After a few fumbles in the Senate, Iraq gets passed back to the House this week where members will vote on three smallish war-related bills – one requiring the administration regularly update Congress on its withdrawal plans, another beefing up the role of the Inspector General in Iraq and Afghanistan and one pointing out that…

The latest report from the National Association of Realtors brought discouraging news this week to many invested in real estate. An alarming report revealed that despite ocean views and beachfront property, sandcastles are practically worthless.

Even with the growing presence of corporate social responsibility in the business world and socially responsible investing in the finance world, these are still relatively small issues and niche markets. Business schools, however, are taking the lead and presenting their students with lots of opportunities to explore these emerging fields through classes, specializations, and extra-curriculars.…

GE has really committed to its 2-year old "ecomagination" program, at least with marketing dollars.  It is hard to watch TV these days without seeing a dancing animal and a light bulb. But according to the Wall Street Journal, it is more than just good PR.  GE's environmentally-friendly products are selling well and are expected…

The New York Times (NYT) announced today that they are ending "TimesSelect" – the password protected site that only paying subscribers can access. The Op-Ed and news columns dating back to 1987 are now free for all Internet users, and only the complete archives (dating back to the first issue in 1851) are limited to…

“The car has become… an article of dress without which we feel uncertain, unclad, and incomplete.” – Marshall McLuhan Last weekend as my partner and I picked up our rental car to drive out to the Berkshires, I laughed upon seeing the Subaru (7270) sitting in the stall. Do straight people know that Subarus are…

If you read enough SRI marketing literature, you will come to recognize that everyone expects market rate returns.  "Obviously," you must be muttering, "who would advertise in any other way?"  Even if some investors are willing to overtly take a cut in returns on their investment in order to invest "responsibly", most are not, or…

Every now and then, Congress discusses the need for a change in our currency. Oftentimes, these debates turn political and lead to discussions about whether or not the actor who played Ronald Reagan should be featured on the dime. Recently, a different type of debate has evolved/been intelligently designed in the halls of Washington. Due…

“On matters of style, swim with the current, on matters of principle, stand like a rock.” – Thomas Jefferson Kristina Dell at Time noted the Real-World Problems of Second Life when shoppers at American Apparel were gunned down by a group called the Second Life Liberation Army last year. The act, albeit it virtual, probably…

“The superior man seeks what is right; the inferior one, what is profitable.” – Confucius Much has been written about Countrywide (CFC) over the last couple of weeks, including the comprehensive coverage provided by Gretchen Morgenson at The New York Times in Inside the Countrywide Lending Spree. She writes, “Few companies benefited more from the…

Citizens of the People's Republic of China are celebrating Labor Day today throughout their country. To mark Labor Day celebrations in China, millions of Chinese people will be working.

Recently I wrote about banking within your own community as a way to be a socially responsible investor.  If that doesn't suit you, here are some major banks which are known for their work in sustainable banking.

The push towards "local" is mostly viewed through consumer eyes.  Whether shopping at local stores rather than national chains, or eating local foods rather than those shipped from thousands of miles away, being local is emerging as vital to the sustainable development movement.  Socially responsible investors can get in on the act as well.  Supporting…

Over the years, a record number of U.S. companies have expanded benefits and protections for their gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) employees. According to the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), “More and more companies are including LGBT people in their non-discrimination policies and offering benefits to employees’ domestic partners.”

Related links: http://www.khoslaventures.com/resources.html http://news.zdnet.com/2100-9595_22-6202328.html http://www.greenbiz.com/news/columns_third.cfm?NewsID=35798 Burning Man and Greentech: Apparently one can look for venture capital at Burning Man:http://newenergytimes.com/SR/Planktos/BurningManGreentech.htm Vinod Khosla, ethanol mogul:http://www.khoslaventures.com/resources.html

Photo:Elizabeth Thomsen, Creative Commons, Flickr “In the long term, the economy and the environment are the same thing. If it’s unenvironmental it is uneconomical. That is the rule of nature.” – Mollie Beattie I admit that I’m a newbie to the sustainable living movement. Only since the beginning of Queercents have I honed in on…

For those of us interested in sustainable community development, Wal-Mart (WMT) is a hard company to like, let alone love.  Even with its move toward more energy-efficient stores and selling more environmentally-friendly and organic products, it is a reflex for many of us to be Wal-Mart haters.  But given the enormity of the company, is…

Most Americans inherently believe in the power of free markets.  It is ingrained in us along with our sense of individualism.  Even those who believe in "big government" are not necessarily in favor of elected officials telling citizens how to live their lives.  Yet with the growing awareness of how individual choices affect society as…

Photo:micaht2000, Creative Commons, Flickr Beverage giants PepsiCo and Coca-Cola are reeling this week from backlash to the news that their bottled water products are a total sham. Pepsi's Aquafina brand tap water announced last week that it would change the PWS logo printed on its bottles to a more descriptive ‘Public Water Source’. Company spokeswoman…

A picture worth a thousand words. A tornado strikes Brooklyn, leaving police officers to use chain saws to free a blocked Land Rover, one of a class of vehicles seen as a prime contributor to climate change, among the effects of which are expected to be flukish weather extremes, like tornados in Brooklyn. Photo:The New…

Socially Responsible Investing (SRI) has joined the lexicon of many investors.  John Keefe thinks that needs to change.  He advocates for a shift to "Sustainable Investing," meaning "the full integration of environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors into financial analysis and decision-making."  He contends that only with this change can the industry have the impact…