Why do I find myself giddy as I drive hours to remote trail heads? Obviously, hiking up hills, over rocks, and around fallen trees is definitely not the easiest way to enjoy nature. Still, for some wacky reason, my smile widens when I see a narrow hiking trail. I love how the dirt path is compacted from the many hikers using it. Yet, just inches to its right and left, Nature shows off her plants, flowers, and grasses that are indigenous to that particular habitat.

What I enjoy even more is that which I don’t see. There’s no trash or garbage on the side of the trail. I don’t hear music or cars. And though I am a loyal telecom enthusiast, it’s nice to not see cell towers.

Still, this hiking thing is not a walk in the park. Following the narrow trail, my husband and I hike single file. There’s little room for easy conversation. After grabbing a protein bar from my backpack, I have to return its sticky wrapper to my backpack until we return to the car. What’s more, my cell phone doesn’t cooperate when I want to send a picture of the incredible view to a friend.

What a total inconvenience! And HURRAY for it!!!

To me, this inconvenience is a good sign. It proves that I’m taking the necessary steps to protect our fragile ecosystem. It’s only respectful that I act responsibly here – and everywhere I tread.

In a similar vein, it’s only respectful that our telecom community creates its own path with environmentally-friendly initiatives. And, we all know these initiatives are not easy or convenient.

The OSP^® team is taking some small steps of our own. We’re launching a new, interactive digital edition as a supplement to our print product. Now readers will have an additional platform to access OSP’s editorial mission. (Coming soon!)

OSP also plans to explore sustainable strategies for the infrastructure in our FREE seminars at OSP EXPO^® 2010. Registration opens May 1st at www.ospmag.com.

Sure, the two items above are small. But, our team believes we can impact the future health of our world – one step at a time.

Jot me a note and tell me the little steps your organization is doing to help. We’ll post them on www.ospmag.com and celebrate how we all are treading a bit more lightly.

What is your experience with this? Tell your fellow readers now!