Plant Sentry™ Fights Climate Change

CLIMATE CHANGE. 

These 2 words have encouraged, divided, and influenced the current generations of our time to take a long hard look at the world as we know it. As the human experience continues to change, climate change in recent years has become a part of it.

I distinctly remember the first time I had heard the term “Climate Change.” It was the early 2000’s and Al Gore had just lost to George W. Bush for the president of the United States. Shortly after his loss, in 2006, Al Gore released “An Inconvenient Truth.” 

At the time of its release, much of the American culture circulated around the tech boom taking place after Y2K and the excess of pop culture in a convenient way of life. But “An Inconvenient Truth” was the first introduction that I had to the ideas of climate change and more of the central focus of the film, global warming. 

For many of the generations in the U.S. today, this documentary was the first big public conversation about the human environmental impact since the release of “Silent Spring” by Rachel Carson in 1962. Years have passed since its release and the environmental culture has grown tremendously. Each of these pieces of media identified to certain individuals the need for action to restore our planet.

But this article isn’t about how “An Inconvenient Truth” changed the way Americans humbly view climate change today. No, this article is about how the little changes, like “An Inconvenient Truth”’s release, in our day-to-day life influence our relationship with the environment.   

You see, despite the continued progress of climate change and all of our new found scientific evidence surrounding it, there still seem to be numerous barriers between the conversation and the solutions. But, there doesn’t have to be.

Every day, you and I make a multitude of decisions. From how we wake up in the morning, to how we go to bed at night, and in between are a million different decisions that have rippling, impactful consequences. In this article, I want to show you a decision that can not only make your life easier as a grower, seller, or consumer but can also make numerous tiny little decisions that create positive, rippling, changes to the environment.  

In honor of Earth Day on April 22nd, 2021 we’re taking a different approach to the typical “doom & gloom” conversation of climate change and environmental issues. Today, we’re going to talk about how Plant Sentry™ fights climate change and how you as a consumer or grower can too!

What is Climate Change?

Now, I’ve thrown this term around a few times already in this article, but in case you haven’t Googled it yet, climate change is defined by NASA as a “long-term change in the average weather patterns that have come to define Earth’s local, regional and global climates.”

In recent years you’ve most likely seen the term tossed around with other heavy-hitting environmental topics like greenhouse gases, degradation of the coral reefs, and rising sea levels. All of these topics are important independently, and all of them are solvable by addressing the problems of climate change.

How Does Plant Sentry™ Fight Climate Change?

At this point, you have to be asking yourself, how does a compliance regulations database help fight climate change? Well great question, and I have an even greater answer!

Believe it or not, climate change is a very solvable problem, with very obvious solutions in some instances. But a part of the problem is that in order to make the corrections we need, we need everyone to make many tiny positive changes to their lives. Unfortunately, this isn’t always possible for everyone to achieve. 

In the Garden Industry regulatory compliance has been a long-standing issue with a wide variety of opinions and applications throughout the years. Part of the positive changes that the Garden Industry creates is by providing plants to various environments throughout the world. 

As you may know, as a part of the photosynthesis process, plants capture carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere and convert it into oxygen (O2).  One of the most important roles in the fight against climate change is carbon capture. The abundance of plants and their continued growth provides an important source of change for the battle against climate change.

However, while plants provide many positive environmental benefits the challenge that the Garden Industry faces is the movement of those plants and how they impact other environments. This is where Plant Sentry™ comes in.

Plant Sentry™’s role in the Garden Industry is to make navigating, utilizing, interpreting, and understanding the compliance regulations for inter- and intra- state shipping easier. With our tool, growers can spend less time and money navigating the volatility of compliance regulations and instead focus on other greenhouse operations. 

But, wait, there’s more! The Plant Sentry™ team understands that these rules and regulations didn’t come without cause. Their origin in development was to help prevent the spread of plants that cause environmental impacts and protect the U.S. agricultural environments. Appreciating this foundation, we at Plant Sentry™ focus our efforts on 3 areas:

-Invasive Plant Species

-Invasive Pests

-Invasive Plant Diseases

Each one of these topics makes up the priority and expertise that Plant Sentry™ offers each and every one of our clients. So how does this relate to who buys the plant? Every Plant Sentry™ audited plant has been checked for invasive status, pests, and diseases to ensure you as a consumer get the healthiest and safest plant possible. 

Healthy, compliant plants are a small, significant positive change in the environmental effects of human activities.  Just think about it, all of the alternatives to fossil fuels come from plants. When we look at reducing greenhouse gas emissions we consider plants more trees to offset the carbon emissions. Every single plant on this planet matters right now, and how healthy that plant is makes an even bigger difference.

Here at Plant Sentry™ we continuously check our clients’ inventory to make sure they provide only the healthiest plants around. 

How You Can Fight Climate Change

Climate change can be an overwhelming topic, but it doesn’t have to be. There are a number of proactive ways that you can fight climate change for Earth Day 2021. 

First, ask your favorite growers if they’re using Plant Sentry™! Again, the use of our services means healthier plants for your environment. So why wouldn’t you want to purchase plants approved by us?

Second, be a curious consumer. If you want to make an environmental impact, remind yourself of your purchasing power! A number of the top competitors for some of our largest clients don’t follow federal regulations and openly admit it. Stop giving your money to companies that don’t have the same values as you do, there are other sellers.

Third, calculate your carbon footprint! It’s important to gain perspective on where you’re starting so that you know where to go. Calculating your carbon footprint will give you generous insights into the number of tiny ways that you could help fight climate change.

Fourth and finally, participate in Earth Day events this year! Earth Day only happens once a year. Even if you are overwhelmed or unsure where to start, Earth Day events provide great ways to get involved in your community and learn new things to move forward.

Our team at Plant Sentry™ hopes that you will seriously consider our insights from today’s article for a brighter and greener future! 

If you’d like to visit our clients and purchase their plants, stop by retailers that offer their goods!