Unpollute's Overall Charter and Mission Statement

[Emett]

The plan is to create a seriously effective Carbon Offset Project based on a simple idea and two huge needs: a local and all-inclusive improvement in environmentally sustainable behaviors and everyone's need for money to provide transportation and food/fuel for themselves and their families or businesses.   The idea is that a charity provides and funds gift cards, given to the public and businesses, that enable or help the purchasing of qualified zero-emission or "Green" products and services.  The resulting reduction in pollution of all forms will save lungs and lives and help protect the world from the various looming dooms like climate change, ocean acidification, massive food chain collapses.  A certain % Reduction of pollution will also save the US X billions of Dollars currently spent on health care. (-citation needed, I've seen quotes from government funded research proving it)

Unpollute would be an ideal use of carbon offset donation money and carbon credit monies from businesses required to participate in the (coming) Carbon market(s).  Currently most Carbon offset money is not  staying local, but instead is shipped off to fix the environment elsewhere.  Offset projects you can donate to are very lacking in the USA, even while there are quite a few of Carbon Offset Providers brokering for foreign projects.  While these projects are highly valuable and important, elsewhere can be a hard place to prove they're fixing things enough to "offset" our pollution here! 

Zero-Emissions is the gold standard.  Makes me think of Google's motto: Do no evil.  Well, Unpollute's Motto:  Undo the evil.  Now that we realize what some of our products and behaviors truly cost, we must take our learning seriously and change. 

UnPollute Zero Emissions Charter (Reads like the Unpollute Bill): 

The Zero Emissions Gift Card Fund Charity Organization

To stimulate the economy and get Americans and American products moving again, but at a reduced over-all cost and with less over-all pollutants, with less use of foreign oil, and a bright future of leadership in the emerging “green” industries, including Alternative Energy industries, Zero Emissions transport, slow/organic/local food and clothes, the polluters and other Americans will send gifts to all Americans.

In alignment with the concept of reducing driving miles-- as is a part of every plan to reduce greenhouse and other emissions-- Every American and American Company gets a Zero Emissions Gift Card good for $500 (or more?), and more over time, of purchases that qualify. The Zero Emissions Gift Card Fund will be considered a “carbon offsetter” qualified to be paid by any carbon cap and trade fees and/or payments from polluters. Carbon offset credits will be made avail for purchase by payments to the fund. Carbon offset donations to the fund shall be considered as fully tax deducible charity donations.

The Zero Emissions Gift Card Fund will be a charitable gift program with funds easily transferred between and among individuals, groups, families, and/or other charities. With giving so enabled the American people shall control a significant amount of money and so direct it where it can do the most good in the frame of their own lives, for themselves or for others, be them near or far.

For children under 15, their gift(s) shall be redirected to the parent(s) or guardian(s). Individuals and or companies can re gift to other individuals' and/or companys' accounts. Zero Emission Gift Cards can be reloaded with legal tender if desired, a fully tax deductible charity donation.  It might be great to allow personal donations to made to the entire system or to specific persons' or business's accounts.  Money should be allowed to stay local.

Products purchased with a Zero Emissions Gift Card would become normal personal or company property.

Qualifying Purchases, 3 Types

1st Type: Zero Emissions Vehicles and Gear

· Bicycles, skateboards, wheelchairs, roller blades, etc. including gear, equipment, and parts.

· Walking/Running Gear, including shoes.

· Electric Power scooters, chairs, bikes, boards, skates, and any other type of small Human / Electric Hybrid powered vehicles.

· All-electric or otherwise Zero Emission, defined as zero hydrocarbons in the exhaust, cars, motorcycles, vans, trucks, trains, and/or buses.

· Any tools and other products specific to support, repair, use, upgrade, modify, or design Zero Emission vehicles.

· Research expenses specific Zero Emission vehicle design. For example: Power hub or Mag-Lev bearing designs for bikes or electric cars, or materials research for lighter bike frames.

· Apparel products, including, but not limited to: helmets, hats, gloves, shoes, pants, rain-gear, and performance bags or back-packs.

· Clothes that have specific transportation safety and/or weather resistant features shall qualify.

