Sightings | Alumni News
Nicholas School/Fuqua Alum Launches Web Site Aimed at Making Environmental Action Simple, Social and Fun
By Laura Ertel
In the competition to stop global warming, a group of high school girls from New Jersey is the team to beat.
The teenagers are atop the leader board on Carbonrally.com, a new Web site that applies gaming and social networking concepts to give groups and individuals a fun, free, simple and social way to have a measurable impact on climate change. Teams or individuals sign up to accept one or more environmental challenges in four categories: Home (electricity, heating and water usage); transportation (car, plane, bike, public transportation); school/office; and food (how you shop and what you eat).
The New Jersey girls (at last count, 68 of them) have accepted such Carbonrally challenges as giving up bottled water for a week (a three-pound reduction in individual CO2 emissions). They weren’t alone. As of January, 531 people around the United States completed this challenge, reducing CO2 emissions by 1,593 pounds.
Not to be outdone, teams of Google employees also are taking on such challenges as inflating their car tires to the correct pressure (29 pounds of reduced CO2 emissions each month). Along with them, nearly 350 people have reduced emissions by 4.17 tons by completing this challenge—the equivalent of turning off the electricity in one home for about a month.
Tech company employees, high school students, travel agencies, neighborhoods—groups and individuals from all over the country are signing on to the new Boston-based Carbonrally.com Web site, the brainchild of Nicholas School and Fuqua School of Business alumnus Jason Karas. Since its debut in mid-October, Carbonrally has attracted more than 8,000 visitors from 80 countries, and about 800 people in 40 states are actively engaged in challenges. Close to 60 teams are now competing. Together these people have prevented around 50 tons of CO2 from entering the atmosphere, about the same effect as unplugging the electricity to 47 homes for a month, says Karas.
“Rallyers” can commit to replace some of their regular light bulbs with compact fluorescent light (CFL) bulbs, avoid using new grocery bags for a month, or leave their cars at home for a day. The Web site explains the environmental impact of each challenge and gives carbon emission credits for completing the challenge. New challenges are posted every few weeks, and many are repeatable. Rallyers can track their individual impact, or see how they stack up against other teams around the country. Message boards encourage Rallyers to share their thoughts on climate change and related issues, discuss their experiences with the challenges, or engage in friendly trash-talking with other teams.