Making the Oil and Gas Companies Pay for the Harm Caused by Climate Change

Are oil and gas companies legally responsible for the harm caused by climate change? That is the question presented in a lawsuit filed in January 2018 by the City of New York against BP, Chevron, ConocoPhillips, Exxon Mobil, and Royal Dutch Shell. According to the lawsuit, those companies are the five largest, investor-owned producers of …

Belated Greetings from the Galilee: Roots, Branches, Forests and Power

Lee and I celebrated our 50th Wedding Anniversary on a Road Scholar trip to Israel and Jordan in April. It was dubbed “The Trip of a Lifetime.” I found that tagline trite at first. Now I heartily embrace it. I brought my laptop on the trip hoping to knock out a quick post. How naive. …

Environmental-Social-Governance (ESG)Funds: Their Time Has Come

My younger son became a vegetarian 15 +years ago. His “aha” moment came when he concluded there was no ethical difference between his unwillingness to slaughter a cow,  and purchasing its T-bone at the market. We've known quite a few vegetarians before and after Seth’s decision to become one. Being vegetarian is a lot easier, …

Maybe Tomorrow

My three year old grandson doesn’t like to take no for an answer. So his parents have started using a soft push-back, “Maybe Tomorrow.”  J. caught on quickly. When his Dad asked him to share his figgy bar with his sister, he smiled and said, “Maybe Tomorrow.” I’ve come to appreciate the term. It’s a …

Good News: A Sustainable Dutch City is Created: A Divestment-Reinvestment Model of Magical Proportions

During my 6 month foray into blogging, Jeremy Williams has become my hero. I love the way he writes, the frequency of his high quality blogging, but most of all the amazing stories he tells. Today I'm sharing the story he published on February 1st. The story itself is jaw-dropping. Also, it illustrates the myriad ways …

How To Become A Superhero With Your Investments

  More and more people are asking the question: “How can I use my investments to advance my values?” I began asking myself that question after the presidential election, when I realized that I couldn’t rely on federal policy to make a difference on the issues I care about – especially climate change. Instead, it …

The Big Climate Short

  The book and the movie The Big Short documented how a tiny number of investors recognized that sub-prime mortgages and derivatives were headed for a financial train wreck and made a fortune by selling them short. This happened at a time when these assets were the darling of the investment world and when the vast …

I ♥ New York Advocacy Day in Albany with Divest NY

For lots of years I made the trek to Albany to advocate on a number of important issues – Domestic Violence, Rape, Early Childhood Education, Community Schools. For the last year I’ve made Climate Change my priority. The cause I lobbied for on Tuesday was Divestment of Fossil Fuels, specifically from the NYS Pension Fund. …

GOOD NEWS: Divestment of NYC Pension Fund – Suit Against Fossil Fuel Companies

Welcome to our first GOOD NEWS post.  I got going on Shades of Green during the summer of ’17 when I began reading in earnest about climate change, alternative energy and green innovation. Reading so much good news has been the best and most unexpected surprise of blogging. It took me a while to realize GOOD …

Discovering Your Fund’s SUPER POWERS

Most of us don't know much about what our investment dollars are doing. Retirement funds and mutual funds operate like opaque machines - you put money in and they spit money out. But, when you look closer, you'll find that funds have super powers that help them shape the nature of our society. 1. Power of Choice
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