Is Starbucks as green as the billions of dollars they gross every year? Some big businesses are proclaiming a better bond with the environment; but how far are those green dollars going? Is green the new way to make a greenback, or is a conscious growing in the box chains of America? Starbucks is buying green energy to offset 20% of the energy they use. Whole Food Market offsets 100% of the energy they use. Starbucks has a line of organic coffee; I have never seen it brewed, only for sale. Whole foods always has organic coffee brewed.
That is a big difference, but there is a lot to take into account when comparing names and places. Is it better for the earth if I buy Annie's Mac n' Cheese in Whole Foods rather than Wal-Mart? Yes, Annie's is available in Wal-Mart, so, is Annie's bad for selling to a company that doesn't offset 100% of the energy they use? Well, Annie's might one day be selling to another company supplied 100% by renewable energy. Wal-Mart's goal is 100%, the actuality of that: Wal-Mart recently purchased solar power to supply 22 of their stores in Hawaii and California, their largest step toward their goal of 100% sustainable, renewable energy. (All of this information came from company websites.)
Well Wally World, you have a few more stores to power before you are 100%, but hey, at least they're trying. Or, they are just trying to improve their image, but at the end of the day, aren't we all? No one and nothing is perfect but try to do your best and exceed your best everyday when interacting with the environment and we just might make it out alive, actually, no we won't, but maybe a couple more generations might make it in!
