7 Ways the Internet Will Save The World

In the 1992 movie “Singles”, there was a character that was passionate about solving the gridlock problem in Seattle. His solution was the Supertrain, which looked like a 1950s version of the future (all shiny chrome, menacing but approachable) and would make people, in his words, “park and walk”.

He had a valid point, and he backed it up by proposing that the Supertrain would be classier than any subway, providing comfortable seating, great coffee and great music to people as a reward for not driving their individual cars.
After he lined out his great proposal in detail to a girl he was trying to impress, she smiled dismissively. “Yeah, but I really like my car.”

Therein lies the problem, and it was the same in 1992 as it is in 2006 – people like their cars, though now it seems that they like ‘em even bigger and more poisonous than ever. We don’t need a Supertrain now. We have the Internet. I suppose it’s a stretch to ask everyone to stop driving, but it isn’t a stretch to think of seven ways this valuable resource can help to save our planet from ourselves. We just have to think ahead… and now would be a good time to start.

Telecommuting

The internet connects us with people all over the world, and in a matter of seconds. It is fairly user-friendly, and the ultimate source of information. In fact, so many things can be done online that it truly isn’t necessary for everyone with a job to leave for work. There isn’t any reason that people can’t telecommute. The benefits? Here are a few:

• Fewer cars on the road, leading to rush hours that aren’t so rushed, leading to fewer CO2 emissions, leading to less stress and higher productivity in the average worker.
• Lowered energy waste at the actual workplace. Powering up office buildings equals more energy hogging, and for what? People have to unwind, and the stress level involved just in getting to work is enough to decrease their productivity. Getting kids ready and out of the house, planning meetings, scheduling a time when everyone can get together in the conference room…all can be solved with telecommunicating. Have your conference online or in a conference call. If people don’t have to schedule everything else around their eight to five workdays, their schedules thus become more flexible. They’re available in more ways, they don’t have to vent at the water cooler about their commute, and they aren’t blocked mentally in their work flow because they’re trying to figure out how to get their kids to their activities.

It makes so much sense, and the benefits so outweigh the negatives, that it seems ludicrous at best that more companies aren’t seriously considering it. Of course there are jobs in which this wouldn’t be possible, but there are lots more in which it would.

Decreasing costs of communications

Technology and competitive businesses combine to offer us many options to stay in touch. Cell phones are accessible like never before, and they have many more options now. The internet is easy to get at a cheap price, as opposed to the nineties, when being online was the equivalent of a long-distance call. It’s easy to keep in touch with anyone, any time, without leaving the house.. Not sure what was covered in that meeting you missed? Go online and access the minutes. IM a colleague and get the bottom line. The point is, the banquet hall and the conference room are not necessary. Let’s admit it and do something about it.

Keeping in touch with what’s happening

As mentioned earlier, the internet is bursting at the seams with information. All you have to do it type in what you want and the computer does the work for you. Need statistics for some obscure reference in your presentation? Go to Google, or Ask.com, or MSN search, or any other number of search engines. The information is yours in seconds, with plenty of references to back up the information.

Breaking news is happening all the time, and the internet is more up to date than waiting for the six o’clock anchors to brief you on what you could have checked out in depth online hours before.

Anyone up for saving some paper?

True, it is sometimes a necessary evil to print out information you find online. It shouldn’t have to be, but it is. Recycle as much as possible, but also use the internet in every possible instance. Do you have to print out the 14 pages of statistics, or can you email them to someone to read at their leisure, without worrying about losing a page in the process?

Save the paper. The address book doesn’t have to go – I mean, who doesn’t still get a thrill at getting a card in the mail from someone who was just thinking of them? An e-card just doesn’t show the same level of dedication… plus, let’s face it, you have to pay for the e-card anyway, a sad casualty of the old days online, when pretty much everything was free.

Also, an online search provided many different ways to stop junk mail from coming to your house, and, although I didn’t find anything for free (unless you want to call each company directly), there is this site: www.dmaconsumers.org/cgi/offmailinglist, which not only will decrease your junk mail flow for a $1 charge, but also provide you with environmental tips and facts as well as alternatives to wasting resources.

Find everything you were looking for without leaving the house

As communications have become higher-quality and lower-cost, so too has the ability to take care of virtually every boring errand imaginable. You can do all of your shopping online. Of course, this results in packaging, but when you weigh that against getting in the car, driving who knows how far, going from store to store looking for that elusive item you have to have by tomorrow, not finding it, and getting home with a higher stress level, lower gas level, and nothing to show for it, just recycle the box after your package arrives and forget it.

Sites to help you find EXACTLY what you need at the best price include www.shopzilla.com, www.pricegrabber.com , and www.shop.com .
There is also eBay, a veritable smorgasbord of items that’s now expanded to eBay Express (all new items) and specialized eBay stores, in addition to the option of “Buy it Now” instead of bidding for days. Using Pay Pal, a secure online payment website, eBay is more secure than ever.

More access to information equals actual knowledge!

Let’s face it: as a country we’ve become the equivalent of someone in a comfortable marriage: we’ve gotten a little fatter, a little lazier, and a little defensive. It’s far past time for an extreme makeover. The internet can teach you anything, easily. The excuse that you don’t know enough about current events doesn’t fly anymore. Turn on your computer and learn! There are groups for every imaginable occupation, hobby, or conspiracy theory out there…network! Meet friends! Learn, and feel as if you’re still part of the world!

Other countries aren’t going to wait on us to catch up; we have to do it ourselves. It’s a lot easier to type in a few words and hit ‘search’ than driving to the library and half-heartedly looking around before leaving with nothing (although I love the library, and many of them provide free internet access, though it comes with a time limit).

We can’t afford not to change

Finally, acceptance: global warming is happening now. The more we drive, the more we heat or cool our homes, the more we leave appliances plugged in when not in use, the more we destroy our one planet, little by little. Politicians and lobbyists must stop their pointless blathering about, well, everything, and act. The internet is a huge voice. The more we use it to bother the ones who can make change happen, the more we use it to rally people together to educate and inform, the faster we can help our planet. Save your paper, save your gas, put on a sweater instead of turning up the thermostat, but use your resources online. Let people know how you feel.

We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, have to save our planet to save ourselves. Denial is so last year. Do your own research – here’s a good place to start: www.stopglobalwarming.org.