Be just a little bit less racist

Racism is hardest to combat when it's difficult to detect. You can say or think slightly racist things sometime without being an out-and-out bigot. We all do.


Just think a little next time before saying something like "Well, some black women are hot" and then giving as examples women who are all light-skinned because they're half-white, or making a self-aggrandizing cliched comment about an Asian man's penis. The world will move a fraction of an inch toward becoming a more magical place.


Effort involved: physical- none. Mental- some. But not like doing math.

Participate in a Global Compact campaign

The Global Compact is a UN initiative that promotes corporate responsibility in terms of human rights, labor, the environment and anti-corruption. Its engagement opportunities page lists several ways you can take part, mainly involving encouraging your company to partner in a campaign. It's also possible to contribute to research, award nominations and more. So this should be of interest if you're interested in sustainable business practices and are in a position to get involved in the Global Compact's work.


Effort involved: having a conversation, at a minimum. But it's a small sacrifice in this case!



Image from: http://www.whosjack.org/googles-being-evil/

Sponsor a female survivor of war

Women for Women International lends support to women who have experienced armed conflict, whether that support takes the form of financial assistance, job training or something else. You can sponsor one of the organization's beneficiaries, even choosing the country if you like, at https://give.womenforwomen.org/sponsorship/index.htm?wfw=getinvolved. This involves USD 30 a month plus a one-time administrative fee. This is a worthwhile cause to support because...er...war generally isn't a singin', dancin' and laughin' matter.


Effort involved: your bank account is doing all the work on this one.


Image from: http://www.citylife.co.uk/news_and_reviews/news/11764_m_e_n__theatre_awards__the_judges__verdict

Mail cookies

Homemade cookies are almost always the tastiest. And people love receiving packages. Combine these two immutable truisms, and what do you get? Why, a hankering to bake the next time you've got 30 minutes and a few hundred calories going spare. It's generally better to ship hard (e.g. biscotti) or chewy (e.g. oatmeal cookies) cookies rather than creamy (e.g. cheesecake bars) or delicate (e.g. madeleines) ones. Packaged in an air-tight bag or container and wrapped in popped popcorn or bubble wrap, the cookies should be good for up to a week in transit. Here's one recipe (adapted from theppk.com) to get your cookie-baking juices and/or salivary glands going.


Chocolate Earl Grey Snickerdoodles


1) Preheat oven to F350/C175. Grease or line 2 baking sheets.
2) Mix 1/6 cup coarse sugar and 1/2 tsp cinnamon and set aside.
3) Mix 1/2 cup vegetable oil, 2/3 cup sugar, 1/4 cup maple syrup and 3 tbsp milk well. Stir in 2 tsp vanilla extract.
4) Combine 1 2/3 cups flour, 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, 1 tsp baking soda, 1/4 tsp coarse salt and tea from 3 Earl Grey bags. Stir into wet mixture.
5) Roll dough into about 24 balls. Flatten slightly into sugar-cinnamon topping. Place on baking sheet sugar side up.
6) Bake for at least 10 minutes, until a bit spread and crackly on top.


Effort involved: if you use the (admittedly as yet untested) recipe above, you don't even have to dig out a cookbook.



Image from: http://www.thefinestwriter.com/blog/tag/odd-job/

Get off junk mail lists

http://reduce.org/ isn't a weight-loss site, but a website devoted to practical waste-reduction tips. The "Junk Mail" tab, for instance, offers a host of ways to lessen the flood of mail you'll never read. If you want to use the junk mail to make portraits, however (see below), that's a whole other story. If this site isn't enough for you, go wild at http://www.mnn.com/lifestyle/responsible-living/blogs/catalog-choices-free-mailstop-mobile-app and

http://myzerowaste.com/2010/12/how-to-keep-550000-tonnes-of-junk-mail-out-of-landfill/.

Effort involved: well worth it considering the reduction of aggravation due to excess mail.

