They may be the only local couple who hang their washing out to dry on an umbrella-style clothes line in their backyard, just as folks did back before indoor electric clothes dryers became the energy-consuming norm.
And why not?

For British-born environmental entrepreneur, author, trainer and former Oxford University lecturer Paul Hannam, it makes perfect sense and fits in with his determination personally to reduce his carbon footprint and to help create a greener world.

He also drives a hybrid and plans one day to build a smaller totally green home.

Ironically, we interviewed the 6-foot-5 entrepreneur on the shaded patio of his home on the very day U.S. Senate Republicans blocked a global warming bill that would have required major reductions in greenhouse gases and would have capped carbon dioxide coming from power plants, refineries and factories.

The Associated Press reported the Senate debate focused on bitter disagreement over the expected economic costs of putting a price on carbon dioxide, the leading greenhouse gas that comes from burning fossil fuels, and allowing the trading of carbon emission allowances to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 71 percent by mid-century.

Although Hannam is reluctant to interject himself into U.S. politics, he was obviously disappointed, but not surprised, that Senate Democratic leaders were unable to muster a dozen-vote majority needed to end a Republican filibuster and bring the bill up for a vote.

Dealing with climate change is certainly one of the top three priorities in the world today, Hannam said, “and I’m amazed frankly, especially coming from Europe, and Europeans are amazed, that America hasn’t taken leadership in this because it’s not just about politics; it’s not just about dealing with the science; it’s actually a tremendous business opportunity.

And, if America doesn’t take the lead in this, other people will.”

The rest of the world finally “gets it,” he said, that “the whole of our economic, social, and political systems are going be transformed and if you don’t get in quickly, America is going to miss the boat. They [Americans] have been leaders in biotechnology, in information technology, the Internet, but this, the green economy, absolutely dwarfs that.”

What is really going to impact “this part of the world in future are water shortages” due to climate change, he predicted, similar to the catastrophic water shortages now occurring in Spain with a climate similar to California where a declared state-wide drought raises the possibility of water rationing. “Barcelona,” Hannam said, “is now having water brought in by ship, their reservoirs are now down to a fraction of where they should be and in Southern Spain they have had year after year of drought.”

Hannam, 49, is the co-founder of Bright Green Talent, a human resources start-up firm with offices in London, San Francisco, San Diego and soon Brussels, whose mission is to recruit the brightest and best talent in the world to work for organizations committed to sustainability and corporate social responsibility.

He’s also chairman and co-owner of Greenest Host, a Web-based company that provides design, consultancy and marketing services to organizations that want to reduce energy and become more sustainable.

And he is a former Associate Fellow at the Oxford University Environmental Change Institute. He also served as a consultant to a host of British and international firms.

Hannam was born in Epsom, Surrey, England. He is an only child “perhaps typical for entrepreneurs,” he said. His father was an architect. His mother taught school.

He earned a B.A. in modern history from Reading University in 1980 followed by a master’s degree in international politics, Carleton University, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, in 1981.

Early on, he realized, he wasn’t ‘a corporate person.’

He had an entrepreneur’s personality, which, at the time, in England, was tantamount to being somewhat of a maverick.

His first job after college was selling computers to the blind, Braille computers, that is, followed by launching a successful computer recruitment business in 1988 that grew to achieve annual revenues of more than $50 million in 2000.

“For 20 years, I’ve been an entrepreneur. I started out in technology. And 10 years ago, I really discovered the environment….”

That moment of revelation came on a plane when he read talk-radio-host Thom Hartmann’s book, The Last Hours of Ancient Sunlight, that argued the only lasting way to correct the damage being done to the planet using up its nonrenewable resources was to return to the lessons of our ancient ancestors who lived sustainably for thousands of generations.

“After reading this book, I really stopped working in my technology business. I ended up teaching at Oxford for about five years [as an Associate Fellow at Oxford’s Environmental Change Institute]. and then started planning my move to the States because the rest of the world really looks to the States for leadership.”

He moved to the U.S. in December, 2006.

The objective of his company, Bright Green Talent, [www.brightgreentalent.com] which he co-founded in early 2007, “is to recruit a new generation of environmental leaders.

“You look what’s happening in China, in India, in Mexico, in Brazil. Everybody wants to live like Americans,” he said. “They see it on TV. They see it in the media. But the world is completely unsustainable if six, seven billion people live like the average American; the world will run out of resources within a matter of a few years.

“So we have to have a different model, a model based on renewable energy, on water conservation, a whole new way of thinking, and I wanted to be at the vanguard of that change, because there are millions of people in America who want to be part of this. And, again, it’s all about leadership.”

“We have the science, we know the catastrophe that we are going to be facing, there is a lot of public demand for change, we have a lot of finance to change, we have the means to change, what we really lack is leadership. So my fundamental mission is to work with businesses, public sector, universities, nonprofits to put them into leadership positions where they can bring about the change we need.”
His other company, Greenest Host, [www.greenesthost.com], which he co-founded in late 2007, offers Web-based design, consultancy and marketing services to Fortune 500 companies and small businesses who want to build green businesses.

“It’s interesting at the moment although some say there is a recession, when it comes to ‘green business,’ it’s boom time,” he said. “Clean Tech, the term given for businesses investing in renewable energy and similar environmental fields, is now the third biggest area for investment from venture capital, just behind IT and biotech and it’s catching up.

“And there are thousands of businesses across North America sprouting up in the last 12 months and many of them backed by serious investment and they are all looking for management teams and technical people.

“I’ve seen surveys that say one in four new jobs created by 2030 will be in renewable energy and it will be the biggest creator of jobs since World War II.”

The hottest growth market in this country right now, he said, is ‘green building.’

“We’re going to see a transformation across this country where already over 25 percent of new buildings projected over the next 10 years will have what’s called LEED certification. That’s the well-known industry standard for green buildings and it’s going to create enormous demand for green architects, green designers, construction developers, green engineers, people expert at installing solar, wind, and eco-efficient devices to reduce energy use. Everything about a building is going to require massive demand.

“If we just forget for a moment about climate change,” he said, “whether you believe it or not, just the price of oil…and the growing scarcity of oil and water, will drive this market dramatically.”

He also plans to launch another business this summer that will coach people on how to green their lives. “So it will be dealing with everything from organic foods and everything you use in the house to reducing your energy bills and hybrid cars,” he said. “The idea is to help people make smart green choices.”

“If you think computers and the Internet and TV changed your life, you ain’t seen nothin’ yet because we’re going to have to change everything we do: where we live, how we live, how we travel, what we eat, where we work. Every aspect of our lives will have to change….and the sooner we do it, the easier it will be. If we leave it too late, it’s going to be a disaster.”
Hannam can be contacted at: paul@brightgreenleadership.com