green economy

A Plea To President Obama: Don't Bankrupt America

President Obama's massive giveaway to Wall Street threatens to bankrupt the federal government and undermine the agenda that got him elected. Here are some first steps needed to change course.

Posted in financial crisis, green economy

Revive Lincoln’s Monetary Policy: an Open Letter to President Obama

Dear President Obama:

Posted in Economy/Trade, green economy

Toward a New Sustainable Economy

The current financial meltdown is the result of under-regulated markets built on an ideology of free market capitalism and unlimited economic growth. The fundamental problem is that the underlying assumptions of this ideology are not consistent with what we now know about the real state of the world. The financial world is, in essence, a set of markers for goods, services, and risks in the real world and when those markers are allowed to deviate too far from reality, "adjustments" must ultimately follow and crisis and panic can ensue.

Posted in consumerism, green economy, Sustainability

G20 Must Seize the Opportunity for a Green New Deal

The security clampdown will be the same. The press will gather in droves. The spin doctors will be in full flow, claiming victory for their respective governments. But in every other way the meeting that Gordon Brown will host on April 2 will be different from the last gathering of world leaders hosted by a British prime minister - Tony Blair's 2005 Gleneagles summit.

Posted in G20, global trade, globalization, green economy

In Environmental Push, Looking to Add Diversity

When Jerome C. Ringo joined the board of the National Wildlife Federation in 1995, he was the only African-American at the meetings.

Mr. Ringo, now president of the Apollo Alliance, a coalition of environmental, labor and business groups, says that even today, he is often the only environmentalist in the room who is not white.

"We're not where we were, but we're not where we want to be," Mr. Ringo said of the environmental movement's efforts to diversify.

Posted in Activism, Environment, green economy

Eco Groups Fear Opportunity Lost

Economic stimulus plans being rolled out across the world could commit countries to rapid growth in greenhouse gas emissions, canceling some of the green initiatives included within them, analysis has found.

The packages of tax cuts, credits and extra spending have been trumpeted for their environmental credentials by the governments proposing them, but a closer look shows that green spending account for only a small part of the bigger initiatives.

Posted in green economy

Tar & Feathers: Even Investors Should Be Wary of Canada's Dirtiest Oil

This week in Ottawa, Prime Minister Stephen Harper will try to sell President Obama on a North American agreement on global warming and energy that shields the carbon-heavy tar sands industry from punitive measures. He's sure to lobby for an tar sands exemption to Section 526 of the US Energy Bill, which prohibits federal agencies from purchasing any transportation fuel whose lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions exceed those of conventional petroleum sources.

Posted in green economy, oil sands

The Stimulus: A Down Payment on a Green Future

Pretty soon, Kermit the Frog is going to need a new song to sing. I'm not saying it's easy being green. But it's getting easier.

As part of the $787 billion stimulus package that President Obama just signed, the federal government will be investing about $60 billion in clean energy, environmental projects, and scientific research.

Posted in green economy, stimulus

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 17, 2009
10:28 AM

CONTACT: Green America
Ailis Aaron Wolf, 703-276-3265 or aawolf@hastingsgroup.com

Environmentally Friendly Business on the Rise:

Green America's Green Business Network™ Sees More than 10-Fold Increase in First 25 Years

he Greening of American Business: Major Growth Seen in Such Key Sectors as Energy, Retail, Transportation, Travel, Service, Media and Others

WASHINGTON - February 17 - You can see how things have changed in American business in the following statistic: Since its founding in 1983, the Green America Green Business Network^TM has expanded from 345 members to nearly 5000 members, a growth rate of about 1,350 percent. (Green America was formerly known as "Co-op America.")

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Green America is a not-for-profit membership organization founded in 1982 and known until January 1, 2009 as "Co-op America." Green America’s mission is to harness economic power—the strength of consumers, investors, businesses, and the marketplace—to create a socially just and environmentally sustainable society.

Green America Links:

Posted in green economy

Don't Fix Wall Street, Replace It

The current economic debate centers on how best to revive our existing economic system through some combination of a Wall Street bailout and a job-creating economic stimulus package. That amounts to trying to revive an economic system that has failed in every dimension: financial, social, and environmental. Rather than prop up a failed system, we should use the current financial crisis as the opportunity to create a system that works.

Posted in financial crisis, green economy, Korten