After years of legal entanglements arising from environmental messes and increased scrutiny of banks that finance the dirtiest industries, several large commercial lenders are taking a stand on industry practices that they regard as risky to their reputations and bottom lines.
In the most recent example, the banking giant Wells Fargo noted last month what it called “considerable attention and controversy” surrounding mountaintop removal mining, and said that its involvement with companies engaged in it was “limited and declining.”
via www.nytimes.com
Interesting. One interpretation of what Wells Fargo is saying is, "If you want to engage in environmentally destructive behavior, you're going to have to go to a lender who doesn't care about the environment."
A cynical observer might say "They're just doing that to create the perception that they are environmentally friendly."
To which an objective observer might respond, "So what? If the outcome is a net gain in social welfare, does the motive really matter?"
Now I'll wait for the philosophical observers to respond...
