A few years ago I was seized with the question: What can I do in my everyday life to stop contributing to climate change? At that time, only 1/3 of my friends had suffered a unique climate event, and I had not yet heard the account of my new parent friends huddled in their Texas home, wide eyed as they watched their baby’s breathe visible in the indoor air. The ice storm made it impossible to travel, and they were stuck in one of the many parts of the state where the power grid had failed. Since then, all of my friends have been affected by a unique climate event. Homes have been lost or badly damaged by hurricane and fire. A few weeks ago, I did not know if I would be returning to a home. I am one of the lucky ones, and, weeks after evacuation, I am still cleaning ash and accepting the “new normal,” one of persistent uncertainty and impermanence.
We can stop making things worse. This 5 week challenge has simple, actionable steps. Baby steps, even, to transition your life to a sustainable one. Originally, in the form of an online course, I will provide them here in a series of blog posts. Welcome to week 1.
Week 1
Each week I assign several actionable tasks to address the areas where we pollute the most. By the end of the month, you will have the tools to lower your carbon footprint and stop supporting climate change. Thank you for participating in my climate challenge. I would say that you’re helping to save the Earth. The fact is, the Earth will keep spinning along without us. You’re helping to save us.
Give your wallet a carbon free makoever.
Step 1: Idenifty major Fossil Fuel funders in your wallet
On Arpil 6, 2022, a group of scientists in Los Angeles, CA handcuffed themselves to the CHASE building in Downtown LA in a plea to save our planet. Why did they choose CHASE?
CHASE is the number one supporter of fossil fuels. That’s right. The number one funder of climate change.
First, let’s look at popular banks and their contribution to fossil fuels.
“JPMorgan Chase lent over $195 billion to gas and oil companies.
For comparison, Wells Fargo lent over $151 billion, Citibank lent over $129 billion and Bank of America lent over $106 billion. Since the Paris climate accord, which 195 countries agreed to in 2015, JPMorgan Chase has been the world’s largest investor in fossil fuels by a 29 percent margin.”ı
- JP Morgan CHASE
- Wells Fargo
- Citibank
- Bank of America
What about Bank of the West?
Nearly all banks use greenwashing in their marketing, especially Bank of the West. It is possible that strictly in US, Bank of the West does as it claims. However, their owner, BNP Paribas, is the biggest funder of fossil fuels in the European Union.
Next, let’s take a look at truly green banking options.
sources and further reading
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Step 2: Choose your favorite convenient green bank.
- Online Bank
- Local Credit Union
- Local Bank
Online Bank Account
The online bank Aspiration is incredibly easy to set up, and it’s part of their mission statement not to fund fossil fuels. I moved my money to an Aspiration account before I decided to open a credit union account. If you don’t have time to research your local credit unions now, you can open an Aspiration account immediately.
Credit Union
Credit unions exist only for and because of their members. They are member owned and tend to invest their money on the surrounding community. Credit unions are non profits, and they pass savings onto their members in the form of higher returns. They invest in the local community, not fossil fuels.
I wanted a location I could ride my bike or walk to, so I used Google maps to find credit unions near me. You can do the same by clicking here: https://www.google.com/search?q=credit+union+near+me
Green local bank near you
Bank For Good is an organization that makes it easy to find a local bank that does not support climate change:
Mighty Deposits makes it possible to search for banks that do not fund fossil fuels, and that support causes you are interested in like investing in low income communities.
Which banking option and location did you choose?
Step 3: Open your new bank account
In about 10 minutes, you’ll breathe easy knowing your money no longer supports fossil fuels, the number one contributor to global warming.
Couldn’t decide? Simply open an Aspiration account here. You can always move to a credit union or local bank later. Right now, the important thing is to stop funding climate change.
Now, go to your chosen credit union or bank’s page and open an account.
Even my small credit union made it easy to open an account online within minutes, and Aspiration’s format was even faster. See, I opened my Aspiration account first so I could quickly move my money away from CHASE.
Step 4 Move Your Money
You are almost done with this week’s climate challenge. Wow. You will no longer be a financial backer of climate change. Be proud.
IMPORTANT: Keep a cushion in your old, global warming bank account to pay your bills for a couple of weeks. Consider moving savings first. Naughty banks do not want you to leave, so they will take the full 3-4 days to transfer your money to your new account.
In your global warming bank account, you will need to go to Transfers > Add an External Account
Here you will add your new account and routing numbers. If you opened an Aspiration account, they will be under your name on the top right > settings > account info.
Your old bank may take a few days to test and acknowledge your new account. Once they do, transfer your money using the Transfer tab on your new or old bank account.
If you opened a credit union or local bank account, they will be able to help you with this process. Or, do it yourself. All you need is your account and routing number.
Congratulations! You no longer invest in climate change!