2People…..Can Change the Climate
If you’re the kind of person who wants to hug trees, AND hang out with friends, or is maybe just getting started greening your life and getting political about who’s managing our planet’s resources, then check out 2People . This site isn’t a ‘green’ dating site, there are plenty of those, (though you never know who’ll you’ll meet!) but more of a networking site for people who want to get involved in key environmental issues around the U.S.
I did a quick interview with Phil Mitchell, the founder of 2People, to find out what the ideas behind the site were:
Eco Chick: What sparked the idea for 2People?
Phil Mitchell: 2People started from the question: How is it possible for a society to be complacent about its own environmental collapse? My answer is, basically: ignorance and disempowerment. So I started building an online community that would help us get informed, and would empower us by showing that we’re not alone. There are millions of us who want society to start making better choices.
EC: What are the ultimate aims of the site?
PM: Our aim is to build a network of 20 million climate voters by 2008, and make climate the dominant issue in the 2008 elections: the Climate Elections.That number sounds pretty high, but exponential growth can get us there in a short time — all the polls show that there are far more than 20 million people in the U.S. who already get this issue. They’re just not connected. They’re not empowered. We aim to do that.
I could talk about longer term sustainability goals, but the Climate Elections is my focus right now. And it’s important to say that we’re not just about getting people to a web site, we’re about helping people to connect into teams and with existing projects, and getting out in the real
world and making change happen. The Seattle Climate Dialogues, Focus the Nation, StepItUp2007, are some examples…
EC: I’m assuming you’re one of the founders…what is your background with
this project?
PM: Yes, I’m the founder and networker-in-chief. I wrote the site software, and with the help of our amazing advisory board, I’m responsible for strategic vision.
Starre Vartan
Starre Vartan is founder and editor-in-chief of Eco-Chick.com and the author of the Eco-Chick Guide to Life. She's also a freelance science and environment writer who has published in National Geographic, CNN, Scientific American, Mental Floss, Pacific Standard, the NRDC, and many more. She lives on an island in Puget Sound with her partner and black cat. She was a geologist in her first career, and still picks up rocks wherever she goes.
