Using Technology to Further the Green Goal

The Green movement often occupies controversial and difficult terrain. By way of example, throughout this year, the United States Congress will be debating a carbon trading system designed to cut carbon emissions in an effort to fight global warming.

Meanwhile, skeptics are increasingly seeing their viewpoint embraced. Case in point: Czech President Vaclav Klaus, an economist by training, argues that the regulatory ambitions of today's global warming activists are caused by a socialist impulse. He cites an array influential scientists who question the link between carbon output and temperature increases. Or, more precisely, he cites research suggesting that the causality runs the opposite direction in that rising temperatures cause higher carbon capture in the atmosphere.

With this backdrop, it is no wonder that the green community encompasses such divergent beliefs over tactics. Many of these divergences relate to fundamentally opposed worldviews about the role of technology. Ironically though, it is nothing other than technology that holds the hope of empowering the whole green community to achieve its aims.

Indeed, many green groups could benefit from the use of new technologies that empower communication. From free conference call solutions such as Rondee that enable scaleable teleconferencing to sophisticated email newsletter services, there has never been a better time to leverage new technologies to advance the green cause.

Utilize web networking tools

The most successful green advocacy groups create networks of supporters who believe in their values and mission. While the term networking often gets an undesirable connotation, the simple reality is these networks can provide significant aid. Today in the San Francisco Bay Area, the expectation is that professional folks will have at least a minimal profile page on Linked In.

Meanwhile, other networking applications such as Facebook are starting to see adoption by more professional users. Such applications also provide a relatively simple method of developing your network.

Leverage a free teleconference system

In the last few years, there has been increasing levels of coordination between geographically diverse green advocacy groups. One cause of this trend has been lower air travel costs – a trend that may now be going the opposite direction with leaping oil costs.

Another cause is the availability of free conference calling services. All of these services, including those offered by Rondee work on the same basic idea. They offer you a personal access number and a toll number to call. If all teleconference participants dial the same number and enter the same PIN code, they are put into the conference phone call.

Deploy an automated electronic newsletter platform

It was not too long in the past that sending out an email newsletter was time consuming and difficult. That has now changed. On-line systems such as Jangomail, Mynewsletterbuilding, and Campaign Monitor are making it feasible to create templated and scalable newsletters. These services reduce the work load by at least 80% and in so doing allow green groups to focus on content development rather than content delivery.

Investigate desktop sharing technologies

Some green advocacy groups have distributed leadership teams, and it is difficult to have face-to-face meetings. Technology is addressing this problem by way of desktop sharing. Whether it's sharing a PowerPoint presentation displaying the group's fundraising initiatives or a spreadsheet showing the tracking of volunteer participation desktop sharing can be extremely useful for many green groups.

Use data based decision-making practices

One of the most significant trends recently affecting not for profits in the green community has been the increasing reliance on evidence driven decision-making. Practitioners can apply the same practices with simple to use Excel or Lotus spread-sheeting applications to determine what works and what does not work. Increasingly, the hurdle for quality decision-making is rising and thus reliance on conjecture is being systematically replaced by empirical evidence to support decisions.

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