Hello, optimism. Goodbye, doom, gloom and futile handwringing. Green philanthropy is suddenly hot, as it takes on the climate crisis with big money and fresh tactics.
Okay, I'm little dazzled by the high-profile individuals and corporations who've stepped up to tackle global warming [0]. Suddenly, they're pledging billions of dollars to seek bold new approaches for the problem.The wealthy and visionary seem prepared to give green now so we can all live greener later.
Here's a quick recap of the latest:
- Virgin founder Sir Richard Branson [1] pledged $3 billion to help solve climate crisis [2]. He also pushing for immediate changes, such as towing airplanes [3] to the runway before take-off so they'll no longer idle on the tarmac.
- Google.org [4], Google's new philanthropic arm, will put part of its $1 billion in seed money [5] towards a flex-fuel, plug-in hybrid powered by electricity or biofuels. They also established themselves as a for-profit charity — a decision experts say [6] could revolutionize philanthropy.
- The Clinton Global Inititative [7], which includes climate change issues, tapped superstars and captains of industry for $7.3 billion (including the $3 billion from Branson.)
I'm excited to see these and other corporate kingpins [7] shift their focus to eco-issues. Their support will undoubtedly lead to greater public awareness. And they have the money, influence, and resources to prompt significant change.
The reality is that you and I can (and should) take public transportation [7] and unplug our electrical cords [7]. But our combined efforts would still be a drop in the ocean compared to preventing jetliners from idling on the runway or developing clean biofuels [7].
Let's face it: It's not easy to be a good global citizen, day-in, day-out. But even when it's a burden, most of us continue to try our best and keep the faith. Knowing that the world's power-brokers are joining the struggle makes the burden easier to bear and the faith easier to keep.