School Fundraising Goes Green - A Step Towards Steady State Economics
Steady state economics is an modern area of the school of economics which, to me, makes a lot of sense.
The idea is defined as "The steady state is a condition of the economy in which output per worker (productivity of labour) and capital per worker (capital intensity) do not change over time" in Wikipedia.
This probably doesn't make much sense to most.
A general way to explain it is that we cannot grow forever with a planet that is finite in size.
We cannot grow by consuming more resources, rather, by being more efficient with the finite amount of resources we already have.
To most, this ideas make intuitive sense.
We are seeing the limits now with the finite amount of petroleum and other natural resources.
When I was first introduced to this idea, it was shocking.
It betrayed much of what I learned in university.
It also demanded immediate change from my part.
I had learned too much and could no longer turn my back and stand proud.
Many of the beliefs of steady-state economics are similar to that the green movement.
With limited resources and the prospect of an impending market crash (which did in fact materialize), I chose to be a part of this movement that I now found myself a part of.
The idea of green fundraising originally came when I was thinking of ideas to bring compact fluorescent light bulbs to market.
The initial concept was perfect, students could sell light bulbs to raise money, help the environment by reducing CO2 emissions and learn that there are many simple things the could do to make a difference with lights bulbs and many other things.
The problem came in the summer of 2007 when we soon realized that light bulbs just weren't doing it any more.
This is when we introduced many new products.
Klean Kanteens, Nellie's Dryerballs were some of the hits.
We are now offering schools many new elementary school fundraising options, including a Traditional Fundraising program with prizes and a Focused Fundraiser for high school fundraising.
Season school fundraising ideas include a Spring Fundraising coming in March 2009 and a Holiday Fundraiser, beginning each September until December.
Each program and product that we bring to the table has a mission of bringing a sustainable, steady-state economy to life.
As I teach many of the children who participate in our programs, its great to learn about helping, but it means so much more if you do something to help.
For those adults, I often quote the Native Proverb, "we do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children".
The idea is defined as "The steady state is a condition of the economy in which output per worker (productivity of labour) and capital per worker (capital intensity) do not change over time" in Wikipedia.
This probably doesn't make much sense to most.
A general way to explain it is that we cannot grow forever with a planet that is finite in size.
We cannot grow by consuming more resources, rather, by being more efficient with the finite amount of resources we already have.
To most, this ideas make intuitive sense.
We are seeing the limits now with the finite amount of petroleum and other natural resources.
When I was first introduced to this idea, it was shocking.
It betrayed much of what I learned in university.
It also demanded immediate change from my part.
I had learned too much and could no longer turn my back and stand proud.
Many of the beliefs of steady-state economics are similar to that the green movement.
With limited resources and the prospect of an impending market crash (which did in fact materialize), I chose to be a part of this movement that I now found myself a part of.
The idea of green fundraising originally came when I was thinking of ideas to bring compact fluorescent light bulbs to market.
The initial concept was perfect, students could sell light bulbs to raise money, help the environment by reducing CO2 emissions and learn that there are many simple things the could do to make a difference with lights bulbs and many other things.
The problem came in the summer of 2007 when we soon realized that light bulbs just weren't doing it any more.
This is when we introduced many new products.
Klean Kanteens, Nellie's Dryerballs were some of the hits.
We are now offering schools many new elementary school fundraising options, including a Traditional Fundraising program with prizes and a Focused Fundraiser for high school fundraising.
Season school fundraising ideas include a Spring Fundraising coming in March 2009 and a Holiday Fundraiser, beginning each September until December.
Each program and product that we bring to the table has a mission of bringing a sustainable, steady-state economy to life.
As I teach many of the children who participate in our programs, its great to learn about helping, but it means so much more if you do something to help.
For those adults, I often quote the Native Proverb, "we do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children".