Got a Handle on Your Carbon Footprint?
The Cleveland Carbon Fund Wants You

There's nothing like a little guilt to force you into action. The Cleveland Carbon Fund, the community-based carbon-reduction fund that was launched earlier this year, offers on its website a carbon footprint calculator. Simple to use, the calculator asks general questions such as the number of people in your household and your gross annual income. From there, you are asked to calculate the number of miles you put on your car each year and your car's MPG, as well as your monthly housing, food and goods and services costs.

The carbon footprint calculator adds up the numbers and gives you an idea of how many tons of carbon dioxide your household is emitting each year; then, it compares that to the local, national and global averages.

Should you find out that, say, your emissions are equal to 204 barrels of oil or the planting and managing of 17 acres of forest, you’re likely to turn down your thermostat, douse the lights and take your bike instead of your car to the grocery store, where you will buy only locally grown produce.

In addition to those environmentally conscious steps, you could donate to the Cleveland Carbon Fund and know that your money will be going toward local projects designed to reduce carbon emissions and green the local landscape.

The Cleveland Carbon Fund is considered to be the first community-based, open-access carbon reduction fund in the country. In other words, it’s the first fund to focus solely on local efforts to reduce carbon emissions.

“There are other carbon funds out there, but none that targets a particular place and is open to everyone—the city, corporations and you,” says John Mitterholzer, of the George Gund Foundation, which is one of the founding partners of the Cleveland Carbon Fund. Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland Museum of Natural History, Cleveland Foundation and the City of Cleveland are the other founding partners.

We hear about large-scale endeavors in faraway lands, like the Amazon Rain Forest. What we don’t often hear about are smaller, close-to-home opportunities to save energy and better the environment. These may include insulating windows and installing compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs) in older houses. The Cleveland Carbon Fund’s mission is to use donations from corporations, organizations and individuals for attainable projects in Northeast Ohio.

Mitterholzer offers several reasons for this hands-on, community-based approach. Naturally, there’s the opportunity to help the environment. Adding efficient products to older homes can reduce energy consumption and thus help in cleaning up the planet.

“But it’s not just about the environment. We want to make our community better,” Mitterholzer says. “These projects can help low-income families reduce their utility bills.”

For example, the fund has determined that it could support more than 20 weatherization projects in low-income neighborhoods with roughly $50,000 in donations. According to the fund’s website, these projects would save homeowners in Cleveland more than $5,000 while eliminating 40 tons of carbon emissions each year.

Finally, those who donate to the Cleveland Carbon Fund can actually see how their dollars are helping the local environment.

“They’ll know where the money goes because the projects will be in the area. People can feel they’re a part of [the mission],” Mitterholzer explains.

The carbon calculator on the fund’s website offers a suggested donation based on your carbon output. You need not feel obligated to give exactly that amount, though. The goal is to get as many individuals involved as possible, no matter what they donate. “We need our corporate sponsors, but if 80 people give $10 each, that’s even better,” Mitterholzer says.

The Cleveland Carbon Fund is also open to ideas for neighborhood projects. “Community organizations can submit proposals,” Mitterholzer says. “All you need is a nonprofit partner.”

Visit http://www.ClevelandCarbonFund.org to calculate your carbon footprint and learn more about the fund.

From Cool Cleveland contributor Diane DiPiero ohiodianeATnetzero.com
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