Working to Protect the Environment with NFTs

As reported by Vox, global temperatures have already risen 1.3 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, and a 2020 study found that 1 in 3 species could be extinct by 2070 due to climate change.

We all need to do our part to help protect the environment, and that begins with the choices we make in how we spend our money.

That’s why Next Earth, the virtual replica of Earth on the blockchain, donates a portion of all virtual land sales to environmental causes. Since a recent ITO, or Initial Tile Offering, on the platform sold over $1.3 million of virtual land, over $130,000 is going to The Ocean Cleanup (around $73.000) and Amazon Watch (around $58.000), projects that help protect the environment.

A poll on Next Earth’s Discord was used to allocate funds between these two initiatives. Hundreds of landowner votes determined that The Ocean Cleanup would receive a slight majority of allocated funds, while Amazon Watch would receive the rest.

Photo by Mohit Kumar on Unsplash

The Ocean Cleanup

The Ocean Cleanup is a nonprofit organization that has developed the largest clean-up system in the world, including the use of large floating devices to harvest ocean plastic, which is then collected and recycled.

The Ocean Cleanup is also cleaning up the floating plastics in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, as well as intercepting plastics in rivers before they reach the oceans. Incredibly, The Ocean Cleanup is tackling 1,000 rivers around the world with an aim to halt 80% of riverine plastics from entering our ocean in five years from rollout.

Amazon Watch

Amazon Watch is a not-for-profit organization that works to protect the rainforest and the people who live in it.

Protecting the Amazon is a tremendously important mission, as the Amazon Rainforest is the world’s largest terrestrial carbon sink, and helps maintain the delicate balance of life on Earth. In spite of its vital importance to humanity’s survival, over a fifth has been deforested, and more is at risk.

Amazon Watch’s approach is to partner directly with Indigenous people, as, after all, they’re the best stewards of the forest, in order to challenge corporations and governments that threaten not only the Amazon, but our future and our children’s futures.

Building More Meaningful Metaverses

Next Earth isn’t just building a decentralized, user-governed metaverse. It’s also a socially conscious crypto project that is putting the user first and leading by example.

Next Earth is built on meaning. It’s not just about developing a better virtual world, it’s about preserving the environment and building a more meaningful metaverse for its users. This is more than just a project, it’s an opportunity to do good in the world.

With Facebook’s recent metaverse announcement, it’s important to remember that most of the content on these platforms is owned by large corporations. Large corporations will always have an interest in monetizing user data, and they’ll also always have an interest in developing virtual worlds with massive commercial value that can provide extensive amounts of user engagement.

Next Earth is taking a stand against this by creating a metaverse where users have ownership and decision-making power, rather than relying on Facebook or another corporation to dictate how their content should be displayed or monetized.

Further, Next Earth is doubling down on building a decentralized, user-governed metaverse by enabling users to vote on which environmental and charitable causes they want to support.

This is an incredible example of what’s possible when developers and investors work together in a community-based manner, rather than chasing obscene profits that inevitably come at the expense of the users.