It's late September and the financial world looks a lot like the Texas coast after Hurricane Ike: a shambles of its former self. Alan Greenspan called the unfolding financial disaster a once-in-a-100-years event. That's about how long ago Galveston was hit by a big one, too. While we grapple with putting infrastructures back together again and fret over what has been lost, a heartening development has been percolating under the surface. A different synchronicity between business and Mother Nature is spurring innovation and promising a kinder, gentler way forward: the greening of the supply chain. While the financial crisis may be about flagrant irresponsibility and rampant greed, the green movement is about creating environmentally sustainable business models and economic savings. Contributing editor Anne R. Field takes a look at the creative ways companies like FedEx, Starbucks and Xerox, among many others, are increasing efficiencies, reducing energy usage, building goodwill and getting in step with the green revolution sweeping the globe. But for now, as the credit crisis squeeze continues, treasuries are optimizing processes to gain quicker availability to incoming payments as recent lockbox technology advances take off, writes senior contributing editor Richard Gamble. Undeniably, we are in a cosmic storm of change, not the least of which is the upcoming presidential election. Senior contributing editor Dave Lindorff seeks to gauge the impact on corporate America of either a John McCain or Barack Obama win. And what better time than now to take a look at our next generation of rising stars as profiled in our 40 Under 40 feature? Finally, on the matter of leadership qualities, respondents in Treasury and Risk's 2008 Financial Leadership Survey say that the most important one is the ability to accurately assess risk. Amen.