BlueGreen

01/06/2026

𝗕𝗹𝘂𝗲𝗚𝗿𝗲𝗲𝗻'𝘀 𝗚𝗮𝗹𝗲 𝗔. 𝗞𝗶𝗿𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗱𝗱𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗲𝘀 𝗶𝘀𝘀𝘂𝗲𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗮 𝗰𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀

I had an opportunity yesterday to make a presentation on artificial intelligence and data centers to a group of Methodists at First United Methodist Church in Madison. This is a really important matter, and I suggest that we all pay attention to it, learn about it, and, as we can, speak out about it. I am including here a link to my presentation. You and/or someone you know might find it interesting and worthwhile. My talk examined especially A.I.’s environmental aspects and effects on the workplace. I am told that the audience found my talk informative and somewhat provocative and that some left the chapel after the presentation feeling "some despair and hopelessness ... as they expressed low expectations that our society will tame A.I."

I am pleased and proud to see that many in Wisconsin and elsewhere are stepping up and speaking out to oppose hyper data centers, which, in combination with crypto and A.I., I describe as constituting “one of the most dangerous – and perhaps the most dangerous – environmental threat to the world today”.

https://us02web.zoom.us/rec/share/NmVIn-1yw-HvPx7bo48WnEwoq1LiBJFO-aHT_kVNBg8sW1UXW0JkibmqE0VsEjIa.JboBY1b7Tdbtyi1N?startTime=1780243569000

My talk was the second in a two-part series relating to hyper data centers and artificial intelligence. The first speaker, on May 10, had been UW Professor Anna Haensch, a mathematician and data scientist, who spoke especially about hyper data centers generally and as proposed (and largely opposed) in Wisconsin. There are three hyper data centers going up in Wisconsin now, several more proposed, and some more that have been defeated by citizen action. Her talk really clarifies things a lot. I will include a link to her talk in a comment to this post.

22/04/2026

𝗦̌𝘁̌𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗻𝘆́ 𝗗𝗲𝗻 𝗭𝗲𝗺𝗲̌!
𝗕𝗿𝗻𝗼 se objevilo v mezinárodní kampani, která vyzývá k používání skla bezpečného pro ptáky, aby se zachránily jejich životy. Celý článek si můžete přečíst zde:

Most probably, we nearly all have heard the sickening THUMP! of a bird unknowingly flying straight into a glass window. The soft-feathered innocent drops straight to the ground, perhaps leaving a smudge of downy plumage and of bodily fluids on the glass.

22/04/2026

Happy Earth Day!

A nice way to celebrate would be to commit to make your windxows safe for birds. You can read all about how to do it and why it is important at the article we posted this week at Channel BlueGreen:

Most probably, we nearly all have heard the sickening THUMP! of a bird unknowingly flying straight into a glass window. The soft-feathered innocent drops straight to the ground, perhaps leaving a smudge of downy plumage and of bodily fluids on the glass.

22/04/2026

𝐀𝐧 𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐲 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐛𝐢𝐫𝐝 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝟏𝟗𝟕𝟒 𝐬𝐞𝐭 𝐚 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞’𝐬 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐞

To honor Earth Day, birds, as well as nature lovers and conservation volunteers everywhere, we at BlueGreen are publishing an article all about bird–glass collisions, which fatally occur millions of times each day. In addition to explaining this problem and detailing how all of us can diminish bird strikes at our homes and in our communities, 𝐃𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐥𝐲 𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬: 𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐰𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐝𝐢𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐬𝐡 𝐟𝐚𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐛𝐢𝐫𝐝 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐤𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐬 (https://bluergreener.world/deadly-collisions-how-we-can-diminish-fatal-bird-strikes-and-save-lives/) tells the inspiring stories of several individuals who have devoted themselves to saving as many birds’ lives as possible.

