A Holiday Message

Soon after I gave a favorable review to Wal-Mart's new sustainability report, a press releasearrived via email from the retailing giant. Wal-Mart announced that itwill be "open" online on Thanksgiving Day, offering special deals andfree shipping on the season's "hottest items in electronics, toysapparels, home."? For those who somehow manage to stay away from theircomputers on Thanksgiving, Wal-Mart is promising to ring in "hugesavings" on items like a Polaroid 43 inch LCD HDTV ($798) and a Zune30GB MP3 Video Player ($98.87) in its stores, beginning Friday at 5a.m. Think about that for a moment. On Friday at 5 a.m., people will belining up to shop at Wal-Mart. That is, unless they opt to shop at J.C.Penney, which opens an hour earlier.

Yes, 'tis the season whenmillions of Americans work themselves into a frenzy by buying thingsfor others (and themselves) that they don't need with money they don'thave. In a down economy.

It's a stark reminder that theroad to sustainability will be a long and difficult one and thatcorporate America, without environmental activism and dramatic changesin consumer behavior, won't get us there anytime soon.

The problem's simple: Almostnothing about the holiday shopping season, as it is currentlyconstructed, is sustainable. We're buying (and throwing away) too much.We're driving too far in oversized cars powered by gasoline. We'repowering our shopping malls and homes with dirty coal. We're generatingtoo much trash. The bottom line: Until we develop an economy powered byrenewable energy and with zero waste - and make no mistake, that'swhere we must go - companies whose business it is to sell us more andmore of whatever it is they make are, unhappily and inevitably, part ofthe problem.

So what's to be done?

Actually, we've got some options.

For starters, I'm going to "participate" in Buy Nothing Day,an informal 24-hour moratorium on consumer spending this Friday. It'san idea that's been around for about 15 years, and has been embraced bycitizens around the world. All it takes is a determination to buynothing - not a hybrid car, not a CFL bulb, not a carbon offset - forone day. With all the talk about "green" consumption, it's easy toforget that one of the world's biggest environmental problems is thefact that we Americans consume too much. Here's a 30-second YouTube video that makes that very point.

According to Facebook, whichis one place where people are invited to join in Buy Nothing Day, some82,778 people have signed up - and another 128,00 have been invited byfriends to sign up, but have not.

Another idea: Take a look at a new organization with the clever name of Changing the Present,whose website can be found at www.changingthepresent.org. The idea hereis that, instead of giving a tie or sweater, you can make a donation toa nonprofit, ideally one that's close to the heart of the person youare "giving" it to. (It's not only aimed at holiday shopping - peoplecan create gift registries at the site for weddings or baby showers.)For $25, you can fund a field trip for students at KIPP Foundationschools, an acclaimed group of charter schools. For $50, you cansupport breast cancer research at the Memorial Sloan-Kettering CancerCenter. For $90, you can support the Rocky Mountain Institute's work onbehalf of biofuels to replace gasoline. The idea of making donations inplace of gifts isn't new, of course, but Changing the Present makes iteasy and offers a wide range of choices.

Finally, there's a group I've long admired called the Center for a New American Dream,whose goal it is to encourage Americans "consume responsibly to protectthe environment, enhance quality of life and promote social justice."The center's motto is "More Fun, Less Stuff" - a smart message thatdoesn't guilt-trip people, but encourages us to pursue more of whatreally matters in life. They've got a brochure and website called "Simplify the Holidays"that offers practical tips for avoiding the December frenzy at themall, as well as low-carbon gifts, ways to cut holiday waste, how todeal with kids' demands for stuff, etc.

I hope that you enjoy yourThanksgiving, and the holidays ahead. May they bring peace, renewal,fun, good food, time with family and friends - whatever it is thatmatters most to you.