http://www.think2100.com/index.php?option=com_jb2&view=rss description http://www.think2100.com/index.php?option=com_jb2&view=post&PostID=13 By WeBuyItGreen: promoting green living and fair tradeWarning:  Contains abstract, philosophical discussion that may cause boredom.Several decades ago, as a young political science student, I was impressed by a little classic called The Logic of Collective Action, by Mancur Olson.  Olson explained why large groups of people who share a common interest in securing public goods often fail to act collectively to attain them.  For example, consumers may have a common interest in making sure that the automobiles they drive are safe, but for decades, Ralph Nader and a comparatively small group of people had to work very hard in order to mobilize enough public opinion to successfully impose stricter federal safety standards on the automobile industry. http://www.think2100.com/index.php?option=com_jb2&view=post&PostID=15 By WeBuyItGreen: promoting green living and fair tradeThe latest marketing technique to blaze the American landscape is the use of “free gasoline” to attract customers.  Furniture stores, cafes, hotels—you name it—merchants in every sector are offering to give away gasoline to their customers in order to get them in the door.  Even nonprofits are getting into the act.  The Detroit News reported that the American Red Cross of Southeastern Michigan is offering to enter blood donors in a drawing in which winners will receive free gas cards.  According to the Tacoma, WA News Tribune, Tacoma-Pierce County Crime Stoppers are offering $250 worth of gasoline to people who submit a tip leading to the arrest of one of fifty criminals.  And this just in . . . the Shady Lady Ranch, a brothel in Nevada, is offering $50 gas cards for every customer who purchases one hour of service . . . no kidding. http://www.think2100.com/index.php?option=com_jb2&view=post&PostID=9 By Think 2100: Promoting Green Living and Fair TradeThe following information was gathered from Maria Carreno and the Baladarshan website and newsletter.Maria Carreno is the owner of The One-Eyed Turtle, a member business of Co-op America (soon to be know as Green America) that sells a wide range of recycled and fair trade products from around the globe.  In August, 2008, Maria received the following letter from Philip Malet, a representative of Baladarshan, a company that helps train people to make fair trade products in Chennai, India. http://www.think2100.com/index.php?option=com_jb2&view=post&PostID=23 I've been an organic gardener for a number of years and thought I'd share photos and a few brief tips.  I hope the photos will illustrate that it really is possible to grow a beautiful garden without herbicides, pesticides or chemical fertilizers as long as you follow a few requirements.   http://www.think2100.com/index.php?option=com_jb2&view=post&PostID=26 If you are marketing green, consider this.  In a July/August, 2009 Atlantic article entitled “Greening with Envy:  How Knowing Your Neighbor’s Electric Bill Can Help You to Cut Yours,” Bonnie Tsui explains that “Keeping up with the Joneses” is a marketing strategy that can successfully motivate people to take action to create a cleaner environment.  http://www.think2100.com/index.php?option=com_jb2&view=post&PostID=28 Twenty years ago, “green” merchandise filled a small niche market.  In the U.S. economy, environmentalists were comparatively minor players, a group that mainstream American shoppers associated with hyper-socially-responsible activists and nostalgic throwbacks from the hippie movement.  The recent shift toward green becoming mainstream creates new opportunity, but also poses a new challenge, for the small-niche, eco friendly merchant. http://www.think2100.com/index.php?option=com_jb2&view=post&PostID=10 By WeBuyItGreen: promoting green living and fair tradeIn her recent book, Wrestling with Starbucks:  Conscience, Capital, Cappuccino, Kim Fellner compares Starbucks to Bill Clinton.  She likes the good things they do, but doesn’t know whether they can be trusted to do the right thing when times get tough, suggesting that, “When Starbucks’ ship encounters a really bad sea, someone may be tossed overboard, and it’s not likely to be the shareholders.”  http://www.think2100.com/index.php?option=com_jb2&view=post&PostID=27 Chet Chaffee 12.00 Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin-top:0in; mso-para-margin-right:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt; mso-para-margin-left:0in; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;} The Seattle Times reported today that the American Chemistry Council has spent a half million dollars on a PR campaign against a Seattle referendum that would charge a 20 cent fee on disposable shopping bags.  The ACC’s contribution is the single largest to a local ballot-measure in recent Seattle history. http://www.think2100.com/index.php?option=com_jb2&view=post&PostID=25 Going or sending someone to college this fall?  We've got a few suggestions for choices that you can justify in Ethics 101. http://www.think2100.com/index.php?option=com_jb2&view=post&PostID=22 Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin-top:0in; mso-para-margin-right:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt; mso-para-margin-left:0in; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;} I don’t usually get angry enough to write my Congressmen and try to get friends and family involved on a political issue, but the version of “Cash for Clunkers” that made it through the House infuriates me.