As a scientist, educator, and advocate for birds, Professor Daniel Klem, Jr. has been focused upon the problematics of bird–window collisions for more than 50 years. In our essay, he describes a profound experience at daybreak on a morning in January 1974 that moved him to devote his professional life to finding and promoting solutions to this tragic problem:

“𝐼 𝑠𝑎𝑡 𝑜𝑛 𝑎 𝑏𝑒𝑛𝑐ℎ 𝑖𝑛 𝑓𝑟𝑜𝑛𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑔𝑙𝑎𝑠𝑠 𝑤𝑎𝑙𝑙 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑁𝑒𝑐𝑘𝑒𝑟𝑠 𝑐ℎ𝑒𝑚𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑦 𝑏𝑢𝑖𝑙𝑑𝑖𝑛𝑔, 𝑤ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒 𝐷𝑟. 𝐺𝑒𝑜𝑟𝑔𝑒 𝑖𝑛𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑚𝑒𝑑 𝑚𝑒 𝑤𝑖𝑛𝑑𝑜𝑤 𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑖𝑘𝑒 𝑐𝑎𝑠𝑢𝑎𝑙𝑡𝑖𝑒𝑠 ℎ𝑎𝑑 𝑏𝑒𝑒𝑛 𝑐𝑜𝑙𝑙𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑡𝑢𝑟𝑛𝑒𝑑 𝑖𝑛 𝑡𝑜 ℎ𝑖𝑚,” 𝐾𝑙𝑒𝑚 𝑟𝑒𝑐𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑠. “𝐼 𝑎𝑟𝑟𝑖𝑣𝑒𝑑 𝑖𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑑𝑎𝑟𝑘 𝑎𝑏𝑜𝑢𝑡 5 𝑎.𝑚. 𝑂𝑣𝑒𝑟 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑛𝑒𝑥𝑡 30 𝑡𝑜 40 𝑚𝑖𝑛𝑢𝑡𝑒𝑠, 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑑𝑎𝑤𝑛 𝑙𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑏𝑟𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡𝑒𝑛𝑒𝑑 𝑒𝑛𝑜𝑢𝑔ℎ 𝑡𝑜 𝑠𝑒𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑠𝑢𝑟𝑟𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑑𝑖𝑛𝑔𝑠.

