The Brighter Planet Blog

Since Brighter Planet’s inception, our focus has been on providing environmental solutions to everyday people. Our goal is to make it easier for anyone to get involved in the fight against climate change.

There are some who argue that fighting climate change shouldn’t be easy — that only the most extreme measures are worth implementing, and that meaningful change can only be brought by pain and suffering. We disagree. We believe properly informed individuals will gladly make small changes to benefit the planet, and that small changes can add up to make a significant impact. And we believe that everyone can do this while saving money, spending quality time with the family, and yes, actually having fun.

The truth is, the fight against climate change is a huge challenge. We need an army to win this fight, and not everyone in that army needs to wear hemp and drive a hybrid (although we love those who do). In fact, one of our goals is to help bridge the gap between the average Joe and the die-hard tree hugger, for they are both key to the success of the movement.

Since we launched our offset-earning credit & debit cards last year, we’ve toured the country in our veggie-powered van and taken our message to the Internet. We’ve done carbon footprint dances with new friends at county fairs, blanketed Washington with videos created by environmentalists, encouraged thousands to conserve during the holidays, and taken to the blogosphere to raise awareness.

We’ve met so many incredible people — from farmers considering DIY solar panels to moms raising the next generation of environmentalists; from baby boomers concerned about energy independence to small businesses making sustainability an integral part of their plan for success.

There are people out there doing some amazing things that don’t get nearly the attention they deserve. Maybe that’s because they’re hesitant to proselytize, or because they haven’t found the right platform from which to speak. We know that many of these people are leveraging the web, yet still feel disconnected. We know that they’re tremendously resourceful, yet frustrated that they can’t do more. Youth are at the forefront of the movement, but every generation, as well as the business community, needs to be involved to make a difference.

The more people we met, the more obvious it became that while progress is being made, there are better ways to help everyday people become environmentalists. Which brings us to the next chapter in Brighter Planet’s trajectory: the development of a new web application designed to help anyone manage their carbon footprint, in a social environment where information can travel freely and constructive dialogue will be embraced.

This is something we’ve been working on for quite some time now. We’re working with some of the smartest people in the industry, and some really exciting things are in motion. But we have a lot of hard work ahead of us, and we’re going to need your help.

In the coming weeks, we’ll use this blog to discuss our plans. We’ll address specifically what we’re building, who’s involved, and how you can help. We’ll be actively seeking your feedback, and we hope you’ll be as excited about it as we are, for without you, we cannot be successful.

To start, please help us by passing this post along to everyone you know who cares about the environment. Subscribe to our beta announcement list using the form below, and ask your friends to do the same so that together, we can help make this project a success.

-Adam