Green Calgary

Ask Ashley

Category: Banking & Investments

Oct
18
2011

Future Proofing Our Homes

Filed in: Banking & Investments, Energy

Hi Ashley,

My husband and I live in an older home built in the mid-1970s and our energy bills are nothing short of outrageous. Though energy efficiency wasn’t high on the list of priorities when we purchased the home 25 years ago, it now occurs to me that almost nothing, save for a meager amount of pink insulation in the walls, was done to limit energy consumption in our home. We plan on upgrading the efficiency of our home but would like to do it to the highest standard, such that we aren’t looking back another 25 years from now asking ourselves why we didn’t do more. What is possible for an older energy hungry home like ours?

Thanks Ashley!

Sally

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Jul
19
2011

Why Working Less is Better for the Planet

Filed in: Banking & Investments, Products & Services

Hi Ashley!

I’ve considered many of the benefits of working less – more time for friends and family, more time to pursue hobbies, less stress, etc. – but I’m curious what the environmental benefits might be. Any thoughts?

Thank you,

Janet

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Dec
09
2010

Happiness – the New Measure of Economic Success?

Filed in: Banking & Investments

I listen to the CBC on a daily basis and I’ve noticed that between great journalistic reporting on such issues as melting sea ice in the north, increasing personal debt among Canadians, and the worsening time crunch most people are experiencing, lies the daily financial news with the numbers on the TSX, Dow Jones, gold, and loonie. The general tone is always growth good, shrinkage (of the economy) bad. Yet I wonder how it is that these numbers are never in the context of the stories that surround them. What good is growth when with it comes more pollution, maxed out credit cards and an increasingly stressed out population?

Curious,

Jacquelyn

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Nov
15
2009

Putting our Money Where our Mouth Is

Filed in: Banking & Investments

Hi Ashley,

I am torn as to where to invest my money.  I’ve spoken to different investment advisors and many of them direct me to SRI (socially responsible investments) but still those investments are with companies that in my personal and professional life stand against.  Where, then, would someone looking to invest responsibly put his or her money?

Yours truly,

Investly Stuck

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Mar
16
2009

Investing in the Future

Filed in: Banking & Investments

Good day Ashley,

I try to live a simple and conscious life. I’m a vegetarian, I recycle and compost, and I support fair trade products. I live close to work, which allows me to walk and because I have chosen not to own a car, I use public transportation to get around the city. One area that has concerned me for some time is my money. I often wonder what my bank is doing with it (I have a feeling that it isn’t being used to do good). Some days I feel like putting all of it under my mattress but this doesn’t seem like the solution. What do you suggest?

Stumped,
Erica

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