We Didn’t Start the Fire But We Can’t Ignore it

The great American Poet, William Martin Joel, once wrote:

We didn’t start the fire
It was always burning, since the world’s been turning
We didn’t start the fire
But when we are gone
It will still burn on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on

We didn’t start the fire
It was always burning, since the world’s been turning
We didn’t start the fire
No, we didn’t light it, but we tried to fight it

While Mr. Joel’s lyrics were not addressed to climate change specifically, they certainly seem more broadly addressed to the notion that, in the words of one anonymous commentator, “no matter how crazy times may seem today, they have always been crazy and will continue to be crazy as long as life continues to exist.”¹ https://genius.com/Billy-joel-we-didnt-start-the-fire-lyrics

“If it’s raining, sell an umbrella” is a more common trope, but it doesn’t tie in as well with the song or, perhaps as importantly, the subject of this short essay, which is a specific example of the idea that one can make money by thinking ahead about what large numbers of people will want or need in the foreseeable future.

The war over whether demand drives supply or whether supply drives demand was fought over a couple of hundred years, basically to a draw: most economists now agree there is room enough for both statements to be true.² Read Economists Debate: Keynes v. Saya for a riveting (I don’t get out a lot) account of the battles between two of the great warriors.

The Fire is Everywhere and Growing

I write these words two days after the world saw its average temperature reach the highest level in recorded history³ https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-66104822 and less than a month after wildfire smoke from Canada caused the Eastern U.S. to suffer from the worst air quality in recorded history.⁴ https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2023/07/03/fireworks-pollution-july-canada-wildfires/

New Fire Extinguishers Are Being Invented Every Day

Here are two other apt tropes: “From crisis comes opportunity” and “Necessity is the mother of invention.”

Some long investors are buying raw land in areas that are likely to remain (or become) excellent farmland in 20, 40, or 60 years.

Other investors are looking to the public stock markets, seeking out companies in which to invest that will be important to the Green Economy in the short to medium term.

Yet others, accredited investors with perhaps a greater risk tolerance, spend their time investigating startups to invest in startups that are working on potentially groundbreaking technology or venture capital funds that invest in such startups.

Financial Poise does not recommend specific investments- it never has and never will. But it will suggest areas in which diversification may make sense.

To determine whether looking to the Green Economy makes sense for you, you must take the time to understand at least the basic. This is why, as the publisher of Financial Poise, I’m proud that we co-produced the groundbreaking educational event, Earning Green By Investing Green, which features together 30 leading experts. I urge you to check it out.⁵ Did you know that Fall Out Boy came out with an updated version of We Didn’t Start the Fire? It’s also worth checking out here.

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We think you’ll also like:

1. Green Investors: Beware the Perils of Greenwashing
2. Green Investing Success Hinges on a Greener Grid
3. Why Developing Countries Need Green Investors

[Editors’ Note: To learn more about this and related topics, you may want to attend the following on-demand webinars (which you can view at your leisure, and each includes a comprehensive customer PowerPoint about the topic):

1. Fusion Future Heating Up
2. Sustainability of Utilities in Buildings/Cities
3. What’s Next in Green?]

©2023. DailyDAC^TM, LLC d/b/a/ Financial Poise^TM. This article is subject to the disclaimers found here.

Article Footnotes:

• 1
  https://genius.com/Billy-joel-we-didnt-start-the-fire-lyrics
• 2
  Read Economists Debate: Keynes v. Saya for a riveting (I don’t get out a lot) account of the battles between two of the great warriors.
• 3
  https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-66104822
• 4
  https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2023/07/03/fireworks-pollution-july-canada-wildfires/
• 5
  Did you know that Fall Out Boy came out with an updated version of We Didn’t Start the Fire? It’s also worth checking out here.