Jul 31

TerraCycle

Maybe you've heard of TerraCycle for their liquid plant food (worm poop!). They're much more than worm poop now, and their brand has expanded to include, among other things, eco-friendly cleaning products. TerraCycle products are the first consumer products to carry the Zerofootprint™ seal, which means the materials and manufacturing process that go into creating the products have virtually no negative environmental effects. The cleaners are non-toxic, fragrance free, biodegradable, people and pet safe, are never tested on animals, and are packaged in waste stream products which would otherwise have ended up in a landfill.

Best Part is, They Work!

I was sent full sized samples of TerraCycle's all purpose cleaner, window cleaner, and drain cleaner and maintainer. I haven't gotten a chance to use the drain cleaner yet, but the other two work great.

We found out the other day that we had a small leak under our kitchen sink, which left a puddle in the bottom of the cabinet. We don't know how long it was leaking, but it was pretty gross. I used the all purpose cleaner, and it worked wonderfully. My only gripe is the smell: it's very piney. While this is better then the lemon smell of another green cleaner I've tried (no names mentioned!), it's still a bit strong for me.

I used the window cleaner on the sliding glass door in our living, and was surprised (pleasantly!). It removed the dirt, fingerprints, etc., easily, with minimal streakage (I think I just created a new word!). The smell of this cleaner is so light you actually have to sniff the cloth to smell it (and, yes, I did... to let you all know what it was like!).

So, let's get into the interview with Tom Szaky, CEO of TerraCycle.

I have read the story of how TerraCycle got its start, but I know our readers would love to know. Would you mind telling us a bit about yourself and how you came to start an eco business?

Having grown up in Canada, where people are more progressive about environmental awareness, I grew up very aware of the looming environmental issues our society faces. That combined with an entrepreneurial spirit, I started a web design firm at age 14, which made for a very natural progression into eco-capitalism. When I came to Princeton for my freshman year, I was astonished by the amount of waste I saw. So many bottles were discarded in the dorms and so much food was left untouched in the cafeterias. It struck me not only as a serious dilemma, but a major opportunity. Trash struck me as free material from which to make products, and it was that thought that eventually lead to TerraCycle.

Did you encounter any challenges when starting up your business? Has it been difficult to maintain your business because of its philosophy?

Wow, how much time do you have? Starting a business is never easy, so you can imagine the looks on people's faces when you tell them you want to feed garbage to worms, collect their feces, and bottle it in used soda bottles! It made it tough to get my original start up capital from friends and family, since it sounds like a nutty idea. Soon, though, the concept got some attention. I was able to win several reputable business plan contests, and with that as my accreditation, people started to take me more seriously. Of course, it didn't make it any easier to tell my mom that I was dropping out of Princeton, of all places, to sell worm poop!

As for maintaining the business, yes and no. We have some serious issues other companies don't deal with. Quality control, for starters, is much harder to guarantee when working with waste, and is even more important. Furthermore, we are making products that have never been made before, which means there is no format to follow. I hate to use the word pioneer, but we certainly forge our own path, which inherently means pitfalls and problems abound! However, the average consumer's growing want for more sustainable and organic products has fueled great interest in TerraCycle, in terms of investors, media, retailers, et cetera, so in that sense our philosophy is a major advantage.

Is there anyone or anything that inspires you, whether it be inspiration for your company or for your life in general?

William McDonough, who wrote Cradle to Cradle, was a big inspiration for me. The book made me realize that our only problem was malaise, which stifled innovation in the 20th century. The theory, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it," left our business innovation stagnant. Sure, technologies were advancing, but no one was going back to rethink the basic tenants of business. The book also helped me to fully understand a concept that was only in a formative stage in my mind. Eco-friendly and sustainable practices were good for business and, if used properly, lead to more profits, not to mention an easier night's sleep.

Your company is eco-friendly, but how eco-friendly are you in your own life?

It's funny, I get asked this question a lot. Yes and no. I think I do a lot of things that would be considered eco-friendly, but for me are just common sense. I recycle everything in my house, have a small worm bin for table scraps, use CFL in every light I own and drive a car with pretty good gas mileage, buy organic and local whenever possible. I am holding off on a Hybrid for now, waiting for plug-in electrics, which I think is the future of automobiles.

