LayZgreenPeople (www.layzgreenpeople.com)
LayZgreenPeople addresses this through two premises –- entertain people while teaching them to be Green and provide a simple way for people to feel they are really contributing.
The foundation of the site is the “Pledge of the Week”, whose goal is to have millions of people performing the same task, at the same time. The task is one that does not require time or money, such as unplugging an unused phone charger, or switching to the low-energy setting on a dishwasher.
"I want to be more Green, but I don’t know how," says Juan Mann, founder of the “Free Hugs” campaign. "Saving a paper coffee cup by myself doesn’t feel like much. But if I knew that today, just like me, millions of other people are drinking from mugs instead of disposable cups? Now I feel like I am making an impact!"
In addition to Juan Mann, a number of YouTube celebrities have joined the effort to persuade people to join the Pledges. The founders of award-winning Blame Society Films, comedian Dan Nainan, pianist David Sides, and writers from media such as CNN and Mad Magazine accomplish this through the use of dancing eco monsters, songs about landfills, sarcasm, and even bribery.
To drive home the concept of real contributions being made by real people, a section called “Pledge Pix” asks participants to post photos and videos of themselves performing the Pledge. The process is made easy by encouraging people to contribute through their camera phones. The belief is that when people see others like themselves on the site, they will be inspired to become more Green.
“Through my immigrant parents, I have always been conscious about saving resources, but I found it easier to do what everyone else was doing. Also I found information on the Environment to be serious and overwhelming, I couldn’t relate to statistics about ‘particulate emissions’ or ‘melting snowcaps’,”
This March is "Save Paper" month and the four weekly Pledges ask members to recycle, switch to electronic bank statements, use both sides of printer or copier paper, and unsubscribe from junk mail. For each Pledge received, a donation will be made to the United Nations "Plant-a-Billion-
LayZgreenPeople invites more people to join the Pledge and help convey the message that tree-huggers, corporations, and the government are not going to save the Planet alone, everyone must do their part. However, small steps -- taken together -- can lead to BIG impact!
In the years to come, 2009 may prove a watershed year for environmental change, when we finally harness the world’s largest untapped resource - LayZ Green People.
