Jan. 22nd is the B to B day for business buyers, CEOs, press, & procurement professionals.

Jan. 23-24th is for all business professionals & all consumers & their families.

Hundreds of exhibits will encompass a wide variety of green products & services ranging from solar panels, hybrid cars, organic personal care products, eco-pet supplies, greener gadgets, eco-fashion, and home and building supplies that will help us live a healthier and more sustainable lifestyle.

Eco-Celebrity speakers, authors & thought leaders such as Ed Begley Jr., Mariel Hemingway, John Picard & Eric Corey Freed will lead informative discussions! Don’t miss Los Angeles’ ultimate eco-extravaganza! Limited booth space is still available. Contact Seth Berk at 212-655-4505 ext. 224 or sberk@gogreenexpo.com today.

Details: www.GoGreenExpo.com
Use promo code GREENPROFS for 50% off ticket price of only $10 for the entire weekend!

President Barack Obama
The White House
FAX: 202-456-2461

RE: Organizing for America; a real economic stimulus and actuation plan

Dear Mr. President:

For months after the election, those who worked for the Obama campaign received emails from “Organizing for America.” These consisted of invitations to submit questions to the White House about what we wanted; or opportunities to watch a video; or requests to check off ways we wanted to help this grass roots initiative. I and the millions who supported you are still waiting impatiently for the opportunity to actually DO SOMETHING! Many of us are out of work, we have plenty of time. Now is the time to capitalize on the energy and motivation that was instilled during the campaign. Now is the time to act.
As former Chair of the Green Party of New Jersey, I know that no matter how passionate your desire for change and reform, nothing can be accomplished in a vacuum. You have millions of people throughout the United States who want to do something to help you effect change, but they do not know what to do nor how to do it. You said in your address to the U.N. that the world should not look to America to save the planet. But who better to effect change? It can be done and we are the ones to do it.

The answer is, create a brand new industry: the environmental industry

HOW:
a. Put people to work: There are at least 29,000,000 unemployed people in the United States at this time. Utilize your broad internet network that was formulated during your campaign. Identify an Executive Committee (EC) in each hub community throughout this existing network. Using the parameters of your campaign, furnish each EC with an office storefront. I assure you that there are many empty storefronts throughout the United States that are available. People who have the time and interest can come in to an EC and be put to work for minimum wage. Each EC consists of administrators with committees who receive and write progress reports, identify and are responsible for carrying out environmental initiatives and projects.
b. Research: The EC will research what environmental projects are already available in the community by identifying existing green companies and associations. There are many established and grass-roots projects languishing because they continuously fight the existing system and there is no communication between them. The EC will identify challenges as well as motivate new projects: gardens, open spaces, reclamation and sustainability. As the EC is in the local community, it is better positioned to spread the word on how we can ALL join forces for sustainable ecological stimulus.
c. Education: community outreach and education will instill confidence in a society that is desperate for it. We shall disseminate information on reducing our carbon footprint on the Earth.
d. Financial: each EC will open a checking account and keep budgets and books.
e. Funding: Initial funds will come from a government initiative package. Sustaining funds will not only come from government and local set-asides but will be augmented by creating and selling green municipal bonds.

Prioritizing needs and projects.
a) Reduce, Recycle, Reuse must become the mantra for this new environmental initiative.

Green cars, trucks and buses
Right now there are ways to retrofit every car, truck and bus in America with hydroelectric engines. Just as cars were required to have catalytic converters in 1975, 2010 must be the year to take the giant step away from the consumption of fossil fuels.

Water, soil, air conservation
•Make alternative energy programs economically feasible and available for the average American user.
• Practically all packaging materials are made from plastics. Grocery stores spearheaded an initiative to carry reusable bags to the grocery store. Ludicrously, produce and meat packagers still cover everything with plastic and continue to use plastic foam containers. Incentives to use 100% recycled packaging must be put into place.
• Industrial culprits are still fouling our water and airways. Green police must be educated and utilized.
• Mandatory recycling education must be a part of our lives. People must learn how to conserve water. Biohazardous products (paint, detergents, cleaners, fertilizers, and pesticides, to name a few) must be taken off the market; there are hundreds of alternatives already available.
• Green companies must be identified and supported. Other companies must be offered incentives to go green or be shut down.

