WiserEarth
Encyclopedia
WiserEarth.org is a user-generated online community space for the social and environmental movement , tracking the work of non-profits around the world . The site maps and connects non-governmental organization
s (NGOs), businesses, governments, groups and individuals addressing global issues such as climate change, poverty
, the environment
, peace
, water, hunger
, social justice
, conservation, human rights
and more. WISER is an acronym for World Index of Social and Environmental Responsibility. WiserEarth.org is the primary program of the non-profit organization WiserEarth.
. The author had amassed a collection of business cards from thousands of organizations over the years, but had not found a comprehensive directory listing all non-profit organizations involved in the social justice and environmental sector. Estimating the number of organizations into total to be well over a million, Hawken launched WiserEarth.org as an online directory to help map out the work done by these organizations. Today, WiserEarth.org incorporates additional social networking features, such as groups and messaging tools, to provide greater possibilities for collaboration. Though its API
and content
are licensed for non-commercial use (see below), WiserEarth has expanded its organization directory to include listings for for-profit businesses and government agencies.
integrated with the geographical data. The website is a non-profit venture and is free to the public. The data is published under a Creative Commons
3.0 license.
API developed under a Creative Commons
3.0 license. The WiserEarth API provides access to an extensive database of "entities" such as Organizations, Groups, Jobs, Events, Resources, and Solutions. There is an associated FAQ and a Developer's Documentation page.
Non-governmental organization
A non-governmental organization is a legally constituted organization created by natural or legal persons that operates independently from any government. The term originated from the United Nations , and is normally used to refer to organizations that do not form part of the government and are...
s (NGOs), businesses, governments, groups and individuals addressing global issues such as climate change, poverty
Poverty
Poverty is the lack of a certain amount of material possessions or money. Absolute poverty or destitution is inability to afford basic human needs, which commonly includes clean and fresh water, nutrition, health care, education, clothing and shelter. About 1.7 billion people are estimated to live...
, the environment
Ecology
Ecology is the scientific study of the relations that living organisms have with respect to each other and their natural environment. Variables of interest to ecologists include the composition, distribution, amount , number, and changing states of organisms within and among ecosystems...
, peace
Peace
Peace is a state of harmony characterized by the lack of violent conflict. Commonly understood as the absence of hostility, peace also suggests the existence of healthy or newly healed interpersonal or international relationships, prosperity in matters of social or economic welfare, the...
, water, hunger
Hunger
Hunger is the most commonly used term to describe the social condition of people who frequently experience the physical sensation of desiring food.-Malnutrition, famine, starvation:...
, social justice
Social justice
Social justice generally refers to the idea of creating a society or institution that is based on the principles of equality and solidarity, that understands and values human rights, and that recognizes the dignity of every human being. The term and modern concept of "social justice" was coined by...
, conservation, human rights
Human rights
Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...
and more. WISER is an acronym for World Index of Social and Environmental Responsibility. WiserEarth.org is the primary program of the non-profit organization WiserEarth.
History
WiserEarth.org launched on Earth Day (April 22nd) 2007 as an online directory of the 100,000+ organizations touched upon in Paul Hawken's book, Blessed UnrestBlessed Unrest
Blessed Unrest: How the Largest Movement in the World Came into Being and Why No One Saw It Coming is a 2007 New York Times bestseller by Paul Hawken. The book is about the many non-profit groups and community organizations, dedicated to many different causes, which Hawken calls the “environmental...
. The author had amassed a collection of business cards from thousands of organizations over the years, but had not found a comprehensive directory listing all non-profit organizations involved in the social justice and environmental sector. Estimating the number of organizations into total to be well over a million, Hawken launched WiserEarth.org as an online directory to help map out the work done by these organizations. Today, WiserEarth.org incorporates additional social networking features, such as groups and messaging tools, to provide greater possibilities for collaboration. Though its API
Application programming interface
An application programming interface is a source code based specification intended to be used as an interface by software components to communicate with each other...
and content
Content
Content or contents may refer to:* Contentment, a state of being* Content , the highest common factor of a polynomial's coefficients* Content , an additive real function defined on a field of sets...
are licensed for non-commercial use (see below), WiserEarth has expanded its organization directory to include listings for for-profit businesses and government agencies.
