A Summer Heat Wave Of Change!

It's a simple fact…summer is here and it's hot.

When I went online this morning to check out the Weather Channel’s website, it seems that the only place not in the 90s is up in the Northwest.

I know what is going through your mind.

G-L-O-B-A-L W-A-R-M-I-N-G

The press has been rather quiet about it.

Course the Obama-Hillary race has dominated the news media. I think part of the heat is the after glow of Hillary’s speech yesterday when she exited the race and threw her support behind Obama.

Whatever the reason for the quiet, I think that that the Environmentalists are coming back on stage.

It’s amazing what a dollar bill can do.

$3 per gallon might have made the price wheels spin faster on the pumps, but it didn’t do much to slow down the SUVs.

But $4 per gallon is quickly changing the landscape.

Fact is there’s little likelihood that the price at the pumps is going to be lower any time in the future. In fact, I put $5 down on a bet that a gallon of unleaded gas will hit $5 before Labor Day.

Two weeks ago, I parked my pick-up truck and SUV in the garage and went out and leased a Mini Cooper. The dealership is moving 10 Mini Coopers off the lot per day.

At 40 miles per gallon, it just makes sense.

But it’s not just what kind of a car we drive that is going to change. And even the word “change” sounds way too gentle of a description.

The “Eco-Nuts” and “Green Freaks” may be the voice crying out in the wilderness.

I know that the religious right will not like this, but in many ways Al Gore has been kind of like John The Baptist in his declaration of the Messiah.

Lots of change is in the works.

Corporate travel is going to become a rarity. Videoconference calls will become a norm.

Proximity to mass transit is going to become the most important pre-requisition to “A Class” office space.

The idea of retail “trade areas” is going to expand to how a business in general sees the world when it comes to hiring… and for some… sales as well!

Weekend travel jaunts are going to be defined by the distance there and back based on one tank of gas.

Television entertainment, board and card games, bicycles and local diners are likely to experience a surge.

It wouldn’t surprise me if Putt-Putt golf courses, drive-in theaters and local bowling alleys celebrate a born-again experience.

SUVs, Luxury Imports, Five-star Restaurants, Coastal Resorts and Frequent Flyer Clubs may soon be history.

For some of us…and many in the press…the glass on the table today is half empty and getting lower every day.

But, in all honesty, I actually get excited about the changes and challenges of the pump price hikes!

This week’s issue of Forbes Magazine has a couple of great articles.

One by Ken Fisher who writes the column Portfolio Strategy with the current column titled “A Stock For Eco-Nuts”…

“If you’re an Eco-Nut, you need to invest some dollars in France’s Veoloa Envronnement which is postured as the quintessential green company. Even if you think global warming is a hoax, you need to put dollars in this company. The political and social forces behind the movement to combat global warming and turn energy green are, to me, a form of paganistic spiritualism displacing conventional religion. But, they are real forces nonetheless and I believe that green investing will soon become a hot trend throughout capital markets on a scale that socially responsible investing never began to approach. The cost of guilt will translate into a premium price on green stocks.”

No question that guilt can generate ROI. Just ask any priest or rabbi about the funds they are able to generate during Lent and Rosh Hashanah-Yom Kippur.

The other Forbes article is titled: “Waste? Not!”

It’s about two tree-huggers – actually a brother and sister – that have started up a company that produces paper made from elephant dung.

Emily Lambert is the author and here are a few of her words about this company…

“Michael and Tun Flancman make a line of paper products out of elephant dung. The paper, which is turned into wrapping paper, wine bags, journals and Christmas ornaments, is thick, textured and occasionally flecked with small stones and hair-like fibers because 70% of what an elephant eats can pass through its belly undigested.”

Wine bags made out of elephant poop…is this not creative or what!

Last year, Atlanta faced one of the very worst draughts in history. All outdoor water use was banned and rationing was employed in a number of communities.

The “half-empty” proclamators were out in force…. But so were the innovators and inventors.

Everything from Rainwater Collection Barrels to artificial silk mums that required no watering appeared on websites overnight. This spring, both Home Depot and Loews sell plants that naturally like very, very dry soil.

Innovation and invention applies to both what we do and also how we define the scenario of what we perceive.

Here at BrandVenture, we thrive on challenge. We get high on seeing opportunities where others see bad news.

Isn’t it only natural to work the sweat-shop of creative thinking during the hot days of June?