7th Generation Investing

Imagine if every decision made by a person, business, government, or society considered the impact on seven generations from now.  Also, imagine that those seven generations are reviewing the decisions from the past.  Would that change anything?

Let’s use something that happened to me a few weeks ago that made me ask this question.  We were getting our annual water filter service visit.  When the technician opened the filters, they were full of black, dark, smelly material.  The odour was pungent and sewer-like.  We are on a city water system.  Water is taken from Lake Erie, processed, and sent to us for drinking.  It’s illegal to hook up to healthy well water if city water is flowing by your property.

The technician reported that the city adds more chlorine and chemicals as the “organics” in the lake water increase.  I saw those chemicals react to the organics in the water.  When he tested for chlorine, he noted that the concentration was higher than most swimming pools.

Now, just down the road from the lake's water intake is the Erieau village.  The lake levels are about a foot below the top of the ground, so few, if any, septic tanks are working correctly.  Many cottages do not have modern septic systems, so any purification will unlikely happen before that sewage enters the lake.  Eventually, the water with all that stuff gets sucked into our drinking water and must be processed.

The village had often considered a formal sewage processing and treatment system but turned it down due to the cost. That feels better for this generation, but what is the impact of that decision seven generations from now? If we were practicing the 7th Generation Principle, anyone drinking water from Lake Erie would need to contribute.

It’s the same with Landfills or garbage dumps that continue to pile up refuse that we, this generation, continue to generate.  If we practiced 7th-generation thinking, we would stop all landfills within five years and take responsibility for our garbage—more properly recycling or, most importantly, not using non-degradable products in the first place.

When you look at your investments, think of the 7^th Generation Principle.  How does this company's product or service impact the 7^th Generation?  Choose companies focused on creating sustainable earnings within the spirit of the 7^th Principle.  I'm doing just that by looking at my list of stock picks for 2024.  With private real estate investments, I’m continuing to do the same.  For example, creating sizeable sustainable building lots of at least 1.5 acres in size so that owners can eventually develop their self-sustainable gardens or even chickens if they wish.  In our land banking, small clearings are created for income generation through RV parking, with no services to sustain the lands. We are continuing our research in Ecosystem Restoration to learn more about creating value while returning land to nature and the honeybee.

Take time to consider the 7th Generation Principle and make it part of an automatic investment structure.  Are we being selfish by not practicing the 7^th Generation Principle?

To learn more, subscribe to my weekly podcast, Bee Money Simple. It’s available on iTunes or wherever you get your podcasts.

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