Thanks to this special Blog Action Day, I have found even more cool initiatives which are pro The Environment and, of course, the people talking about them. I have chosen to highlight Recycle4charity, partly because I am working on an eMarketing Strategy for them on behalf of my client Ninjani, and ultimately because the concept rocks…

Donate your waste – cartridges, mobile phones and raise money for a charity, school, and community of your choice by doing so.

 
This charitable organisation is providing a great service to corporates in the UK, individuals and the environment.  We all love the latest make/model of mobile phone – or as it is referred to here in South Africa, cell phone. The notion I love even more is that we are finding ways to recycle the old and therefore not unnecessarily clogging up landmines simply because there is a sleeker model of phone that somehow we feel we cannot live without!!

As Carlos mentioned in an earlier post, it’s not all about the need to create awareness as such - motivation and proactivity have much to do with it. I agree except for the fact that one does need to know how and where to find organisations such as Recycle4Charity before you can kick in with the motivational part of ‘being the change you want to see’.
Those of us tree hugger types (yip, I have embraced my inner hippy) often have the intention and the willingness to give the time, but are not sure which of the many organisations to support, donate to and ultimately to align with, and as I have found the sheer quantity of environmentally focused organisations  (amongst the other predominant issues facing the global village today, including poverty, HIV & Aids, human rights) can be overwhelming.

The new age of social networking sites and other interactive media has produced a range of ways in which a good cause or initiative can be found and interacted with. Facebook has a growing number of environmentally aware groups to join and there is even the ‘OneClimate Island’ located within the virtual world of Second Life.



So, there is no real reason/excuse for apathy any more - you no longer need to associate the word activist with the extreme actions of chaining yourself to a tree or scaling down a 250ft smokestack spewing carbon dioxide to paint “smoking kills” on the side of it as did Indian Greenpeace activists today.  Being an activist in 2007 means doing something, anything…
Here are a couple of ideas:

•  Join and donate to a group of your interest via sites such as Facebook, Bebo,  LinkedIn, and Razoo. Or simply discuss your thoughts and ask question around the topics. 
• Find an organisation near to you that recycles the hard to dispose of products such as ink cartridges, mobile phones, tyres, computers etc.
• Buy recycled products.
• Visit the OneClimate Island in Second Life.
• Recycle the basic stuff – glass, paper/cardboard, plastic, tin cans.
• Plant a tree.
• And last but not least, spread the word.

The more we share these actions and thoughts the more likely we are to have an impact.

This one day of blogging alone is said to be reaching over 7 million people globally. We have the technology at our fingertips to take good ideas and share them far and wide, and we can all do this with the least carbon footprint possible….

Go forth and spread the environmental love and plant a tree!!