Image from: http://earthfirst.com/10-creative-responses-junk-mail-from-art-to-garden-mulch/

Let go of a grudge

If you're reasonably petty or vindictive - and if not, why not? - it's likely you're holding on to an ancient grievance against at least one person. Before it leads to a Neapolitan-style bloodbath or crippling bedside guilt, why not aim to let the resentment float away? Yes, it may very well be easier said than done. But it's perhaps not a bad thing to aim for. Dwell on the positive, come up with an excuse for why this vile person did that vile thing, or do whatever other airy-fairiness it takes to get the job done.


Effort involved: none of the physical kind. Like Kegels, you can do them while just sitting there.



Image from: http://www.happyplace.com/10430/the-most-enjoyably-cantankerous-notes-ever-posted-in-the-workplace/

Use Lent for WaterAid's Jars of Change project

For Lent, which starts tomorrow, WaterAid has started a little something called Jars of Change. Basically, you order publicity materials and/or use the resources on the website to designate jars, into which members of your group plop the money they've saved by giving something up for Lent. Sworn off cocktails? That's $10 in the jar for each juice you have instead. The donations you collect will then go to fund safe water supply in Rwanda. WaterAid is marketing this appeal toward churches, but really, any group of people can take part.


Effort involved: if you're going to be abstaining during Lent anyway, you may as well motivate yourself and do a little substantive good at the same time. Deprivation will never have felt so good (to non-masochists, anyway).

Image from: http://fitvillains.tumblr.com/post/11529680010/fact-hydrated-people-are-sexier-than-non-hydrated

Enter the World Spay Day Pet Photo Contest

This is basically what it says on the tin. Upload a photo of your (living or dead) pet, for a chance to win a photo studio session or have your photo featured. Even though this isn't a lifestyle-shattering prize, the photos will be used in publicity related to the pet-spaying campaign. Pretty easy for a simple upload. Sadly, however, pregnant animals are not eligible.

Effort involved: you don't even need to take a fresh photo, just have a rummage around your folders.

Image from: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=105x9656029

Register for the Summit to End Prostate Cancer

ZERO, which is somehow the abbreviation of The Project to End Prostate Cancer, is keen to attract advocates to spread information about the disease as well as push for policy reform. One of its activities in this regard is an annual conference, which this year will be held September 11-13 in Washington, D.C. Details are at http://zerocancer.org/get-involved/summit/. The webpage doesn't mention anything about pens and T-shirts emblazoned with the words "The Project to End Prostate Cancer" being offered to participants, but obviously these are reason enough to attend.


Effort involved: this is obviously a bit more labor-intensive than writing to a congressman, but this could be a good way to sharpen your campaigning skills, learn more about prostate cancer, and contribute to men's health in general.



Image from: http://gammasquad.uproxx.com/2011/07/xkcd-battles-cancer-with-science-comics

Spread the Overseas Aid Mythbuster

The human rights organization Womankind has an Overseas Aid Mythbuster in the form of an FAQ page. The information is UK-centric but contains some useful arguments for supporting development assistance. Hopefully by sharing this list with foreign aid skeptics you'll spark some debate, provoke some thought, verb some other nouns, etc.


Effort involved: a cheeky email? 


Image from: http://nigel-sim.blogspot.com/2010/10/nigels-mythbuster-ep-2.html

Take action with a 10x10 partner

10x10 is a campaign promoting girls' education in developing countries, which some observers believe is the single most effective means of bolstering social and economic progress. You can be a part of this grandioseness by contributing to the work of one of the 10x10 partner organizations: Partners in Health, World Vision, etc. These organizations are committed to fighting obstacles to education that might not be obvious to those in wealthier countries, such as a lack of school toilets, no means of getting to school, and early marriage. You can take a look at http://10x10act.org/take-action/with-10x10-partners/.


Effort involved: opening your wallet, mainly, which is something many people excel at.


