Introduction
Having just come from the United States and experiencing the heat of the summer where there were image and videos of melting trash cans, birds fainting while flying and people suffering from heat strokes in the Southwest, have all combined to really shock me. It seems to be clear not only from scientific data but personal experience that we need to do more towards mitigating severe climate change.
While researching companies and individuals for effective carbonoffsettingas a part of my internship with d’Arcy, I encountered the Dungbeetle. At first, I was largely unfamiliar with its functions as my family had never really delved into this related topic or carbon offsettingpurchases beforehand. However, after having a thorough conversation with d’Arcy about Dungbeetle, I quickly learned that Frederik’s Green Stone project could be revolutionary, not just within the schools under the EiM network, but for international schools and beyond around the world.
Source: Dungbeetle website and Education in Motion (EiM)
What is Dungbeetle?
Led by Frederik with backing from Green School parents Luke, Cezary, and Rebecca, Dungbeetle aims to bridge the gap between eco-projects and carbon offsetting funds. Dungbeetle connects and provides its partners and customers a platform for their own carbon offset storytelling. In regard to EiM and its vision, all of this helps pioneer an education for a sustainable future.
“It is a company that turbocharges truly green-hearted eco-warriors – the under-appreciated dung beetles of the world”, says recent graduate from Green School Bali, Frederik Hedegaard.
How does Dungbeetle monitor users’ carbon offsetting?
Source: Dungbeetle and EiM.
Firstly, Dungbeetle connect the installment of small-scale biodigester with local farmers in partnership with Sureco with those looking to offset their carbon emissions. The biodigesters seeks to revolutionize humanity’s approach to sustainable energy through the regenerative process of turning cow manure and food waste into biogas and organic fertilizer. So far the biodigesters have improved the lives of local Balinese farmers by limiting the use of chemical fertilizer and fossil fuels on Balinese farms, which improves the overall health and is more cost-saving for the farmers as well as preventing slash and burn agriculture methods. According to their website, about 1,000 kilograms of Carbon Dioxide (CO2) is sequestered by Sureco’s biodigesters annually, which is much less than the annual 16,000 kilograms of CO2 an average American produces yearly.
In the long run, it is possible for Dungbeetle to shepherd a society from being overly reliant upon LPG Gas, Chemical Fertilizer, and Cow Manure as sources for fuel to greater adoption of sustainable biodigesters supporting local farms.
The monitoring of users’ carbon offsets occurs through Dungbeetle’s issuing of Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs). NFTs acts as official certificate of ownership that cannot be counterfeited or replicated. Unlike conventional uses of NFTs, these NFTs are bought to monitor the offsetting of CO2. When a customer purchases an NFT, Dungbeetle notifies and provides the needed fund to establish the biodigesters through Sureco. These NFTs are then publicly displayed on the Dungbeetle website; anyone would have the autonomy to view the CO2 sequestered with a video monitoring how the farmers are utilizing the biodigester. For greater transparencies, flowmeter data from the biodigester is installed with the biodigester verify the existence of these projects.
Evading stigmas surrounding carbon credit greenwashing, the ecoNFT are legitimate proof that these eco-projects are owned by EiM under its own blockchain. This is very beneficial for small-scale carbon projects and voluntary carbon offsetting with a look to the future of verified carbon credits at a larger scale.
How could you contribute to the carbon offsetting project?
Read the following for a simple step-by-step guide to contributing to Dungbeetle and offsetting your own carbon footprint:
Reduce your carbon emissions as much as possible before we get to carbon offsetting
Any remaining emissions visit the Dungbeetle website and research available NFT carbon-offsetting options
Purchase the appropriate NFT token based on your preferences and the quantity of carbon emissions you aim to offset
Regularly monitor the amount of carbon emission reduced through the NFT and website
Personally, I believe that Dungbeetle could pose significant benefits to individuals and even a whole school or schools to opt for authentic, local-scale and creative carbon offset projects and pathways. The other wonderful fact of Dungbeetle is that it comes from a student leader in the same cohort as me from Green School Bali, one of our EiM family of schools. We should promote, celebrate and encourage this project while giving everyone the opportunity to learn more about carbon offsetting from Freddie and Dungbeetle.
If we want to opt for a cooler summer any time soon with less birds fainting and trash cans melting, we should take more time to support social entrepreneurs, like Freddie and regenerative businesses like Dungbeetle.
For more information, check out their website:
If you want more resources on carbon offsetting, visit the following links:
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