VANCOUVER, B.C - A Simon Fraser University professor is offering up a pod of beluga whales to the world's greenest person.
Sort of.
Boyd Cohen's website -- 3rdwhale.com -- has launched an international competition to highlight individuals who are working hardest to reduce their impact on the planet.
The grand prize: the adoption of a pod of Arctic beluga whales.
"Given the trajectory of the planet, we need to make stars out of people who are going above and beyond to really live a green lifestyle,'' Cohen said from Bolivia, where he's working with local university faculty to develop sustainable communities.
Cohen, 37, is an assistant professor of sustainable development and entrepreneurship at SFU.
He said he walks the walk when it comes to being green. He cycles, drives a hybrid vehicle, uses reusable shopping bags, buys offsets when he needs to travel and uses power-saving compact-fluorescent bulbs.
But while global awareness about sustainability is growing, knowledge about meaningful actions people can do to reduce their footprint is still short, he said.
The contest, then, is to promote good ideas -- and maybe garner a bit of fame for the winner when he or she is announced some time next month.
Cohen called it "the American Idol for green people.''
"While American Idol tries to make stars out of mediocre singers, I try to make stars out of people who are living a truly green life, so they can be role models for other people.''
Applicants fill out a multiple-choice survey and write a short essay on the website. Finalists will be asked to submit a five-minute video that shows their green life.
Applicants from countries with at least 10 entries will face off to determine a country-wide winner, before the vote is held for the Greenest Person on the Planet.
So far, novel ideas from surveys include growing fruits and vegetables on patios and rooftops, using automatic four-minute shower timers, cancelling cable television for half a year to encourage outdoor activities and sending e-cards instead of paper greeting cards.
Though most of the hundreds of entries so far are from Canada, Cohen says he's seen at least 10 each from India and Venezuela. He's hoping to see a significant turnout from at least 50 countries.
Cohen's own foray into green thinking came after he moved to Colorado to work on his PhD in entrepreneurship in the 1980s.
"I started to really value environmental issues, but at the same time, I never thought I could marry that with my interest in starting businesses,'' he said.
A book gave him ideas to mix the two, and the 3rdwhale website -- a social network for people to share and discuss information about sustainability and green issues -- is the latest in a long line of companies he's founded, he said.
The website's next project: A green dating service for like-minded singles.