An immediate paradigm shift must occur, away from fossil fuel toward eco-sustainability. Drastic measures are called for if the Earth is to remain habitable in 50 years. Our children look to us. We have procrastinated long enough! The millions of Americans who are out of work, waiting for economic stimulus, all beg you to consider this plan. You have the means — this is the way. Put people to work and save the earth.

Respectfully, Hally Abbott
cc:
House of Representatives:
Neil Abercrombie, HI 1st
Gary Ackerman, NY 5th
Robert Aderholt, AL 4th
John Adler, NJ 3rd
Todd Akin, MO 2nd
Rodney Alexander, LA 5th
Jason Altmire, PA 4th
Robert Andrews, NJ 1st
Michael Arcuri, NY 24th
Steve Austria, OH 7th
Joe Baca, CA 43rd
Michele Bachmann, MN 6th
Spencer Bachus, AL 6th
Brian Baird, WA 3rd
Tammy Baldwin, WI 2nd
J. Gresham Barrett, SC 3rd
John Barrow, GA 12th
Roscoe Bartlett, MD 6th
Joe Barton, TX 6th
Melissa Bean, IL 8th
Xavier Becerra, CA 31st
Shelley Berkley, NV 1st
Howard Berman, CA 28th
Marion Berry, AK 1st
Judy Biggert, IL 13th
Brian Bilbray, CA 50th
Gus Bilirakis, FL 9th
Rob Bishop, UT 1st
Sanford Bishop Jr, GA 2nd
Timothy Bishop, NY 1st
Marsha Blackburn, TN 7th
Earl Blumenauer, OR 3rd
Roy Blunt, MO 7th
John Boccieri, OH 16th
John Boehner, OH 8th
Jo Bonner, AL 1st
Mary Bono, CA 45th
John Boozman, AK 3rd
Madeleine Bordallo, Guam
Dan Boren, OK 2nd
Leonard Boswell, IA 3rd
Rick Boucher, VA 9th
Charles Boustany Jr., LA 7th
Allen Boyd, FL 2nd
Kevin Brady, TX 8th
Robert Brady, PA 1st
Bruce Braley, OA 1st
Bobby Bright, AL 2nd
Paul Broun, GA 10th
Corrine Brown, FL 3rd
Henry Brown, SC 1st
Virginia Brown-Waite, FL 5th
Vern Buchanan, FL 13th
Michael Burgess, TX 26th
Dan Burton, IN 5th
G.K. Butterfield, NC 1st
Steve Buyer, IN 4th
Ken Calvert, CA 44th
Dave Camp, MI 4th
John Campbell, CA 48th
Eric Cantor, VA 7th
Joseph Cao, LA 2nd
Shelley Moore Capito, WV 2nd
Lois Capps, CA 23rd
Michael Capuano, MA 8th
Dennis Cardoza, CA 18th
Russ Carnahan, MO 3rd
Christopher Carney, PA 10th
Andre Carson, IN 7th
John Carter, TX 31st
Bill Cassidy, LA 6th
Michael Castle, DE
Kathy Castor, FL 11th
Jason Chaffetz, UT 3rd
Ben Chandler, KY 6th
Travis Childers, MS 1st
Donna Christian-Christensen,
US V.Islds.
Judy Chu, CA 32nd
Yvette Clarke, NY 11th
William Clay Jr., MO 1st
Emanuel Cleaver, MO 5th
James Clyburn, SC 6th
Howard Coble, NC 6th
Mike Coffman, CO 6th
Steve Cohen, TN 9th
Tom Cole, OK 4th
K. Michael Conaway, TX 11th
Gerald Connolly, VA 11th
John Conyers, MI 14th
Jim Cooper, TN 5th
Jim Costa, CA 20th
Jerry Costello, IL 12th
Joe Courtney, CT 2nd
Ander Crenshaw, FL 4th
Joseph Crowley, NY 7th
Henry Cuellar, TX 28th
John Culberson, TX 7th
Elijah Cummings, MD 7th
Kathy Dahlkemper, PA 3rd
Artur Davis, AL 7th
Danny Davis, IL 7th
Geoff Davis, KY 4th