Image from: http://invaderkylie.deviantart.com/art/Wayside-school-77573716

Buy Fair Trade liquor

The eccentrically punctuated FAIR. is the first Fair Trade brand of spirits. It offers quinoa vodka, goji berry liqueur and coffee liqueur (but sadly no Skittles-flavored vodka). You can find out more or place an order at www.fairspirits.com. Bottoms up!


Effort involved: really? Well, ok then: buying and drinking.




Image from: http://loldrugs.com/category/tags/vodka

Bring library books to a homebound person

Some places already have mobile library programs that connect volunteers to people who would like to use library books but don't find it easy to travel there and back. Whether a formal program exists in your neighborhood or not, it should be easy to get involved. You could ask at your local library whether there's interest in such a thing or post a notice on a bulletin board saying that you're available to play book-deliverer in a certain area for a certain part of the week. You get a bit of exercise (or, er, your car or beast of burden does), an elderly or physically incapacitated person gets some books, and the library gets more use.


Effort involved: directly related to how far away the book recipients are from you.


Image from: http://ipsnews.net/africa/nota.asp?idnews=52904

Buy Sir Richard's condoms

Sir Richard's condoms are feel-good in more ways than one. They're discreetly packaged and niftily designed. You can subscribe to a condom delivery service or buy individual packs. And every condom purchase results in a condom donation to a developing country, with care taken to ensure that the donated items are culturally appropriate. This is one case where the age-old adage "The more penises, the better" really rings true.


Effort involved: buying and using. The effort involved in using the products is up to you.

Image from: http://omgoshentnews.blogspot.com/2010/11/top-10-weird-creative-restaurants.html

Bring food to protesters or volunteers

At some point you may come across people spending their spare time advocating for change or contributing to social good. One way to show your appreciation is to feed these folk. Whether you quickly slap together some sandwiches for a picket line or anonymously call in a pizza order to a school fundraiser, the gesture will be very appreciated.


Effort involved: if you order a delivery, very little.

Image from: http://www.japanprobe.com/2007/07/16/we-heart-korean-protesters/

Share a useful piece of information

Sound vague enough for you? Therein lies the ease and versatility of this assignment. Chances are you've got loads of productivity tips and time-saving tricks up your sleeve, which someone else would benefit from knowing as well. For instance: baking soda can be mixed with cornstarch to make a deodorant, chromeadblock.com is a free tool that prevents ads from appearing on the websites you visit, and crowdsurfing can be nipped in the bud with a single poster (see right). Customize this tip to the person you give it to for maximum impact.

Effort involved: a little racking of the brain, which never hurt anyone.

Make healthy treats for a dieting friend

To avoid irreversible offense/trauma/ill will, you should be absolutely sure before proceeding that this person is on a diet. And this information should be volunteered by the dieter, not asked by you. This is crucially important to maintaining friendly relations. There's a wealth of online resources to help you. A list of main dishes can be found here, for example. For sweets, this is a list of substitute ingredients for making baked goods more nutritious. 


Or if you break out into a cold sweat at the idea of using your oven, you could always pick up dried fruit or make single-serving snack packs. This is as easy as portioning chocolate, nuts, crackers, roasted chickpeas, jerky, etc. into reusable bags. The appreciation you'll get will outweigh the effort you put in.


Effort involved: as indicated above, disproportionately low considering the praise you'll receive.

Take part in an International Women's Day event

International Women's Day is March 9, giving you plenty of time to make your estrogen-centric preparations. The theme for this year is "Connecting girls, inspiring futures". Whether you want to teach, learn, advocate or just fill up your Friday, a list of events by country is available at http://www.internationalwomensday.com/events.asp. The website is rather cluttered and corporate-branded, but is still a useful resource.


Effort involved: it depends on what kind of event you want to participate in (or even host). Or just send a snarky ecard or email vaguely related to X-chromosomeyness.

Customize an opera experience for a loved one

If someone you know is an opera fan, there are several reasons you should immediately buy one of these "operagrams": 


1) The singer's name is Baroness Tamara von Stein zu Leitershofen, which ranks up there with Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck in the roster of all-time great Germanic names. 


