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Blockchain for social good aims to help combat climate change, and help mankind avoid an extinction-level event

By Nick Ayton aka The Sage of Shoreditch, who explores key blockchain social impact projects that in 2018 will deliver for people on a global scale. We begin with climate change.

Blockchain as a core technology has the potential to reshape our lives, although most projects focus on the technology and how to disrupt mainstream industry. The underlying technology has not been tapped efficiently by founders to deliver social impact projects. Too many are putting the focus on using the ICO mechanism to raise the money and are missing the potential to be remembered for something far greater. But they are on their way.

Is blockchain falling short of delivering for social impact?

I have said many times the potential for Blockchain, Cryptocurrencies and DLT is not to deliver payments cheaper and faster, to allow people to share supply chain information, or to improve the commercial lending process. These tend to deliver for companies and their owners, and some may deliver decentralized benefits.

The killer use-cases today create a new blockchain and propositions that go faster, to deliver fairer gaming and gambling apps, for trusted algorithmic trading, for transparent insurance, for open banking, for secure wealth management. Although these do stick it to the man and I would not decry them in any way, for me it has to be about delivering social impact.

We need entrepreneurs who will change the world

The ambition has to be to leverage this decentralized technology to deliver a revolution: for the people, delivered right to the people, and do it on a mass scale. The focus to make a difference to the broader society at large, empower ordinary people, engage the masses who need to and want to be engaged, to do the things that governments are not prepared to do and to fill the void left by corporations, responding to the inadequate plans and funding and the things that are simply ignored.

Many people are confused, do not know what to do next. The big question: how to use blockchain technology for the good of everyone? But I have no doubt that technology without government manipulation can and will deliver for the people, and potentially save our planet.

I am not a tree-hugger or green warrior but I do care. I am a Cypherpunk (not Cyberpunk), part of a group of people who believe the widespread use and adoption of Cryptography (the basis of Blockchain) can lead to massive political and social good. We strive towards delivering a fundamental behavioral shift to progress, protect, and advance mankind, so that the protectionist government, personal greed and agenda are not able to stand in the way of progress for all of us.

Blockchain and Climate Change

There is a no bigger issue right now than Climate Change. There is no denying that our planet and its people endure more severe storms and shifts in weather patterns that are having a direct impacting our food chain and our water supply, thus contributing to the mass migration of people.

Climate Change is the top issue for the United Nations, the World Economic Forum and then we have the Paris Agreement… it feels busy; like progress is being made. But the people remain concerned that not enough is being done and feel dis-empowered. Feeling helpless and with no incentive to do anything, many believe that their tiny contribution cannot possibly make a difference, and that any contribution ends up in the wrong hands, so why bother?

There is no means or facility for the people to make a direct contribution, until now. Until I came across a project called The Living Offset.

An ecosystem that comes with a simple-to-use mobile app that allows everyone to offset their carbon footprint. It is the work of pure genius. All carbon offset of human activity is recorded on the blockchain: it makes so much sense and opens up a world of opportunity.

With LivingOffset everyone can make a contribution by offsetting the carbon footprint of their daily activity – driving to work, that cup of coffee, the morning shower – encouraging us all to make small adjustments to our way of living to contribute small carbon offsets in our lifestyle behaviors, all of which add up to reducing our planet’s temperature. There are real, measurable efforts to slow down the immediate rise in temperature that is causing our seas to rise, leading to animal extinctions and, unknown to most, adding to the daily cost of our lives; the increasing insurance and food costs, costs of fuel as governments take entirely the wrong approach to something that impacts us all. Governments rely on us all to be knowingly ignorant and make efforts to mislead us all.

LivingOffset: a Global Movement

LivingOffset taps into the demand that is already there. The concerned, the worried, the people that want things to change have the data and the facts on their side. Global Studies from PEW, Yale Research and numerous other sources show the people of this planet are ‘knowingly concerned’ about climate change, the consequences and long-term impact. Universally, this concern has passed 65% across most countries, with some in South America passing 70% of people that are really concerned about climate change from rising temperatures, driven by mankind’s daily activities. We are all responsible.

People see that governments remain passive, pay lip-service to climate change with some, the USA withdrawing from the Paris Agreement, assuming we think this agreement is not just another attempt to fool the public. The public remain suspicious of large corporate organisations, oil and mining companies that fund governments and politicians, to slow down and ignore and hide the evidence and hold back the advances in renewables, making it both expensive and difficult for people to acquire.

The greatest reward Blockchain delivers is trust, openness and it is censorship-resistant, so once out of the box there is nothing government can do to stop it. There are no rules that say you cannot offset your 250mg carbon footprint of your Starbucks by spending 5 cents, a powerful contribution matched by large corporations as part of their CSR (10 cents), that is used to offset the carbon and the surplus goes towards renewable and green energy projects.

Every little helps, but it is a thin façade of effort. Pret-a-Manger recently announced if you use your paper coffee cup again you get 25p off the next cup, which sounds great, but they don’t tell specifically what they will do with the savings from using the paper cups. The UK Liberal party suggest a Paper Cup Tax and we are assured the income will not go towards climate impact, renewable or green projects. The opportunity to get involved starts in March 2018.

We will all learn to Offset our carbon footprint

Offsetters are a breed of empowered people who know they are slowing down the rate at which our planet is heating up. They have a new confidence that carbon offset is actually happening, that UN standards are being met, and most importantly they can see the contributions and participate in renewable projects.

The Offsetters are a global community that can see the difference they are making recorded on the Blockchain. A permanent record of the recovery of our planet, one cup of coffee and one person at a time.

LivingOffset is a demonstration of what can be achieved with the Blockchain at its heart, a mechanism for galvanizing the spirit of people that delivers the freedom for the individual to do things on their terms. Think what 1 million people, 30 million people, 200 million people can do! Then imagine billions of offset contributions generating funding for renewables, for clean energy, alternate mobility and creating new infrastructure free from government manipulation and empty promises.

LivingOffset’s business model is like UBER and Airbnb in that it taps into and unlocks demand that is already there. Hundreds of millions of similarly concerned people now have the power to make the contributions they feel comfortable with, and can witness the real impact of their efforts where all carbon offset activities and renewable projects are for all to see. No government cover-ups or misleading data and statistics.

Blockchain finally delivers for the people, our communities and our planet for generations to come. What is not to like?

It is time for you to get involved: Visit https://www.livingoffset.com

Nick is a Libertarian Cypherpunk, Speaker, Author and supporter of Social Causes, and is advisor to the Living Offset. The Founder of Chainstarter and ICO platform, 21Million the world’s first crypto-funded TV mini series about Bitcoin.