The Feeling Is Mutual

I am the cofounder of Portfolio 21, a global mutual fund investing for a sustainable future. I am also chair of Progressive Investment Management, the investment adviser to Portfolio 21.

Portfolio 21 (the 21 is for 21st century) invests in companies from around the world that understand the ecological crisis and are implementing environmental sustainability in their business practices. These companies are developing cleaner energy sources, resource-efficient production methods, products designed to be reused and rebuilt, benign raw materials, and processes that produce little or no waste.

We are heading off to Hong Kong, China, and Japan to visit Asian companies with a sustainable focus.

I either ride the bus or drive my Volkswagen TDI that runs on B100 biodiesel. B100 has about 80 percent fewer carbon emissions than gasoline, and the exhaust smells like french fries.

On my 10th birthday, my parents gave me two shares of Mattel Toys. I would ride my bike to the local brokerage office after school and look at stock quotes with the retired fellows. I decided then to become an investment manager.

I was raised in Berkeley, Calif., and now live outside of Portland, Ore., on a ranch by the Willamette River.

I remember walking up to David Brower after one of his talks and thanking him for his amazing environmental contribution. He asked me, "What are you going to do with it?" I told him that I was going to start a mutual fund investing for a sustainable future.

Waterskiing. I need to find a biodiesel boat.

I can't seem to find free time, but I do balance my work with yoga and mindfulness practice. I also record music, raise two girls, work out, and yes, waterski.

Being a vegetarian, I love Indian, Thai, and Mexican dishes.

I'm a white male, and I grew up in Berkeley during the 1960s and '70s. Before I had money, I drove Volvos with 200,000+ miles.

I love Hana, Maui, because there is no denying the natural elements -- they are in your face, making the connection to nature amazingly obvious.

Countries would be mandated to live within the bio-capacity of the earth. When I was born in 1960, the world economy was using about half the earth's annual resource capacity. In 1985, the world economy was consuming all of the earth's annual resource capacity. Today, we are running a natural deficit of about 20 percent. This rate of consumption is completely unsustainable and silly.

That was way back in 1978, and around that time, I attended about 50 Grateful Dead concerts. I even got to introduce Jerry Garcia on stage. My favorite band right now is Zero 7 from the U.K.

It seems that people either love or hate the film What The Bleep Do We Know!?. I love it.

This may sound strange coming from a white male, but I'm going with Whoopi Goldberg.

Find out how much "nature" your lifestyle requires. Take the Ecological Footprint Quiz, and estimate how much productive land and water you need to support what you use and what you discard. Then tell your friends.