The World Wide Fund For Natureıs (known as the World Wildlife Fund in the
United States and Canada) Living Planet Campaign is designed to excite and
activate as many people as possible from all walks of life in a
coordinated effort to protect the earthıs most outstanding species and
habitats. Like no other before it, the campaign is using the latest
online technology to place power directly in the hands of those most
affected, whether they are age three or 103. The goal is to allow
individuals to feel that they can do something, whether it is as simple as
a child switching off an un-needed light bulb, or as complex as a
government placing thousands of acres of rainforest into a protected area.
There are two sites showcasing the Campaign. World Wildlife Fund in the
U.S. is utilizing some of the latest technologies at
http://www.worldwildlife.org/action/. Specific action steps and
involvement mechanisms are highlighted within this site. WWF -
International has created another site --
http://www.panda.org/livingplanet/ -- that has much of the same
information, but the action steps are more targeted to an international
audience. Both sites have outstanding features and are cross-linked to
provide the user with the most comprehensive information about WWF and its
initiatives.
Hereıs how we are harnessing the power of the Internet through our
constantly evolving
Living Planet Campaign Websites:
* On April 3 at 10 a.m., a press conference from the National Press Club
in Washington, D.C. announcing the Living Planet campaign will be carried
live on the Internet at the above Web Site via Real Audio on Web Active.
* A Countdown Clock will run continuously, displaying the days, minutes
and seconds before the turn of the century. This clock will be activated
during the press conference by Kathryn Fuller, President of World Wildlife
Fund. Fuller will activate the clock on the Internet, which will also be
projected onto a giant video screen at the National Press Club. Internet
users with Windows 95 will be able to download the clock to run in the
corner of their computer screens or as a screensaver, serving as a
constant reminder of how little time remains to protect our most prized
resources.
* The Global 200 Map, a multi-year project that is the centerpiece of
WWFıs Living Planet Campaign, will be featured online along with fact
sheets and images of indigenous species. The map will utilize Macromedia
Flash technology that will enable users to ³zoom² in on different areas at
risk.
* Through an Online Action Kit, users can take actions--both small and
large, political and personal--that will help preserve endangered species
and habitats. The kit could include online postcards that can be sent
instantly to members of government, or tips of the day with concrete
advice and resources on how to buy green, save energy, and help preserve
endangered species and spaces. Users can download information that they
can hand to waiters or home improvement centers asking them to stock
earth-friendly products. The kit will constantly change to reflect the
most current and urgent conservation issues.
* At one second after midnight on Saturday, April 5, Internet users who
are logged on to the Living Planet Campaign Website can download a special
screensaver certifying that they were present as the countdown clock
marked the precise 1000-day mark. They can also register their names on a
permanent wall of fame within the Website.
* A data sheet will keep running tallies of the number of trees being
lost, number of pounds
of greenhouse gases being emitted, number of species being lost, pounds of
pesticides
released, habitat being lost, and other threats to biodiversity between
now and the year 2000.
* Similar data sheets will also demonstrate solutions to many of these problems.
These data sheets will tally how much habitat has been preserved in
protected areas, how
many Gifts to the Earth have been registered, how may people are switching
to energy-
saving lightbulbs and how many fish are being preserved thanks to
sustainable fishing
practices. This information will also be linked to the Online Action Kit.
* Video from around the world will allow users to view scenes and species
from some of the
Global 200 sites, to help them understand first-hand the beauty and
fragility of these
ecoregions. The site will utilize VDO streaming video to deliver to the
video to the desktop.
* Email list groups will allow users to learn about new actions and get
feedback from
the actions theyıve taken.
-- World Wildlife Fund Living Planet Campaign Visit the website at http://www.worldwildlife.org/action/ to see World Wildlife Fundıs global work to save endangered wildlife, habitats, forests, and seas. Includes environmental education and information about climate change, toxics, and the Living Planet Campaign. Emphasis on U.S.-based advocacy and grassroots action.