Doing Good Better: Effective Altruism and a Radical New Way to Make a Difference

by William MacAskill

Cool Earth was founded in 2007 in the United Kingdom by businessman Johan Eliasch and MP Frank Field, who were concerned with protecting the rainforest and the impact that deforestation might have on the environment. The charity aims to fight global warming by preventing deforestation, primarily in the Amazon. It uses donated money to help develop rainforest communities economically to a point where they do better by not selling their land to loggers. Cool Earth does not buy rainforest directly; instead, it provides economic assistance to local communities, helping the people who inhabit the rainforests establish more profitable ventures than selling trees. This involves, among other things, working to secure property rights, improving community infrastructure and connecting the inhabitants of the forests with markets where they can sell their produce at good prices. The work Cool Earth does therefore incidentally improves the lives of those living in the rainforest while working to prevent climate change.