energy
New Paper Released: Managing Investment Portfolios without Fossil Fuel Stocks
This week Portfolio 21 Investments released a new paper entitled Managing Investment Portfolios without Fossil Fuel Stocks…. The paper details the unique investment risks of the coal, oil, and gas sector, as well as how our firm manages portfolio diversification without fossil fuel exploration and production stocks. Our investment
The Growing Movement to Divest from Fossil Fuels
A movement is building to push for change in the global energy conversation through divestment from fossil fuel companies. This may seem to be a bold and radical mission, but author-activist Bill McKibben, whose 350.org is at the heart of the message, believes this is a campaign whose time has…
Shale gas and water use
Modern shale gas extraction, known as hydraulic fracturing, has expanded access to carbon fuel reserves in the U.S. that would have been considered unattainable just five years ago. The implications are significant for both the economy and the environment. Natural gas currently accounts for almost a quarter of U.S. energy…
The Future of Water: Supply Cannot Keep Up with Demand
A new report on challenges facing the world’s water supply offers a dire prediction that by 2030 we can expect a massive gap between the sustainable supply of water and the projected demand. The compelling report, “Charting Our Water Future…,” was written by the 2030 Water Resources Group,
Data Centers Debated
The digital age allows many of us to send emails instantly, shop online, and store documents in “the cloud.” But the demands of our digital consumption are powered by large data centers that process information requests and store large amounts of data, all with an environmental impact. A recent series…
Carbon Disclosure Project to U.S. Government: Set carbon price
Last week, at the Carbon Disclosure Project’s Global Climate Change Forum, the organization issued a challenge to the United States to match the leadership of many corporations by moving forward on climate regulation. The Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) is a London-based research organization that represents 650 institutional investors, including Portfolio…
Results from the Rio + 20 Summit
The Rio + 20 Summit drew nearly 50,000 participants, including more than 100 governmental representatives, a large number of non-governmental organizations, and a significant corporate presence. As I mentioned in my last post…, the preparatory talks to the conference were stymied by national interests and lacked focus toward a
The importance of Rio + 20
In 1992 the United Nations hosted the Earth Summit, a conference on the environment and development, in Rio de Janeiro. Ten years later the World Summit on Sustainable Development was held in 2002 in Johannesburg. Now, twenty years since the original conference, the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development, Rio…
Mexico Passes Climate Change Legislation
In April, the Mexican Legislature passed the developing world’s first climate change bill, and after President Felipe Calderon signs the bill into law, Mexico will be one of a few countries to have a comprehensive climate change law in place. While the bill, known as the General Law on Climate…
Landmark EPA Action on Carbon Dioxide Emissions
For decades the United States was the world’s largest greenhouse gas emitter. However, in 2007 China surpassed the United States and continues to hold the title of world’s largest emitter. It was also in 2007 that China issued its National Climate Change legislation, which focuses on five key areas: greenhouse…
