About 10 years ago, within the large stack of press releases the mail carrier would deliver each day, we began seeing announcements about "e" this and "e" that. The Information Age was under way, and businesses – including many in the aggregates industry – were jumping on the e-commerce bandwagon. These companies were promoting their new web sites, discussing e-initiatives and announcing dates for e-seminars. (It was around this time I bought stock in eToys, but that's another story.) The e-news was so plentiful we even started a monthly column in Pit & Quarry about it. Of course, we called it "eBusiness."

Fast forward a decade, and we find e-business is a way of life. That large stack of mail we received each day has slowed to a trickle. Most all the releases now come over e-mail. It's an electronic world.

Sustainable development

If the popular catch phrase in the 90s was "electronic commerce," it's now "sustainable development." Last decade's "e-business" is this decade's "green."

In much the same way that a wave of press releases 10 years ago triggered a new column in Pit & Quarry, this latest wave has us thinking green. We're dedicating the majority of this issue to the subject, and, beginning next month, we're starting a "Green" page with news about environmental issues, energy-efficient products and sustainable development in the aggregates industry.

In the dozen or so years I've been with Pit & Quarry, I've learned that most of the people in this industry aren't exactly tree huggers. However, owing to new and future laws and regulations, the industry will need to adapt.

It's not going away. Just as with e-commerce, it will eventually become the standard way of doing business. And the added benefit is that companies with environmentally friendly business practices will be better neighbors and operate more efficiently.

It ain't easy being green, but it's good for the environment, community relations and, ultimately, the bottom line.