The organization, dubbed Cool Effect, seeks to get people to directly fund projects that look to reduce carbon pollution. It does so via a digital platform that features projects that have been verified by a team of scientists who work to ensure credibility and help verify carbon reduction. Among those projects are: Southern Ute Indian Tribe: Methane Capture in Colorado; Biogas Program for Animal Husbandry in Vietnam, Qori Q’oncha Improved Cookstove Program in Peru; Alto Mayo Protected Forest in Peru; and the Malawi Institutional Cookstove Project.
“We created Cool Effect as a destination for people to come together to save the planet and we are thrilled with the support the community has given,” said Dee Lawrence, co-founder of Cool Effect. “To date, our community, which is growing daily, is tens of thousands strong and has reduced over 5,000 tonnes of carbon.”
On Saturday, August 27 from 10am-2pm, the Cool Effect team will be at Proof Lab and Equator at Proof Lab “to share more about some of the world’s best carbon cutting projects and show just how easy it is to enable individuals to take one small action to have an impact on climate change.” Attendees who contribute to one of Cool Effect’s projects will receive 10 percent off all of their Proof Lab purchases, while Equator will be serving coffee.
Though it’s in its nascent stages, the inspiration for Cool Effect dates back to 1998, when the Lawrence family traveled to Tegucigalpa, Honduras, which had been devastated by Hurricane Mitch, to help with the recovery after the storm. in the midst of that recovery, then-14-year-old- Skye Lawrence noticed many children suffered from respiratory illnesses. She discovered these health problems were caused by smoke from cookstoves used in homes, and Skye received a grant from her high school to build 30 fuel-efficient stoves that removed toxic smoke and saved lives. The initiative evolved into Proyecto Mirador, where 110,000 stoves have been built to date.
From that effort, Skye and her parents Richard and Dee Lawrence moved toward a larger climate change-focused campaign. “It’s the idea that it is better to light a single candle than to just sit and curse the dark,” Dee Lawrence said.
The 411: Cool Effect’s event at Proof Lab and Equator @ Proof Lab is Saturday, August 27, 10am-2pm. MORE INFO.
