Fifty Years for the Environment

Earth Day marks the birth of the modern environmental movement. Since 1970, Earth Day has become an annual event for Americans to honor and demonstrate support for the environment. Prior, the country was filled with leaded gasoline, rampant air pollution, unmitigated oil spills, and environmental runoff. Things changed in 1962 when Rachel Carson published Silent Spring and drew national attention to concern for the environment. Earth Day began when a junior congressman from Wisconsin collaborated with an environmental activist to sponsor a nationwide teach-in. The event was to recruit college students to the sustainability cause. Instead, it drew headlines across the country, and 20 million Americans participated in that first event by marching in the streets and gathering in theaters to demonstrate against the environmental impacts. Today, we honor the legacy of the original Earth Day event while placing it in context for 2022 and the new issues and solutions our planet must address. MSI respects the beauty and uniqueness of the San Juan region with our work every day, and we are excited to share that celebration this Earth Day.

“As individuals, we have the simple but effective power to speak with our actions and choices.”

How Do You Make an Investment?

*Investing in our forests and community after the 416 Fire. Photo by MSI staff.*

What does “invest in our planet” mean? For as long as humans have been innovating, the future of our planet and industry have been inextricably linked. Innovation in the public and private sectors drives change and shifts perspectives. But it also leaves a mark. The consequences will only come back to hurt economies and the development that caused it in the first place. However, industry and sustainability are not mutually exclusive. Studies like this one from the Harvard Business Review have shown a strong correlation between higher profits and higher performance and companies that engage in sustainable business practices. There’s more green in the economy than our money - we need to include the environment. Investing in our planet takes everyone, not just businesses and industries, to get involved.

Sustainable Consumerism- Myth or Method?

*Deforestation in the Amazon and other global forests are fueled by demand from our purchasing choices.*
*Renaldo Matamoro, Unsplash*

Our society is fueled by our economy - and the business and industry that go into supporting it. Effecting change in a large realm can feel like an overwhelming task, but it can happen in our San Juan community. As individuals, we have the simple but effective power to speak with our actions and choices. Choices will ripple through our society, and when enough of us participate, corporations and governments feel the effects. It’s as simple as being conscious of what business practices you support with each purchase! Sustainable consumerism, or being a conscious consumer, means making informed decisions about where your money goes and learning the most sustainable options to support.

Health of our Forests: Be Aware of Pernicious Palm Oil

*Palm oil plantations in Malaysia.*
*Nazarizal Mohammad, Unsplash*

Forests. They currently cover over 31% of the earth’s surface and are the lungs of our planet. They are pretty important! They provide life giving oxygen, are home to some of the most biodiversity on earth and remove carbon dioxide from the environment. Unfortunately, we are also losing our forests at an alarming rate. According to the World Bank, the world lost 502,000 square miles, or 1.3 million square kilometers, of forest between 1990 and 2016. Rapid deforestation occurs in many places but often is concentrated in areas of dense forest and jungle habitats.

How can we support maintaining healthy forests with our buying choices? The answer is in the ingredients. One industry driving unsustainable deforestation is palm oil. Palm oil is one of the most common ingredients in many household consumables, and its production presents a clear and present danger to many endangered species. It is a thriving industry in many countries; with a considerable presence in Indonesia and Malaysia, which produce over 85% of the world's palm oil. The forests of Southeast Asia are also home to valuable and endangered species such as orangutans and tigers. The unsustainable deforestation in these ecosystems results in habitat loss, increased competition for resources, and various types of pollution.

“We must balance maintaining the health of our planet’s ecosystems with meeting human needs in the coming decades.”

How Can You Help?

To reduce the incentives and motivation behind the continuation of unsustainable deforestation practices, we as consumers must reduce demand for the products produced. The purchasing of products that contain palm oil supports industries that are motivated to cut down forests for production. Palm oil is everywhere- in your shampoo, your favorite ice cream, your makeup, your pizza dinner, your packaged bread, and more. Reading this, you have taken a step in the right direction! Knowledge and research are crucial in making informed decisions, and so is using your purchasing power to support those companies producing the items sustainably.

MSI’s Impact

MSI strives to improve our personal and professional sustainability practices every day. We implement many green policies in our Durango and Silverton offices. These include, when possible, using natural light and ventilation rather than electric alternatives and ensuring our water use is minimum. And we love our offices in downtown Durango and Silverton because many of us can walk or bike to work! Our staff also shared actions they take at home to protect the planet, like participating in the local We Fill program to reduce plastic waste, keeping reusable paper towel alternatives, and avoiding single-use plastics. We work every day to invest in our natural resources and communities in the San Juan Mountains through restoration days, forest health and water quality monitoring, and creating science people can use. MSI is proud to support and partner with other like-minded sustainable organizations in our community, like the Sustainability Alliance of Southwest Colorado, 4CORE, Powerhouse Science Lab, San Juan Mountains Association, San Juan National Forest, and more.

*We are proud to work together with our community to revegetate Molas Fen and other resources! Photo by Colleen Magee-Uhlik.*

You can too! We are grateful to be a part of the amazing San Juan Mountain communities, where many small businesses on Main Avenue and Greene Street are also dedicated to environmental practices in their lives. Check out our friends at places like Maria’s Bookshop, Outdoorsy, Coffee Bear, Ska Brewing, Beads and Beyond, Visit Durango, Silverton Chamber, and more to support local businesses and invest in our planet - all at the same time!

Use Your Purchasing Power

The myriad of choices can be overwhelming on a simple trip to the grocery store. How can we know how to buy to be conscious consumers? Thankfully, there are resources and guides that help inform your decisions. A few of our favorites are the Palm Oil Buyers Scorecard and Seafood Watch. The Palm Oil Buyers Scorecard is a report compiled annually by the World Wildlife Fund that ranks “manufacturers, retailers, foodservice and hospitality companies on their commitments and actions in favor of sustainable palm oil” (WWF). The 2021 scorecard is available here and can be used as a reference point when deciding between various brands or products. You can also refer to the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil to see the certified organizations and brands that are actively working towards producing palm oil products in their company in a sustainable manner.

Sustainability extends from our mountain headwaters to our oceans. Seafood Watch, by the Monterey Bay Aquarium, is a program that helps consumers and businesses make sustainable seafood choices for a healthy ocean. View their guide here (also available for download as an app) to see recommendations for sourcing sustainable seafood. Plus, there are oversight groups that monitor the use of our resources in an environmentally friendly manner. The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) and Rainforest Alliance have existing ways to certify companies using wood products in a sustainable way. When purchasing paper products, consider checking for an FSC-certified source.

When these natural resources are utilized, they must be harvested in a sustainable way. We must balance maintaining the health of our planet’s ecosystems with meeting human needs in the coming decades. We all play a part on our planet! There are many ways to get involved this Earth Day: donate, volunteer, recycle, and spread the word! When more people are informed with the power of their purchasing behavior and with the proper incentives, motivation, and information, the long-term effects of sustainable consumerism will lead to a more permanent shift in global markets and industrialization. Please join us to #InvestinOurPlanet.