News of the John Edwards affair seems to be cooling as war between Russia and Georgia heats up and our fearless misleader parties in China so I'd like to take a pause while Barack Obama is on vacation and talk about one of the reasons he's there: the environment. Oahu is a gorgeous place, but not all of it is pretty - Honolulu is home to pollution as is the Pacific Ocean. Polar bears may not live there, but humpback whales mate around the corner, and there aren't too many of them left now either.
I'm not going to spend too much time here going into why we need to do everything we can to support the pro-environment agenda because it should be obvious: destroy animals + destroy food + destroy water = people die. No more children, no more cute little furry animals, no more pretty flowers, no more fresh air. So we have to fix it. Now.
The Alliance for Climate Protection, Al Gore's umbrella organization for solving the "climate crisis," is a great place to start. Nearly 1.5 Million people have signed up to help. Watch the Planet Green channel. Learn, become engaged and informed. (I've become a huge fan of the show, Greensburg. It's incredible what one town can do when they put their heads together with a common mission.)
Al Gore has started his share of organizations alone, but there are many more that are deserving and yes, some of them have lobbying arms. A great place to find organizations that match the causes you support is Change.org. It's a social networking site for social change. Join and search under the environment and start looking - you can also go by change, such as "Stop Global Warming". Great Nonprofits lists and tracks "trusted" nonprofits - like a Yelp for causes.
We can even invest in the environment. Not just by planting trees, but by planting our dollars into funds that support sustainable organizations. The New Progressive Coalition has political mutual funds suited just for that. Organizations supported in their fund include the League of Conservation Voters, Rainforest Action, and Green Corps, among others. You can track where your money goes in terms of real environmental results from accountable nonprofits.
The Sierra Club has their own mutual funds as well - they produce a financial ROI (return on investment) as well as a political one. There's no information on the Sierra Club site, oddly enough, but the Sierra Club Stock Fund site provides the full 411 on what they do, investing in "top candidates among the most environmentally and socially progressive mid- and large-cap U.S. companies."
For investors with deep pockets, Al Gore has also started a sustainable investment business, Generation Investment Management. As much as many Democrats would like to believe, grassroots advocacy only goes so far. Money talks. Supporting good businesses makes a statement as much as supporting good candidates.
Lastly, vote. Vote, vote, vote. Register now if you haven't yet. And vote for the environment, for candidates who are endorsed by the Sierra Club and/or by Al Gore, and vote for Barack Obama.
Sarah Granger is a writer, blogger, and online organizer as well as a former city level environmental commissioner.
My local candidate for state assembly has been a Sierra Club chapter president. It's one of many reasons I support her.
Posted by: Daisy | August 11, 2008 at 06:19 AM