The Responsibility Project

Liberty Mutual

Responsibility. What’s your policy?™

Blog: Environment

Hurricane Hold-Outs: Rising Tide?

Posted on September 23, 2008 by Kathy McManus Comments (3)

An increasing number of hurricane “hold-outs” refuse to leave their homes, even in the face of mandatory evacuation orders and warnings of “certain death.” But when plans go awry, lives are on the line—including rescue workers. Is it right to endanger others when your personal decision runs contrary to the law? Read full article »
Right to Dry: Are Outdoor Clotheslines Going Extinct?

Posted on August 26, 2008 by Kathy McManus Comments (9)

Do you have the right to bare your laundry on an outdoor clothesline on your private property? Perhaps not, if your home is governed by a local homeowners association, many of which ban clotheslines for aesthetic reasons. Where some see an eyesore flapping in the breeze, others see an answer to an environmental question blowing in the wind. Read full article »
Going Green: Who Pays?

Posted on August 19, 2008 by Kathy McManus Comments (28)

Reducing your carbon footprint is the current mantra of environmental responsibility. But going green costs green, and some small businesses are now asking their customers to pay extra to help them. Where does personal responsibility end and business responsibility begin when it comes to the cost of helping the environment? Read full article »
Cold But Not Cool: Time to Close the Door?

Posted on July 24, 2008 by Kathy McManus Comments (14)

Cold air is a hot topic, as shops and stores across the country blast arctic air out their front doors, wide open, non stop. If you embrace the door-busting chill, are you a cool customer or an unwitting accomplice to an irresponsible environmental crime? A New York city councilwoman recently introduced legislation to stop the practice, but should wasting energy be illegal? Read full article »
Having a Third Child

Posted on June 10, 2008 by Kathy McManus Comments (74)

Pamela Paul wants a third child. Writing in the Washington Post about her desire to have a “sprawling” family like the one she grew up in—“with seven brothers, real and step”—Paul mused about the high cost of raising a child these days: $204,060 according to a new federal estimate. Read full article »