2) Distance is no object. If you're in London the singing can happen in person, but for everyone else the operagram can be delivered online or over the phone. 


3) The proceeds go to a children's NGO in Lesotho. 


4) It's a different kind of Valentine's Day gift, which also happens to be affordable. 


If you're convinced, mosey on over to www.operalapdiva.com/charity.


Effort involved: buying and customizing an intangible gift. How hard can that be?

Give unwanted items to charity

Whether you've got office supplies or black-and-white photography skills going spare, http://www.charitychoice.co.uk can connect you to charities that can make use of your donations or volunteering. The site only operates in the UK, but a similar effect can be achieved by contacting local charities to see what they could use.


Effort involved: getting rid of stuff, or getting to do stuff. You know, the usual.


Image from: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=105x9656029

Try to drink more ethically

It's a major buzzkill to realize that your tipple of choice has been made with labor violations or other nasties. For less guilt with your booze, consider the following:


- investigating fairtrade wines and spirits
- trying out local brews
- checking out this list of vegan beers: http://www.barnivore.com/beer#
- buying wine that benefits NGOs: http://www.charitycase.org/index.cfm. 


Your conscience will thank you even if your liver doesn't.


Effort involved: doing a bit of research, then drinking the tasty, tasty results of that research.


Image from: http://www.thetraveltart.com/strange-travel-photo-animals-in-alcohol/

Save travel money by volunteering

I can't say it any better than the original article, so I'm just going to direct you to the original article: http://lifehacker.com/5877393/how-to-book-a-1700-vacation-for-700-by-volunteering. Any accusations of laziness on my part are not unreasonable.


Effort involved: it depends on the kind of volunteer tourism you do, but there most likely will be some physical exertion (the physical kind is less likely but still possible). But what you expend in sweat is compensated for by what you save in money, making this a good deal if you're time-rich but cash-poor.


Image from: http://now-here-this.timeout.com/2011/12/09/nick-waplington%e2%80%99s-holy-landscapes/

Buy "aftersocks" to help rebuild Canterbury, NZ

In the wake of the earthquakes that struck Canterbury in 2010 and 2011, the organization Rural Women New Zealand banded together to do what is only natural following a natural disaster: creating socks and sock monkeys with Richter scale designs. Proceeds from the purchases go straight to the mayoral fund of the city most affected by the quakes. The picture to the right shows MPs modeling the socks. You too can join this illustrious crew by wearing the socks you buy from http://www.aftersocks.co.nz/.


Effort involved: buying and then wearing or gifting. Modeling the socks in front of Parliament not necessary.


Image from: http://www.aftersocks.co.nz/gallery.html#images/gallery/logo_gallery.jpg

Take old linens/towels to an animal shelter

Apparently animal shelters and vets' offices find raggedy towels and linens really useful; see http://www.athriftymrs.com/2011/11/responsible-decluttering.html for this and other recycling tips. It's probable that you have some holey sheets, mats, etc. lying around defying you to throw them out, so this is a good opportunity to find them a new home.


Effort involved: calling up some shelters and taking your things down. Duh?

Image from: http://bulk2.destructoid.com/ul/user/1/1709-211569-tIxzyjpg-noscale.jpg

Play WeTopia

WeTopia sounds a bit cultish, to be honest. There's the name, of course, with its eccentric spelling and paradisiacal connotations. Also not helping are the animated images of bug-eyed, stoned-looking children and the premise of giving something called "Joy" to various organizations. However, said "Joy"-giving results in actual contributions to children's projects in Haiti and the US, so if you like online games it may be worth peeking behind the curtain at http://www.wetopia.com/.


Effort involved: spreading "Joy", apparently. 



Image from: http://freemusicarchive.org/curator/ISSUE_Project_Room/blog/Prince_Rama_UTOPIANO_PLACE_1301

Send a mosquito net

The Nothing But Nets campaign guarantees that 100% of a $10 donation will go toward purchasing and making available an insecticide-treated net in order to combat malaria. You can part with your money here. You can marvel there ----------------------->
That man probably isn't suffering from fatigue, jaundice, anemia, fever, retinal damage and convulsions. Your $10 can help extend that to another person as well!