Lincoln Davis, TN 4th
Susan Davis, CA 53rd
Nathan Deal, GA 9th
Peter DeFazio, OR 4th
Diana DeGette, CO 1st
William Delahunt, MA 10th
Rosa DeLauro, CT 3rd
Charles Dent, PA 15th
Lincoln Diaz-Balart, FL 21st
Mario Diaz-Balart, FL 25th
Norman Dicks, WA 6th
John Dingell, MI 15th
Lloyd Doggett, TX 25th
Joe Donnelly, IN 2nd
Mike Doyle, PA 14th
David Dreier, CA 26th
Steve Driehaus, OH
John Duncan Jr, TN 2nd
Chet Edwards, TX 17th
Donna Edwards, MD 4th
Vernon Ehlers, MI 3rd
Keith Ellison, MN 5th
Brad Ellsworth, IN 8th
Jo Ann, Emerson, MO 8th
Eliot Engel, NY 17th
Anna Eshoo, CA 14th
Bob Etheridge, NC 2nd
Eni Faleomavaega, Am.Samoa
Mary Fallin, OK 5th
Sam Farr, CA 17th
Chaka Fattah, PA 2nd
Bob Filner, CA 51st
Jeff Flake, AZ 6th
John Fleming, LA 4th
Randy Forbes, VA 4th
Jeff Fortenberry, NE 1st
Bill Foster, IL 14th
Virginia Foxx, NC 5th
Barney Frank, MA 4th
Trent Franks, AZ 2nd
Rodney Frelinghuysen, NJ 11th
Marcia Fudge, OH 11th
Elton Gallegly, CA 24th
Scott Garrett, NJ 5th
Jim Gerlach, PA 6th
Gabrielle Giffords, AZ 8th
Phil Gingrey, GA 11th
Louie Gohmert, TX 1st
Charlie Gonzalez, TX 20th
Bob Goodlatte, VA 6th
Bart Gordon, TN 6th
Kay Granger, TX 12th
Sam Graves, MO 6th
Alan Grayson, FL 8th
Al Green, TX 9th
Gene Green, TX 29th
Parker Griffith, AL 5th
Raul Grijalva, AZ 7th
S. Brett Guthrie, KY 2nd
Luis Gutierrez, IL 4th
John Hall, NY 19th
Ralph Hall, TX 4th
Debbie Halvorson, IL 11th
Phil Hare, IL 17th
Jane Harman, CA 36th
Gregg Harper, MS 3rd
Alcee Hastings, FL 23rd
Doc Hastings, WA 4th
Martin Heinrich, NM 1st
Dean Heller, NV 2nd
Jeb Hensarling, TX 5th
Wally Herger, CA 2nd
Stephanie Herseth Sandlin, SD
Brian Higgins, NY 27th
Baron Hill, IN 9th
Him Himes, CT 4th
Maurice Henchey, NY 22nd
Ruben Hinojosa, TX 15th
Mazie Hirono, HI 2nd
Paul Hodes, NH 2nd
Pete Hoekstra, MI 2nd
Tim Holden, PA 17th
Rush Holt, NJ 12th
Mike Honda, CA 15th
Steny Hoyer, MD 5th
Duncan Hunter, CA 52nd
Bob Inglis, SC 4th
Jay Inslee, WA 1st
Steve Israel, NY 2nd
Darrell Issa, CA 49th
Jesse Jackson, IL 2nd
Sheila Jackson Lee, TX 18th
Lynn Jenkins, KS 2nd
Eddie Bernice Johnson, TX 30th
Hank Johnson, Jr., GA 4th
Sam Johnson, TX 3rd
Timothy Johnson, IL 15th
Walter Jones, NC 3rd
Jim Jordan, OH 4th
Steve Kagen, WI 8th
Paul Kanjorski, PA 11th
Marcy Kaptur, OH 9th
Patrick Kennedy, RI 1st
Dale Kildee, MI 5th
Carolyn Kilpatrick, MI 13th
Mary Jo Kilroy, OH 15th
Ron Kind, WI 3rd
Pete King, NY 3rd
Steve King, IA 5th
Jack Kinston, GA 1st
Mark Kirk, IL 10th
Ann Kirkpatrick, AZ 1st
Larry Kissell, NC 8th
Ron Klein, FL 22nd
John Kline, MN 2nd
Sozanne Kosmas, FL 24th
Frank Kratovil, Jr. MD 1st
Dennis Kucinich, OH 10th
Doug Lamborn, CO 5th
Leonard Lance, NJ 7th
Jim Langevin, RI 2nd
Rich Larsen, WA 2nd
John Larson, CT 1st
Tom Latham, IA 4th
Steven LaTourette, OH 14th
