Fungal ecosystem investments promise big returns—maybe even bipartisan cooperation!
More than a decade ago, I wrote a book called Nature’s Fortune: How Business and Society Thrive by Investing in Nature. Its central thesis was that investing in nature not only protects the environment for us, other species, and future generations, but it also produces enormously useful outcomes at very low cost. Things we may take for granted, like clean water, healthy food, protection from storms, outdoor areas to enjoy, habitat for biodiversity, and so on.
Interestingly, initiatives to invest in nature have another significant positive byproduct: they tend to generate broad engagement in a way that dramatically reduces divisiveness and polarization. Turns out, protecting nature for practical reasons—including saving money—is something most people can get behind. That could be timely, right?
Right now seems like a good time to revisit this opportunity. We can pursue the ideas originally discussed in the book with more energy. And I can add a new one to the list too: investments in underground mycorrhizal networks, which also produce significant multiple win-win-win outcomes.