“𝑊𝑖𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛 𝑚𝑖𝑛𝑢𝑡𝑒𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑚𝑦 𝑏𝑒𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑎𝑏𝑙𝑒 𝑡𝑜 𝑠𝑒𝑒 𝑑𝑒𝑡𝑎𝑖𝑙𝑠, 𝑡𝑜 𝑚𝑦 𝑟𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡, 𝑎 𝑠𝑤𝑖𝑓𝑡𝑙𝑦 𝑓𝑙𝑦𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑏𝑖𝑟𝑑 𝑓𝑙𝑒𝑤 𝑡ℎ𝑟𝑜𝑢𝑔ℎ 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑙𝑒𝑎𝑓𝑙𝑒𝑠𝑠 𝑏𝑟𝑎𝑛𝑐ℎ𝑒𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑎 𝑡𝑎𝑙𝑙 𝑜𝑎𝑘 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑖𝑛𝑡𝑜 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑢𝑝𝑝𝑒𝑟 𝑠𝑡𝑜𝑟𝑦 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑏𝑢𝑖𝑙𝑑𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑓𝑎𝑐𝑎𝑑𝑒. 𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑏𝑖𝑟𝑑 𝑎𝑝𝑝𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑒𝑑 𝑡𝑜 𝑏𝑒 𝑘𝑖𝑙𝑙𝑒𝑑 𝑜𝑢𝑡𝑟𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑓𝑒𝑙𝑙 𝑡𝑜 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑏𝑎𝑠𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑠ℎ𝑒𝑒𝑡 𝑔𝑙𝑎𝑠𝑠 𝑤𝑎𝑙𝑙. 𝐼𝑡 𝑤𝑎𝑠 𝑎 𝑀𝑜𝑢𝑟𝑛𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝐷𝑜𝑣𝑒. 𝐼 𝑤𝑎𝑠 𝑠𝑡𝑢𝑛𝑛𝑒𝑑 𝑓𝑖𝑔𝑢𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑣𝑒𝑙𝑦, 𝑏𝑢𝑡 𝑛𝑜𝑡 𝑙𝑖𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑦 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑓𝑎𝑡𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑦, 𝑎𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑑𝑜𝑣𝑒 ℎ𝑎𝑑 𝑏𝑒𝑒𝑛. 𝐴𝑓𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑐𝑜𝑙𝑙𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑣𝑖𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑚, 𝐼 𝑒𝑎𝑔𝑒𝑟𝑙𝑦 𝑏𝑒𝑔𝑎𝑛 𝑎 𝑠𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑐ℎ 𝑏𝑒𝑛𝑒𝑎𝑡ℎ 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑤𝑖𝑛𝑑𝑜𝑤𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑜𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟 𝑐𝑎𝑚𝑝𝑢𝑠 𝑏𝑢𝑖𝑙𝑑𝑖𝑛𝑔𝑠. 𝑇ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑖𝑛𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑎𝑙 𝑠𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑐ℎ 𝑟𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑎𝑙𝑒𝑑 𝑓𝑒𝑎𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑠𝑘𝑒𝑙𝑒𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑟𝑒𝑚𝑛𝑎𝑛𝑡𝑠 𝑎𝑡 𝑠𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑙 𝑠𝑖𝑡𝑒𝑠... 𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑖𝑘𝑒 𝐼 𝑤𝑖𝑡𝑛𝑒𝑠𝑠𝑒𝑑 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑠𝑒 𝑓𝑖𝑟𝑠𝑡 𝑓𝑖𝑛𝑑𝑠 𝑤𝑒𝑟𝑒 𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑝𝑒𝑙𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑒𝑣𝑖𝑑𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑒 𝑠𝑢𝑔𝑔𝑒𝑠𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑎 𝑡𝑜𝑝𝑖𝑐 𝑤𝑜𝑟𝑡ℎ 𝑓𝑢𝑟𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟 𝑠𝑡𝑢𝑑𝑦. 𝐼 𝑤𝑎𝑠 ℎ𝑜𝑜𝑘𝑒𝑑.”

To learn more about the stories of Professor Klem and others, as well as how you personally can reduce bird–window collisions, we encourage you to click through and to share our Channel BlueGreen essay 𝐃𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐥𝐲 𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬: 𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐰𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐝𝐢𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐬𝐡 𝐟𝐚𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐛𝐢𝐫𝐝 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐤𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐬 (https://bluergreener.world/deadly-collisions-how-we-can-diminish-fatal-bird-strikes-and-save-lives/)

Most probably, we nearly all have heard the sickening THUMP! of a bird unknowingly flying straight into a glass window. The soft-feathered innocent drops straight to the ground, perhaps leaving a smudge of downy plumage and of bodily fluids on the glass.

21/04/2026

𝐀 𝐝𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐨𝐧 𝐘𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐚𝐭 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐝 𝐚 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐟𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 𝐚 𝐯𝐨𝐢𝐜𝐞
To honor Earth Day, birds, as well as nature lovers and conservation volunteers everywhere, we at BlueGreen are publishing an article all about bird–glass collisions, which fatally occur millions of times each day. In addition to explaining this problem and detailing how all of us can diminish bird strikes at our homes and in our communities, 𝐃𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐥𝐲 𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬: 𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐰𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐝𝐢𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐬𝐡 𝐟𝐚𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐛𝐢𝐫𝐝 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐤𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐬. ( https://bluergreener.world/deadly-collisions-how-we-can-diminish-fatal-bird-strikes-and-save-lives/ ) tells the inspiring stories of several individuals who have devoted themselves to saving as many birds’ lives as possible.

On one fateful morning in 1990, just before sunrise, Michael Mesure encountered a scene in downtown Toronto following what must have been a massive window strike event that had littered the streets and sidewalks with hundreds of dead, dying, and injured songbirds. In our essay, Michael describes frantically working to rescue as many still-living birds as he could. “As soon as the day breaks, the scavengers (gulls, racoons, rats, among others) move in,” Michael notes. “They start scavenging the birds very quickly and they disappear before people even know what’s happening.”

