Looking at the images of Haiti’s earthquake and the devastation that followed was a wake up call for me. It’s hard to stay worried about the surcharges on your cell phone bill while you watch a terrified but unwavering husband wait outside the rubble of his home for days to see if his wife will make it out alive. It seems pretty insignificant to complain about traffic when there are hundreds of thousands of people with no food or clean water – at all.
Most of us only see these images during a natural disaster, but in reality these are the living conditions for far too many of our neighbors around the world. Human beings, just like us – who by the simple factor of where they were born – are at risk of illness or death due to unfathomable living conditions.
Thankfully, it didn’t take a natural disaster to open the eyes of a group of local volunteers in Portland, Oregon. Green Empowerment is a non-profit organization that works internationally to provide renewable energy and sustainable water systems to remote communities. Their projects emphasize environmental concerns, including environmental education, resource conservation, watershed mapping, restoration and protection activities.
Green Empowerment works by emphasizing local leadership, community participation, and long-term economic and environmental sustainability to develop lasting partnerships with local non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in emerging countries. They assist with feasibility studies, technical training, project construction, commissioning, organizational planning, publicity and fundraising. Their goal is not to come in and run the show. Rather, Green Empowerment encourages their local NGO partners and communities to determine their own priorities and goals.
The Global Need for Clean Water and Energy
- About a quarter -of the world–nearly two billion people–have no electricity.
- One in six people lacks access to clean drinking water. The LA Times reports that, “Two million die each year from water-related diseases, which account for 80% of all illness in the developing world. At any given time, half the population in the developing world is sick from a water-related malady, and 10,000 a day die.”
- Clean water is the first and most important step towards public health.
- Poverty alleviation and access to reliable energy are inextricably linked.
Green Empowerment pushes for decentralized generation of energy resources. They’ve found that this tends to encourage local leadership–and better meets the needs of the local population. Rather than waiting for an extension of the national electrical grid (that will likely never come) the people are proactively constructing community-owned and operated energy systems. Distributing power this way creates a more equitable world.
One Eco-Conscious City Can Affect Needy Areas Around the Globe
Green Empowerment Executive Director, Gordy Molitor shares how Portland’s vision of sustainability can have such a positive impact around the world.
“Here in Portland we’re used to thinking about sustainable solutions – after all, we value our unique environment: our mountains, our beaches, our forests, and our vast open spaces. While we recognize that sustainable thinking is the key to our own regional future, is this thinking having an effect beyond our little bubble?”
Apparently, it is. A network of donors, professionals and college faculty and students brought together by Green Empowerment have combined their efforts to bring sustainability to some of the most remote places on earth.
Thirty-five clinics and two hospitals in the jungles of Burma are now powered with solar energy, serving more than 175,000 people. While in the Philippines, a local organization constructs an uphill water delivery system, powered only by the force of falling water.
In Peru, local organizations have built dozens of micro-hydro systems, solar systems, and wind powered systems to bring sustainable power to a single region. Solar power is used in Nicaragua to pump water to families who previous had to travel long distances for fresh water.
By working with partner organizations on the ground in each area, these Portlanders demonstrate the true value of sustainable systems. Along the way, they are training a new generation of world citizens both in Portland and in the developing world.
You Can Help Promote Sustainability in Areas That Need it Most
We keep hearing about Cap and Trade, carbon offsetting, and renewable energy credits. But many of us don’t fully understand what these programs entail. Supporting an organization like Green Empowerment is an excellent way to offset your air travel or any other “green guilt” you incur.
On their website, you’ll find dollar amounts and detailed examples of how donations are put to use. Find out more about how you can help people around the world develop an environmentally sound future.
Green Empowerment is a featured exhibitor at the Energy Trust Better Living Show. For more tips, read about these green building products.
Originally posted 2010-02-16 09:00:02. Republished by Blog Post Promoter
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