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Image from youthlobby.org

You can listen to this episode above and subscribe to our podcast on iTunes. You can also listen to this episode on Stitcher, Cyber Ears or download it on Archive.org (43mins, 34MB).

Nick is joined by environmental activist Mark Allen to discuss ethical Superannuation funds such as Cruelty Free Super. While these ethical Super funds are generally significantly better than “standard” Super funds and are worth switching to, we need to look critically into where they invest their money. For example, often there is just “one degree of separation”: while ethical Super funds don’t directly invest in fossil fuels (or animal exploitation as well in the case of Cruelty Free Super), they invest in companies who promote urban sprawl, which leads to harm to the environment and animals.

We also discuss the importance of divesting from unethical companies but the need to do more than just divest. Activists encouraging people to divest need to also push people to do more. On this topic, Sam Graham-Felsen’s article on encouraging supporters to ‘up the level of engagement’ is quite relevant – we discussed this on episode 118.

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Clips:

Ouch My Face ‘Eaten by buildings’, Marianne Faithfull ‘Green Fields (Last Song)’.