Michael goes on to tell the story of his personal encounter with one of these victims, a Common Yellowthroat, whose song would remain in his mind forever and who changed his life. This songbird quite probably caused the founding of FLAP Canada, an organization that for more than 30 years has been working on multiple fronts to reduce bird deaths through window collisions.

To learn more about the story of Michael and that Common Yellowthroat and how you can reduce bird–window collisions, we encourage you to click through and to share our Channel BlueGreen essay 𝐃𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐥𝐲 𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬: 𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐰𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐝𝐢𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐬𝐡 𝐟𝐚𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐛𝐢𝐫𝐝 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐤𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐬. ( https://bluergreener.world/deadly-collisions-how-we-can-diminish-fatal-bird-strikes-and-save-lives/ )

Photo credit: Jake Bonello.

Most probably, we nearly all have heard the sickening THUMP! of a bird unknowingly flying straight into a glass window. The soft-feathered innocent drops straight to the ground, perhaps leaving a smudge of downy plumage and of bodily fluids on the glass.

20/04/2026

𝐁𝐢𝐫𝐝 𝐏𝐡𝐨𝐭𝐨𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐩𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐘𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐩𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐛𝐢𝐫𝐝 𝐝𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐬
To honor Earth Day, birds, as well as nature lovers and conservation volunteers everywhere, we at BlueGreen are publishing an article all about bird–glass collisions, which fatally occur millions of times each day. 𝐃𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐥𝐲 𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬: 𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐰𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐝𝐢𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐬𝐡 𝐟𝐚𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐛𝐢𝐫𝐝 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐤𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐬 ( https://bluergreener.world/deadly-collisions-how-we-can-diminish-fatal-bird-strikes-and-save-lives/ ) thoroughly explains this problem within the context of human-caused bird deaths generally, details how all of us can treat our windows to diminish or even completely stop bird strikes, and provides guidance on effecting public policy change in communities such as yours to mitigate bird–glass collisions.

Patricia Homonylo is an award-winning conservation journalist whose photograph 𝑊ℎ𝑒𝑛 𝑊𝑜𝑟𝑙𝑑𝑠 𝐶𝑜𝑙𝑙𝑖𝑑𝑒 brought her recognition as Bird Photographer of the Year 2024. Her story and photos are among those featured in our 𝐃𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐥𝐲 𝐂𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 essay. Patricia is as passionate about saving the lives of non-human beings as she is about her creative work, if not more so. She has worked on both sides of the camera when it comes to rescuing, collecting, and honoring the victims of window strikes. Her highly recognized photo visually captures the annual dead bird layout conducted by FLAP Canada, an organization devoted to publicizing and reducing these bird deaths.

Patricia fully recognizes that 𝑊ℎ𝑒𝑛 𝑊𝑜𝑟𝑙𝑑𝑠 𝐶𝑜𝑙𝑙𝑖𝑑𝑒 is not your typical wildlife photo. It is disturbing, because it combines great beauty with immense tragedy. And that’s the point. “When people see this image,” she remarks, “they can’t n̲o̲t̲ ̲s̲e̲e̲ it anymore. It will change the way they see windows forever.”

To learn more about Patricia’s story and the cause she cares about so passionately, we encourage you to click through and to share our Channel BlueGreen essay 𝐃𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐥𝐲 𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬: 𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐰𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐝𝐢𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐬𝐡 𝐟𝐚𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐛𝐢𝐫𝐝 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐤𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐬. ( https://bluergreener.world/deadly-collisions-how-we-can-diminish-fatal-bird-strikes-and-save-lives/ )

Photo credit

Most probably, we nearly all have heard the sickening THUMP! of a bird unknowingly flying straight into a glass window. The soft-feathered innocent drops straight to the ground, perhaps leaving a smudge of downy plumage and of bodily fluids on the glass.