Effort involved: surely you're used to this one-off donation business by now. 

Image from: http://www.googlyfoogly.com/pictures/Crazy-Slam-Dunk.html

Donate in celebration to RNIB

Whether you've got a wedding, anniversary, birthday, birth, graduation or apocalypse party coming up, you may wish to forgo the usual toasters, jewelry, slippers, strollers, books and blow-up dolls and instead accept donations to the Royal National Institute of Blind People. At http://www.rnib.org.uk/donate/giftlists/Pages/give_celebration.aspx you can find customizable fundraising pages and envelopes to ease this sacrifice.


Effort involved: the RNIB's tools make the donation process a bit easier. As for the actual celebration, you and your friends are probably on your own for that.

Fight gobbledygook with the Plain English Campaign

The Plain English Campaign has the fantastic-sounding aim of combating jargon and gobbledygook in public English. We've all seen examples of this, whether it's the word 'stakeholder' used 12 times in a 15-word sentence or legal language so impenetrable it should come with a pickax. Apart from being annoying, such language serves to exclude large groups of people and obscure meaning. At http://www.plainenglish.co.uk you can register as a supporter, check out guides for clearer writing, download the delightfully-named Drivel Defence software or play around with the Gobbledygook Generator. It's good fun.


Effort involved: there are plenty of options on the website, so enjoy yourself.




Image from: http://www.michbar.org/generalinfo/plainenglish/columns/legalese2.cfm

Sponsor a grandparent

If you want to sponsor someone in a developing country you'll never meet, your options aren't limited to wide-eyed children being cradled by Sally Field against a swelling string arrangement. Elderly people could use a bit of help as well, so through Age UK you "can sponsor a grandparent in one of the world's poorest countries for £15 a month". Interested? Then nose on over to http://www.ageuk.org.uk/get-involved/sponsor-a-grandparent/.


Effort involved: thanks to the magic of direct debit, not much.


Image from: http://punchumgum.wordpress.com/2011/10/05/while-sarah-palin-thought-about-it-229-less-frightened-people-have-filed-for-president/

Help publicize a great website

The submission script, whatever that is, at http://www.submitexpress.com/free-submission.html will submit a given URL to search engines at no cost. Why? Possibly as a roundabout way of earning business for its other search engine optimization services. But you can use the free service to help spread the word about a fantastic site, such as, say, http://ridiculouslyinteresting.wordpress.com/. You can submit a charity website too, if you're feeling extra virtuous.


Effort involved: copying and pasting a URL. I suspect you may be able to manage that.


Image from: http://ridiculouslyinteresting.wordpress.com/2012/01/05/hidden-mothers-in-victorian-portraits/

Donate to the Scholar Rescue Fund

The Scholar Rescue Fund provides fellowships for established scholars whose lives and work are threatened in their home countries. These fellowships permit professors, researchers and other senior academics to find temporary refuge at universities and colleges anywhere in the world, enabling them to pursue their academic work and to continue to share their knowledge with students, colleagues, and the community at large. During the fellowship, conditions in a scholar’s home country may improve, permitting safe return to help rebuild universities and societies ravaged by fear, conflict and repression. If safe return is not possible, the scholar may use the fellowship period to identify a longer-term opportunity.

If you made it through all that, well done. If you've been inspired to contribute to one of these fellowships, even better.

Effort involved: reading the italicized paragraph was half the battle. The other half is transferring money over the Internet, and I suspect you're familiar with that.

Image from: http://disney.wikia.com/wiki/Teacher's_Pet

Provide items needed by trafficking victims

The Polaris Project is an anti-trafficking organization based in the US. It lists items currently needed by the people it assists at http://www.polarisproject.org/what-we-do/client-services/client-needs-list. These are things like clothes, gift cards and children's bits and bobs. It's likely that you have some of these goods already in your home. Sadly, they probably won't ever need any cans of smooth, ambiguously named marsupials, but you never know.


