Tom Branna, Editorial Director12.01.16
No, no, we’re not referring to the results of the recent US Presidential Election. And yeah, like my Brexit editorial a few months back, I got the outcome of the Clinton-Trump tilt, wrong, too. I really must get out of this prediction game; I haven’t been right since the mid-1980s when “San Francisco and the Over” was a lock week after week…oh, where have you gone, Joe Montana?
Back to more serious, heavier topics—like the end of the world. Last month, renowned theoretical scientist and astronomer Stephen Hawking started hawking the idea that earth’s time is just about up. Our 4.5 billion year-old Big Blue Marble, according to Hawking, will be kaput, or at least unlivable, in 1,000 years or so. Therefore, we’ve got to make interplanetary travel a reality sooner rather than later.
Admittedly, Hawking has been making this prediction for the past several years, but his words hit home. In recent weeks, I’ve listened to Unilever CEO Paul Polman rail against over-consumption at the World Conference Fabric and Home Care. “We dig it out, produce it and dump it back in the ocean,” he charged.
Most recently, at the International Federation of Societies of Cosmetic Chemist Congress, keynote speaker Paul Anastas warned that wildlife is vanishing at a rate of 2% a year.
“We can’t just say that we need to be more sustainable and go about our business,” Anastas said. “We can’t create anything that is truly beautiful if we are destroying things.”
Sobering words, especially when they come from a guy considered The Father of Green Chemistry. In our defense, the household and personal products industry is doing better than ever when it comes to finding sustainable solutions, but more work needs to be done if we want to keep the world turning for another 4.5 billion years.
Of course, Hawking isn’t really putting his reputation on the line with his prediction. After all, if he’s wrong, who will be around in 1,000 years to call him on it…and if he’s right?
On that note, looking forward to a new year chock-full with new opportunities. See you in 2017!
Tom Branna
Editorial Director
tbranna@rodmanmedia.com
Back to more serious, heavier topics—like the end of the world. Last month, renowned theoretical scientist and astronomer Stephen Hawking started hawking the idea that earth’s time is just about up. Our 4.5 billion year-old Big Blue Marble, according to Hawking, will be kaput, or at least unlivable, in 1,000 years or so. Therefore, we’ve got to make interplanetary travel a reality sooner rather than later.
Admittedly, Hawking has been making this prediction for the past several years, but his words hit home. In recent weeks, I’ve listened to Unilever CEO Paul Polman rail against over-consumption at the World Conference Fabric and Home Care. “We dig it out, produce it and dump it back in the ocean,” he charged.
Most recently, at the International Federation of Societies of Cosmetic Chemist Congress, keynote speaker Paul Anastas warned that wildlife is vanishing at a rate of 2% a year.
“We can’t just say that we need to be more sustainable and go about our business,” Anastas said. “We can’t create anything that is truly beautiful if we are destroying things.”
Sobering words, especially when they come from a guy considered The Father of Green Chemistry. In our defense, the household and personal products industry is doing better than ever when it comes to finding sustainable solutions, but more work needs to be done if we want to keep the world turning for another 4.5 billion years.
Of course, Hawking isn’t really putting his reputation on the line with his prediction. After all, if he’s wrong, who will be around in 1,000 years to call him on it…and if he’s right?
On that note, looking forward to a new year chock-full with new opportunities. See you in 2017!
Tom Branna
Editorial Director
tbranna@rodmanmedia.com