Happy Earth Day 2015! Wow, 45 years of celebrating the Earth each year on 4/22, and unlike some past years, I couldn’t be more excited to celebrate. Why? Because this year I feel we are seeing real change on many fronts.

Take, for instance, the golf courses I sometimes walk along in San Diego. They are taking out all grass except the absolute minimum required to play, and replacing it with sand and desert shrubs. Homeowners in Southern California are doing the same. They’re taking out unnecessary vegetation and plants that are not native to California and aren’t drought tolerant.  This is real change — YEAH!  And most important, it makes people think about and respect our resources.

More good news this year, certified organic products are up 11%. That amounts to 39 billion in sales in 2014. That is fantastic! In fact, organic now accounts for 12% of all produce, and 5% of the total amount of food consumed. That stat has doubled over that past 5 years. Such great news! The Wild Oats brand has really helped pioneer the lower cost approach to organics. Industry focus on lower cost will keep the momentum of organics growing.

Check out rapper Virtuoso’s clip on why he loves affordable Wild Oats products at Walmart.

In 2003, our goal at the Organic Center for Education and Promotion was to get to 10% organic by 2010. Well, we missed that by a little, but maybe we can get there by 2020. Wouldn’t that be incredible? Maybe we can relaunch the idea as “10% Organic by 2020.”  YEAH!

Want even more good news? I am part of a team at the Katerva Global Sustainability Awards, and this morning I was on a conference call with that team and found out that this year, 1500 global sustainability companies have already entering the awards. The amazing thing about Katerva, besides Terry, the CEO, is its global reach. Through 2500 sustainability leaders — all volunteers and all committed to sustainability — these companies are found and recommend for the awards. The reason we are all so excited is that the 1500 entrees for 2015 is nearly 3 times the typical amount that have entered in the last 6 years! That is a real sign of progress. YEAH!

And still more Good News… Recently I was invited to a large meeting in NY to address global and U.S. issues that relate to waste, recycling, and energy. It is somewhat counterintuitive, but who knew that $50 per barrel oil would actually be good to disrupt old line industries and land fill based economics? Just think, with technology today, we might not need landfills. This group that I’m a part of and that is being assembled, is going to be on the cutting edge of “resource recovery.”  We will be eliminating plastics from our oceans and environment! YEAH! And one more thing, within a day of receiving this invitation, I had meetings with a University Professor from China and a businessman in the energy business from India, and they both want to be part of this exploration, too! YEAH!

And just one more thing to celebrate on this Earth Day (and this is probably the most important thing) make sure you tell yourself how extraordinary and incredible you are, and then tell someone else how extraordinary and incredible they are! I am telling you how awesome you are… because you are! YEAH!

The reason I want to say this to you is that after all these years of trying to create change, my conclusion is that it all comes down to you — or maybe a small group of people that feel good and realize how incredible they are. They feel awesome, and because they feel awesome they make someone else feel awesome. And this momentum of positive feelings will have a positive impact on the planet. Because, if you are feeling the incredible self that you are, you would never do anything negative — like pollute. You will only focus on the positive, the healthy.

So, yes, you are AWESOME!  And make someone else feel awesome today, too, and you will keep the momentum going,

Cheers! We have a lot to be thankful for! YEAH!

Happy Earth Day, 2015

AZ