Effort involved: digging through your closets to see if anything would be useful and shipping what you find off to Washington, D.C.


Image from: http://realhoboscrotum.wordpress.com/2011/11/04/yummy/ 

Be a friend to bees

It's well-established that bee populations are increasingly in trouble, which puts humans' food supplies at risk. So there are ecological, conservationist and just plain selfish reasons to lend bees a helping hand. Here's a list of ways to do so:


- Avoid insecticides
- Plant bee-approved flowers
- Set out 30:70 sugar:water mixtures if appropriate
- Keep bees yourself
- Advocate politically for more bee-friendly policies


More ideas and details can be found here and there.


Effort involved: there's a range here, so it's up to you how involved you want to be.


Image from: http://greenhorz.info/bee-coloring-pages-2.html

Thank a UN peacekeeper

Yes, peacekeepers have been embroiled in scandal before - sometimes horrific ones. But if you consider the profession a noble one, given the many hardships involved, consider thanking them using this form. It's easy enough to do, as most of the fields have already been filled out for you.


Effort involved: simply completing a few fields, or writing a customized message in addition if you're feeling wordsmithy.



Image from: http://www.rottmair.de/2011/04/14/experimental-farming-in-drc/

Start a karma jar

This is inspired by http://5050.gd/projects/the-karma-equalizer. The idea is simple: we all mess up. No matter how strenuously we try to avoid exploiting, hurting or screwing over others, some exploiting/hurting/screwing over is inevitable. One way to make such mess-ups productive and less guilt-inducing is by setting aside a jar whose contents will go to charity. Every time you do something slightly evil, put some money in the jar. Done something really bad? Throw in some bills instead of coins. Who says feelings can't be monetized?


Effort involved: most of the effort is just remembering to add money following a screw-up. Watching money disappear from your wallet into this jar could be a good incentive to reduce these screw-ups. But since the money will be going to a good cause anyway, it's a win-win. Be a jerk, give money away/be a nicebody, keep your cash.

Image from: http://www.happyplace.com/10430/the-most-enjoyably-cantankerous-notes-ever-posted-in-the-workplace

Provide a solar light bulb to a Haitian family

At http://www.powertheworld.org/index/, all it takes to donate a solar powered light bulb to a Haitian family without electricity is US$10. $10! You may be able to find that just by rummaging through the sofa or your pockets.


Effort involved: rummaging + pulling out your credit card or simply pulling out your credit card.

Image from: http://philpin.com/humour/2011/07/a-list-of-light-bulb-jokes/

Ask a travel company if it's signed up to The Code

"The Code" in question is not some esoteric archaeological relic, but The Code for the Protection of Children from Sexual Exploitation in Travel and Tourism. This may not always be relevant, but it's especially important if you're traveling to a place where child sex exploitation is rampant to ensure that you're not indirectly supporting the practice. Even though The Code... doesn't appear to have an enforcement mechanism, putting pressure on companies to sign up to it promotes awareness of consumer concerns. You can find more details about this UNICEF-funded initiative at www.thecode.org.   


Effort involved: posing a question. You don't even have to do it in writing.


Image from: http://betterbooktitles.com/post/893925922/davincicode

Help spread information about Alzheimer's

The low-effort route involves passing around this handy slideshow prepared by the Alzheimer's Association: http://www.actionalz.org/inside_the_brain.asp. The slightly more formalized route involves becoming a member of the Alzheimer's Association Early Detection Alliance. Details can be found at http://www.alz.org/aeda/aeda.asp. Becoming an alliance member may or may not include a cool superhero outfit.


Effort involved: hey, you've got two options here.

Image from: http://www.babypop.com/blog

Participate in the New Underground Railroad

The New Underground Railroad is not a nu-folk band but a community of activists and organizations around the world devoted to ending modern-day slavery. All sorts of people and groups can join the network or learn more about the members. And, of course, they can be part of something that just sounds really cool.


