Let’s talk Money by Carol Monson

(All information from this Blog is from Green America)

No one wants to talk about money, and not many people want to even discuss what Jesus said about it in the BIBLE. Paul explains in 1. Timothy 6:10, that the love of money is the root of all evil. And he goes on to say that by coveting money some have erred from the faith and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.

I know I have been putting this topic off for our blog for quite a while. It’s complicated and can be scary in many ways. But we are going to try to get started anyway.

The CEO of Green America, Alisa Gravitz,  speaks  about harnessing the power of money. She talks about the relative power of giving, which is the lowest level; the  next level is looking at how we spend our money.  The highest level concerns itself with our savings and investments. Anyone making at least $20,000  year will spend over a million dollars in their lifetime (wow!). So, she invites us to act like ”green millionaires”, and that we should insist that companies embed social and environmental responsibility into products and practices. In regard to savings and investments, that money will be working 24/7 for years. These were interesting ideas for me! Don’t say we can’t do anything about climate change!

So, we are going to be talking about these concepts in more than one blog because there is so much to cover.

So first you may ask what groups you could donate to, that help our environment and the climate. You might guess, if you have been reading our blog, that I (Carol) donate to Green America, Union of Concerned Scientists, The Arbor Day Foundation, and Natural Resource Council (NROC). Mary gives to the Nature Conservancy. You might want to give to the World Wildlife Fund, the Sierra Club, among others.

What to buy or not to buy

First, we will talk about insurance. Making an excessive profit (the “love” of money!) is a major goal of these companies. What do you know about insurance companies investing in companies which promote fossil fuels, and underwrite them? These companies are often refusing to insure, or are charging very high prices, in places like California and Florida due to natural disasters like wildfires. Here are the top nine companies that are the worst offenders (worst to least)

1. Berkshire Hathaway (parent company of Geico)

2. State Farm

3. AIG

4. Nationwide

5. Allstate

6. Liberty Mutual

7. Travelers

8. The Hartford

9. Zurich (Parent Company of Farmers)

The US insurance companies invested $582 Billion in fossil fuels in 2019. Then there is underwriting. AIG, Chubb, Liberty Mutual, among others, insured Freeport Liquified Natural Gas (NG). And why is this bad? LNG is capable of exporting 1.5 million tons of liquified gas per year when it is fully on line.  Chubb, AIG, and Liberty Mutual insure the Trans Mountain Pipeline. Again, why is this bad? It will ship 590,000 barrels per day of tar sands oil to British Columbia. These fossil fuels from both the pipeline and the gas line can escape/spill, polluting the water and environment! Accidents/spillages have occurred in the past.

What can policyholders do?

1. Seek out regional mutual insurance companies. Examples include American Family Insurance based in Wisconsin; Grange Insurance in Ohio; Utica Mutual Insurance in New York. Be sure to ask about a company’s holdings and policies before purchasing it.

2. Push the biggest companies to do better. Try: Insure our Future, online. Explain how our concerns are in the insurance companies’ best interest, given their exposure to the effects of climate disasters.

Green America tells us to stay tuned. While several resources list alternatives to megabanks that fund fossil fuels, no such directing exists for insurance – yet. Green America, Rivers and Mountains, and Green Faith have begun working to close the gap.  They are conducting research and compiling a responsible insurance list. The same strategies that have shifted other industries – speaking up for improvements, boycotting irresponsible companies, and organizing with others for change – can shift insurance companies as well.

I had several opportunities to speak up since we started writing this blog. I received a letter from Hartford Insurance requesting I buy from them. Lucky for me, they included their telephone number. I was able to accomplish two things. I asked them not to send me any more letters as I am trying to reduce the amount of plastic and paper coming to my home. I also told them I would not be buying from them due to their involvement with fossil fuel companies.  I have also tried to find out more about my insurance company. First, I looked them up online, but couldn’t find out if they contributed to fossil fuel companies or insured them. I couldn’t find any information. So, I called my insurance agent. He didn’t know, but doubted they did. So where to go from here, I don’t know.

If you want to look more into where you can put your money into buying green you can find thousands of green products and services on: GreenPages.org

It is important to look at what we do with money. What if we do activities to help people in our communities (that includes animal people, plant people, etc.), and then we use our money to promote more climate change and social injustice, haven’t we erased what we have done with our charity and outreach? We realize we can’t ever have a “pure” life, but isn’t it time to look at our lives, and if we are harming everything on Mother Earth?

We will continue in upcoming blogs on this subject of money by discussing where we bank and invest. Stay tuned.

P.S. Please give us feedback on how you are addressing this subject in your own life.