It's been a particularly dififcult few weeks. In this newsletter, I'm sharing a few things that have been making me smile and keeping me hopeful.
First up, a special mention of Big Oil's VERY bad day
"Wednesday May 26, saw ExxonMobil, Chevron and Shell each take it on the chin."
Bill McKibben, climate leader and activist summarized the events:
Chevron investors demand emission cuts
Dutch court tells Shell to cut emissions by half
Exxon shareholders buck the company and elect directors demanding climate action
You can find his piece in the New Yorker here. The good news continues below.
Giving Walls
I loved this story in the Washington Post about restaurants' giving walls. Anyone can walk in, pull down a receipt and order a meal free of charge. The receipts are put there by customers who prepay for food and tack them to the wall, leaving them on offer for anyone who is hungry. One individual commented, “I want people in my community to be fed whether they have money for a meal or not.”
Green America's Victory Gardens
With a Climate Victory Garden, everyone can take meaningful action for soil health and emissions. Green America's list for beginners is a jumping off point for learning the basics and starting on a path towards gardening for the planet. Every acre we garden or farm regeneratively can capture 25 to 60 tons of carbon. That means planting 5,000 Climate Victory Gardens is like taking at least 140,000 cars off the road for a year!
World Changing Impact Investments
I enjoyed seeing Fast Company's list of finalists and honorees for world changing Impact Investments. The winner was, Black Ambition, a new initiative offering prizes to “fund bold ideas” by Black and Latino entrepreneurs in early stages of their businesses. The plan is for this program to continue annually, gradually helping to build community and generational wealth that’s been missing for so long. On the way, they hope to dispel common myths about the absence of minorities in business, and to improve the concerning current statistics, which show that only about 3% of VC-backed companies are Black or Latino founded. (I don't believe this is actually an investment but it is great to see initiatives like this).
America's Committment to The Environment
It has been encouraging to see President Biden take some action to support America’s role in the fight against climate change. He seems to understand the risks we face and he has also directed the federal government to develop a strategy to curb the risk of climate change on public and private financial assets in the U.S. The move is part of the Biden administration’s longer-term agenda to cut U.S. greenhouse gas emissions nearly in half by 2030 while curbing the damage climate change poses to all industries.
Letting Go
I'm looking forward to reading, Letting Go: How Philanthropists and Impact Investors Can Do More Good By Giving Up Control. Participatory funding puts decision-making power into the hands of those most affected by the money. It's a massive shift, requiring deep humility – but it could provide the structural fix needed to the 'broken power dynamics' in philanthropy and impact investing.
Charlie Mackesy's Work
I found Charlie Mackesy on Instagram, and his work has touched my heart. Charlie is a British artist and the author of The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse. His drawings tell whole stories in simple drawings.
Looking forward to better days ahead!
Rebecca