Your pledge may win Thailand a stake in the WWF $1 million prize

Outlook News - Sunday December 23, 2007

EARTH ALERT

Pledge for a living planet

Your pledge may win Thailand a stake in the WWF $1 million prize

YANAPON MUSIKET

Did you know that less than one per cent of the world's water is available for direct human use, that forests, once covering over half the planet, now cover only a quarter? And how do you feel that the three warmest years on record have all occurred in the last 20 years? Every tick of the clock is counting down to the day when the world becomes empty ... empty of forests, empty of water and empty of people.

With all these shocking facts, it is hard to ignore that such things will really come to pass in the near future, especially since Mother Earth has warned us with numerous catastrophes over the past 10 years. After all, the environment is everyone's responsibility - governments, businesses and individuals. Sometimes, though, it is hard to be convinced that one person can make a difference.

One way you can make a difference is to take part in a campaign called "The Environment Challenges", created by the Standard Chartered bank at http://www.thegreatestraceonearth.com/ where you can make a pledge and commit to behave in a more eco-friendly fashion and stand a chance to help win a share of $1 million (30.3 million baht) prize money.

In 2004, Standard Chartered created and sponsored a successful campaign called the "Greatest Race on Earth" (Groe), a global marathon team relay, where representatives from over 50 countries ran across four of the most exotic cities on the planet. By adding the Environment Challenge to Groe this year, Standard Chartered aims for this campaign to raise awareness of simple steps that can help reduce the long-term effects of air pollution and climate change, deforestation and land and freshwater degradation. This creative campaign encourages people to select and undertake up to eight environmental pledges suggested on the web site. By taking part in this challenge, you could help your country become one of the three countries with the most pledges, making it eligible to share the $1 million prize money. The WWF office in each country will be the beneficiary, and use the money to support their environmental projects.

Overall, the Groe web site features information about environmental issues and you will find two fun interactive tools used to explore the environmental impact of things you do every day. You can calculate the carbon dioxide emitted by your household and travel activities via the "Carbon Calculator" - a unique tool that covers 57 countries. Then, take a tour of "My Environment" to see some of the everyday decisions at home and work you can take to make a positive difference.

Once you have learned how you can help save the planet, click on the "make your pledges" section, which covers eight pledges under four key themes: Water; Land and Forests; Air Quality; and Climate Change. Each theme has two associated pledges for people to select between and commit to. These are the eight pledges, and you can select any or all of them:

1. I won't leave the tap running while brushing my teeth.

2. I will spend one less minute in the shower each day.

3. I will measure my carbon footprint by using the online Carbon Calculator.

4. I will take the My Environment tour to learn more about the actions I take.

5. I will reuse or refuse a plastic bag at least three times a week.

6. If I have to print, I will print two pages to a sheet or print on both sides of the paper.

7. I will lower my room temperature by one degree, depending on the season.

8. I will turn off the lights when I leave the room.

At the end of the campaign, Standard Chartered will donate $1 million to the WWF in order to support vital environmental conservation projects that will benefit the three nations that generate the most environmental pledges per capita. The nation that attracts the highest number of environmental pledges per capita will receive $500,000 (15.2 million baht), while the second and third highest will receive $350,000 and $150,000 respectively (10.6 and 4.5 million baht). Tell all your friends now and help Thailand win first prize. Make pledges at http://www.thegreatestraceonearth.com/ until February 8. The final results will be announced after the Groe Marathon in Hong Kong on February 18.

You can also keep up with the numbers of pledges made on the web site, and find out the country rankings. At present, there are over 130,00 pledges, and Thailand is currently in second place, running closely behind Brunei Darussalam at the top of the chart. Potential savings from pledges made to-date include 336,708,120 litres of water; 5,698 tonnes of CO2; 3,140,124 plastic bags saved from being sent to landfills and 8,909 trees saved from being cut down.

Keeping track of which country is closest to winning the prize is certain to attract attention, but the core of this campaign is to try to make more people actively concerned and committed to prolonging our own lives and that of our planet.

With the arrival of the New Year, you may add these valuable pledges to your list of New Year resolutions, but make sure you achieve them, and that they are not just meaningless words in your diary.

Bangkok Post