I've set aside a certain percentage of my income (currently 2.5%) for charity. Now I've accumulated a few hundred dollars that I'd like to spend charitably.
I want to see people use sustainable energy. I could:
*spend $200 reducing the amount of electricity and gas I personally use. But I've already ditched my most wasteful habits.
*give $200 to a wind farm
*give a graduate student a $200 grant so he'll go write a paper on the theory of windmill-bird collisions.
*purchase a $200 swath of Indonesian rain forest, so the locals can't (legally) put up a farm. Carbon offset.
*donate $200 to Sen. McCain's election campaign. But $200 doesn't buy a lot of votes, and he's probably going to win or lose without my help.
None of these ideas seem all that great. I don't have a lot of money, but where can I put my money to make a big impact?
How do I use my charity budget to improve sustainablity?
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grazzhoppa
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Use the money for advertising for a community-wide meeting where you provide snacks and refreshments while you educate your neighbors/community about using sustainable energy.
Since you have "already ditched [your] most wasteful habits", you have information that can make an impact on the community around you.
The best way to make a big impact for charitable causes is not to throw money at someone and let them do the work. Instead, take the initiative to education your neighbors and hope they will pass your waste-minimizing habits to their friends & family.
Since you have "already ditched [your] most wasteful habits", you have information that can make an impact on the community around you.
The best way to make a big impact for charitable causes is not to throw money at someone and let them do the work. Instead, take the initiative to education your neighbors and hope they will pass your waste-minimizing habits to their friends & family.
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spookmineer
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Yesterday I was amazed at your post. I didn't have a clear answer, but like grazzhoppa said, informing other people of how you minimised your carbon footprint would be a good idea, maybe at some local community centre, or maybe a workshop kind of thing at high schools (... doubting the students will massively pick up on it somehow - maybe a physics workshop and adding some $ numbers).
People need incentives, maybe call it "saving money on electricity bills". The knowledge you have how to do this may be even more of importance then the money you're willing to spend on it.
This may sound lame, but organising a small bingo with energy saving light bulbs etc. as a prize may be worth a try (everyone might get a free bingo card at entrance): it costs a few bucks, but you could talk about how you managed to save energy inbetween calling the numbers...
First time ever (!) I see someone saving a substantial percentage to spend on charity.
Would you be willing to state a few ideas how to save on energy here?
People need incentives, maybe call it "saving money on electricity bills". The knowledge you have how to do this may be even more of importance then the money you're willing to spend on it.
This may sound lame, but organising a small bingo with energy saving light bulbs etc. as a prize may be worth a try (everyone might get a free bingo card at entrance): it costs a few bucks, but you could talk about how you managed to save energy inbetween calling the numbers...
First time ever (!) I see someone saving a substantial percentage to spend on charity.
Would you be willing to state a few ideas how to save on energy here?
I like grazzhoppa's idea of the community meeting. However I don't think you need to blow your entire budget on advertising for it. If you talk about your project at a few local events: HOA, PTA meeting, YMCA, church, free posting board, any kind of setting to give you a bit of exposure without having to distribute fliers.
You still have your $200 to buy 10 Kill-a-Watt, which you could lent to people in the community and people could then give to their neighbors. Give each people a few days to play with the Kill-a-Watt so they can find out for themselves which are the electrical vampire appliances in their home.
You still have your $200 to buy 10 Kill-a-Watt, which you could lent to people in the community and people could then give to their neighbors. Give each people a few days to play with the Kill-a-Watt so they can find out for themselves which are the electrical vampire appliances in their home.
like LAThierry said, buying 10 Kill-a-Watt's and passing them around would be probably the most effective way to convince people.
a while ago i was thinking of doing something like that myself but i am too lazy
. get several of them and of a pass them around on the forums i visit.
two benefits in this approach - people would most likely be convinced is they see the numbers with their own eyes and if you could collect data, even partial and then publish it, you will reach even more people.
a while ago i was thinking of doing something like that myself but i am too lazy
. get several of them and of a pass them around on the forums i visit.two benefits in this approach - people would most likely be convinced is they see the numbers with their own eyes and if you could collect data, even partial and then publish it, you will reach even more people.
Don't be amazed at me. Lots of people systematically give to charity, mostly through their church. I give to charity for a selfish reason: giving makes me feel good.
Speaking of selfishness, I hate proselytizing. In fact, I chose sustainable energy as a charity partly to offset the non-green actions of people around me, so that I could feel green, without nagging them.
But I suppose there's no getting around it. The best way to reduce our energy consumption is to convince the most wasteful elements of society to use less energy.
Spook asked how I save energy. In order of priority: reduce, reuse, and recycle. Anything you buy has to be manufactured, transported, and often plugged in. So buy less stuff.