09/04/2026

𝐃𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐛𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐟𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐨: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐚𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐬
𝐁𝐲 𝐆𝐚𝐥𝐞 𝐀. 𝐊𝐢𝐫𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝐂𝐅𝐀
(𝐅𝐢𝐟𝐭𝐡 𝐢𝐧 𝐚 𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐧 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠)

A serious socially and environmentally responsible investor is a discriminating investor. He or she says, “𝑁𝑜, 𝐼 𝑑𝑜 𝑛𝑜𝑡 𝑤𝑎𝑛𝑡 𝑡𝑜 𝑠𝑒𝑒 𝑚𝑦 𝑚𝑜𝑛𝑒𝑦 𝑢𝑠𝑒𝑑 𝑡𝑜 𝑠𝑢𝑝𝑝𝑜𝑟𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑖𝑛𝑑𝑢𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑦 𝑜𝑟 𝑏𝑢𝑠𝑖𝑛𝑒𝑠𝑠, 𝑎𝑛𝑑, 𝑖𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒 𝑖𝑠 𝑛𝑜 𝑝𝑟𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑐𝑎𝑙 𝑤𝑎𝑦 𝑡𝑜 𝑎𝑣𝑜𝑖𝑑 𝑑𝑜𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑠𝑜 𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑖𝑟𝑒𝑙𝑦, 𝐼 𝑤𝑖𝑙𝑙 𝑡𝑟𝑦 𝑎𝑠 𝐼 𝑐𝑎𝑛 𝑡𝑜 𝑚𝑖𝑛𝑖𝑚𝑖𝑧𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑒𝑥𝑡𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑡𝑜 𝑤ℎ𝑖𝑐ℎ 𝑚𝑦 𝑖𝑛𝑣𝑒𝑠𝑡𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑠 𝑠𝑒𝑟𝑣𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑣𝑖𝑡𝑦 𝑜𝑟 𝑠𝑢𝑝𝑝𝑜𝑟𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑝𝑎𝑛𝑦.” Ideally, responsible investing will also discriminate positively to support beneficial and preferred activities.

In this fifth essay in a series on responsible investing, Gale A. Kirking, who is a Chartered Financial Analyst and experienced responsible investor, outlines a four-stage approach that he personally uses in selecting responsible investments. He then walks the reader through two real responsibility analyses of actual companies that he is considering for investment. Kirking also presents a framework for identifying and evaluating socially responsible mutual and exchange-traded funds.

Click on a link below to read this and previous essays in this series on 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐥 𝐁𝐥𝐮𝐞𝐆𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐧 https://bluergreener.world/designing-and-building-a-responsible-investment-portfolio-part-b-the-responsibility-aspects/ or at https://galekirking.substack.com/

Kirking describes in this new essay where and how readily to obtain information for conducting a responsibility assessment of an individual company or investment fund, what positive and negative attributes to look for, how to see through greenwashing, and how to discover controversies, risks, and problems that companies might prefer investors not find out about.

“𝐼𝑛 𝑚𝑦 𝑜𝑝𝑖𝑛𝑖𝑜𝑛,” 𝐾𝑖𝑟𝑘𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑠𝑎𝑦𝑠, “𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑝𝑜𝑛𝑠𝑖𝑏𝑙𝑒 𝑑𝑖𝑠𝑐𝑟𝑖𝑚𝑖𝑛𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑖𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑖𝑛𝑣𝑒𝑠𝑡𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑠𝑝ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒 ℎ𝑎𝑠 𝑝𝑜𝑡𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑖𝑎𝑙 𝑡𝑜 𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑤𝑜𝑟𝑙𝑑 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑏𝑒𝑡𝑡𝑒𝑟. 𝐼𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑒𝑠𝑠𝑎𝑦, 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑖𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑓𝑢𝑙𝑙 𝑠𝑖𝑥-𝑝𝑎𝑟𝑡 𝑠𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑒𝑠, 𝐼 𝑒𝑥𝑝𝑙𝑎𝑖𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑤ℎ𝑦 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑡ℎ𝑒 ℎ𝑜𝑤. 𝑀𝑦 ℎ𝑜𝑝𝑒 𝑖𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑖𝑡 𝑤𝑖𝑙𝑙 𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑜𝑢𝑟𝑎𝑔𝑒 𝑚𝑜𝑟𝑒 𝑝𝑒𝑜𝑝𝑙𝑒 𝑡𝑜 𝑝𝑢𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑖𝑟 𝑚𝑜𝑛𝑒𝑦 𝑤ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑖𝑟 𝑣𝑎𝑙𝑢𝑒𝑠 𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝑤ℎ𝑖𝑙𝑒 ℎ𝑒𝑙𝑝𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑚 𝑡𝑜 𝑎𝑣𝑜𝑖𝑑 𝑏𝑒𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑚𝑖𝑠𝑙𝑒𝑑 𝑜𝑟 𝑚𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑘𝑒𝑛 𝑖𝑛𝑡𝑜 𝑖𝑛𝑣𝑒𝑠𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑤ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑦’𝑑 𝑟𝑎𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟 𝑛𝑜𝑡.”

