The Real Deal #5

Huh? A Tuesday Edition?

Welcome to the Real Deal, the getreal.earth newsletter for people who are trying to learn how to make a clean energy/climate impact.

Okay, we’re going biweekly. We’ve now distributed four of these in four weeks, and we’ve decided that since there’s so much to report on and so much to think about and do, adding a second day a week shouldn’t be that challenging.

We’ve got a busy week with a couple events we’re attending… I’ll send an update on those on Thursday.

A little update on the product we’re cooking up.

Connectivity and self-promotion are certainly a huge component of the social networks we know.

They also have become critical aspects of commerce, marketing, selling and business development.

What we believe is that there is a new purpose that they can solve: Action. While it’s useful to see what people are doing, respond, encourage, follow, like, and repost (and advertise and buy) we are interested in something bigger. Social networks can also prompt and promote action - it can enable those who want to get involved to find their place in the space.

Again I can’t be too specific but the foundation is laid out.

We’re going to be looking for some help in beta testing and focus groups rather soon. Anyone who is interested should reach out to us.

Our aspiration:

Problem: Why is it so hard for people to get into climate?
Solution: getreal.earth 🙂 

One of the offers we’re going to be rolling out for your continued support will be an initial account on the platform and some referrals. More to come on that.

We’re also designing some apparel and we’re going to incorporate our icon/mascot into it. This is the very first version:

We’re developing a decent amount of traction. Thanks again for your continued support.

Want to see an example of a big impact and how it enables people to get involved? Read on.

The Ocean Cleanup

One of the very first things that got me interested (seriously interested - enough to try to figure out things to do about it) in the climate space was a 2019 New Yorker article.

I don’t think I can paste an excerpt of it here, but at the time it was written, what the profile amounted to was this:

An 18-year old (24 by 2019) Dutch kid named Boyan Slat decides to engineer a way to capture floating plastic at large scale and build a company around cleaning up the ocean.

How’d he get into it? On a family scuba diving trip in Greece, he saw all the plastic floating around and thought maybe it would be good to find and capture the plastic where it sits.

Simple right?

Later, he found out that there are five giant patches of plastic trash floating on the world’s oceans. The biggest deposit of plastic in the world is in the Pacific Ocean. It’s called the Pacific Garbage Patch, and it sits on something called a gyre, which is essentially a swirling stoppage point on the ocean’s surface.

Guess what he named his company?

Now, at 29, here is the kind of stuff The Ocean Cleanup is posting on LinkedIn. These aren’t dreamy aspirations. This is REAL impact.

What I am astounded by is that he started by crowdfunding over $2 Million in the mid 2010s and has used all the money to fund:

1. A fleet of ships that skim plastic off the surface of the ocean

2. Relationships with key recycling companies to help fund practical applications for recycled Pacific Garbage Patch plastics

3. Development of a floatation system - the Interceptor - that captures plastic in Latin American rivers and haul it away.

And many other things. But above all else, I live this section of his website the best:

This is what I’ve been talking about! They have jobs, they are making partnerships with manufacturers and recyclers and others all over the world, they have a Public Affairs arm and they’re even trying to develop an “army” of scientists who can monitor and report on plastics in water everywhere.

They are creating commerce and solving problems at the same time!

I can’t think of a more meaningful way to start a career or make a difference…the options are endless.

And the commerce, businesses, and jobs - that’s the point here. NOT government handouts (though they do exist and can help…but might cause more problems than they solve in the long run).

I’m not saying that you should go out there and try to raise millions of dollars and build your own company, and everything will be great. The opportunities to get involved are far greater than just volunteering and recycling!

For reference (and reverence):

Their facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/TheOceanCleanup

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-ocean-cleanup/posts/?feedView=all

For our part, we’re trying to do what this newsletter is doing but on a far grander scale.

I am positive that people assume we are liberal “tree-huggers.” I assure you that we only care about helping solve problems. And we know it’s hard to do it.

Thanks once again!