DoSomething.org and the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) ENERGY STAR program has announced the launch of eMission, a unique Facebook game with a social mission―to increase energy efficiency and fight climate change offline.
The eMission Facebook game requires that gamers take real-life actions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, such as changing light bulbs to energy efficient ENERGY STAR qualified CFLs or running a recycling drive at school, to advance to higher levels.
DoSomething.org is teaming with environmental activist and actress Sophia Bush (One Tree Hill), who encourages teens in a new Public Service Announcement (PSA) to take a break from building their farm towns and fighting crime lords and instead play a game that involves taking online and offline actions to help the environment and increase energy efficiency.
Bush’s involvement in the campaign came after DoSomething.org asked its over 350,000 twitter followers for suggestions on the best celebrity spokesperson for this cause. The actress’ name was overwhelmingly tweeted to @DoSomething, and she quickly signed on to support the initiative.
“Teens are already on Facebook playing games, so why not play one that’s going to change your life for the better?” says Sophia Bush. “Young people need to hear that they’re powerful and can be leaders in change. This is the idea behind eMission.”
To view Sophia Bush’s PSA, click here.
eMission places players in a coastal setting where they build and maintain an online habitat featuring creatures, such as sea lions, pelicans and bald eagles, by completing ‘missions’ in the real world that reduce greenhouse gas emissions―such as powering down computers when not in use, planting a tree, and taking shorter showers. Although players are rewarded with points and new habitat features inside the game environment, the highest rewards are based on the actual carbon savings of a player’s real-world actions. To advance in the game, players must complete increasingly complex offline actions that offer higher carbon savings. A player’s offline actions must be verified by friends or by submitting photographic evidence.
“Teens are using Facebook every single day―posting pictures, chatting with friends, writing on each other’s walls―but most significantly, they are spending half of their time on Facebook playing games,” said DoSomething.org COO Aria Finger. “We are thrilled that we can partner with top environmental and social games experts to use this platform to mobilize teens offline around energy efficiency.”
eMission participants can enter for a chance to win one of five $2,000 scholarships for their energy efficiency efforts, and other great prizes like signed DoSomething.org swag.
For more information on the game and how you can play eMission, visit DoSomething.org/eMission today.
