It costs to Discover
Discover Card customers and shareholders are discovering what their money is helping to finance -- and many of them aren't pleased. The VILLAGE VOICE reports that an environmental group is leading a boycott of the Discover Card, whose parent company, Morgan Stanley Dean Witter, is helping to sponsor the construction of China's Three Gorges Dam. According to activists, the dam -- scheduled for completion in 2009 -- is one of the most socially and ecologically destructive projects in history.
The boycott, led by the International Rivers Network, marks a shift in environmentalist strategy, as protestors have changed their focus from attacking the builders of exploitative third-world industries to pressuring their Western financers. The strategy is proving effective. A Morgan Stanley-shareholder campaign demanding that the company make only socially responsible investments has been gaining steam, as have similar movements within other major investment firms.
MoJo Troll Patrol encourages readers to sign in with Facebook, Twitter, Google, Yahoo, Disqus, or OpenID to comment. Please read our comment policy before posting.
- Optional: Sign In to MotherJones.com
