Like Individuals, Groups of People Also Wield Tremendous Power to Restore Environmental Justice

In response to my post We All Wield Tremendous Power to Restore Environmental Justice, frequent commenter Robert Stang, an extremely senior player in sustainable real estate development, adds:

I assume that you recognize the benefit of celebrating and having networks of those individuals who are effecting change every day, like the Bioneers.

Oh, absolutely.

I’m a huge fan of the Bioneers.  In fact, one of my true heroes is legendary environmentalist Paul Hawken, who’s very closely associated with the Bioneers.  I don’t think anyone in the history of the human species does a better job in bringing together, a) a powerful understanding of eco-biology and the other scientific underpinnings of environmentalism, b) a passion and love of humankind, and, c) an ability to articulate both a) and b) in a breathtakingly beautiful manner.

I’m reminded of the famous Hawken quote that he delivered in a speech at a recent Bioneers convention after almost half a century of work in this space: “Environmentalism isn’t a way to get rich; it’s a way to be rich.”

This, actually, is fairly controversial, when you think about it.  He seems to be saying, to offer up the cliché, that one cannot “do well by doing good.”  For what it’s worth, I’m trying to prove him wrong on that one.