Hi all.
Systemic change does take time and investment. For the most part, I can see how the average person may feel like there’s little they can do to hasten the onset of a greener economy (other than, say, attending to conservation and personal consumption practices). I think that the more people ’vote with our dollars’ in terms of aiming their personal investment money toward institutions that focus on the green sector, the more likely we’ll see the systemic changes we desire. The bank I work with, Shore Bank, is an environmentally-focused bank (has been since 1973). It uses customer capital for social good. It’s got a High-Yield Savings Account that earns 3.5%APY, is FDIC insured, and has online tools, etc, just like the other banks - where the money is used to develop green businesses, community-focused enterprises, and the like. For more info, you might find this story of the bank’s work in creating green jobs in Chicago helpful and inspiring: http://shorebankdirect.sbk.com/stories/indie_energy.asp.