When we entrust our cash to traditional financial institutions, we tend to wonder how secure they are, rather than what we're investing in. But, argues Jeremy Leggett, founder of SolarCentury, the short-termism of the current banking system is worsening the coming energy and climate crises. "asset managers are investing people's pensions and insurance premiums much more in coal and gas than in renewables," says Leggett. "The giants of finance are allowed to place no value on  a survivable future, and they act accordingly: in a suicidal manner, deploying our money as they go blindly about their bonus building."  But there is an alternative: people power. Community-energy companies are being formed that make use of the feed-in tariffs introduced by the government to accelerate deployment of renewables. Ecotricity, a wind power company, has raised a ? 10m bond from small investors and Zopa.com has pioneered peer-to-peer lending that takes banks out of the equation. Birmingham city council said it intends to raise bonds for financing energy efficiency and solar power on the ? 100m-plus scale.  all these activities repay investors at rates of return better than high-street banks can offer. If the financing of clean-energy companies can be taken to a larger scale, it could have a material impact on the nation's energy choices.  and if you have a pension, you already have a voice, and a choice about where your money goes. Why not investigate what your pension is invested in?  To find out how to make your power as a pension holder count, visit gobeyondoil.org