Find Something, Do Something

by Claire McGuinness

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!!

2007/10/15 | permalink | comments (3) | trackbacks (0)

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Hi Claire. I found your post through Blog Action Day and amatomu. If you're looking for a SA site to help you find something, do something, then take a look at urban sprout. I like what recycle4charity is all about. In Cape Town you can use Oasis Recycling Centre as they use recycling to generate funds for their charity.

Posted by Glen on 2007/10/17

Glen, thank you so much for your response. I shall be checking both entities out, putting them to good use and of course spreading the word.

Posted by Claire on 2007/10/18

Thank you for taking part in Blog Action Day.

Unfortunately, I did not participate.

However, I wrote a belated post about deforestation in Brazil. As a real estate agent in Minneapolis, I see a lot of people using a product in luxury homes that is very destructive to rainforests, and causes untold human suffering. Check out this post, please:

Brazilian Teak, Slave Labor, Luxury Homes, and the Destruction of the Rainforest.

You can find this post at:
http:www.realestatetwincities.net/brazilian-hardwood-floors-can-you-say-slave-labor/

I realize I made this url too long. If it got cut off in the comment form, you can easily find it at:
http:www.realestatetwincities.net/blog/

Anything you can do to share this link or help promote awareness of this issue will be greatly appreciated. Most luxury home owners in Minnesota are unaware of the environmental and human cost of these products. Most Brazilian teak found in Minneapolis homes did not come from legal sources. I feel sort of ill every time I walk into a home that has Brazilian teak floors.

Posted by Kermit Johnson on 2007/11/02

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Find Something, Do Something

by Claire McGuinness

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