Archives

November 1, 2005

"Our Money, Our World"

Ladies, how are we going to spend our money today?

At least, the $2.7 billion we're going to earn.

You. Me. Your friends. My two sisters. The woman next door. The cashier at the 7-11. The CEO speeding by on her way to work at a company downtown. The school nurse. Your kid's teacher.

$2.7 billion a day. $1 trillion a year. Collectively, that's what we'll earn and that's what we have the potential to spend. That's in addition to the billions we influence if we're managing budgets at home, at work, or for organizations we volunteer for.

So: back to my question.

How are we going to spend our money today?

The reason I ask is because…it matters, especially when it comes to protecting our environment. Here's how.

You've all heard the old saying, "Money talks."

I look at it a little differently.

I believe money makes things move. It's like the way flowing water can dislodge a tiny pebble, but eventually thrust even big boulders downstream. The way we spend money moves politicians to vote, governments to act, other people to care.

Our spending habits also influence the kind of products companies manufacture, and how. Because manufacturing burns so much energy and uses so many resources, a company's decisions affect the air we breathe, the water we drink, the food we eat, and the places we go to relax and connect to our spiritual selves.

The more we opt for products that benefit the environment, the more we move companies to be more environmentally responsible, and the better off we all are.

Case in point: the vehicles we drive.

Cars, minivans, SUVs and light trucks are among the most polluting machines on the planet. They contaminate the air with all kinds of particulate matter, generating smog and making it tough for some people, especially those with asthma, to breathe. When they burn oil and gasoline, they release carbon dioxide (CO2) into the atmosphere, contributing to global warming. Some scientists believe global warming is responsible for the increased intensity of hurricanes like Katrina and Rita, as well as other natural disasters.

For decades, American car companies refused to make vehicles that were more fuel efficient. They said they just couldn't manufacture a car or SUV that burned less gas and still got people where they wanted to go.

But in 1999, along came Honda, followed in 2000 by Toyota. They started selling cars here in the U.S. that, instead of 20 or 22 mpg, got 50 and even 60 mpg.

In just five short years, hybrid car sales rose 960%. By 2004, people like you and me had bought 83,000 hybrids. We spent so much money on these new gas-electric cars, we actually motivated Ford, General Motors and Chrysler to do what they said they never could: start manufacturing hybrids themselves. In fact, Ford Motor Company recently announced plans to increase global hybrid production ten-fold, to approximately 250,000 vehicles annually by 2010. I wouldn't be surprised if General Motors and Chrysler followed suit. That's what I call moving the boulder downstream.

We women spend 85 cents of every dollar that’s spent in the marketplace today. We’re not just buying diapers and cheese doodles, either. We’ve already talked about cars. We’re also major purchasers of electronics, tools, clothing, sporting equipment, and more. We have as much potential to move manufacturers to be “green” as there are products on the shelves of our local grocery store, Home Depot, Best Buy or Sports Authority.

You know that other old saying, the one about the future being “in our hands”?

Well, it’s not.

Ladies, our future is in our purses.

We can spend our money dislodging a few pebbles here and there.

Or we can spend it moving big boulders downstream

It’s our money. Our world.

I say we move boulders.