Brett Favre did it (twice), so why can’t I?

I recently announced my intention to retire from Audubon International, effective Aug. 2, 2013. That date seemed appropriate as it is my 65th birthday.

Some people thought this meant I was going to simply sit on a boat dock somewhere and occasionally cast a line, while sipping an adult beverage. While that sounds pretty good, I have no intention of putting away my ambitions to improve the quality of the planet we all live on.

I’ve been involved in the environmental movement for around 35 years, with the last 25 being spent mostly working with private property owners and managers in an effort to encourage them to include environmental conservation in the way they manage their properties. But, my primary goal was to offer educational information and motivation to individuals in the hopes at least some of the owners/managers would become leaders and advocates of conservation beyond the borders of the properties they were responsible for.

With a few rare exceptions, looking back at my life’s work I feel that goal has been somewhat of a failure and still remains unrealized.

In this next chapter I intend to take a more proactive, in-your-face approach to environmental stewardship. I am pleased to say I have accepted the position of chairman of ISC-Audubon, and in this new role I intend to focus on promoting the membership, programs, and initiatives of ISC-Audubon – quite frankly because I feel they have developed an approach and attitude superior to what anyone else offers. The ISC-Audubon programs and my new approach is not only the natural evolution of what I started and created over two decades ago, it’s an approach everyone should get behind.

ISC-Audubon is a collation – an umbrella organization – of several not-for-profit organizations and initiatives that have combined forces to advocate sustainable living and lifestyles. The three primary organizations include the International Sustainability Council (ISC), Audubon Lifestyles, and Audubon Outdoors.

The ISC is a think-tank organization focused on stimulating discussion and actions connected with the ISC Principles of Sustainability. The ISC is also the “keeper” of the ISC Seal of Sustainability, which is a rating system that will be applied to the various certification programs in existence, in an attempt to level the playing ground and take some of the “spin” off the “spin” that many groups are now slinging around the media outlets.

Audubon Lifestyles is focused on delivering programs directly to people and businesses who have an interest in embedding sustainability and environmental stewardship into the way that they manage their homes and businesses.

Audubon Outdoors is aimed at bridging the growing disconnect between people and natural resources. As our society becomes more urbanized, we are distancing ourselves from natural resources. We have become a computer-based, information-based society and the last cow we saw was in a Chick-Fil-A commercial! Simply put, if people are disconnected from nature, they do not understand it, appreciate it, respect it or value it. If they don’t value it, then they will not be motivated to conserve it, and our global environmental problems will spiral completely out of control.

Earth’s ecosystem are in rough shape. Millions of people around the globe are “living” on less than one U.S. dollar per day. Billions of people are living without access to clean water and sanitation services. Fresh water supplies are dwindling around the globe, which will lead to conflicts over water. We are not on a sustainable path. Not here in the U.S., not anywhere on Earth.

So, this is not a time to retire. I certainly have no intention of doing so. I never really did. This is a time to get busy, to get focused, to say it like it is, and to get in people’s faces who just don’t “get it.” This is a time to take a new approach. A better approach. And I hope that each and every one of you who have supported me through the years come with me once again, and help me as I continue my lifelong crusade to get people to be better stewards of the environment.

After 35 years, I have two grandsons and a granddaughter, and the question I have is, “What sort of a legacy am I going to be leaving my grandchildren?” What sort of legacy are you going to be leaving the next generation and the one after that?

So let’s get going. I want you to join me in this cause, and more importantly I want you to join ISC-Audubon today. No, make that right now!