Check out this Personal Emissions Calculator from the US EPA for a few ideas. Buy a smaller car and a smaller house next time. Live close to shops, school, and work, and buy a bicycle.
I hope this thread has gotten some others to choose to take action about things they care about. However, the issue in the OP still hasn't been addressed. I'm a timid engineer who doesn't want to tell others how to live their lives. I'm not going to hold a community meeting.
This thread has got me thinking, I could spend my money advocating bicycle use among adults, which would encourage others to act greener. I think I know just the place to throw my money.
Speaking of selfishness, I hate proselytizing. In fact, I chose sustainable energy as a charity partly to offset the non-green actions of people around me, so that I could feel green, without nagging them.
But I suppose there's no getting around it. The best way to reduce our energy consumption is to convince the most wasteful elements of society to use less energy.
Spook asked how I save energy. In order of priority: reduce, reuse, and recycle. Anything you buy has to be manufactured, transported, and often plugged in. So buy less stuff.
Check out this Personal Emissions Calculator from the US EPA for a few ideas. Buy a smaller car and a smaller house next time. Live close to shops, school, and work, and buy a bicycle.
I hope this thread has gotten some others to choose to take action about things they care about. However, the issue in the OP still hasn't been addressed. I'm a timid engineer who doesn't want to tell others how to live their lives. I'm not going to hold a community meeting.
This thread has got me thinking, I could spend my money advocating bicycle use among adults, which would encourage others to act greener. I think I know just the place to throw my money.
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mr. poopyhead
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i find this initiative quite funny... in a sad way... who started it?*purchase a $200 swath of Indonesian rain forest, so the locals can't (legally) put up a farm. Carbon offset.
they should really change that one to "*purchase a $200 swath of north american farmland, so the locals can't (legally) put up a new subdivision. prevent urban sprawl."
i think THAT would be much more effective at reducing carbon emissions than telling indonesian farmers that they shouldn't grow stuff to support their developing economy, just so that some wasteful north americans can feel good about cutting carbon emissions.... halfway across the globe.
You could invest in family planning.
Not only does this help reduce energy use, but also reduces health care costs, reduces loss of habitat, increases affordable housing, reduces hunger, decreases political instability, etc.
Very few nations that could not benefit from such investment - so can
invest close to home.
(Of course the US with its relatively high population growth (50% pregnancies unintended) and incredibly high resource use would be an obvious place to start investing.)
The multiplicative factor of population makes it immensely powerful. You can try to change people's behavior to reduce the per capita consumption of this, that or the other. But reducing the per capita production of people reduces all those things, all at once. What a deal!
"Any cause is a lost cause without population stabilization"
http://www.populationconnection.org/
Not only does this help reduce energy use, but also reduces health care costs, reduces loss of habitat, increases affordable housing, reduces hunger, decreases political instability, etc.
Very few nations that could not benefit from such investment - so can
invest close to home.
(Of course the US with its relatively high population growth (50% pregnancies unintended) and incredibly high resource use would be an obvious place to start investing.)
The multiplicative factor of population makes it immensely powerful. You can try to change people's behavior to reduce the per capita consumption of this, that or the other. But reducing the per capita production of people reduces all those things, all at once. What a deal!
"Any cause is a lost cause without population stabilization"
http://www.populationconnection.org/
Re: How do I use my charity budget to improve sustainablity?
That seems a bit counterproductive. Wouldn't it be better to have them avoid/reduce use of energy (sustainable or otherwise)?Brian wrote: I want to see people use sustainable energy. I could:
If you want to focus more directly on energy -
replacing incandescent bulbs with compact florescent might be more to the point than buying 10 Kill-A-Watt meters.
In the end a Kill-A-Watt itself doesn't save any power (it is just a measuring tool - have to be inspired by it to act) and certainly giving one to a person is not going to have a big impact. (Like most gadgets, most Kill-A-Watts probably wind up in a drawer someplace.)
Now if you get a couple Kill-A-Watts, and donate them to a local library or community or environmental group to make available on loan. You can magnify the resources put into making those meters. (You may also be able to magnify your money by donating to a non-profit, and getting tax break, so even more money for your cause.)
Florescent bulbs directly save energy by being used.
Figure out how many compact florescents you could buy for $100,
easy enough to calculate their energy savings vs. incandescent bulbs.
[Edit: very rough calculation,
if CF bulb saves $30 in electricity over its lifetime, and electricity costs on average about 10c/kw-hr
if CF bulbs cost $3 each could get 30 bulbs for your $100, which would save about $900 in electricity, or around 9,000 kw-hrs saved. ]
(Assuming you could find 30 incandescent bulbs to replace.)
That would give you a baseline to compare other energy saving uses to.
(i.e. can I find a use that will save more money than replacing bulbs.)
More power to you!
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NeilBlanchard
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