These things seem so simple and elementary to me, yet too few actually adhere to these easy principles, which is a shame because if 90% of Americans took these simple, non-costly steps, the difference would be massive. People always say the actions of one person won't save the polar ice caps, but they are wrong. If every person took these simple steps, we wouldn't be in nearly the crisis we are in now.

No one is perfect. I, for one, need to learn to take shorter showers to save water. Do you have any particularly eco-unfriendly habits?

That's funny. Yeah short showers aren't an issue for me, running a start up is all absorbing so my showers are always of the five minute variety! My travel for work would be my one habit that I wish I could change. I have to travel a lot to meet with investors, retailers, et cetera. One day, when TerraCycle is making enough money, I hope to offset the carbon from all my travel. Right now, 100% of TerraCycle's resources are going into developing products made from garbage. But, in that way, I am helping to consume carbon and waste on a grand scale, so for now I can justify it. One day all business will be done by video conferencing, but the world just isn't there yet.

So TerraCycle was sued by Miracle Gro? What happened?

Yeah that's how people tend to remember us. But I guess David isn't the worst part to get in the school play. I am actually legally bound not to talk about it. We got sued over trade dress claims, meaning they claimed our products look confusingly similar to Miracle Gro. After 5 months of discovery and talks, we were able to settle on relatively amicable means. Since then we have left that far in the rear view mirror and have moved out of the garden and into the home and closet!

Now we work with Goliath, which always makes me laugh, since we made our name fighting Goliath. We have signed a really amazing deal with Kraft Foods and their brands Capri Sun, Nabisco and Balance Bar. The partnership allows us to pay schools and non-profits to collect non-recyclable waste materials, which we then upcycle into eco-friendly products. It makes me happy that giant corporations like Kraft have enough vision to work with companies like mine. Kraft products are available at basically every food store in the country so working with them to bring recycling programs to schools and non-profits is great because we have the great ideas, but they have the resources and reach. Combining those elements makes for an unstoppable green force, and anyone can sign up for free at www.terracycle.net (sorry for the shameless plug!)

I recently started using my TerraCycle cleaning products, and am very happy with them. What cleaning products does TerraCycle offer, and why should our readers consider purchasing your products over others?

I am so glad to hear it! The cleaners are a really strong product of ours. We make a line of plant and mineral based cleaners including All-Purpose, Window and Bathroom that are all non-toxic, biodegradable and come packaged in a reused 1 liter bottle! In addition we make a great Drain Cleaner, one of the few all-natural Drain Cleaners on the market. It is actually made from millions of microorganisms that literally eat through grime, but dissipate into groundwater and don't cause environmental harm.

People should definitely support all all-natural cleaning products; both Method and 7th Generation are great companies and it's been great to see how mainstream they have become. Our products do have two HUGE advantages over those brands, though, and that's the packaging and the price. They are using 30-70% recycled plastic bottles for the most part, while our bottles are directly reused 1 liter bottles, making them the most eco-friendly way to package anything. As for price, take our Window Cleaner as an example, we are closer in price to Windex then to Method's window cleaner, and that's important. Especially in today's soft economy, people who want to buy environmentally beneficial products find it harder and harder to pay that premium. That's why TerraCycle sells all of its products at comparative prices to our more traditional competition.

Where can our readers find your cleaning products, and what should they expect to pay?

OfficeMax and Target both carry the cleaners. OfficeMax is national so that is the safe bet. As for the Drain Cleaner, that is sold exclusively at The Home Depot. The 1 liter line is $2.99 - $3.99 and the Drain is $8.99.

What other products can our readers find from TerraCycle?

Oh man! There are so many! We have a whole line of fertilizers and planting pots that are sold at The Home Depot. A whole office/school line is sold at OfficeMax. That is a great line, everything from pencil cases made from Capri Sun drink pouches to paper made from elephant poop, no joke! OfficeMax is also selling cork boards made from used wine corks and messenger bags made from used billboards!

Also, Target is testing all of our sponsored waste products. Those are the products born out of our partnership with Kraft Foods. We take the packaging waste from Kraft brands and turn it into umbrellas, tote bags, kites, pencil cases, homework folders, backpacks and more. Many of these products will be tested at Wal-Mart as well. My favorite products are the Capri Sun school supplies for kids, the kids seem to love them and the Chips Ahoy! Umbrella, I don't know why but I just like it a lot.

