You!

Let me ’splain. (No. There is no time. Let me sum up.)

MarketingGreen recently put up an excellent post titled “Investing in Green Innovation.” It very thoroughly addresses the dilemma of investment in the era of climate change. One way or another, the global economy is going to be drastically altered in the next few decades, either by mandated carbon caps or by climate change itself (most likely both). MarketingGreen discusses smart investment strategies in an age where going green is no longer just a trend but a necessity.

And why am I writing about this, you ask?

Well, frankly I can’t think of a better investment than an industry whose operations will be negligibly affected by carbon caps and other physical energy constraints. Like, say, online colleges.

As I mentioned in my comment on MarketingGreen, online education is an industry whose reach is rapidly expanding–but does not require vastly increased physical resources to do so. The spread of education, in turn, creates informed and aware global citizens who cannot ignore the crisis of climate change. These institutions have the potential to effect change on a massive scale by making it possible to educate people worldwide without an accompanying drain on money, energy and resources.

You can invest in online degrees in more ways than one, whether it’s signing up to earn one or putting some of your investment dollars into the schools themselves (many of which are publicly traded companies). Save the planet, make some money, learn a little something.