'Agree With Everything - Deny Nothing - Embellish All

Monday, July 23, 2007

Take the Pledge

Dear readership I need your help.

I'm working with the Cumbria Futures Forum and trying to set up a website called Cumbrians Concerned About Climate Change (CCACC) perhaps an unfortunate acronym. You will remember that last month I was (and continue to be) inundated with emails from Al Gore's Live Earth project. It's worse than the spam I get and has had almost the opposite impact on my environmental intentions than Al had planned. Madonna jetting in to tell me to save energy … well if she thinks it's a good idea I'm almost inclined to think the opposite. See - already I've forgotten the issue.

Despite Al Gore, we've been working on a website to try and get people to do their bit to influence climate change. I still have the fundamental belief that people will only go to websites to either shop or play games or do things that they shouldn't do - so we are going to have to come up with something pretty innovative to get people to seek out CCACC in the first place. I've got a couple ideas that might work but the first thing is the pledge itself. I've had the family edit the initial draft and the personal pledge now looks like below.
Please tell me if you think we are on the right track – style, tone, appeal:

The Draft Pledge:

I'm aware of the impact that I have on the environment and the wider community and I want to do something about it.
THESE ARE MY SEVEN PROMISES:

  • I'll make a list of my activities that I think create an impact on the environment - in particular the use of carbon
  • I'll then decide upon targets and actions that will help reduce my environmental impact – and I'll record them so I can check my progress
  • I'll try my best to seek out and engage people and organizations who are committed to the same ideals
  • I'll ensure that all the people I know – family, friends, work colleagues – are aware of the commitments I've made and I'll encourage them to do the same
  • I'll share my experience and expertise in assisting others along the path of improved environmental performance and community responsibility
  • I'll keep working towards continuous improvements in my environmental performance
  • And finally, I'll continue to actively question and explore new ways to ecologically balance my life

The act of signing the pledge and base-lining an individual's carbon footprint (apologies for the jargon – please suggest some other words – please please) would stick a flag on the map of Cumbria – dependant on an individual's post code and also build an indicator of the average carbon impact per person signed up. We could graph this overtime too.

Reading the words again now, they do sound a bit elitist and awfully middle class. Help required.

6 Comments:

Blogger Poetess said...

Hi. I think your idea is great. I wrote this poem on my blog. Thought you might like to read it.


Don’t ignore your footprint.
It leaves a lasting
impression on this carbon
oozing world,
A planet in our care

Don’t ignore your footprint
As it joins millions of others
Guzzling, devouring, gulping,
from a stricken land.

Watch out for your footprint
Its greed is ever growing
Wanting, taking, not replacing
whilst it jogs on through our land

Do something about your footprint
Don’t leave it any longer
We are but caretakers
For our descendents still to come

Join an army of green footprints
That strives to make a difference
Consumerism is so yesterday
But tomorrow
we will pay.

24/7/07 11:40 pm  
Blogger Gill said...

why not get the bishop of carlisle to make a pledge- he seems to have a LOT to say about climate change

26/7/07 8:11 pm  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Nick,

I pledge to cease recycling.

Egregious Myths

Phred

27/7/07 1:14 am  
Blogger Gill said...

ps it's a good idea but, if you really want advice, I think you have made it a bit wordy. It would look more effective if you put something like- I promise to:
1-List everything I do that makes an impact on the environment.
2-Decide on targets and actions to reduce the imapact of these activities.
3-Record my activities to check progress.
etc etc.

28/7/07 9:47 am  
Blogger Gill said...

and if you want me to do the rest of it for you then cumbrian futures can hire me as a writer!

28/7/07 10:02 am  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Oops

Funah

12/8/07 4:29 pm  

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