Facts and figures
As of February 25,2011, WiserEarth provided a directory of more than 112,000 organizations worldwide, over 50,000 registered members, and more than 2,400 groups, with content organized in 46 areas of focus and 379 sub-areas. WiserEarth is currently available in English, French, Indonesian, Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish.WiserEarth Directory
The WiserEarth Directory is organized around a master list of issues which are "networked" in such a way that registered users can edit the "connections" of each issue to organizations, resources, jobs, events, and groups. The website features groupware and social networking components including graphical "Network Maps". A unique "Solution form" allows any logged in user to state a serious social or environmental problem and propose a way to solve it. The Solution then becomes a named entity that can be shared, modified, and acted upon as the proposed solution is implemented in the real world. The solution form includes a place to record results and observations. Each Solution is provided with a publishing and networking page and a discussion forum. WiserEarth also incorporates embedded Google MapsGoogle Maps
Google Maps is a web mapping service application and technology provided by Google, free , that powers many map-based services, including the Google Maps website, Google Ride Finder, Google Transit, and maps embedded on third-party websites via the Google Maps API...
integrated with the geographical data. The website is a non-profit venture and is free to the public. The data is published under a Creative Commons
Creative Commons licenses
Creative Commons licenses are several copyright licenses that allow the distribution of copyrighted works. The licenses differ by several combinations that condition the terms of distribution. They were initially released on December 16, 2002 by Creative Commons, a U.S...
3.0 license.
WiserEarth API
As of June 2009, WiserEarth offers a RESTfulRepresentational State Transfer
Representational state transfer is a style of software architecture for distributed hypermedia systems such as the World Wide Web. The term representational state transfer was introduced and defined in 2000 by Roy Fielding in his doctoral dissertation...
API developed under a Creative Commons
Creative Commons licenses
Creative Commons licenses are several copyright licenses that allow the distribution of copyrighted works. The licenses differ by several combinations that condition the terms of distribution. They were initially released on December 16, 2002 by Creative Commons, a U.S...
3.0 license. The WiserEarth API provides access to an extensive database of "entities" such as Organizations, Groups, Jobs, Events, Resources, and Solutions. There is an associated FAQ and a Developer's Documentation page.
See also
- Blessed UnrestBlessed UnrestBlessed Unrest: How the Largest Movement in the World Came into Being and Why No One Saw It Coming is a 2007 New York Times bestseller by Paul Hawken. The book is about the many non-profit groups and community organizations, dedicated to many different causes, which Hawken calls the “environmental...
- Natural Capital InstituteNatural Capital InstituteThe Natural Capital Institute is a non-profit non-governmental organization based in Sausalito, CA. It was founded by the environmentalist, entrepreneur, journalist, and author Paul Hawken. -Mission statement:...
- Earth CharterEarth CharterThe Earth Charter is an international declaration of fundamental values and principles considered useful by its supporters for building a just, sustainable, and peaceful global society in the 21st century...
- AppropediaAppropediaAppropedia is a website for collaborative solutions in sustainability, poverty reduction and international development, with a particular focus on appropriate technology. Appropedia is a wiki-based website like Wikipedia, a website where a large number of participants are allowed to create and...
External links
- WiserEarth.org
- http://www.treehugger.com/files/2007/06/wiser_earth_paul_hawken.php
- http://www.prwatch.org/node/6158 Blessed Unrest for a Wiser Earth: John Stauber interviews Paul Hawken
- http://www.social-networkreviews.com/content/wiser-earth Review of WiserEarth as a Social Network