Save the Planet and Win launched its new environmental website and social network that lets everyone lower their carbon footprint, help reduce global warming, and participate in a worldwide collective — while having some fun and winning prizes and cash along the way.
At Save the Planet and Win, people can calculate, monitor, and reduce their own carbon footprint by participating in free green and social marketing promotions, in addition to the option of purchasing verified carbon offsets at the site’s Carbon Offset Store. Save the Planet and Win represents the first Voluntary Personal Carbon Registry (VPCR) in the United States.

Save the Planet and Win also features a Carbon Collective — where members can join friends, family, and co-workers to track the total carbon reductions achieved by the collective. Other social aspects of the site include the ability to share sustainable solutions, post every day tips (and videos) for reducing carbon emissions, and talk about the issues with a community of green-minded folks.

The new website rewards both the planet and its members. There are multiple chances to win, including a weekly sweepstakes and Click Green and Win promotions. Members watch a green-focused message from one of Save the Planet’s sponsors and in return the sponsor makes a points donation to the member’s account. Points can be used to purchase carbon offsets to achieve carbon neutrality, donated toward a social cause (ranging from reforestation projects in Mexico or the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative), or members can choose to cash in their points for actual dollars.
“We know that global climate change is having and will have an enormous impact on the earth — from rising sea levels, flooding, and increased storm activity to a rise in diseases like malaria and major changes in ecosystems and habitats. However, at an individual level, the concept of combating this trend can seem quite overwhelming,” said Luis Daniel Prestamo, COO at Save the Planet and Win.
“Save the Planet and Win makes the important work of fighting global warming, such as reducing greenhouse emissions and investing green projects, more understandable and personal for each of us. The website uses the power of community to help encourage everyone to make seemingly small changes in their daily lives that can have a big impact on the earth. By sharing our green accomplishments, we can increase environmental awareness, inspire others to make a difference, and become inspired ourselves,” Prestamo continued.

In 2007, the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) concluded that the evidence of a warming trend is “unequivocal” and that human activity is “very likely” the key contributor for the warming that’s already been observed. The report found that we have to cut our greenhouse emissions by 85% by the year 2050 in order to stabilize the earth’s atmosphere and avoid the worst impacts of global warming.
Sign up at http://www.savetheplanetandwin.com/ and encourage your friends, family, and co-workers to join your efforts to combat global warming. You’ll be helping to make the planet a healthier and safer place for us all — and there’s no reason you can’t have some fun, win some cash, and meet some great people at the same time.
About Save the Planet and Win
Reducing carbon emissions is serious stuff, but it doesn’t mean you can’t have fun doing it. Save the Planet and Win is committed to finding fun and creative ways to increase environmental awareness and reduce carbon emissions. They’re the first carbon offset group that goes full circle for consumers — do something small for the earth, help on a global scale, and get something back in return. At Save the Planet and Win, it’s about being earth friendly, while being consumer-friendly as well. For more information, visit http://www.savetheplanetandwin.com/.

In June 2006, The Climate Project (TCP) began operations based in Nashville, Tennessee, as non-profit organization with the mission of increasing public awareness of the climate crisis at a grassroots level throughout the United States and abroad.  By April 2007, a diverse group of 1000 volunteers from every corner of the USA had been trained to present a version of the slide show on which the Academy Award-winning film, “An Inconvenient Truth” is based. More Nashville trainings are planned for later in 2007, focusing on specific sector groups.

Want to do something to help stop global warming?
Here are 10 simple things you can do and how much carbon dioxide you’ll save doing them.

• Change a light
  Replacing one regular light bulb with a compact fluorescent light bulb will save 150 pounds of carbon dioxide a year.
• Drive less
  Walk, bike, carpool or take mass transit more often.  You’ll save one pound of carbon dioxide for every mile you don’t drive!
• Recycle more
  You can save 2.400 pounds of carbon dioxide per year by recycling just half of your household waste.
• Check your tires
  Keeping your tires inflated properly can improve gas mileage by more than 3%.
  Every gallon of gasoline saved keeps 20 pounds of carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere!
• Use less hot water
  It takes a lot of energy to heat water.  Use less hot water by installing a low flow showerhead (350 pounds of CO2 saved per year) and washing your clothes in cold or warm water (500 pounds saved per year).
• Avoid products with a lot of packaging
  You can save 1,200 pounds of carbon dioxide if you cut down your garbage by 10%.
• Adjust your thermostat
  Moving your thermostat just 2 degrees in winter and up 2 degrees in summer you could save about 2,000 pounds of carbon dioxide a year with this simple adjustment.
• Plant a tree
  A single tree will absorb one ton of carbon dioxide over its lifetime.
• Turn off electronic devices
  Simply turning off your television, DVD player, stereo, and computer when you’re not using them will save you thousands of pounds of carbon dioxide a year.

Spread the word!

This site has always tried to present facts about workplace, home and employee safety.  We have included a variety of topics such as, Hazardous Materials, Environmental Concerns, OSHA Compliance and so on. Now there is a great concern to all of us, and that is Global Warming.  Many companies are “Going Green” (read about Aquascapes Design which takes “Going Green to a whole new level), and are taking this issue very seriously.  Even the City of Chicago has become a leader in “Going Green”.

I know Global Warming will not help reduce your OSHA 300 logs or Lost Work Days, but it could help everyone around the world.  Take 10 minutes and watch this video, because we care what kind of world our children and grandchildren will live in.

http://www.youtube.com/user/wonderingmind42

Business Roundtable, an association of 160 chief executive officers of leading U.S. companies, announced a new policy statement on climate change, acknowledging that climate change poses a serious risk and that the time for action is now.

After reviewing the science, the policy statement concludes that “the consequences of global warming for society and ecosystems are potentially serious and far-reaching” and that “steps to address the risks of such warming are prudent now even while the science continues to evolve.” The roundtable’s new policy statement, announced on July 17, proposes a series of benchmarks and principles against which climate change policy proposals should be measured.

“Today marks the first time that a broad cross-section of business leaders from every sector of the U.S. economy have reached consensus on the risks posed by climate change and the need for action,” said John J. Castellani, president, Business Roundtable. “The Business Roundtable’s diverse membership stands ready to work with policymakers on proactive solutions that address climate change while sustaining economic growth.”

The climate change position was developed through a consensus-driven process led by Business Roundtable’s CEO members that included outreach to senior members of Congress and leading climate scientists. Chad Holliday, chairman and CEO, DuPont, and chairman of Business Roundtable’s Environment, Technology and the Economy Task Force, commented: “The thinking of U.S. CEOs on climate change is evolving significantly. A growing number of CEOs view it as a major issue for their companies and many of us have called for timely U.S. action.”

The policy statement calls for “collective action that will lead to the reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions on a global basis, with the goal of slowing increases in greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere and ultimately stabilizing them at levels that will address the risks of climate change.” (more…)