GOING GREEN BENEFITS
ENVIRONMENT AND ECONOMY

       With a challenging but exciting New Year upon us, it seems a good time to reflect on our past and project hope for the future. Our 2009 theme – Healthy Environment, Healthy Economy – is especially appropriate in this, Valley Forward’s milestone 40th anniversary.
       Environmental sustainability is not just a buzzword today, but has become a defining adjective for our generation.
       Experts are declaring that the time for sustainability is now, and more than ever before, a driving opportunity for our financial solvency.  With gas dollars hitting record highs last year, congress is dually fighting for more fuel-efficient vehicles.  And in an economic time where our daily consumption of oil, efficient use of utilities and weaning of added luxuries are constantly in check, we’re already taking steps in the right environmental direction by implementing these few things. 
       The economy is forcing less wasteful, greener consumption from all ends of the spectrum in our society – bringing to life what will imminently dictate our delicately balanced future.
This year, Anaheim University calculated that green business and education equates to 265 billion dollars, reaches 1.6 million people with a five percent growth per annum – a sector that was closer to zero just 10 years ago. 
       In a similar study, Oxford University climate policy expert Cameron Hepburn suggests global commerce could receive a one-trillion-dollar boost. Green business practice is here to stay and will continue to grow in importance as we move toward a sustainable future.
While sustainability reaches a global audience, it also directly influences our community. Local leaders are helping lead the way to a more sustainable Valley. But the greatest strides occur through collaborative partnerships of the public and private sectors. Working together, we can ensure the livability and sustainability of our unique desert environment.
       And similarly, our new president will not only be judged for his economic makeover, but also the level of attention he pays toward the overall sustainability of our nation.
The job is too large for just one, but also too beneficial, with its infinite opportunity, to pass by. Our collective outcome will mark the balance we strive to create between earth and economy.
 

CORPORATE:

Total Transit, Inc. – Discount Cab/Taxi Cab Services
Arizona Color Promotions – Vehicle Wraps and Graphics
Southwest Solar Technologies –  Renewable Energy Systems
Trinity Consultants –  Intelligent Environmental Solutions
Pixel Effects – Complete Internet Driven Solutions
marketHaus – Website Design and Creation
McCarthy Building Companies –  Commercial Builders
National Bank of Arizona –  Full Service Financial Solutions
Coe & Van Loo Consultants, Inc. –  Engineering Services

INDIVIDUAL:

Paul Berman
Wayne Collins
George Long