2nd Type: Zero Emissions Fuel and Power

· Food: Fuel for biking and walking is food. Food shall be a qualifying purchase if it passes certain specifications. A rating system shall be designed that will allow products to be judged on the basis of these, and possibly other, factors: bulk or other packaging considerations, food miles per lbs transported, micro-nutrient value per calorie, and/or sustainable or organic farming methods used, sold in a "farmers" (local) market. Ideal: organic or sustainably farmed, locally sourced, minimally processed food that is sold in bulk would qualify due to any one of those qualities.

· Gardening tools, hand and electric types.

· Non-GMO seeds and plant starts.

· Solar energy collecting systems for persons, homes, businesses, and/or vehicles.

· Wind, Wave, Run-of-the-River, and other innovative power generating and storage systems.  (I love this subject!!!)

· Utilities payments for Alternative power sources.

· Research expenses specific Zero Emissions fuel, including food, and power generation and/or storage.

3rd Type: Zero Emissions Services

· Public Transport (Buses, light rail, other) tickets and/or passes.

· A personal transport service with a zero emission vehicle.

· A post or delivery service with zero emissions.

· Consulting, Installation, and other services which provide customers with Zero Emission (or otherwise improved "Green") solutions to typically polluting situations.

· Payments to a food service provider that uses 75% or higher of “foods and services that qualify.”

Benefits of the Zero Emissions Gift Card Fund Charity:

· Equivalent to some free transportation, food, and services becoming available for citizens.

· Economic Stimulus: Boosts consumer demand for needed technologies evoking the power of the free market to create jobs to fill the demands. Keeps our scientists and engineers and workforces busy and improving, not falling behind.

· Popular use would lower the United State’s dependency on oil and foreign oil.

· Fewer traffic jams saving travelers and businesses time and fuel.

· Helps mitigate some health care costs in the long run due to a healthier public, based on cleaner air in densely populated urban areas, and on more people getting exercise.

· Lowers wear of the roads, saving road maintenance costs.

· Lightweight and other Zero Emission Transportation devices abound, and a boon to this industry will cascade savings throughout the economy.

· Bikes and many other Zero Emission transport devices require no liability insurance, providing an opportunity for personal savings.

· Widespread use would help to push back the global warming threat and other pollution related threats, such as ocean acidification.

· This simple fund coupled with gift cards for American citizens would also improve National Security based on a rise in local/small food sources, and a lessening of our dependency on foreign oil.

· Clearer Air, Healthier Soils, and Cleaner Water.

Zero Emissions Gift Card Fund Website: Unpollute.com

An official web site is setup for login access by all Americans and companies linking them to the huge database of qualifying items, services, their own account info, and other public records concerning the Zero Emissions Gift Card Fund.

The Website enables those who wish to, to sign on, and be taught about:

1) Ecological commuting options and considerations, and then be guided towards an appropriate and preferred choice of products from around the globe with the Unpollute Wizard, a personal survey and web search based application to drive individuals toward best solutions for specific or overall transportation needs.  Recommended products would be listed and percent of American parts and labor shall be clearly displayed, as well as country of origin so that individuals can make informed choices. Remember, items produced in the USA are usually manufactured in more ecologically sound ways than similar products from some other parts of the world. But solutions to an individual’s commuting challenges can best be found when the whole world of ideas is open.  With this website we can easily show that there are great choices beyond cars,  there's something out there for everybody and every transportation need. 

2) Sustainable food, food security, and “green” rating factors.

3) Alternative energy, conservation, and more.

4) Electric and Zero Emission cars and also their improvement and inclusion in society.

Welcome to the beginning.  Unpollute: next steps...

[Emett]

join this website to increase it's credibility and it's potential for doing good in the world.  share what you know about recycling and living green, etc.  Sharing pictures of biking or gardening or something could really be motivating for other visitors and members, too!   it's fun!  play with all the buttons, and be sure to ask me or other members if you have any questions!

[Emett]

Wow, this is still novel, and now finally the USA is waking up to the fact that yes we must lower our impact.  Per capita, and not just clean up after we see the disaster.... And I have still not seen a better plan to change Americans' spending, consuming, and trashing habits.  Let's keep positive!