Nick Zingale

Be careful what you ask for … you just might get it. Just ask the coalition of Industrial Energy Users in Ohio. In the late 1990s, they lobbied hard for electricity deregulation. As a result, Ohio Senate Bill 3 was passed in 1999, which established a framework to “deregulate” energy pricing by allowing the market to set the price for energy through supplier competition.

Someone please tell me the truth about global warming! If we could just get the facts, then we can get on with our lives – as long as it doesn’t mean too much change. Unfortunately, when a new paradigm emerges, it isn’t that easy. A predictable response to confronting a new issue is to question, argue and debate it before ultimate acceptance of something that challenges our understanding of the world. This is part of the deal with science – sometimes we like what we find and sometimes we don’t.

Today’s world of environmental management means engaging leadership at its very core to reveal unlimited opportunities to improve performance. The following provides insight into some of the latest management trends that are employing financial, voluntary and market-based approaches to improve environmental conditions and societal well-being.

In a 5-4 decision, the Supreme Court ordered the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to take another look at regulating carbon dioxide emissions from cars. The case was Massachusetts v. Environmental Protection Agency, and it was filed by 12 states and 13 environmental groups after the Republican-controlled Congress refused to adopt a global-warming policy in 1999.

There is a not-so-quiet revolution taking place. This revolution involves some pretty savvy thinking to integrate economic pros-perity with social and environmental well-being. Termed “sustainability” or “sustainable development,” there are vast differ-ences in what this should practically mean in today’s world of hyper-individualism, materialism, media overload and techno-logical wizardry.

Since the release of the 1990's best seller The Machine That Changed the World: The Story of Lean Production, companies around the world have been engaged in the Lean business model, which emphasizes the elimination of waste while delivering quality products at the cheapest cost to the manufacturer and the customer. Over the years, the concept of Lean has evolved into something more commonly known today as Lean Thinking. Lean Thinking encompasses a number of business methods, including Kaizen (Japanese for improvement), rapid-improvement events, just-in-time manufacturing, value-stream mapping, total productive maintenance, cellular production and Six Sigma. Applied correctly, Lean Thinking combines the advantages of craft and working know-how with the efficiency of mass production. The results are faster delivery, improved quality, increased productivity, greater worker involvement, less waste and higher profits.

The United States Environmental Protection Agency continues to struggle to find their role and purpose. As they begin thinking about the future, there are lessons to be learned.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is amending the existing standard, which limits occupational exposure to hexavalent chromium (Cr(VI)). The final rule, which became effective on May 30, 2006, establishes an 8-hour time-weighted average (TWA) exposure limit of 5 micrograms of Cr(VI) per cubic meter of air (5 µg/m³). This is a considerable reduction from the previous Permissible Exposure Limit (PEL) of 1 milligram per 10 cubic meters of air reported as chromium oxide, which is equivalent to a limit of 52 micrograms as Cr(VI).

Revolving doors are useful when constructing for building efficiency and traffic flow, but when it comes to the Administrator's job at the U.S. EPA, a revolving door is a reflection of poor environmental leadership and planning.

What would you do with $574.8 billion? According to an annual study completed by the National Safety Council, 23.8 million Americans or about 1 out of 12 sought medical attention for an injury in 2004. About 2.8 million people were hospitalized for injuries, about 40.2 million were treated in hospital emergency departments and about 99.9 million visits to physicians' offices were due to injuries¹