Being an environmental activist is getting so easy now and anyone can with just a few minutes. How? Just think about how you use the net. The net has become the ideal medium for every environmental activist to give a hand to change people's perception and thus behaviors. You, too can be one.
For long, was aware of a few things I can do to my environment, from setting an example of not throwing trash to street to joining social activities to help clean up the environment. However, I realized that I could do more.
Last year, from a recommendation of a friend on her blog, I found information on "An Inconvenient Truth" DVD on Climate Crisis Web site. I watched the the trailer on the site and found out that it has another copy on Youtube. On YouTube, until today, there are almost 1.65 million views with more than 3,000 ratings. I decided to buy the DVD when I was in Singapore and lent it to a few friends of mine. (I still have it with me in Germany. Anyone interested can contact me.) Following the instructions on Climate Crisis, I knew how to reduce my impact on the environment. I also participated in the StopGlobalWarming virtual match. I did the whole thing without meeting any environmental activist, and also became one along the way.
At the beginning of this year, I learned from YahooGreen Website on how to take actions in my house to reduce my impact on the environment. I also noticed that Google has a green traveling mashup, where it marked environment-friendly hotels and resorts.
The net can also be used to spread the news about how companies are helping or not helping the environment. The past Tuesday, Climate Counts, a non-profit organization based in Vermont, has released its Climate Counts company scorecard comparing companies' commitment to tackling global warming on its Website. The report immediately grasped by the media, generating more than 30,000 articles on Internet only after 2 days. In the scorecard, Canon, Nike and Unilever topped a list as the most climate-friendly companies. Some companies that I used to like, including Apple, Sara Lee (because I have 2 friends working there), Levi Strauss and Amazon(!!!) almost didn't do anything much. Suddenly Canon became my favorite, while I would defer my decision to go for an iPod till Apple change its actions. On CNN International, the reporter ate a McDonald's burger instead of BurgerKing's because the former ranked higher in the report. I bet not all, but many will do the same. Another amazing impact can be made, thanks to the Net.
Last but not least, we can create impact with only small things. Last
Friday, I got an email from a colleague. Below his email signature was a tiny
green line like below:
Before printing, think about the
environment
... and I adopted the same for my official company email account, of which my mails are most likely to be printed. If you like the idea, please copy the part above and do the same with your email signature. I am sure this viral environmental awareness message will spread out very fast and have big impact on our environment.
Clearly, the Net can help change human behaviors. This is a great motivation for creative environmental activists. Join force to preserve our Green planet, will you?
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