#ETH4Harvey
Hurricane Harvey has already caused significant damage to Southwest Texas, and it is expected to continue for days. From my Austin apartment, I write this as I watch live media streams of Harvey unleashing on my hometown — Victoria, TX. Contact with family is now limited as they preserve batteries in preparation for at least a week of power outages. My sister (a NICU nurse) and most other medical personnel are inhabiting the hospitals indefinitely, caring for patients and hurricane victims. Citizens have been directed to boil water before drinking due to damages at some water treatment facilities.
As I observed the magnitude of devastation in real time, it dawned on me that Harvey’s demolition of public infrastructure and private assets had both cut off communities’ access to central authorities who normally provide resources. Blockchain technology can be used to insert trust and prove ownership in an immutable and distributed fashion. If blockchain is integrated into future systems that track identity and ownership, it can help provide stability during catastrophic situations like Harvey where identities are torn from assets.
The developing world has adopted blockchain technology at a faster pace than “The West” — an observation generally attributed to a difference in the strength of central authorities and public infrastructure. Weak central authorities often lack the systems and capital necessary to track identity and ownership, leading to citizens who cannot prove ownership or access capital (e.g. banks).
Here in the US, government authorities and banking institutions retain centralized control of our identities and assets; thus, the ability to prove identity and ownership is often taken for granted here in the US. Yet our sense of identity and ownership remains alive and well.
This was most apparent to me recently when most of my friends and family in could not or would not evacuate before Hurricane Harvey made landfall. Indeed, ownership is a defining feature of identity , and the prospect of abandoning your assets [even in the wake of a CAT4 hurricane] is a double edged sword.
As a startup focused on providing developer tools and support to simplify Ethereum development and accelerate commercial adoption, Transmute Industries is constantly considering new use cases, and the potential for social good and impact is enormous. However, the victims of Hurricane Harvey cannot wait for the decentralized version of a smart contract-based non-profit or relief organization to exist; they need help now. So we opted to take a smaller, more manageable step towards the ideal in order to maximize impact.
Habitat for Humanity Texas is organized and mobilized to support long term relief efforts and accept donations. If Habitat for Humanity can accept donations via the Ethereum blockchain, more storm victims can receive the assistance they desperately need. Transmute Industries has expanded the potential donation pool for Habitat for Humanity of Texas by providing the ability to accept cryptocurrency donations — specifically in Ether (“ETH”) via the Ethereum blockchain.
As fellow Texans from the region, my team at Transmute Industries decided to employ its expertise and time to benefit Habitat for Humanity and our community as it recovers from the anticipated devastation from Hurricane Harvey. This fundraising effort is one way we can contribute to the Texas community and support Habitat for Humanity’s mission. 100% of proceeds go to Habitat for Humanity Texas.
Enormous thanks to Amy Parham, Phyllis Snodgrass, and Kristen Johns for contributing to this effort in real time, enabling a swift and mobilized ETH relief campaign! Donate ETH here and share with #ETH4Harvey.