Since I know your life isn't all about your company, what are some of your hobbies and other interests?

For the most part TerraCycle is my life! Seriously, though, when I can break away I enjoy playing Tennis and Chess and also classical music. I recently got married to a world renowned concert pianist, Soyeon Lee, so I greatly enjoy all classical music and going to the orchestra.

Do you have any advice for others who are trying to be more green? How about others interested in starting a green business?

For those trying to go green, it's simple. You don't have to move to the Sierra Nevada mountains and join a co-op farm, or stand outside oil companies and picket. Just recycle, turn off lights, use CFLs, drive less, take shorter showers, buy local and STOP BUYING BOTTLED WATER! Go buy a Nalgene and keep it full.

As for those starting a business, never sacrifice your dream. Building a green business is harder then building a regular business, you can't cut corners or pick the cheapest way to manufacture or ship, but keep to your principals. Consumers want green products, so for all the pain and trouble you go through getting them to the shelves, you'll be richly rewarded (if you have a good product of course!)

Just for fun, and since your company probably repurposes the bottles from both brands: Coke or Pepsi?

Ha! Well I have deals with both companies, so I'll have to plead the fifth. But honestly I drink juice and tea, not soda.

Thank you, Tom, for taking the time to answer our questions, and congratulations on your recent marriage!

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Jul 31
ZapRoot, which bills itself as "an unconventional bite-sized news show that covers the fast changing world of the modern Green Revolution."

Like other web tv news shows it's a little bit snarky, a little wacky, and treats you to little clips of humor that broadcast news shows could not get away with (see the "documentary footage" in the show below. Host Jessica Williamson is no Lindsay Campbell or Julie Alexandra, but her spunkiness may be infectious. (And oh, that accent...)

Here is Jessica on the Pickens Plan (and rumors that it may be a bait and switch play to get his hands on water):



I'm still picking through the Pickens Plan and Al Gore's latest call to action and will have a post to share my thoughts before the weekend (I hope; it's been a busy few weeks).

Here is the Pickens Plan video; judge for yourself:

Jul 30
Starbucks Gift Card While I enjoy personalized gifts, sometimes a gift card is better... especially when the gift giver never gets the gift quite right. I've got some relatives who enjoy buying the same thing for each niece/nephew/grandchild/etc. in different colors. In these cases, I'd prefer a gift card!

Usually the cashier at the store throws these cards away for you when they run out of funds. In 2006, 17 billion plastic cards were produced, most of which probably wound up in the landfills. Not only do these take up space that they don't need to, but they often contain PVC (polyvinyl chloride), which is a carcinogen. So, what can we do with them to avoid this? Earthworks offers a solution.

Earthworks launched a Retailer Gift Card Return Program in January, which allows retailers and consumers to send their used plastic gift cards (and membership cards, library cards, etc.) to be recycled. They have teamed up with Starbucks and the Gap, which means your gift cards from these companies are recycled and recyclable.

From Plenty Magazine:
Does the recycling process create any waste?

It absolutely does not create any waste. It’s a really simple process that involves securely destroying the material by chopping it up and then melting the plastic down. There’s no chemical waste because we don’t use any chemicals in the process, which a lot of post-consumer products need in order to clean the material. The other great thing is that recycling a card and making it into a new one saves about 80 percent of the energy that would be used to make a brand new card. That’s because our product is made from 100 percent recycled materials with no raw materials and no petroleum.


Stay tuned tomorrow for an interview with Tom Szaky, CEO of Terracycle, and a review on some of their green cleaning products.

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Jul 30
Become paperless. Humans, your rudimentary device called a “personal computer” was supposed to turn your civilization into a paperless society. From what we see observing humans, this has not happened yet.

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Jul 30

Mark Burget, Chief Conservation Programs Officer of the Nature Conservancy announced his departure last Friday. It came as a surprise to me, as it may have to others, because, frankly, Mark is one of those people who personifies the Conservancy.

