As stated by Leonardo DiCaprio in his new film (documentary) The 11th Hour, "The evidence is now clear, industrial civilization has caused irreparable damage."
It is too hard for all of us to not associate the practice of law as contributing to our crises. But, that is what the Third Wave is all about. After all, "industrial civilization" is nothing more than the Second Wave, which the Third Wave is attempting to replace. The Second Wave is fighting for its life, and your resistance to change is supporting the Second Wave in destroying your future. In the words of George Bush, you are giving aid and comfort to the enemy.
The old way of doing things is not only time intensive, but it is carbon intensive. It is not only ruining the quality of your life (as it could be), but it can literally ruin your life or that of your children.
You can be a naysayer, ignore the obvious, and pretend that the way you decide to conduct your life does not matter in the overall scope of things, but that is wrong. That is not true. Further, sticking with your Second Wave notions -- your "industrial civilization" ways - is not affording you the work/life balance or blending that is so vital for your mental health and welfare. You are not only losing a golden opportunity to improve your life, but you are harming the planet more than you must.
Sure, there are technical things you can do such as purchase a more fuel efficient car, place solar shingles on your roof, insulate your home better, lower the square footage of your home, and use tankless hot water heaters, to mention a few. All of this is a balance between money and immediate need. I get that. But, the truth be known, the easiest and most cost effective means of saving the earth is moving your law practice home, employing the latest cheap technologies, thereby ending your commute to work every day and consuming multiple resources that a outside office requires. That is now. You can literally start doing this tomorrow whether you are a solo, a small firm, a large firm, or whether you have a good size support staff.
Stop burning ever more expensive gasoline (80% of which are spent in these work endeavors), and stop using (and paying for) multiple utilities for home and work. And, the comparable energy savings on the cubicles, desks, chairs, light bulbs, carpeting, drywall, wiring, and the like that never have to be manufactured because they are not needed will represent an enormous contribution by you.
And, here is the best part. Not only are you helping to save the planet Earth, you are drastically cutting overhead, drastically cutting expenses, buying yourself more time (and hence energy), un-complicating your life, and liberating yourself, as well as your staff and associates. You can have pleasure in saving our civilization and better enjoying your life all of the time.
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