Robert Latta, OH 5th
Barbara Lee, CA 9th
Christopher Lee, NY 26th
Sander Levin, MI 12th
Jerry Lewis, CA 41st
John Lewis, GA 5th
John Linder, GA 7th
Daniel Lipinski, IL 3rd
Frank LoBiondo, NJ 2nd
David Loebsack, IA 2nd
Zoe Lofgren, CA 16th
Nita Lowey, NY 18th
Frank Lucas, OK 3rd
Blaine Luetkemeyer, MO 9th
Ben Lujan, NM 3rd
Cynthia Lummis, Wyoming
Daniel Lungren, CA 3rd
Stephen Lynch, MA 9th
Connie Mack, FL 14th
Daniel Maffei, NY 25th
Carolyn Maloney, NY 14th
Donald Manzullo, IL 16th
Kenny Marchant, TX 24th
Betsy Markey, CO 4th
Ed Markey, MA 7th
Jim Marshall, GA 8th
Eric Massa, NY 29th
Jim Matheson, UT 2nd
Doris Matsui, CA 5th
Carolyn McCarthy, NY 4th
Kevin McCarthy, CA 22nd
Michael McCaul, TX 10th
Tom McClintock, CA 4th
Betty McCollum, MN 4th
Thaddeus McCotter, MN 11th
Jim McDermott, WA 7th
James McGovern, MA 3rd
Patrick McHenry, NC 10th
John McHugh, NY 23rd
Mike McIntyre, NC 7th
Buck McKeon, CA 25th
Michael McMahon, NY 13th
Cathy McMorris Rodgers, WA 5th
Jerry McNerney, CA 11th
Kendrick Meek, FL 17th
Gregory Meeks, NY 6th
Charlie Melancon, LA 3rd
John Mica, FL 7th
Michael Michaud, ME 2nd
Brad Miller, NC 13th
Candice Miller, MI 10th
Gary Miller, CA 42nd
George Miller, CA 7th
Jeff Miller, FL 1st
Walt Minnick, ID 1st
Harry Mitchell, AZ 5th
Alan Mollohan, WV 1st
Dennis Moore, KS 3rd
Gwen Moore, WI 4th
Jerry Moran, KS 1st
Jim Moran, VA 8th
Christopher Murphy, CT 5th
Patrick Murphy, PA 8th
Scott Murphy, NY 20th
Tim Murphy, PA 18th
John Murtha, PA 12th
Sue Myrick, NC 9th
Jerrold Nadler, NY 8th
Grace Napolitano, CA 38th
Richard Neal, MA 2nd
Randy Neugebauer, TX 19th
Eleanor Holmes Norton, DC
Devin Nunes, CA 21st
Glenn Nye III, VA 2nd
James Oberstar, MN 8th
David Obey, WI 7th
Pete Olson, TX 22nd
John Olver, MA 1st
Solomon Ortiz, TX 27th
Frank Pallone Jr., NJ 6th
Bill Pascrell, NJ 8th
Ed Pastor, AZ 4th
Ron Paul, TX 14th
Erik Paulsen, MN 3rd
Donald Payne, NJ 10th
Nancy Pelosi, CA 8th
Mike Pence, IN 6th
Ed Perlmutter, CO 7th
Tom Perriello, VA 5th
Gary Peters, MI 9th
Collin Peterson, MN 7th
Thomas Petri, WI 6th
Pedro Pierluisi, PR
Chellie Pingree, ME 1st
Joseph Pitts, PA 16th
Todd Platts, PA 19th
Ted Poe, TX 2nd
Jared Polis, CO 2nd
Earl Pomeroy, ND
Bill Posey, FL 15th
David Price, NC 4th
Tom Price, GA 6th
Adam Putnam, FL 12th
Mike Quigley, IL 5th
George Radanovich, CA 19th
Nick Rahall, WV 3rd
Charles Rangel, NY 15th
Dennis Rehberg, MT
David Reichert, WA 8th
Laura Richardson, CA 37th
Silvestre Reyes, TX 16th
Ciro Rodriguez, TX 23rd
Phil Roe, TN 1st
Harold Rogers, KY 5th
Mike Rogers, AL 3rd
Mike Rogers, MI 8th
Dana Rohrabacher, CA 46th
Tom Rooney, FL 16th
Peter Roskam, IL 6th
Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, FL 18th
Mike Ross, AK 4th
Steven Rothman, NJ 9th
Lucille Roybal-Allard, CA 34th
