2007 was Creative Creature’s first year of 1% membership. The experience has been a very positive one so far. I believe strongly in the mission of the organization, and the practical commitment they ask for is a tangible force for change. As interested as I am in environmental progress, it’s unlikely I would have looked up CPAWS and made a donation today, had I not been a 1% member. The structure offered by 1% FTP makes it easier to organize these individual efforts to contribute to something bigger. It’s exciting to be a part of. I can only imagine what a difference could be made if a 1% environmental commitment were applied across the national or world economy. It really wouldn’t be so hard.

Whereas, we do not believe our government, or any government, is doing enough to protect and restore the health of our planet, to work toward sustainable commerce, to exercise full cost accounting in our use of non-renewable resources, and to tax them accordingly.

And whereas, we recognize we do not have totally sustainable and harmless businesses, or lifestyles, and we have an obligation to mitigate the damage we cause, regardless of whether or not we make a profit.

Therefore, we have decided not to wait for any government to do the right thing. We are committing our businesses to donate at least 1 percent of our net revenues to efforts that protect and restore our natural environment.

As we all know, this world will not be worth living in if we continue on our present course of overconsumption and thoughtless destruction. A 1% ‘tax’ on business sales seems a miniscule price to pay to help preserve and protect the natural world. Critics will say it’s not enough, or that it’s too late. Either or both of those statements may be true, but they offer little in return for their cynicism. I hope that this kind of thinking will catch on on a broader scale in time to salvage what is left and build a better future for all of us. Let’s do what G. Love says, and, “Save the whales! And the pygmy marmosets too!”