Jane Goodall’s enduring lesson for climate investors
Plus, BYD makes surprising gains in UK market
In today’s edition:
— Jane Goodall on animals, humans, AI and what it takes to change the world
— What’s behind BYD’s surprising growth in Britain
— Goodall changed our perception of the line between humans and other animals
— Data scientist sees the world making real gains on climate change
— Hot water: Warming climate is altering global ocean currents
TAORMINA, SICILY (Callaway Climate Insights) — It wasn’t lost on us that Jane Goodall passed away last week while in California, a half a world away from her native England. Even here in Sicily, where we are visiting, her death at age 91 was front page news.
While we consider ourselves seasoned travelers, we couldn’t hold a candle to Dame Goodall. She lived on the road more than 300 days a year; didn’t even own a home, instead staying with family when she was in the UK.
Like the small dram of Famous Grouse she imbibed each night — a custom she learned from her mother — traveling kept her young.
For climate investors and environmental advocates, her life was a striking example of how just one person can teach the world a lesson on the importance of saving our natural habitat. Even in these times of renewed attacks on climate progress, that is something for investors to remember.
The public reaction to her passing was astonishing in its scope, an important sign of how hungry people are for a leader who wants to change the world with empathy and understanding.
When we asked Dame Goodall a few years ago in an interview (above) whether she thought advancements in AI would finally allow us to talk to the animals, she gave a delightfully thoughtful answer. After first saying with a smile and a wink that she already does talk to the animals, she added AI has been extremely helpful in her research tracking specific chimpanzees, in particular with camera traps.
But then she said that actually using AI to translate animal noises into human words would be a disservice to the animals and likely take most of their utterances out of context. She added that animals, like humans, already share communication traits, such as hugging and kissing. It’s just a matter of paying attention to them.
Goodall was all about making money for her foundation, and used it to invest in younger generations to teach them the lesson of nature that she preached almost her entire life. She wasn’t into green stocks.
But her message is important to those of us trying to transition our economies into greener societies. It takes a kind word, maybe the occasional dram of whisky, and above all unrelenting effort every day. So long, Jane.
If you have ideas or suggestions for us, contact me directly at
dcallaway@callawayclimateinsights.com.
Follow us . . . .
Twitter | LinkedIn | Facebook | Instagram
Tuesday’s subscriber insights
What’s behind BYD’s surprising growth in Britain
Keep reading with a 7-day free trial
Subscribe to Callaway Climate Insights to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.