The core values of TNC are integrity beyond reproach, respect for people, community, and culture, and commitment to tangible, lasting results; all of these can be used to describe Mark. Oh, and one other: "One Conservancy," which was John Sawhill's way of saying a collaborative spirit that works for the whole of the organization, not just its parts.

In fact, Mark always kept the whole of conservation in mind when he set strategy, whether as program director for the Upper Colorado River Basin, state director in Colorado and California, or in his more global responsibilities over the past few years.

And I gather it is this consideration of the whole that is once again in his mind as he decided to leave TNC. He is heading to ClimateWorks, a San Francisco-based non-profit that is focused, as Mark put it in his letter to colleagues, "on the most pressing environmental issue of our time: the need to dramatically reduce the greenhouse gas emissions that threaten to disrupt and destroy the miracle of life and the human experience on Earth."

TNC will miss Mark's leadership, vision, and sheer brilliance -- he is one of the most thoughtful and strategic thinkers in the field of conservation. But Mark would not have made this decision without a whole lotta soul-searching. I applaud Mark's decision and will look forward to his success at ClimateWorks.

Mark Burget joined the Conservancy in 1992 as the Program Director for the Upper Colorado River Basin. He earned both his J.D. and M.B.A. from the University of Virginia and his BA in Government from Dartmouth College. Since joining the Conservancy, Mark has held several leadership positions including Director of the Colorado Program, Director of the Global Priorities Group, and most recently Director of the California Program. Mark assumed his current position as Chief Conservation Program Officer in 2007 and leads the Conservancy’s eight conservation regions worldwide.
Zemanta Pixie
Jul 28
Tip of the Day - Shop Locally
icon1 The Green Skeptic | icon2 Member Posts | icon4 07 28th, 2008| icon3Comments »
And by local I don't mean the closest grocery store. I mean purchasing food that is grown locally. It will save on transportation costs/emissions and it helps out your local farmers.

So where can you get local produce and meat?

Farmers markets - you are buying direct from the farmers. Over time you can also build relationships with them and you will have confidence that the food is being grown in a manner that is important to you (organic for example).

On the farm - I see alot of signs for berries and corn around this time of year. Alot of farms in our area sell their produce and meat on their own property. Most farmers who are selling their meat will sell it to you in a variety of packages. This means less trips for you to get your meat.

Local stores - not the large grocery stores but one's that only sell local food. This is a good way to get all your food in once place rather than having to go to a few local farmers to get everything.

Food Co-ops - you pay to be part of the co-op and as part of it you help grow the fruits and vegetables and then get to split the food as it grows.

Food Baskets - we have this great service in town where you sign up for a plan and every week a local basket of food is delivered to a drop point for you (usually at a local store). You pick it up and get to enjoy whatever is in it (including meat, fruit, veggies, jams, honey etc etc).

Local butchers - some raise their own cattle, others purchase the meat from local farmers. Either way it is a great way to get all of your meat.

Grow your own - maybe not your own meat, but try growing your own fruits and vegetables. Then you have 100% control over how they are grown and you can be sure that they are meeting your standards.

Grocery store - when in a grocery store look for the produce that is grown locally. Here in Ontario they will have a sticker that says it was grown here. But that doesn't always mean it is local, but then again it is better than buying the same produce that has been shipped in from half way around the world.
Jul 28

No matter what your company does or where it's located Climate Change is going to have an impact on your business.

As CEO, it is imperative you understand the potential impacts and opportunities presented by the issue.

But with the tremendous amount of noise out there, on both sides of the issue, it may be difficult to sift through it to find the right information to inform your business decisions and strategy.

Along comes a slim volume in Harvard Business Press' Memo to the CEO series, Climate Change: What's Your Business Strategy? by Andrew J. Hoffman and John G. Woody.

Short enough to read on your next transcontinental or international flight, this book provides all the background, current thinking about impacts and opportunities, and upcoming policy decisions that will affect your business.

You will also learn how some of the most successful companies are getting ahead of the game. Companies like SwissRe, which has come up with a three-tiered approach to reducing greenhouse gas emissions (GHG), or Duke Energy, which is anticipating regulations to come and making sure they have a seat at the table when they are secured.

Hoffman, associate director of the Erb Institute for Global Sustainable Enterprise, and Woody, a deal associate at MMA Renewable Ventures, have devised a simple, three-step approach for you to follow to best position your company.

