Greenback: Stimulate the Environment on Facebook

A friend of mine recently pointed out the obnoxious similarities between Facebook’s endless stream of inbox requests and your PC’s virus protector nagging you for updates. Turns out that might be a bit harsh. Sure, Facebook’s open-source format has turned your account into a frenzy of needy widgets, but they needn’t all destroy your productivity like Scrabulous. In fact, there’s a lot to gain and give on Facebook.

Last week, using Facebook’s Cause application, I ventured to see if any friends would join me in saving the world. Riding the subway a day earlier, I had remembered that the government would soon be sending out $110bn to its people in order to stimulate the economy. “Surely, some people might like to donate a portion of their stimulus checks to a worthy cause,” I thought. And thus, Greenback was born. And it couldn’t be easier. Facebook’s cause application allows you to directly contribute to the 501(c)3 non-profit of your choice, and organize a community around its mission.

Greenback‘s proceeds benefit the Sustainable Markets Foundation, the sponsor of Project 350, environmentalist Bill McKibben’s, and my old friend Jon Warnow’s, latest eco-initiative. The two teamed up previously to organize Step It Up 2007, a national day of coordinated climate action calling for a reduction of carbon emissions of 80% by 2050. Project 350 is equally as ambitious and just as interesting. As they explain on their site, “Unless we can reduce the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere to 350 parts per million, we will cause huge and irreversible damage to the earth.” With that in mind, the group hopes to organize a number of 350-themed environmental spectacles across the country to bring attention to climate crisis.

Of course, most of my friends ignore their Facebook invites these days : ( But that doesn’t mean you can’t join my worthy cause! Check it out here. — Johnny