Ed Royce, CA 40th
Dutch Ruppersberger, MD 2nd
Bobby Rush, IL 1st
Paul Ryan, WI 1st
Rim Ryan, OH 17th
Gregorio Sablan, Northern Mariana Islands
John Salazar, CO 3rd
Linda Sanchez, CA 39th
John Sarbanes, MD 3rd
Loretta Sanchez, CA 47th
Steve Scalise, LA 1st
Jan Schakowsky, IL 9th
Mark Schauer, MI 7th
Adam Schiff, CA 29th
Jean Schmidt, OH 2nd
Aaron Schock, IL 18th
Kurt Schrader, OR 5th
Allyson Schwartz, PA 13th
David Scott, GA 13th
Robert Scott, VA 3rd
F. James Sensenbrenner, WI 5th
Jose Serrano, NY 16th
Pete Sessions, TX 32nd
Joe Sestak, PA 7th
John Shadegg, AZ 3rd
Carol Shea-Porter, NH 1st
Brad Sherman, CA 27th
John Shimkus, IL 19th
Heath Shuler, NC 11th
Bill Shuster, PA 9th
Mike Simpson, ID 2nd
Albio Sires, NJ 13th
Ike Skelton, MO 4th
Louise Slaughter, NY 28th
Adam Smith, WA 9th
Adrian Smith, NE 3rd
Chris Smith, NJ 4th
Lamar Smith, TX 21st
Vic Snyder, AK 2nd
Mark Souder, IN 3rd
Zachary Space, OH 18th
Jackie Speier, CA 12th
John Spratt, SC 5th
Fortney Pete Stark, CA 13th
Cliff Stearns, FL 6th
Bart Stupak, MI 1st
John Sullivan, OK 1st
Betty Sutton, OH 13th
John Tanner, TN 8th
Ellen Tauscher, CA 10th
Gene Taylor, MS 4th
Harry Teague, NM 2nd
Lee Terry NE 2nd
Bennie Thompson, MS 2nd
Glenn Thompson, PA 5th
Mike Thompson, CA 1st
Mac Thornberry, TX 13th
Todd Tiahrt, KS 4th
Pat Tiberi, OH 12th
John Tierney, MA 6th
Dina Titus, NV 3rd
Paul Tonko, NY 21st
Edolphus Towns, NY 10th
Niki Tsongas, MA 5th
Michael Turner, OH 3rd
Fred Upton, MI 6th
Chris Van Hollen, MD 8th
Nydia Velazquez, NY 12th
Peter Visclosky, IN 1st
Gred Walden, OR 2nd
Timothy Walz, MN 1st
Zach Wamp, TN 3rd
Debbie Wasserman Schultz, FL 20th
Maxine Waters, CA 35th
Diane Watson, CA 33rd
Mel Watt, NC 12th
Henry Waxman, CA 30th
Anthony Weiner, NY 9th
Peter Welch, VT
Lynn Westmoreland, GA 3rd
Robert Wexler, FL 19th
Ed Whitfield, KY 1st
Charles Wilson, OH 6th
Joe Wilson, SC 2nd
Robert Wittman, VA 1st
Frank Wolf, VA 10th
Lynn Woolsey, CA 6th
David Wu, OR 1st
John Yarmuth, KY 3rd
C.W. Bill Young, FL
Don Young, AK
Senate: Sen. Mark Begich, AK
Sen. Lisa Murkowski, AK
Sen. Jeff Sessions, AL
Sen. Richard Shelby, AL
Sen. Blanche Lincoln, AR
Sen Mark Pryor, AR
Sen. Jon Kyl, AZ
Sen. John McCain, AZ
Sen. Barbara Boxer, CA
Sen. Dianne Feinstein, CA
Sen. Michael Bennet, CO
Sen. Mark Udall, CO
Sen. Christopher Dodd, CT
Sen. Joseph Lieberman, CT
Sen. Thomas Carper, DE
Sen. Edward Kaufman, DE
Sen. George LeMieux, FL
Sen. Bill Nelson, FL
Sen. Saxby Chambliss, GA
Sen. Johnny Isakson, GA
Sen. Daniel Akaka, HI
Sen. Daniel Inouve, HI
Sen. Chuck Grassley, IA
Sen. Tom Harkin, IA
Sen. Mike Crapo, ID
Sen. James Risch, ID
Sen. Roland Burris, IL
Sen. Richard Durbin, IL
Sen Evan Bayh, IN
Sen. Richard Lugar, IN
Sen. Sam Brownback, KS
Sen. Pat Roberts, KS
Sen. Jim Bunning, KY