Beginning with understanding your company's carbon footprint and taking action to reduce its size, Hoffman and Woody walk you through assessing the business opportunities and how to influence policy as it's being developed.

"Some business associations and lobbyists still dispute the science of climate change, but their numbers are dwindling," the authors conclude. "And businesses themselves are focusing on the undeniable economics of the problem. While some companies are adapting out of near-term operational necessity, others are acting to mitigate long-term strategic vulnerabilities, and the most forward-thinking are seizing on new business opportunities created by climate change and devising ways to make money from clean energy and efficient technology."

Pick up Climate Change: What's Your Business Strategy? and read it, have your management team read it, and then decide what your company needs to do to stay ahead in the game.
Jul 27
The Savage Outrage
icon1 Barbara | icon2 Member Posts | icon4 07 27th, 2008| icon3Comments »
By now you’ve probably heard the comments made last week by radio talk show host Michael Savage. He caused outrage across the nation about his comments on autism, stating that it is a “racket” and a “fraud. Here is the video in case you missed it. Unless you have a child with autism, or [...]
Jul 26
We understand the human need to live in a spacious and comfortable dwelling environment. What we do not understand is why humans live in large houses that are over 2,000 square feet.

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Jul 25
ImpNERD goes green…
icon1 A. Caleb Hartley | icon2 Member Posts | icon4 07 25th, 2008| icon3Comments »

One of the other, not specifically green, blogs that I frequently read, ImpNERD, has posted his view of the top-ten LEAST talked about green technologies that might be changing the way we produce and use energy in the near (and sometimes far) future:

Check out the post here.

Namaste,
A. Caleb Hartley

Jul 23
Celebration! and Eco-Investments
icon1 A. Caleb Hartley | icon2 Member Posts | icon4 07 23rd, 2008| icon3Comments »

environmentastic! will be one year old sometime this coming September - I’ve never been good with dates, but if you want to know exactly: September 2, 2007 was the date my “Coming Soon” post went up and env! was born!

Since that time, through no true, particular goals or specific work on my part, environmentastic! has reached a pretty crazy milestone, in my mind: more than 4000 unique visitors in one month (nearly 125,000 hits), exceeding the bandwidth limits I had set for it when I initially created the hosting account (2GB transfer). I upped the bandwidth limit and went to look at my stats:

Year-to-Date Monthly Stats - env!

June 2008 env! stats

Exciting, eh? In celebration of this accomplishment, I would like to point out the post that has been bringing in the most traffic: Green Mutual Fund Providers. I had no idea that this post would bring in the kind of traffic it has, and it is still the most often read post on the blog, even though it was posted back on March 11th of 2008. Other posts that discuss similar issues as the above are pretty well-read:

Two Ways to Invest Responsibly

and

Socially Responsible Investing (SRI)

But the Green Mutual Funds Providers post is by far the most read - and is the number two google result for the search phrase: “green mutual funds.”

So since this is a celebration of environmentastic!’s success thus far in its existence, I would like to extend the information I have provided to people about SRI and offer you, my beloved readers, the following gift:

I am going to start researching potential investments in the stock market from an SRI perspective. For a limited time, I will post them here on environmentastic! for your enjoyment and, hopefully, to your retirement and investment benefit! But that’s only part of the gift:

The REALLY exciting part of my gift to you, readers, is that I would like to research and recommend (or not) companies that YOU would like to know more about. So let ‘er rip in the comments! Let me know what investments you think might be good options, and I’ll do some research and make a recommendation!

Keep in mind that I am not an investment adviser professionally, nor am I an expert, but I have a layman’s interest in investing, as well as a passion for and knowledge about the environment and social issues - in other words, “You could do worse.”

Anybody who comments with suggestions of companies to research will also be offered a discount on environmentastic!’s upcoming quarterly investment newsletter… for a limited time, anyway!

Namaste,
A. Caleb Hartley


I’ll take comments forever on companies you would like to know about, but the discount will only be offered for a limited time (I’ll update this post when I’ve decided to cut off the discount). So, comment away!