In previous essays, I have explained some of the challenges needing to be managed when a person wants to pursue socially and environmentally responsible investing, as well as how the investor can define one’s own views and goals in relation to responsible investing.

08/01/2026

𝐃𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐛𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐟𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐨: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐚𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐬
𝐁𝐲 𝐆𝐚𝐥𝐞 𝐀. 𝐊𝐢𝐫𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝐂𝐅𝐀
(𝐅𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐭𝐡 𝐢𝐧 𝐚 𝐬𝐢𝐱-𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐧 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠)

Socially and environmentally responsible investing is not a no-brainer activity. Every responsible investor must have – or acquire – at least a minimal knowledge about 1) finance and investment, and 2) distinguishing what companies should and should not qualify as “responsible,” “sustainable” or ESG compliant. In this fourth essay in a series on responsible investing, Gale A. Kirking, who is a Chartered Financial Analyst and has earned the CFA Institute’s Certificate in ESG Investing, describes the basic knowledge set that a responsible investor needs regarding financial markets, investment instruments, and investing generally. Kirking describes four aspects of portfolio management influencing returns and risks: 1) asset allocation, 2) securities selection, 3) market timing, and 4) pricing ex*****on.
Click on a link below to read this and previous essays in this series on 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗹 𝗕𝗹𝘂𝗲𝗚𝗿𝗲𝗲𝗻 (https://bluergreener.world/an-introduction-to.../) or at 𝗦𝘂𝗯𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗰𝗸 (https://galekirking.substack.com/).
In the current essay, Kirking also explains the passive–active continuum of investment management and discusses views on risk, which he calls an aspect of investing “that everybody talks about, many don’t understand very well, and in actual investment practice probably gets less attention than it deserves.” He relates why buying too many losers is more damaging to returns than is missing out on big winners.
Costs and fees take a bite out of investment returns, so every investor should be aware of just what these are and whether they’re justified. Front-end loads of as much as 8.5% are permitted under U.S. law, for example, and mutual funds also are allowed to charge their existing clients fees in order to advertise for new clients. Many investors choose to pay a “wrap fee,” typically of about 1% of assets per year, to get a complete package of advice and portfolio services, but that package may not provide all the advice that a responsible investor wants or needs.
Kirking also describes in this essay four general approaches to putting together an investment portfolio. He terms these “Collective investment on your own,” “Use a fee-based adviser,” “Join or create an investment club or group,” and “Go it alone.” Finally, he suggests how to write a personal investment strategy or policy and provides some “dos and don’ts” for getting started in personal active investing.
To see all this series as it rolls out, subscribe at 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗹 𝗕𝗹𝘂𝗲𝗚𝗿𝗲𝗲𝗻 (https://bluergreener.world/an-introduction-to.../) or at 𝗦𝘂𝗯𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗰𝗸 (https://galekirking.substack.com/) or follow one of our social media channels.

https://bluergreener.world/designing-and-building-a-responsible-investment-portfolio-part-a-the-financial-aspects/

In previous essays, I have explained some of the challenges needing to be managed when a person wants to pursue socially and environmentally responsible investing, as well as how the investor can define one’s own views and goals in relation to responsible investing.