paul
Granpa Paul
Premium,MVM,ExMod 2006
join:2001-07-14
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| TE: what's the point?
Since I'm here folding for a week, I finally got around to checking out the TE faq. Fairly straightforward, it seems, just another banner add counter thingie that helps out a worthwhile project. The ever cynical side of me says, so if I click all these sites just for TE, not really paying attention to the banners, what is really the point?
It just seems like a feel good project that does little actual good. But then, I don't know much about the project, this is just a first impression that has stayed with me since first hearing about it months ago through other Seti members.
Way off base, or is there an argument or reasoning to convince me? Inquiring minds want to know....
Paul
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babacher
sleep apnea sucks
Premium,MVM
join:2001-02-28
Greenwood, IN
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| Well, assuming that it actually works the way EcologyFund says it does (which is what MY cynical side wonders about) then you're forcing the advertisers to donate to conservation organizations.
My wife works for The Nature Conservancy, so I know that they do make some money off of it - and that money is funnelled to help their efforts at Palmyra Island.
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MgKnight
Cancer Survivor
Premium,MVM
join:2000-08-04
East Freetown, MA
clubs:
| reply to paul
Fist off let me say that I am not a tree hugger. I will not offer up my life to save trees in Sequoia National Park or anywhere else. Am I a conservationist? Well, I do recycle as much as possible at home. There is no program for businesses to do so but were there one I would probably participate in that also. In the 8 years that I have owned my current home, not a single granule of man made fertilizer has been placed on any of my lawn. Unlike most around me, I do not have an irrigation system to water my lawn. Right now it looks pretty bleak but with a bit of rain it will return to its natural green color.
That said, why do I participate as a member of Team Ecology? Well, when I look around my neighborhood and see nary a single natural tree stand, I think to myself that just maybe my little part will help to avoid some other place from ending up looking like my neighborhood. Do I just click on the seven buttons in rapid succession each day? Generally yes. However, there are days when I will wander off to the other sites that link off of the various pages at EcologyFund.Org. There are some real interesting discoveries awaiting us if and when we visit the other linked sites. Initially I bought the membership only to double my daily production of land saved. What a surprise I and my wife received when the first issue of the magazine arrived. Yes, whether or not it again doubles my daily savings I will be renewing my membership if for no other reason than to continue receiving the magazine.
I have to believe that my membership has saved some forest somewhere. I have to believe, because I have seen other posts to the fact, that others have also done the same thing, in addition to making other purchases which claim to result in additional donations to save forest land. It is very likely that a very small number of clickers actually spend any money at the various sites. I do not think that matters. Some say that Benjamin Franklin said that "A penny saved is a penny earned." Perhaps that could be modified to be that a penny spent may save a small piece of forest somewhere. I guess that as far as I am concerned, cynicism has become trust. I believe that the monies spent by myself and others in fact does save land somewhere, even if it is too late for my neighborhood.
Until someone proves to me that my few minutes a day are a waste and that no good is coming of them, I shall continue clicking. Perhaps an elephant somewhere will have a tree to use to scratch its back. Perhaps a family of monkeys somewhere will have a canopy over their heads to protect them from the sun. Perhaps you too can come up with a benefit that "could" be derived from clicking. No, I do not live in a pretty little pink bubble. I just have not yet lost faith in my fellow human beings who inhabit this glorious planet we call Earth. |
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Starfish
Per Ardua Ad Astra
ExMod 2002-04
join:2000-12-28
Netherlands
clubs: | reply to paul
Well said MgKnight!  |
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nozero
Eschew Obfuscation
Premium,MVM,ExMod 2003-06
join:1999-12-29
InnerSanctum
clubs: |  reply to MgKnight
Indeed, very well said MgKnight! |
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nozero
Eschew Obfuscation
Premium,MVM,ExMod 2003-06
join:1999-12-29
InnerSanctum
clubs: | reply to paul
I gotta ask... So, are you convinced?
