Feel Good Friday - Carbonfund.org

Happy Summer! Have you taken your vacation yet? Whether you drive a car to your destination or jump on a plane, you're increasing your carbon footprint. Fear not, that's where Carbonfund.org comes in.

Founded in 2003, the motto of Carbonfund.org is "Reduce what you can. Offset what you can't." Their mission is to "encourage everyone to continually strive to reduce their carbon footprint through sensible energy reductions combined with cost-effective carbon offsets to eliminate their overall carbon footprint."

Why is that? The average American's total carbon footprint (including emissions from your home, car, air travel and everything you use) is 50,000 pounds per year!

If you want to shrink that number, read recommendations on the website of how to reduce your carbon footprint. For example, keep your car tires properly inflated, upgrade your lighting and appliances and buy local. There's also an entire section on tips for your wedding.

The other half of the equation is offsetting your footprint. Carbonfund.org supports three types of offset projects: energy efficiency, forestry and renewable energy. For example, providing technology at truck stops so drivers can power the interior of their trucks without idling their engines; reforesting 25,000 acres of abandoned cattle pastures in Panama; and promoting wind turbines in China which generate energy, reduce carbon dioxide and provide local employment opportunities. You can read about those projects and many more at the links above.

So how does all this work? As an individual you can calculate your carbon footprint using preset options or by inputing specific information about your home, car and flights. Use the resulting dollar amount and buy some offsets to support the various projects. You can also use your money to plant trees. At a cost of $1.00 per tree, it's an affordable way to improve air quality, preserve biodiversity, control flooding and provide habitat for wildlife. Businesses can participate too.

If calculating your footprint and purchasing carbon offsets is too much effort, you can still support Carbonfund.org by sending in an old school donation, liking their Facebook page and following them on Twitter @Carbonfundorg.

Feel Good Friday - SolarBuddy

Yesterday, my coworkers and I assembled solar lights with today's Feel Good Friday organization, SolarBuddy.

Launched in 2016, the mission of this Australian organization "is to help improve the educational opportunities of 6 million children living in energy poverty throughout the South Pacific, South East Asia and Africa by 2030 by providing them with SolarBuddy solar lights to study with after dusk."

Why focus on lighting? 1.4 billion people around the world live in energy poverty, meaning they have no light or power once the sun sets. The use of cooking fires and kerosene lamps in the home creates indoor air pollution that causes 4.3 million deaths per year.

An impact assessment commissioned by SolarBuddy found that students study 78% longer when they have a solar light. In addition, having a solar light means less money spent on lighting and less reliance on diesel, kerosene and burning wood for fuel. That's better for the health of both people and the environment.

SolarBuddy has programs for schools, corporations and conferences. In all cases, the people involved learn about energy poverty, renewable energy and global citizenship and then get to work assembling solar lights that will be distributed to children around the world. To date, volunteers in 500 schools and 80 corporations have assembled and donated 84,000 lights. This video gives a great summary of the programs.

You can support the SolarBuddy team by getting your school or workplace to host an event, making a direct donation and spreading the word by liking their Facebook page and following them on Twitter @SolarBuddyOrg.

The light I made, now headed to a child in Papua New Guinea!

Feel Good Friday - Engineers Without Borders USA

Odds are you've heard about Doctors Without Borders but did you know there's also an Engineers Without Borders USA? Well it's Feel Good Friday so you're about to learn.

The mission of Engineers Without Borders USA is stated on their website, "EBW-USA builds a better world through engineering projects that empower communities to meet their basic human needs and equip leaders to solve the world's most pressing challenges." You can see a quick video summary of their work here.

Founded in 2002 by Dr. Bernard Amadei after he took 14 of his civil engineering students to Belize to construct a clean water system, EWB-USA is now operating in 46 countries working on 698 infrastructure projects. Volunteers in the 275 EWB-USA chapters partner directly with communities to meet their self-identified needs.

The International Community Program focuses technical assistance on the areas of water supply, civil works, sanitation, agriculture, energy and structures. Specific projects include building bridges, roads, biosand filters and harnessing solar power. In the communities that work with EWB-USA, 75% are able to sustain the projects once the engineers leave. That helps fulfill the organization's vision of "a world in which every community has the capacity to sustainably meet their basic human needs."

More experienced volunteers can join the Engineering Service Corps and provide engineering project support to governments, NGOs and United Nations agencies. These larger-scale programs focus on disaster relief, agriculture, infrastructure, water, sanitation and hygiene and energy. From improving hospital systems in Sierra Leone to rebuilding wells in Ethiopia, the Engineering Service Corps is focused on creative and lasting solutions.

Finally, for volunteers who want to stay closer to home, the Community Engineering Corps was created in 2014 to assist with engineering projects in both urban and rural communities across the United States.

If you are an engineer and want to volunteer with EWB-USA, you can learn more here. The rest of us can support this important work with a donation and by liking the Facebook page and following them on Twitter @EWBUSA.

Feel Good Friday - GoSol.org

Summer is here and you may be planning to spend some time in the sun. So on this Feel Good Friday so I'm here to tell you about an organization that turns sunshine into peanut butter!

GoSol.org is an organization with a mission "to eradicate energy poverty and minimize the damage of climate change by breaking down the barriers to solar energy access." Yes, but where does the peanut butter come in?

It starts with the technology. Instead of magnifying glasses to concentrate the energy of the sun, GoSol.org uses a series of mirrors which are bent to focus the sun's light on one spot. That spot can reach up to 300 degrees Celsius and is the center point for a variety of appliances. There are roasters for peanuts, coffee and cocoa beans; ovens for bread and other baked goods; and cooktops for scrambled eggs and grilled cheese sandwiches!

The benefits are explained on the GoSol.org website. "Users of our solar concentrators are rural businesses that currently rely on charcoal, firewood and unstable electric grids. Our machines can power bakeries, nut and bean roasteries, and fruit and fish drying businesses. By using our technology, entrepreneurs save money and use charcoal or electricity only during rainy days. They breath cleaner air, have lower costs and are empowered with energy independence."

If you've got 6 minutes to spare you can watch this video that shows people in Kenya using a solar oven to bake bread and roast peanuts for peanut butter, as well as photos of solar ovens in use around the world. Current and past project can be found at this link and include fish dehydrating in Tanzania, a bakery in Haiti and a workshop in New York that teaches people how to build and use the solar ovens.

You can support the work of GoSol.org by downloading their solar manifesto and spreading the word, liking their Facebook page and following them on Twitter @GoSolOrg. I'm off to make a peanut butter sandwich now as I suddenly have a craving for peanut butter.