Climate Wise: Offset Your Carbon Footprint
Climate Wise is working to “engender mass support to change the direction of the planet’s climate crisis” by taking donations and investing them “in projects which make meaningful and certified change to the environment.”
A spokesperson said, “Climate Wise announced the launch of an organisation designed to engender mass support to change the direction of the planet’s climate crisis. By collecting donations from individuals, families, communities and businesses, Climate Wise is using crowdfunding to save the planet.”
Stephen Castree, a founder and director, said, “Climate Wise takes donor funding and invests it in projects which make meaningful and certified change to the environment.
“Everyone has a right to lead their life the way they see fit, but, at Climate Wise, we encourage individuals to donate to offset the lives they choose and the lives they choose for their children, thereby protecting the planet for future generations.
“The great thing is that donations start as low as $5 per month which is sufficient to offset a low carbon footprint producer, such as a young person.”
The spokesperson said, “Climate Wise is an organisation raising funds to make a direct difference to global warming and the climate challenge the planet faces. Two of the founders live in Bermuda where Climate Wise selects projects and donates from.”
Mr. Castree said, “This is a global initiative. International businesses are based in Bermuda and international people live in Bermuda. With only 60,000 people, whilst we have to fly from our island home, we can offset this relatively cheaply and stop contributing to the problem.”
The spokesperson said, “By using the climate-wise.com website, individuals, companies and communities can offset their carbon footprints.”
Mr. Castree said, “We would challenge an individual to offset themselves, a business to offset its staff, and a school to make it their mission that it, along with its student body, are all offset.
“This challenge is time critical. It is of little use pointing fingers to demand change – change is needed now, and it is needed at the individual level. Individuals can, and must, make a difference’.
The spokesperson said, “Climate Wise provides the platform to aggregate the efforts of individuals and turn them into a global change movement.
“Based in Bermuda and founded in Bermuda, wouldn’t it be amazing for Bermuda to become the first carbon neutral country or, better yet, be net negative? It is a challenge for government and for businesses, but it is also a challenge for individuals, and, in this fight, every person can make a difference.”
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Category: All, Environment
Good idea. However, I would actually like to see people in Bermuda investing in physical things that make an actual difference such as distributed solar energy with batteries for each home. It is just so easy to continue to waste energy and just throw money at that damage. If you have your own home energy system, you tend to be less wasteful and you can actually see where you are using up your highest energy and it provides incentive to conserve energy.
It would be nice to see a company like this to instead support zero interest loans with the money they receive to help people in Bermuda get started on investing in their own self-sufficient energy systems. There are already companies in Bermuda now that bring in panels and you can do it yourself with the help of a certified electrician and a local non-profit business called Sunny Side Solar.
A basic 8.8KW system with windspeed design of 180mph delivered with Planning Permission is approximately, $10,750 plus 20% (overhead and a donation to Habitat for Humanity) for a total of just under $13,000. Installation could be between $4-5,000. So, for approximately $18,000 you have a decent system for $2.05/watt.
If this Climate Wise group were to join up to offer no interest loans for 20 years, you could pay $900 per year and have a system that powers your home during the sunlight hours. Pay another $250 per year and you have yourself a battery system to go with it. I am certain the majority of homes in Bermuda cost spend way more than $1,150 per year in electricity usage and the time has come to decentralise the system.