As you said "inquiring minds want to know"? |
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KeysCapt
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Keys Exile
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| reply to MgKnight
That post was, in my opinion, so good, that it has been incorporated into the Eco General Info Link at the top of the forum.
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Spectre
Premium
join:2001-06-07
New Britain, CT
clubs:
| reply to paul
My question is this....since the inception of the EF project, this is what the entire project has accomplished:
718,444,179 sq. ft.
16,493.2 acres
6,597.3 hectares
25.8 sq. miles
25.8 SQUARE MILES project wide?
Our team has almost reached 5,000,000 sq ft [what is that, 2 sq miles?]. In the grand scheme of things, it doesnt look like much is being accomplished, assuming every click saves a few feet of land.
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MgKnight
Cancer Survivor
Premium,MVM
join:2000-08-04
East Freetown, MA
clubs:
| said by spectre:
My question is this....since the inception of the EF project, this is what the entire project has accomplished:
718,444,179 sq. ft.
16,493.2 acres
6,597.3 hectares
25.8 sq. miles
25.8 SQUARE MILES project wide?
Our team has almost reached 5,000,000 sq ft [what is that, 2 sq miles?]. In the grand scheme of things, it doesnt look like much is being accomplished, assuming every click saves a few feet of land.
Looking to the silver lining, there are 25.8 square miles of forest that will never become an asphalt jungle.  |
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Liontaur
Lets Get Boincing Already
Premium,MVM,ExMod 2004-06
join:2001-11-03
Salmon Arm, BC
clubs:
| reply to paul
I have no idea how big a square mile is... ya ya ya, a mile by a mile, funny people, but I mean I don't really know how big that is. But I do know how big 18,75 acres is since that is what I spent the first 20 years of my life growing up on, and I still go out and visit my dad at least once a week, and wander around a little bit too thinking of my youth and generally reminiscing. That was 18.75 acres of forest (other than the house and driveway!) and me and my brothers and my friends would wander all over, year round. We would even skate in the winter on the hidden away pond that we found after shoveling it off. So like I said, I know how big that was and so far TE has saved (perhaps, perhaps not. But i'm going with perhaps) around 900 times the size of my old stomping ground, that is a lot of land! That said, I have no problem with choosing paper over plastic at the grocery store since that may just help keep my dad employed at the local sawmill so that he doesn't have to sell the land that I grew up on and cherish so much to this day!
P.S. Excellent post, MgKnight!
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CyberSchnook$
C B D T P A Outlaw
Premium
join:2001-12-31
Terra Firma
| reply to paul
I had a long, long answer here, and scrapped it!
Sometimes I know I'm rambling, and sometimes I might start a discussion that strays too far afield.
I'll leave out my dissertation on ecology! Suffice to say that saving the natural habitat is most likely a good idea.
Having said that, I, too, had I merely tripped over EcologyFund, would have said, "Scam! Scram!"
But I got there having seen a message or banner here on Earth Day this year. I've come to trust a goodly number of people here--mainly from the DC projects. If those people think it's good, it can't be bad!
It costs me next to nothing--5 minutes to click and post the results (and let's face it--the post doesn't contribute to the habitat, except indirectly--encouraging ourselves to continue doing so).
Worst case: it might not help, but it can't hurt!
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jeffsul
Premium
join:2001-05-15
Mobile, AL
clubs: | reply to MgKnight
WOW!!! What a post!!:)
Makes me proud to click everyday.  |
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MowerMan5
Premium
join:2001-04-07
Fort Worth, TX
| reply to MgKnight
said by MgKnight:
Looking to the silver lining, there are 25.8 square miles of forest that will never become an asphalt jungle.
I haven't really looked into this... but how do you know that the land purchased through this program will not be bought out by some developer in the future? Are there guarantees?
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grobinette
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Springfield, VA
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| If you go to the site beside each project button, under the picture, is a link that says more info. You can get additional information about each project they are supporting.
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