Do Something Extra

For several years now, I’ve had an idea on the back burner of some kind of consultancy company that looks at the environmental, ethical, and social responsibility of a person or company and aims to help them improve in small but steady steps based on their current ‘eco-footprint’.

The name for this was “Something Extra” with the idea that different elements would have a different brand in front of the Something Extra such as Do, Eat, Work, Be, Play and so on. The blog is here and I purchased a few web domains to host the site.

However, I’ve just never seemed to have the oppportunity to actually do something extra (see how easy it is to add something before it :-]) with this. I would like it to be co-op venture, and I’m thinking on concentrating mainly on the entertainment industry, at least to begin with. Real life (and real bills) do keep getting in the way and I can’t shake the ‘now is not quite the right time’ mindset, to my shame

Below is a list of links of sites that I visit fairly (up to once a day) doing my little to help improve things. Please, feel free to contact me and force me into doing more! If nothing else, click the links below and spend a few minutes browsing and using the free click to donate buttons.

Have you done SomethingExtra today? (I’ve got the brand – I just need some balls!)

Care2 – This site is something along the ideas that I had for SomethingExtra, with a click to donate section, networking, ideas, news and features. You have to register to use it but I’ve had no problems since doing so – apart from a few of the banner ads causing FireFox (and Explorer for that matter) to pause momentarily on occasion. It covers more issues than just the environment as well.

EcologyFund -  Another click to donate site and again offers free email, news and information on environmental matters

Friends Of The Earth – I am a supporter of FOE and theirs is another site that I have since found that could be an influence on some of the ideas I have.

Local Works - This is the homepage for supporters of the Sustainable Communities Bill. From their publicity -

Local Works is the campaign that aims to change this situation that is known as Ghost Town Britain. Instead we want local sustainability, which has these 4 measurements:

1. thriving local economies
2. environmental protection
3. social inclusion
4. active democratic participation

Local Works is campaigning for the Sustainable Communities Bill. We want a more ‘bottom-up’ society in which communities are empowered to solve the above problems themselves. If made law this Bill will do just that. Central government will be required to provide for the implementation of local sustainability strategies that communities will be invited to create themselves.

As you may guess, I’m all for it.

RedJellyfish -Similar to EcologyFund, Red Jellyfish only has a couple of click to donate buttons and does have a US bias to it.

The Hunger Site – This and it’s partner sites was probably the first click to donate sites that I came across. It’s mainly a collection of like-minded sellers of ethical and green products, each divided into supporters of the partner sites: Hunger, Rainforest, Childrens Health, Breast Cancer, Literacy and Animals.