46 AMERICANWAY
OCTOBER 1 2007
you’re voting, and topurchase carbon cred-
its (more on this in a moment). If it all
sounds like a bitmuch, remember that no-
body can completely eliminate the impact
that living has on the environment — but
we canall dobetter.
Clean-Tech Investing
Now that you’ve been exposed to the idea
that saving the planet can also save you
money, try on the concept of actually
mak-
ing
money off environmentalism by invest-
ing in businesses in the “clean-tech” arena.
Clean-tech companies sup-
ply products and services
that support energy con-
servation, generation, and
management, as well as
water andwastewater treat-
ment, eco-friendly agriculture, andother
areas relating to the protection and sus-
tainment of the natural environment. They
also make money — sometimes a lot of it.
The Cleantech Index, a group of stocks as-
sembled by the Cleantech Group in Brigh-
ton, Michigan, returned nearly 20 percent
of capital invested in the first half of 2007,
doing twice as well as the Standard&Poor
500,NASDAQ, andotherbroader indexes.
“This isn’t socially responsible investing,”
stressesRonPernick, coauthorof
TheClean
Tech Revolution
and cofounder of Clean
Edge, a clean-tech consulting firm inPort-
land, Oregon. “This is technology driven.”
Pernick identifies sixmain factors that are
propelling people’s investment in clean-
tech businesses. Among them are higher
andmore-volatile prices of fossil fuels, fall-
ing costs of energy from alternative sources
(such as the sun and thewind), and awild
card calledChina. Pernickexpects thatChi-
nawill startbecomingmuchgreener—and
when that happens, it will significantly af-
fect the clean-tech industry.
One of the easiest ways to get on the
clean-tech bandwagon is through an
exchange-traded fund. For instance, First
TrustPortfolios,aLisle,Illinois, investment-
management firm, introduced in February
EverydayChoices
Beinggreen tends to cost green. Andoften-
times, theenvironmental responsibility that
individuals tend to take on seems closely
tied to their ability— and their willingness
— to spend. Thus, you may
see that dual-income, no-
kids coupledown the street
commuting to work in
their $25,000 hybrid car or
read about celebrities writing
checks for carbon credits to cover
their energy-hogging mansions. But there
are moves you can make that don’t cost
much— or even anything— and that will
help reducegreenhousegases, keep recycla-
blematerials out of landfills, and otherwise
help the earth continue to support life.
Conservation International, a nonprofit
headquarterednearWashington, D.C., rec-
ommends that anyone wanting a greener
lifestyle to dowithout a car or, failing that,
to drive less. Walk, bicycle, or take pub-
lic transit, which doesn’t cost much at all.
And if youdohaveacar, keeping theengine
tunedand the tiresproperly inflatedwill re-
ducepollutionand save yougasmoney.
Next, green your home with Energy
Star–rated appliances and windows, high-
efficiency showerheads, and plenty of insu-
lation and caulking, whichwill help reduce
heating and cooling needs. None of these
options is all that expensive, and most of
themwillputmoney inyourpocketbecause
you’ll beusing less energyandwater.
Reusing items and recycling are both
easy ways to be green. Repair and reuse
household items insteadof replacing them;
when youdobuy newproducts, select ones
that incorporate recycledmaterials.
What you eat can also have an impact
on the environment. Choosing organic, lo-
cally produced foods decreases theneed for
chemical pesticides and fertilizers, which
are pollutants, and also cuts down on the
negative effects of transportation. Conser-
vation International also urges would-be
eco-warriors to select greenproductswhen
you’re shoppingandgreencandidateswhen
theNASDAQCleanEdgeU.S.LiquidSeries
Index Fund, an exchange-traded fund that
tracks the NASDAQ Clean Edge U.S. In-
dex fromPernick’s firm. The fund’s biggest
holding isFirstSolar, a solar-modulemaker
in Phoenix that reported a net income of
$44million on sales of $72million for the
secondquarter of 2007.
The small size and relative newness of
companies like First Solar, which is a fairly
typical firm in theworldof clean-techpure-
play stocks, canmake it tricky for a person
to invest in shares of individual companies
in the sector.Pernick says that clearlynot all
the clean-tech start-ups will prosper long-
term, but somewill likelydoverywell. “Last
year, solar,wind,biofuels,and fuel cellswere
a $55 billion global industry,” he says. “We
see that expanding togreater than$225bil-
lion in thenext 10years.That’swhy investor
interest isbeingpiqued.”
CarbonOffsets
Of all the odd concepts to come out of the
greenmovement, carbon offsets have to be
near the top of the list. The
idea is that you pay some-
one else to plant a tree,
invest in a solar-energy
start-up, or otherwise help
reduce the amount of carbon
you emit into the atmosphere. Then, you
can just go about your business more or
less as usual, confident that youhave offset
whatever carbon youmaybe emitting.
Carbon offsetting has won the backing
of sustainability champions. “Offsetting is a
common solution,” saysBrianMullis, presi-
dent of Sustainable Travel International, a
Hood River, Oregon, nonprofit education
organization. “Investing in renewable en-
ergy isagood thing, as ispreservingancient
forests and investing in replanting areas
wheredeforestinghas occurred.”
The average citizen of a developed coun-
try produces anywhere from six to 23 tons
of carbonper year. The cost of buying cred-
its tomitigate thoseemissionsvarieswidely,
starting as low as $1 per ton and going as
high as $30 per ton. At San Francisco–
based TerraPass, a leading carbon-offsets
retailer, credits cost about $10 per ton. So
canceling out all the carbon your car emits
during a year costs between $30 and $80,
dependingon thevehicle, according toTom
Arnold, TerraPass’s chief environmental
Theaverage cıtızenof adeveloped country
produces anywhere from sıx to23 tons of carbon
per year. The cost of buyıng credıts tomıtıgate
those emıssıons varıeswıdely, startıngas lowas
$1per tonandgoıngashıghas$30per ton.
Wind-power installationhas increasedby 500percent in theUnited States since 1999.
}
In 1993, Patagonia introducedfleece jacketsmade partly
