Stonyfield CEO: Mass. can lead US in alternative energy

Nothing stands in the way of Massachusetts becoming the nation's leader in solar and other alternative energy, the CEO of Stonyfield Farms told Boston.com readers.

"The governor or mayor who figures that out is going to become a national hero, if not legend,'' Gary Hirshberg said in an online chat ahead of Earth Day.

The Londonderry, N.H., organic yogurt maker has become a leading businessman pushing sustainability and has written "Stirring It Up: How to Make Money and Save the World.'' Yet he rejected the "green'' business label, noting that even his company has many strides to go before it makes a smaller mark on the environment.

"No one has earned that title yet, not me or anyone,'' Hirshberg said Friday of the "green businessman'' label. "Many of us are in a process of trying to be green or trying to green our enterprises, but all of us humans are polluters ...

"We have evolved a system of economics that is based on two fundamental myths: (a) that the planet is a wholly owned subsidiary of our economy and (b) that even though our commerce does create real external consequences (like climate change, depletion of natural resources, toxification of air, soil and water, and demise of family farms, among many), because those "externalities" do not appear on our income statements or balance sheets, no one is held accountable for them.''

You can read the entire Q&A here.