Carbon Neutral Indiana

Below is a video of Carbon Neutral Indiana's first birthday celebration. About 44 people in the community came together on April 7, 2021.

Anne Laker (Development, CNI)

00:10​ - Welcome

Daniel Poynter (Co-Founder, CNI)

02:18​ - How Carbon Neutral Indiana started

05:46​ - Accomplishments in our first year

06:44​ - Portraits of all who became carbon neutral

07:22​ - Animation of how our community grew

Josh & Cara Bach (first carbon neutral household)

07:45​ - What he sees in CNI

Chris Powers (Co-Founder, CNI)

09:35​ - Present state of the community (e.g. finances, impact)

Daniel Poynter (Co-Founder, CNI)

13:28​ - Future of CNI

Chris Powers (Co-Founder, CNI)

17:39​ - Call representatives from the break out rooms (What makes our community unique? Why is it important it grow quickly?)

17:50​ - Robin Applegarth

18:14​ - Zach Day

19:33​ - Brian Will

20:14​ - Larry Zimmer

Anne Laker (Development, CNI)

12:16​ - Announce fundraising goal

24:55​ - Rae Schnapp, PhD

27:28​ - Nancy Moldenhauer

32:40​ - John Bohlmann

Daniel Poynter (Co-Founder, CNI)

34:55​ - Wrap up meeting, story of Norris Henderson

Norris Henderson

37:12​ - Clip from interview about social movements

Carbon Neutral Indiana has helped facilitate bipartisan climate legislation in Indiana, along with several other organizations. Below, see Daniel's testimony on March 30, 2021. 

Also see:

• Summary of the legislation on NPR
• Previous blog post

Climate Xchange is a 501c3 that provides "research, education, and advocacy to move us towards a low-carbon economy through market-based mechanisms." They host a monthly meeting where representatives from the states provide updates.

Daniel Poynter of Carbon Neutral Indiana provided an update for Indiana at 37:40.

It's here! Here is our new yard sign! Thank you to Andy Fry and Lee Eisenbarth for this new design.

There are about 100 of our first batch scattered around Indiana. Would you believe that about 200,000 people drive by them every day?

If you look closely, you'll see this one says Carbon Neutral Ohio... Stay tuned...

On Mon Mar 22, 2021, some of our community gathered to have a discussion. We have about $40,000 to invest annually and are growing quickly. As a learning network, we aim to learn in public and collect and synthesize research. That way our community can become more and more knowledgable and invest our resources in the most effective climate solutions possible.

We explored the basics of carbon offsets as well as what criteria we might use to select our next investments in carbon offset projects.

Slides available here.

Thank you for participating:

• Chris Haynes, PhD
• Molly O'Donnell
• Rebecca Stoops
• Caroline Nellis
• Anne Laker
• Daniel Poynter
• David Vonnegut-Gabovitch (co-owner of BRICS)
• Ray Wilson
• Larry Zimmer
• Chris Powers
• Brian Will
• Josh Kruer

Mentioned in the conversation:

• Cascades Inn, Bloomington IN
• Mark Carney's Taskforce on Scaling Voluntary Carbon Markets
• EPA's Green Chill program
• First hemp mill
• Verra's database of certified projects
• Mad Ag

NationBuilder is the nation's leading software for grassroots movements. For example, the tech savvy Presidential candidate Andrew Yang used it for his campaign.

NationBuilder is so proud of what Carbon Neutral Indiana is accomplishing with their platform that they just published a case study of our work.

Recently, they hosted a webinar highlighting five success stories. They selected Carbon Neutral Indiana -- along with ICAN which one the Nobel Prize in 2017. See 26:50 in this video:

"Carbon Neutral Indiana has given us a way forward in Indiana to make real contributions as private citizens. I hope you will reach out to them, ask questions, and ultimately learn how important your contribution to this effort is."

Read full article here.

Thank you for writing this article, Gillian Field!

Just got this from a carbon neutral household:

"A few days after we last spoke, I bought an electric car! Really excited to see how this changes my footprint. I know I dont drive a lot so I know it won't be monumental, but still!"

Each year, the Keeling Curve Prize goes to organizations, "with a proven track record of taking greenhouse gases out of the atmosphere."

Chris Powers, Anne Laker, and Daniel Poynter invested the last week and a half applying. We just submitted it today! See the application below.

"Based on the notion that entrepreneurs discover solutions and engage with their communities over a million cups of coffee, the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation developed 1 Million Cups in 2012—a free program designed to educate, engage and inspire entrepreneurs around the country. Through the power of volunteers, 1 Million Cups has grown to more than 160 communities.

As a program of the Kauffman Foundation, 1 Million Cups works with entrepreneurs, empowering them with the tools and resources to break down barriers that stand in the way of starting and growing their businesses. Mr. Kauffman believed it was a fundamental right for anyone who had a big idea to be able to bring it to life—and we're here to fulfill that mission." -1 Million Cups (Indianapolis)

Thank you to Susanna Taft and Drew Kincius for organizing our local chapter!

Our presentation begins at 16:30: