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I stumbled upon Mark Shuttleworth's blog this morning (naturally), and wrote this on facebook:

And then, just out of curiosity (and geekiness), I searched for how many millions we were talking about. Mark Zuckerberg (US$6.9 billion) and Matt Mullenweg (US$40 million) are listed here. There's actually one Matt Mickiewicz on that list as well (no net worth but his companies worth +US$100 million). Mark Shuttleworth is 37 so he's not on the list, but according to wikipedia, he's worth US$225 million.

But this post is not really about all those, actually. When I googled 'how much mark shuttleworth worth', I found this article. But it's not about that either, instead I was intrigued by the link to this article on the side.

The Green List has unearthed 100 tycoons or wealthy families worth £200m or more who have made either serious investments in green technology and businesses or hefty financial commitments to environmental causes. In total, the Green 100 are worth nearly £267 billion.

This enormous sum demonstrates that many of the world’s richest tycoons and entrepreneurs have embraced environmentalism. Indeed, our list is dominated by America’s wealthiest financiers and entrepreneurs such as Warren Buffett (worth £27 billion) and Bill Gates (worth £26 billion).

I'm not criticizing or anything. I'm just wondering what constitutes 'green' business or 'green' investment. And the list seems to mix businesses with causes. Global warming certainly is not business, right? (Or... is it? ;)) Hmmm... I'm too sleepy right now to think straight, so maybe I'll update later to elaborate. Or maybe not. Maybe I'm just honoring Michael Crichton's legacy, i.e. being skeptical to anything labelled 'environmental'.

Being environmentally conscious is not buying more eco-labelled products, but buying less stuff.
(This is one of Tânia's propositions for her graduation into a philosopher doctor of philosophy. What constitutes less is arguable though, and interestingly she also wrote the following proposition: For environmental awareness, basic needs have to be guaranteed, since one can not punish a person for cutting down a tree to cook and warm himself.)

Sober update:
There is no sober update.