going green

I have really been studying my family's environmental impact and am working through some complex decisions as a result. I thought it perfect that I came across a wind farm on my way to Colgate University this week, as I was doing an extended test drive of the Toyota Prius, a really cool little hybrid vehicle that gets up to 60 miles per gallon. I'd love to get the Prius for its amazing efficiency, but it's probably just not a practical vehicle for my family at this point. We're now contemplating the Toyota Camry Hybrid, which will significantly reduce our greenhouse gas emissions and halve our fuel consumption. As for the wind farm, it was so much more awesome than I had imagined. The wind towers have a majesty that surprised me. We've been purchasing wind as part of our electric service for over a year, and it was great to see how it is generated.

As for the photography business, I have started switching over as much of my packaging and marketing materials to recyled papers, and I am coordinating and combining print orders to consolidate shipping boxes. I am also minimizing print materials by relying more heavily on PDFs for client communications. I'm still deciding what to do about paper proofs. I believe that they are very helpful to clients, but I am concerned about unnecessary paper and chemical use.

The flowers and Great Blue Heron were found on the beauiful pond at the foot of the hill at Colgate.