Effort involved: simply browsing the map won't cost too much in the way of energy expended. Becoming an active member of the network is a different story.


Image from: http://goldenstate.wordpress.com/2008/03/08/the-constitution-dead-or-alive-part-ii/

Post a recipe for ChildLine

ChildLine is a free helpline for children in trouble. At http://www.spar.co.uk/FoodAndDrink/Recipes/SubmityourRecipe/, uploading a recipe and photo of a beloved childhood dish will result in a £4 donation to ChildLine - £4 being the cost of answering each child's call. Plus, you get to revisit some food you love, so everyone wins.


Effort involved: taking a photo of your food and writing down the recipe. You can make this multitask for you and email the recipe to some buddies as well - perhaps a nostalgic group dinner is in the cards?

Image from: http://realhoboscrotum.wordpress.com/2011/11/05/deeeelish/

Ensure that your Itunes purchases benefit UNICEF

If you're going to be buying books, music, apps, movies or TV shows using Itunes anyway, part of your purchase may as well support the work of the United Nations Children's Fund. www.buytunes.org makes this possible. Only 4% of each purchase goes toward the donation, but 4% is still, well, 4 percentage points better than 0. Use this impeccable math to your advantage!



Effort involved: simply using the buyTunes portal. Put the website on your bookmark bar, leave a sticky note with the URL - whatever it takes to remember to use the site.


Image from: http://combatblog.net/?p=146

Design a virtual T-shirt and win a trip to London

Well, this is an odd one. The UN Environment Programme is running a...well, I'll just let the webpage say it: "Create your own T-shirt and win a trip to London to meet Vivienne Westwood and get a tour of her 'attic of creativity'!" No, I don't know what that is, but the 'creativity' part makes the 'attic' bit seem slightly less spooky, maybe. Another oddity is that no contest deadline is given. Presumably entries will be accepted until one comes along that's so impressive blows the monogrammed socks right off the UNEP execs. 


Effort involved: microscopic in comparison with the work to create an actual T-shirt. This online T-shirt is only a matter of clicking away to select colors and patterns.

Learn about the Guide to Giving's priority areas

The number of charitable causes clamoring your attention can be overwhelming. But rather than curling into the intellectual equivalent of the fetal position and deciding that it's better not to give money at all than to risk giving it inefficiently, you could take a look at this Guide to Giving. It comes from the Copenhagen Consensus Center, which assembles economists to conduct research into priority areas for international development investment. These are areas where investment and intervention have been proven to be cost-effective and impactful. Helpfully, the report also provides practical information on donating in the areas mentioned.


If you're lucky enough to have money to donate (and if you're reading this blog it's likely you are among the lucky), it makes sense to be as thoughtful a donor as possible. After all, this is money you could be blowing on exotic pets or obscure collections; if you're going to spend it on something else, it may as well be in a high bang: buck ratio situation.

Image from: http://www.onegreenplanet.org/animalsandnature/protecting-the-adorable-pint-sized-philippine-tarsier/

Pledge to give non-bought gifts

The endless cycle of gift-buying is generally bad for the environment, as well as for your bank account. It can also be mentally taxing; I mean, what can you possibly give a 95-year-old woman that she hasn't seen in various iterations dozens of times before? You might end up buying something you suspect she'll neither want nor need, just for the sake of buying something. Well, if it's the thought that counts, put it to the test. Ask your loved ones if they'll agree to stop exchanging purchased gifts for the next holiday or the next year. This should result in an upswing in homemade gifts/gift experiences (cookies, drawings, sweaters for pets, free babysitting, a get-out-of-jail-free card for an argument, etc.). It should also result in a downswing in waste, stress and unnecessary parting with money.

Effort involved: well, you don't have the leave the house to enter a store. For those wiseacres who immediately think of online shopping - well, you don't have to dig out your credit card.


Image from: http://vegansaurus.com/.

Surprise someone with a massage

I shouldn't have to say this, but make it someone you know! Non-creepiness is always good.


