J.P. Morgan Goes Green
by on 04.25.05
J.P. Morgan owned the railroads, the banks, the steel and electric companies and was the main force behind the trusts, which controlled virtually all basic industries until broken up by Teddy Roosevelt.
How fitting that his corporate heirs, J.P. Morgan Chase & Co, have agreed to restrict its lending for underwriting practices that are likely to harm the environment. Protests and pressure from The Rainforest Action Network did the job. Congratulations to them but also to JP for recognizing that this is the way of the future. ::Wall Street Journal via ::Rainforest Action Network by [LA]
UPDATE: read the Policy here
Not to be undone by RAN, Think-Tanker Steven Malloy has already created an "un-green" mutual fund that will help guard free market capitalism from corporations who might otherwise bow to TreeHuggers http://www.freeenterpriseactionfund.com/about.html.
JP Morgan Chase today issued their full new policy statement at http://www.jpmorganchase.com/cm/cs?pagename=Chase/Href&urlname=jpmc/community/env/policy. Anyone transacting with them might do well to show some appreciation by communcating with the new Env Affairs Director, Amy Davidsen.
Lets hope that by having the US' third largest bank take it seriously that the WSJ itself will stop the op ed rants which constantly argue that environment always take away from the bottom line.
Considering JP Morgan is the guy who pulled the plug on Nicola Tesla's research, opting for citizens of the earth having to purchase electrons rather than freely produce their own, paving the way for a hundred years of environmental devastation, it's befitting they company should be riddled with eco-guilt. If there is one quintessential moment in the history of mankind as to where we went wrong, where we took the wrong turn at the fork in the road, that was it. Orson Wells played JP Morgan in the movie.