Celebrating Earth Day. How You Can Make a Difference

Written by Sheila Rabaut, CFP®, Wealth Advisor, Director | Apr 21, 2021 10:43:45 PM

April 22 is Earth Day
"Because there is no Planet B"

In the decades leading up to the first Earth Day, deadly air pollution from factories and leaded gas for inefficient cars was commonly accepted as the byproduct of prosperity.

1970—FIRST EARTH DAY
Senator Gaylord Nelson, a junior senator from Wisconsin, had long been concerned about the deteriorating environment. He built a campaign to promote “Earth Day,” which immediately inspired 20 million Americans to demonstrate against the serious health impacts of 150 years of industrial development. Earth Day 1970 achieved a rare political alignment and these laws were passed:

1970—creation of US Environmental Protection Agency, National Environmental Education Act, Occupational Safety and Health Act, and Clean Air Act
1972—Clean Water Act
1973—Endangered Species Act, and Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act, which have protected millions of people from disease and death, and hundreds of species from extinction

1990—EARTH DAY GOES GLOBAL
Earth Day mobilized 200 million people in 141 countries, lifting environmental issues onto the world stage.

2000—EARTH DAY FOR A NEW MILLENNIUM
With 5,000 environmental groups in 184 countries reaching out to hundreds of millions of people, Earth Day leveraged the Internet to organize activists around the world.

2020's—EARTH DAY TODAY
Earth Day is recognized as the largest secular observance in the world, marked by more than a billion people every year to create global, national, and local policy changes, view EARTHDAY.ORG. In the words of French President Emmanuel Macron,

“Let us face it, there is no Planet B.”

INVESTING FOR FUTURE IMPACT TO BRIDGE YOUR SOCIAL AND FINANCIAL GOALS

Many people are investing in companies that look to the future, such as improving carbon efficiency or using sustainable sourcing strategies for supply chains. For example, projects directly replacing energy generated from fossil fuels to add access to clean energy can be financially competitive.

And investing through firms like us, who are Certified B Corporation or a signatory of the Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) means that the business meets the highest standards of verified social and environmental performance, public transparency, and legal accountability to balance profit and purpose. We join other global organizations unified under the belief that an economically efficient, sustainable global financial system is a necessity for long-term value creation.

View Defining Impact Investing. How Has It Evolved?

Speak to a BakerAvenue advisor to learn about how to get started in Impact Investing.

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