Effort involved: certainly no more than an hour. Hopefully a little more than it took to write this post.


Image from: http://www.back-in-action.co.uk/Pages/Massage.htm

Create a water-themed ad to win €5,000

#1: Are you European? If yes, proceed to #2. If not, console yourself with the thought that your currency is probably less likely than the euro to implode at any second.


#2: Do you have the design skills to create an ad? If yes, proceed to #3. If not- seriously, it's not that hard. Take a pretty picture, draw a simple something, play around in Paint, whatever. You can do this.


#3: Can you create an ad promoting awareness of water conservation for the UN's Drop by Drop campaign, using the logo provided on its website and respecting the deadline of February 29, 2012? If yes, visit http://www.dropbydrop.eu/en/. If not, see the second part of #2.


Effort involved: depends on you, really. But if you spend 2 hours and 14 minutes making the ad and end up winning, your hourly rate will have been €2,238.81. Not too shabby.


Image from: http://www.britishbattles.com/egypt-1882/tel-el-kebir-1882.htm

Copy an Earth Day pledge

Take a look at the pro-environment actions people have pledged on http://act.earthday.org/, and adopt one of these ideas yourself. Or you could go the extra mile and post an original pledge yourself, hopefully inspiring someone to steal your brainwave. This is one case where theft of ideas is a good thing. 

Effort involved: there's a big range here, from "Bye bye lunch bag, hello lunch box" to "Green my vote" to "Help turn my school into an eco school" to...well, we could do this all day, but all good blog posts must eventually come to an end.



Image from: http://devosdevine.com/2011/05/plagiarism-or-copyright-infringement/

Watch and discuss an IRIN movie

IRIN is a Nairobi-based humanitarian news source. This page lists IRIN's most-watched short films of 2011. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the topics range from hugely depressing to marginally less depressing, but the films are interesting for opening a window into little-known areas. One of the movies, for instance, centers on a 70-year-old transgender Cambodian who's been a sex worker since the age of 14. Watching and sharing these movies are easy ways to become more informed and spread information about international aid issues. It's also free entertainment, if you want to look at it that way.



Effort involved: equivalent on average to roughly 4 YouTube videos in terms of length and mental effort, I'd very unscientifically say.


Image from: http://www.zazzle.co.uk/watch_me_tshirt-235737526662260965

Support an artistic project with Kickstarter

Kickstarter is one of those brilliant ideas you wish you'd had, but aren't too envious about because you're just glad it exists at all. It connects creators of movies, books, music, public art and other endeavors with people who want to throw money at them, to make sure that these proje cts actually get made. Funders get rewarded in various ways, such as through credit or copies of the finished works. There's also, of course, the satisfaction of knowing that instead of just complaining about the preponderance of crap in movie theaters, galleries, top 40 radio stations, etc., something concrete can be done to resist it. So kick away, by all means. 

Effort involved: roughly more than throwing coins into the hat of a street-performing mime, but there's also more choice and variety involved too.

Image from: http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/manhattan/kicked_out_for_prank_8itjNST1uZYzxodQW3GwhM 

Ask "How are you" and really mean it

In some places - ahem, the UK - "How are you?" is similar to "Hi". The only acceptable answers are rote variations of  "Good", "Fine" and, if things are really bleak, "Ok". In fact, you're horrified and discomfited if anyone actually takes this question seriously, as doing so seems to break some unspoken yet obvious code of interpersonal interaction. What next, utter social anarchy? It's only a few small steps from this to people cutting ahead in line, peeing on toilet seats and eventually, of course, machine-gunning embryos and crafting clothes out of their gelatinous skins just because they can. It's possible, however, that some people might actually like to have serious conversations about how they're feeling. I can't verify this myself, but you may like to explore this possibility.


Effort involved: well, you'll have to brace yourself for a conversation. But it just may be a good one.

Image from: http://daily-songs.com/2011/10/07/how-are-you-by-david-byrne-fatboy-slim-feat-nellie-mckay/