Lesson 9: Green Living

I think we all know that "green" is here to stay. It doesn't really matter if you believe that humans are causing global warming or not. And it doesn't matter if the current warming trend is long-term or problematic. The bigger question is about polluting the environment in which we live. We would never think about going back to the days of having sewage running through our streets, but we still breathe toxic fumes and drink water laced with pharmaceuticals, rocket fuel, etc. In other words, we're living in our own filth.

I believe this is one reason why "health and wellness" is an important trend -- we're trying to save ourselves from ourselves. But as always, it's a nice idea to go back to the root of the problem, and cleaning up our world is a good way to help out.

As with matters of health, however, more people will adopt green living solutions if they are easy and affordable -- especially if a solution will actually save someone money and can be done without thinking about it. For instance, if you had a hybrid car that cost the same as a conventional car but gave you twice the gas mileage and didn't change how you drove or lived your life, then this would make a lot of sense to everyone. However, for now hybrids remain the choice of a smaller population because their gas savings really don't make up for their extra cost.

So if you're looking for a green business opportunity, look for those two factors: ease of use, and financial savings. You can also look for something that satisfies a niche market and yields more profit per sale. But these two points will attract a large market, and are likely to create a lasting business model.

At the moment, I don't have any "green" opportunities that I endorse (but if you're interested in green living, I highly encourage you to check out this ozone laundry system.) I'll list opportunities here if I run across something exceptional.