Want To Shrink Your Carbon Footprint and Get Paid While You're Doing It? The Correct Answer Is "YES".

Our culture may have carbon footprint on the brain, but there are still so many of us who are afraid to raise our hand in class and ask what exactly that means. Seriously, folks -- there's no such thing as a stupid question -- sometimes all of us can use a basic refresher course, so let me try to offer a simple definition.  A carbon footprint is the amount of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases that we individually generate via our daily actions and lifestyle habits. When fossil fuels like oil, coal and gas are burned via manufacturing processes and domestic/commercial heating, cooling and electricity systems, carbon is released. Atmospheric gases such as CO2 end up warming our planet by trapping the sun’s heat instead of allowing it to escape into space.

So, what we're currently coming to grips with as a global society is how to reduce the volume of carbon that we generate, and we're finding it a little challenging to break old habits and formulate greener ones.  Of course any effort to reduce one's carbon footprint is noble and can help in the grand scheme of things, but we need a lot more people to stay the course. If saving the planet isn't motivation enough and you're not particularly swayed by the simple fact that you're stretching your budget with every green action that you take, then what if you were paid to reduce your carbon emissions?

The rewards system is not a new premise -- in fact, Greenwala community members have covered such kaching for doing the right thing business concepts like NuRide and RecycleBank before. It just proves that people seem to innately respond to a carrot dangling from a stick. MyEex has integrated this fact of human nature into their business model by offering financial incentives for those who demonstrate a measurable reduction in their carbon footprint, all at no cost to the consumer and available no matter what part of the world you live it. The process is ridiculously simple. In fact, it is a small but meaningful effort that we can all take to do the right thing so please spread the word to everyone in your social circle. You begin by first creating a profile and entering information from your past year's worth of utility bills (heat, electric, water) into their website database. New York based MyEex determines consumers' average baseline utility usage and then they attempt to motivate and inspire lifestyle adjustments via advice, suggestions, etc. 

On a monthly basis, participants are encouraged to enter new utility bill data and once MyEex confirms that there is a measurable reduction from month to month in amount used, constantly shrinking footprints are awarded with carbon credits. Those Certified Emissions Reductions (CERs) -- one CER is equivalent to one ton reduced -- are then sold on the Voluntary Carbon Market via their association with OceanConnect. While MyEex earns a commission via the brokerage of those carbon credits, for the most part, the earnings (between $10 - $25 US Dollars per Certified Emission Reduction) are refunded to MyEex participants via PayPal. In my opinion, they deserve to make a little somethin'-somethin' for this inspired plan to green the world. It's an unquestionable win-win situation for everyone involved, so the only question remaining is when you're going to sign up. You already know the reason why you should.