Act... with BlogHer

On June 5, BlogHer asked its members to nominate the “red-hot issue” on which its 11,000 member community could make the greatest difference. Imagine the impact “if every member of BlogHer … focused our considerable brainpower, ingenuity and influence on one red-hot issue,” prodded Elisa Camahort.  “How about if that one red-hot issue was the focus of an organized, year-long campaign to make a measurable difference that this community cares about?”

June 15 was the deadline for suggestions; the BlogHer website now lists more than a dozen ways we BlogHer members could work together to create real change.

My recommendation? That we mobilize women to use their consumer clout to pressure companies to be better eco citizens. Women spend $.80 - $.85 of every dollar in the marketplace. We have as much economic clout as Japan – if we use it. A campaign that mobilizes women to become a force in the marketplace could accelerate the transition to a cleaner, greener environment in ways that just won’t happen if we wait for legislation or regulation to work through the system. The additional benefits: once women really take charge of their purchasing power, we can impact every issue we care about: healthcare, education, poverty, war and peace, even who is elected the next president of the U.S.

We can talk all we want; we can blog until we're blue in the face. We can make a difference -- at least where the industries that pollute are concerned -- by spending our money so it matters.