Jul 22
Ditching Plastic
icon1 Barbara Rae | icon2 Member Posts | icon4 07 22nd, 2008| icon3Comments »
It might be easier said than done. It’s everywhere and in almost every area of our everyday life. From baby bottles, trash-can liners, milk jugs, baggies, toys, toothbrushes and vinyl shower curtains. Almost everything that enters our home is packaged, wrapped or coated with some type of plastic. As plastic weakens, ages or becomes exposed to [...]
Jul 18
Quirky Fun
icon1 Barbara Rae | icon2 Member Posts | icon4 07 18th, 2008| icon3Comments »
Yesterday was an 80 degree day here in western Washington. We had many things to accomplish at the worm farm, where I work. Work starts at 8A.M. The workers arrive on the Access Bus, ready to start the day. They work a four hour shift. There are five adults, two young men and three [...]
Jul 18

I remember the day when I was no longer at the top of the food chain.

I was flying into Lower Talarik Creek in southwestern Alaska with nothing but a fly rod, a note book, a sleeping bag, and hubris. As we circled the lagoon, the float plane pilot pointed out 10 or 12 brown bears that had already secured the fishing hole.

We landed anyway and the bears disappeared. The low brush was barely enough to hide them. They were gone, but they were out there.

Until you've experienced the fear, adrenaline rush, and deep respect you feel in close proximity with a large predator, you haven't really lived.

As a species we have a complex relationship with predators, whether large cats, bears, wolves, sharks, or killer whales. It's a mixture of deep-seated fear and loathing, along with time-honored respect and admiration. Some of it goes back so far in our DNA that it is no longer top-of-mind. Most of us don't have to worry about it, safely ensconced in our cities, towns, and bedroom communities.

But Will Stolzenburg worries about it plenty. So do the biologists, activists, ranchers and others he writes about in Where the Wild Things Were: Life, Death, and Ecological Wreckage in a Land of Vanishing Predators, being published this month by Bloomsbury.

Stolzenburg, a former colleague at the Nature Conservancy and a writer for Science News, Conservation, and Nature Conservancy magazine, admits he is biased in favor of big predators. But he also understands the complexity of the psychology around their interaction with Homo sapiens.

"Over the thousands of millennia that our own lineage has spent in the company of killing beasts," Stolzenburg writes. "Competing with them for food and running from them as food -- the great meat-eaters have quite naturally etched themselves into the human persona."

Stolzenburg has written a compelling book, a short history of our relationship with predator species, which uses scientists and their stories to tell the story of that relationship and of the importance of predators on land and sea.

His story starts with an unlikely hero, the starfish (Pisaster ochraceous), which prevents mussels such as Myltilus californianus from crowding other species off rock habitats. Who amongst us would classify the sea star among the big charismatic megafauna? But they play an important role.

As do sea otters, which keep sea urchin populations down and minimizes their destruction of kelp forests. And then there are the usual suspects: wolves, coyotes and big cats that maintain a check on populations of smaller mammals and other species to avoid cascading, sometimes catastrophic changes.

Stolzenburg reviews the arguments surrounding the importance of predators to their habitats as well as the various attempts to extirpate them and to bring them back from the brink.

"The great predators are great barometers of our maturity as a species," he concludes. "If we can live with an animal that could just as soon eat us as an apple, if we can make room for an animal that traverses entire states looking for a mate, how better to define the art of compassion"

He follows the major thought leaders in conservation biology of the past 40 years on their journeys of discovery, enlightenment, and sometimes ridicule. The stories are fascinating and Stolzenburg makes the tales come to life in an almost Scott Turow novel way. (If you think scientist-researchers and field biologists lead boring lives in the academe, Stolzenburg will convince you otherwise.)

Equally fascinating are some of the depictions and explorations of the predators themselves, especially the chapters on killer whales and on "the loneliest predator," man. Fascinating, too, how recent some of the thinking is about species interaction and interdependency, until you realize that conservation biology as a field is relatively young.

Will Stolzenburg knows how to tell a story and his narrative is a good read. Part history, part mystery, part philosophical treatise, Where the Wild Things Were is an important book in the field of conservation, but also as a history of our species and our relationship with the others with which we share the planet.

Jul 17

Frankly I cannot understand why there are still some of you bloggers who aren't in EntreCard. This is a brilliant system that finally delivers the traffic we all want for our blogs! And what is more - it is an incentive to visit other blogs daily, so you have the additional joy of reading great blogs on a daily base. You get credits for both - visiting and being visited!

