ShoreBank and Van Jones

A little while ago I wrote about national spending priorities and the need for investment in “green collar” jobs and infrastructure designed around energy efficiencies.  That post garnered me some attention in the blogosphere and I was contacted by a representative from the ShoreBank Corporation.

It’s good that more and more people are talking about these ideas (like me), and more and more are taking action on them (ShoreBank).  And this bank has been at it a long time.  ShoreBank is a community development bank out of Chicago with branches and subsidiaries around the country.  It invests in activities designed to spur economic development in low-income areas, and serve communities oft inadequately served by traditional banks.  You may have heard of Grameen Bank in Bangladesh whose founder, Muhammad Yunus, was awarded the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize for the bank’s activities.  Same idea.

The representative that contacted me and I shared a few emails discussing their efforts and their partnership with Van Jones.  The bank has recently committed to donating to Jones’ foundation, Green For All, for every new online high-yield savings account that is opened.  I don’t know if you’ve looked into online banking and high-yield savings accounts, but I’ve found their interest rates are often better than what brick and mortar banks offer.  I also shared my alma mater’s program in environmental policy, many of whose graduates are doing similar good works.  I was also excited to sign up for my first electronic press kit through the bank and receive a complimentary copy of Van Jones’ book, The Green Collar Economy, which I am very much looking forward to read!  (Goodreads listing)

I’m very pleased that this is my first blog post of the new year.  It’s the types of business opportunities that these organizations support that we need to look toward as we rebuild our economies and industries in 2009. According to their website, “ShoreBank Corp. is America’s first community development and environmental bank holding company.  Their tagline is, “Let’s Change the World.”  Sounds good to me.

Here’s Van Jones again:

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Chinese Political Irony

Ironically, the Kuomintang, the party that fought the 23-year war against the communists (with an 8-year hiatus to fight the Japanese) is now seen as the “new leadership” with whom Beijing has the opportunity for “improved relations.” [via BBC, as is the photo to the right]

This is said in contrast to the former leadership of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), which overtly advocated Taiwanese independence from China. (Flash-based site, once you have it in English, hit “The Party” link on the left and choose “Platform” from the menu.)

And for you American viewers out there, you’ll find a bit of familiarity in the Red-Blue divide between these two parties. The mainland Communist Party is represented by red, of course. And the Kuomintang is represented by blue, as accentuated by their Pan-Blue delegation of 2005.  The savvy viewer would have also noticed the aforementioned DPP is represented by the eccentric third party color, green.

Monterey Sustainable Business Showcase

Today at the Portola Plaza (map) will be the Monterey Sustainable Business Showcase.  I’ll be headed up there a bit after 3pm.  A buddy of mine is hosting the Marina Technology Cluster booth, as well as presenting his new firm, Ecomentum.

Another very interesting topic will be the Green Dragon Film, which was developed by a grad school colleague and his team.  Very interesting and inspiring presentation of the massive efforts to develop energy-efficient and environmentally-respectful buildings in China.  I also wrote about an earlier screening of the film here.

Here’s a link to the event schedule. (Sorry about the lame GIF file.)

And below is the event flyer.  Click on it to go to the event homepage.

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