At Green.org, we often feature leaders in renewable energy, cleantech, and sustainability, who ventured out on their own and found huge success in their world. Whether that is through financial success, freedom to set their own schedules and travel, or the ability to have a positive effect on the world around them, entrepreneurship is at the heart of what we do here at Green.org. We were excited to talk to Scott Lane, of EarthGrid, to learn about his passion for sustainability and entrepreneurship, and learn a bit about the life of a sustainable entrepreneur.
Tell us a little bit about you and your background:
My wife would call me a habitual entrepreneur. While she may not always think it a compliment, I’ve always been proud of it. I view that moniker as being part optimist, part opportunist, part logical, and part illogical. It requires the ability to view things differently. Not quite a complete “out of the box” thinker, but more of the ability to view multiple boxes and find synergies as well as the ability to see problems as opportunities. As we look at the problems facing the world, such as climate change, energy, and the transportation of energy, goods, information and humans, I see these as real world opportunities to try and think past simple fixes into longer term solutions with synergies.
What is a fun fact about you?
I hope to someday circumnavigate the globe on a sailboat and be able to learn from as many different cultures as possible.
Why do you think climate change and sustainability is such an important topic today?
Short answer? My grandchildren. They will have to inhabit the world that we leave behind. I am concerned about everyone’s grandkids, but mine are special to me.
What do you envision your industry looking like 10 years from now?
A lot of tunnels! Tunnels for transportation, for energy, for data. Deliveries and goods can be managed in environmentally responsible means. I hope and perhaps it is the eternal optimist in me, but I can envision the whole denialism approach as shifting to just wanting to argue about “best path’s forward.”
What can the average person do to make a difference?
As individuals, we have the responsibility to hold not only our politicians responsible, but we have to hold the companies, the providers of goods as responsible. Accepting misdirections or excuses for maintaining the status quo, makes us equally as responsible.