AND NOW - fot the first time in history you get credits, too, for commenting! Entrecard has just announced partnership with SezWho:

"The objective is to make valuable contributions to others’ posts, and fast track your blog to success."
"The credits we give you per comment bridge the gap between your desire to comment and the effort required to actually leave a comment. It will serve as a daily reminder that you should be commenting on blogs that interest you. It will give you a push to go above and beyond your normal comment, and make the best comment you can. Exploring blogs in your niche, making valuable contributions to them, and forging new relationships should be a routine, not a rarity. After all, super-bloggers are made, not born."


Watch THIS VIDEO to see exactly what SezWho does.

How to join

Step 1. Join Entrecard: just click on the E-widget in my sidebar where it says: Get One (= an EntreCard). It's easy, it's FREE and it works.
Step 2. Register with SezWho via Entrecard Dashboard
Step 3: Installing SezWho on your blog
Step 4: Rating Comments and Earning Credits

Once SezWho is installed on your blog, and you’ve registered your account with Entrecard (see Step 2), you will now start earning credits when you leave comments, and others will earn credits when they comment on your blog, dramatically increasing the frequency with which your blog gets commented.


Now I think this is really "a bold move in blogging history"!

I have installed SezWho on all my blogs so you can now use the feature right here if you want.
But I will not conceal from you that there are of course different opinions on that. There is already a great debate underway whether this "getting paid" for comments is a good thing ot not!

Read JoeTech versus Steven Humour

What is your point? Join in and share your thoughts here. You are very welcome.

Jul 15

Senator Richard G. Lugar, a Republican from Indiana and Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson Jr (left) have come out in support of the Clean Technology Fund (CTF), which was proposed by President Bush last September.

In an opinion piece in The Washington Post, Paulson and Lugar announce their support, claiming the CTF will "stimulate private-sector investment in existing clean technologies and speed the deployment of emerging technologies once they are market-ready."

Using a mix of loans, grants, equity investment and credit guarantees to finance this incremental cost, the CTF will "help make the choice between clean and dirty technologies economically neutral."

The US will contribute US$2 billion, which will be matched by up to US$8 billion from other donors to the fund, which is to be housed at the World Bank.

"The fund recognizes that addressing climate change presents economic opportunities, not just constraints, and that with advanced technology developing countries can curb emissions growth without limiting economic growth," Lugar and Paulson write in their Op Ed, concluding, "If we do not act immediately to help provide developing countries with the right incentives, their investments today may lock in a legacy of highly polluting, less efficient technologies."

Read the full piece here.
Jul 15
How About These Pickens?
icon1 Barbara Rae | icon2 Member Posts | icon4 07 15th, 2008| icon3Comments »
It’s shocking to hear coming from a billionaire oil man. There is no easy fix to the energy “emergency” we are in. T.Boone Pickens has set out to build an Army of Americans to fight for the cause of reducing our dependence on foreign oil. The 80 year old oil [...]
Jul 12
Simply invite your friends, family, workers, teachers and politicians to join Zork Planet. We would be tickled green if you bring more than 10. They will ask 10 friends and they will ask ten friends until the Zork Revolution is 1 million strong and we will make a big positive impact on the planet. Are you ready go 5 STEPS GREENER? Click here!

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Jul 12
We have faith in your ability to propel your right leg, followed by your left leg. Walk instead of drive 3 miles a week to save 3 lbs of CO2 emissions or 156 pounds of CO2 per year. 1 million people walking 3 miles per week instead of driving will prevent 156 million pounds of CO2 from being expelled into your planet's atmosphere. BACK to Zork Planet

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Jul 12
3. Adjust your thermostat
icon1 Zork Brauk | icon2 Member Posts | icon4 07 12th, 2008| icon3Comments »
Earthlings, what a great reason to take your clothes off at home during summer and cuddle in the winter. Use less electricity and you burn less fossil fuel, and produce less CO2. The average U.S. home releases 24,978 pounds of CO2 per year. Adjust your thermostat up 2 degrees in summer and down 2 degrees in winter, to cut your CO2 emissions by 500 pounds a year. BACK to Zork Planet

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