What’s going to motivate Americans and others to bike, walk, run, skate, mass transit and otherwise wheel around without polluting? Money! Likewise, to eat healthier, exercise and care more about the environment in general… Money again. When families are struggling to keep off the streets and jobs are scarce, environmentalism falls to the wayside as a silly luxury for the well-to-do. While not true in the long run, because sustainability literally saves, we must be safe and fed before we care.
I think giving money is the best way to make it clear that people can be trusted to make better decisions if only they were given a good reason (such as: 10 years to plan and set up the Zero Emission economy as per Al Gore and the We Can Solve It group) and the monetary opportunity. It’s just that right now people don’t have an extra 50 dollars to get their bikes fixed or buy enough lights to feel safe in the dark.
With this site we can show them that there are other choices to cars and junk food and offer help. Here's my plan: a simple gift card that enables purchasing qualified products and services would be an ideal use of carbon offset donation money and carbon credit monies from polluters. Carbon offset money that stays local instead of being shipped off to fix the environment elsewhere. Elsewhere can be a hard place to prove they're fixing things enough to offset our pollution here! This fixes air pollution closer to the source. It would be a boon to the jobless and poor, heck, Unpollute money could be the start of many new careers, if not just the start of a new mode of commuting or eating for all who are interested. And who isn't interested in free money. This would encourage spending and sharing for Zero Emission products. This would be a great resource for the less needy and even for businesses, so often reluctant to spend money even to save money in the future, or needing a guiding hand in making greener product choices… But this is more important than just saving money (and gas), this a chance to save our world’s future. The Unpollute Gift Card program will start small and local, and then we’ll see if it can work on a national level!
I see this program as being more effective than current bike share programs that are gaining popularity in cities around the world, because of the many weakness due to non-ownership in those programs. Bike sharing is a good idea for visitors, people vacationing and wishing to take a tour. But the limited or zero choice in bikes, bikes not able to take you from door to door as they should, make it a tough sell for a city’s commuting needs.
And further, this program is a cash charity, not a coupon, rebate or tax-credit so it is truly a grassroots effort. It takes nothing away from anybody. It helps you buy a new bike, among countless other things.
With a little education on the choices out there and the cash to try something out, I believe that Americans could cut back on many many driving trips -- that is the ultimate in carbon offsetting! Other green products and services to be included are often already rated by multiple agencies as to their relative CO2 footprint and other environmental concerns in fantastic detail, so judging will be simple and fair. Qualification is highly biased against large polluters, but it is still fair, since any business, large or small, could take steps to get their own products and services to qualify.
For more on this idea and all the rest of the content just join the site with the Sign Up button, then use the Sign In button to show up on my awaiting approval list. Then you'll be approved and able to see and comment on everything that members have not locked-down for private or friend-only viewing as well as able to post pics, start forums (which I may organize categorically or otherwise enhance), and blog freely. After joining, please take a minute to invite your friends and family, too, so this idea and this fun, interesting Ning Network can grow. I'm still wondering how best to implement this idea, and will need some help in the doing.
So, join this social networking site for fun, green info, to help, and be more inspired and motivated. Invite friends to grow the site, and post away. We love links, photos, videos, reports, ideas, blogs, and Forum discussions, and comments from everybody.
Don't forget to read through some forums, that's where I've been focusing most of the content and information.
Breath deeply of the light and may you never thirst, fellow traveler. #UnPollute
Thanks for your time, peace always, -emett
