Technology for Change: Energy in Common
“…Energy in Common is a community.
A community that believes they have a way to end poverty. Energy.”
-Energyincommon.org
Did you know that 1 in 3 people in the world live with no access to any form of modern energy? They subsist in this “energy poverty” by laboriously obtaining their food, shelter and resources through other means.
People forced to survive in the absence of modern power pay a high cost for their lack of access. The price of inefficient fuel use includes the additional time, money and risk associated with harnessing it. Although we have the technology to solve the issue of energy poverty, it is unaffordable to the people actually experiencing the hardship. This is where Energy in Common (EIC) uses T4C to step in and make a difference.
The team at EIC coordinates a quick and easy “green microloaning” process between altruistic people, and green entrepreneurs in impoverished regions. These green microloans simultaneously and significantly alleviate poverty, prevent deforestation, and offset carbon emissions. According to the EIC website, each loan helps six people and reduces an average of .1 metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions per year.
To lend, visitors to the EIC webpage select an entrepreneur featured on the site. There are a variety of choices of entrepreneurs and projects; the common thread among them is their ventures relating to green technology and carbon emission reduction. By financially supporting these entrepreneurs, lenders endorse the application of an environmental, dependable, available, safe and economical resource: green energy.
Once a venture is entirely funded, EIC sends field partners to train and support the entrepreneur during the early stages of project implementation. This helps ensure that all green microloans are maximized. The microloans and entrepreneurs’ green technology are not the only means reducing emissions; EIC also offers carbon offsets associated with projects. When people make tax deductible donations for projects, EIC retires them in the donors’ names so that they can reduce their own carbon footprints.
EIC is enthusiastically and effectively tackling the critical issues of energy poverty and climate change. Their efforts in these areas make them an excellent model of the values embodied by our T4C campaign. We encourage you to support EIC by lending, donating, and/or spreading awareness of their cause. You can do so by visiting their website and joining their network through Facebook or Twitter.
We at Singlebrook are happy to share this story of technology for change! If you know of other great examples of T4C, we urge you to join our movement by sharing them on Twitter using the hashtag: #SinglebrookT4C or in our LinkedIn Group: Singlebrook Technology for Change. Any tweets that use our hashtag will automatically get re-tweeted to our following.
