By Ivy Grob

In June many sustainability leaders, from government, business, and private sectors, gathered in the nation’s capital for the GreenGov symposium. This conference mainly addressed President Obama’s Executive Order: Planning for Federal Sustainability in the Next Decade (EO 13693), a measure taken to reduce water and energy usage to promote a fight against climate change. Among the speakers were Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus, who is seeking to procure 1 Gigawatt of renewable energy for the Navy and Marine Corp by December and EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy, who is rallying for action against climate change with a focus on moral responsibility for the future of our children. Also included was Karen Edwards, Consultant for the United Soybean Board who presented on Biobased products as a means to reduce our carbon footprint by replacing products that utilize petroleum with soybeans instead. These products include synthetic turf grass, paint, carpet, cleaning supplies, and insulation. Karen Edward’s presentation highlighted that synthetic turf grass has significantly reduced landscape water usage in the last year, but failed to address the important issue of the amount of soybeans grown for feed in animal agriculture. If feed was not needed, the amount of soybeans could be reduced, thus saving the water needed to grow them.