The goal of Tree-Nation is to plant 8 million trees in sub-Saharan Niger, Africa, the world's poorest nation.
The sunny Web site, based out of Barcelona, Spain, provides social networking for would-be huggers and planters of trees. You can donate between $14 to $106 per tree, and then track and map its growth via GPS and Google Maps.
Working with ecologists in Niger, Tree-Nation will nourish the sprouts of the baobabs, acacias and other species in a nursery before transplanting them outside. Although desertification threatens most of the land in Niger, the trees grow in places that receive enough rainfall to support them. Their roots are meant eventually to reach into underground aquifers, bringing otherwise untapped water to the surface and improving the soil.
Tree-Nation maps each member's tree with a personal message.
Tree-Nation says it has planted 5,000 trees so far, with 74 members responsible for 10 more trees in the past day. Organizers of last week's Web 2.0 Summit planted a tree for each attendee via Tree-Nation.
Tree-Nation is one of many Web-based services built to address global warming, pollution and poverty (see also alternative gifts, Kiva, Google's cleanup weekend, and WiserEarth). Such online tools are changing the face of philanthropy, connecting people with causes in parts of the world where they may never travel, and helping people to find others nearby who share charitable interests.
If you prefer to ditch the tech tools and support trees closer to home, Plant Health Alternatives, based out of New Jersey and exhibiting at last weekend's Bioneers conference, offers classes in "tree whispering." The company's backers claim that you can help failing trees sprout new leaves just by talking to them. How's that for social networking?
(via Treehugger)
Ever fling fast-food wrappers from the window of your speeding Prius? True Green Confessions invites you to tell the tale. Unlike so many other green social networking websites that encourage you to practice bicycling, recycling and other planet-friendly habits, here you can share the shame of not doing enough or not caring enough about your fat carbon footprint.
There are many confessions about driving, like taking the SUV to the organic grocery store, as well as rants against "self-righteous" vegans. Other posts are a bit more twisted. One mother-to-be wrote: "I dont (sic) think I am contributing to overpopulation by having this baby...SOMEBODY has to help to supply the world with smart people."
This site is a fun Friday time-waster, but it should do more, like provide sinners a chance to communicate with each other or maybe do something to assuage their guilt. But the point seems less to atone than to flaunt your eco-flaws. (also see MakeMeSustainable and PostSecret.)
Carbon footprint, energy use, green tech: some phrases that won't be going away. From gasoline prices to global warming, we're likely to become more aware of what energy we burn up, just as most of us now have some sense of whether we're eating wisely (or not).
Front page of carbon calculator
(Credit: earthlab)Just today the Live Earth concert folks e-mailed me a link to their carbon calculator. This one walks you through several pages of simple questions about how you live, and especially how you travel. This calculator was built by Earthlab.org. They want to know the size of your dwelling, your car if you own one, energy bills, airplane and daily travel. After going through their process, I can't imagine how bad an airline pilot would look, environmentally speaking.
My score on the Earthlab quiz: 301, and 11 tons of carbon. So I'm clearly doing my bit to warm the planet. Live Earth folks say they'll post overall test scores and more information on 7-7-07.
Then there's this site, which gives you the really bad news--how many planets humanity would need to supply energy if everybody lived as you do. My score: 6.3 planets. I think that translates into a couple more solar systems 'cause I don't get the sense there's a whole lot of oil, coal or biofuels to be had out beyond Venus. I could probably do nicely with a tiny sun, however.
Then the Yahoo folks have built a carbon dioxide emissions calculator. My score was pretty much the same as what I got from Earthlab...until I added in my infrequent air travel. From a few plane trips: 21.8 tons of carbon dioxide. Where are the calls for solar planes? Or goose-powered, or human-paddled balloons, or something? How about those Star Trek transponders that would beam you up? Could they be energy efficient? No crappy airline "food" either.
Altogether these sites are: depressing, educational, geared to getting you to do something about your consumption patterns. Turn off your work computer when you are done for the day (or night). Carry your own shopping bags. Use alternative energy when possible. Use efficient bulbs and appliances. Walk more. Freak out over air travel. All good advice. And aimed at making each of us less of a carbon bigfoot.
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