News
Expert Q&A with Julia Hamm, Solar Industry Leader
What will it take to drive the large-scale transition to solar power? Rachel’s Network explores this question with Julia Hamm, president and CEO of the Solar Electric Power Association (SEPA) and one of the world’s foremost experts on the nexus between utilities and solar energy. In this Q&A, Julia shares how SEPA helps utilities integrate solar energy into their portfolios, her successes, and inspiration.
Water is Life: Supporting the Clean Water Act
2014 has been a year of water-related disasters, forcing us to think about the resources most of us take for granted every day. Our waterways are critically important to our health and our way of life, and it’s clear we have to do more, not less, to protect the rivers, lakes and bays we love and depend on. Fortunately, we have a law designed to protect our waterways: the Clean Water Act.
2013 Annual Report
There’s no doubt about it: our members have achieved a lot as individuals. It takes a determined and passionate person to run a foundation or start a nonprofit. But when these women join Rachel’s Network to connect with like-minded peers, they find that their work can go further in helping advance a sustainable world. Whether it’s a connection that puts a member on the board of an important environmental organization they admire, or room to grow a nonprofit that gets funders talking about sustainable investing, we are committed to opening doors for our members and helping them access the leadership positions that fulfill their values and potential.
Expert Q&A with Janelle Orsi, Sharing Economy Lawyer
Janelle Orsi, an Ashoka Fellow sponsored by Rachel’s Network is developing legal infrastructure that supports the sharing economy through her nonprofit, the Sustainable Economies Law Center (SELC). Janelle took some time to tell us about her work, her accomplishments and the promise of an economy based on sharing.
Women Key to a Greener Global Economy
More women financial advisors than men report being interested in sustainable investing. According to a key 2012 study, Gateways to Impact spearheaded by the Rockefeller Foundation, Deutsche Bank Asset Management and other investment enterprises, 59 percent of women advisors surveyed expressed strong interest in advising their clients on sustainable investment strategies, compared to 34 percent of their male peers. If this trend continues, women will be key to moving sustainable investment from the margins to the mainstream.
Women Landowners and the Future of Agriculture
We’re witnessing a major demographic shift in agriculture. Over the next two decades, as aging farmers retire or leave their land to the next generation, 70 percent of the nation’s private farm and ranch land will likely change hands. One report predicts that women may own 75 percent of this transferred farmland. Rachel’s Network is working with American Farmland Trust to learn about and support these landowners.
Why We Need More Women in the Power Sector
Alison Kay believes that the importance of having diversity in the senior management team is being overlooked by the power and utilities industry at a time when it needs new approaches to resolve the energy trilemma: how to provide energy that’s available, affordable and environmentally sustainable, all at the same time.
Building Citizen Power for Climate Action
Citizens Climate Lobby empowers people around the country (and increasingly, around the world) to engage with their elected officials on climate change. Rachel’s Network Member Marianne Gabel heads one of 200 volunteer chapters of the organization and is helping people embrace their citizen muscle to tackle this big challenge.
Water Issues Reading List
Rachel’s Network will gather in Milwaukee in October to learn how we might address serious water challenges as funders and advocates. We are privileged to host some of the top advocates and scholars on water issues at this Fall Retreat. In advance of our Retreat, Rachel’s Network members shared their favorite books on water.
Reflecting on World Population Day with Janet Miller
In 1987 the UN designated July 11th World Population Day to build awareness of the impact population has on development and the environment. As of this writing, the world population is estimated to be 7.239 billion. Roughly 40% is under the age of 25. The UN estimates we will grow to 9.5 billion by 2050. We are at a critical moment in history. If population growth continues as projected, living conditions will become bleaker; and water, food and land will become scarcer.