there to get there - but they’re doing it for themselves.  They don’t really care that we respect and revere them over others. But then other people are different.

Think about the MP expenses scandal that’s going on right now. These guys should know better. They are role models and in the public eye - it’s one thing to think that they’re pinching from the public purse, but more disappointing is that we want them to have a certain level of integrity, and they’ve failed us. Unlike, say, our sporting idols, these guys know that we expect that, and yet can’t live up to it.

So, you wonder, what on earth does this have to do with green living? (notice I didn’t say ‘ethical’ living). Well today, I was shown an article about William McDonough, co-author of ‘Cradle to Cradle: remaking the way we make things’.  Along with Michael Braungart, he was responsible for helping to popularise a vision of a society which uses closed loop manufacturing.  For many, this is a real way to tackle environmental issues whilst maintaining an increase in quality of life.  Now, I’ve never met or heard Bill McDonough speak, but I have heard Michael Braungart.  Braungart was hugely inspirational and entertaining - he made me want to go out and do things better.  So, I’ve always figured that McDonough must be pretty special for Braungart to have partnered with him.  Well, Fast Company’s article is worth reading - the title is ‘Green Guru Gone Wrong” - it’s a story of self promotion and greed from a visionary leader, and it shows we always have to cast a critical eye at environmental claims, regardless of who is making them.  One person commenting on the article said he deserves our thanks not our scrutiny - I disagree. I think he deserves both (just like some of those MPs).