Sen. Mitch McConnell, KY
Sen. Mary Landrieu, LA
Sen. David Vitter, LA
Sen. John Kerry, MA
Sen. Benjamin Cardin, MD
Sen. Barbara Mikulski, MD
Sen. Susan Collins, ME
Sen. Olympia Snowe, ME
Sen. Carl Levin, MI
Sen. Debbie Stabenow, MI
Sen. Al Franken, MN
Sen. Amy Klobuchar, MN
Sen. Christopher Bond, MO
Sen.Claire, McCaskill, MO
Sen. Thad Cochran, MS
Sen. Roger Wicker, MS
Sen. Max Baucus, MT
Sen. John Tester, MT
Sen. Richard Burr, NC
Sen. Kay Hagan, NC
Sen. Kent Conrad, ND
Sen. Byron Dorgan, ND
Sen. Mike Johanns, NE
Sen. Ben Nelson, NE
Sen. Judd Gregg, NH
Senn Jeanne Shaheen, NH
Sen. Frank Lautenberg, NJ
Sen. Robert Menedez, NJ
Sen. Jeff Bingaman, NM
Sen. Tom Udall, NM
Sen. John Ensign, NV
Sen. Harry Reid, NV
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, NY
Sen. Charles Schumer, NY
Sen. Sherrod Brown, OH
Sen. George Voinovich, OH
Sen. Tom Coburn, OK
Sen. James Inhofe, OK
Sen. Jeff Merkley, OR
Sen. Ron Wyden, OR
Sen. Robert Casey, Jr., PA
Sen. Arlen Specter, PA
Sen. Jack Reed, RI
Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, RI
Sen. Jim DeMint, SC
Sen. Lindsey Graham, SC
Sen. Tim Johnson, SD
Sen. John Thune, SD
Sen. Lamar Alexander, TN
Sen. Bob Corker, TN
Sen. John Cornyn, TX
Sen Kay Bailey Hutchison, TX
Sen. Robert Bennett, UT
Sen. Orrin Hatch, UT
Sen. Mark Warner, VA
Sen. Jim Webb, VA
Sen. Patrick Leahy, VT
Sen. Bernard Sanders, VT
Sen. Maria Cantwell, WA
Sen. Patty Murray, WA
Sen. Russell Feingold, WI
Sen. Herb Kohl, WI
Sen. Robert Byrd, WV
Sen. John D. Rockefeller, IV, WV
Sen. John Barrasso, WY
Sen. Michael Enzi, WY
NY Times, public@nytimes.com
The Atlantic, letters@theatlantic.com
The Progressive, editorial@progressive.org
The Washington Post,letters@washpost.com
Economist letters@economist.com
C-Span news and Washington
Journal: journal@c-span.org
Whole Foods, John Mackey, CEO
Fax: 512.482.7000
JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon
Jamie.Dimon@chase.com
Sierra Club CEO Carl Pope
Fax: 415-977-5799 (headquarters)
Fax: 202-547-6009 (legislative
office)
Dareandcare.com
Daniel P. Schrag, Director, Harvard
University Center for the
Environment
Schrag@eps.harvard.edu
Comment posted facebook response to tcktcktck.org

[This article is a recap of the Green Media panel on May 19, 2009.]

Greenwash at your own risk. Greenwashing, a term used to describe the practice of companies deceptively promoting their products and policies as environmentally friendly, frustrates environmentally-conscious companies. Now, according to attorney Dan Myers, if the FTC catches a company at it, their phony attempt at being green could cause them to be red-faced with embarrassment – and maybe even pay a fine.

Myers, of Wendel, Rosen, Black & Dean was a key panelist at the Green Chamber of Commerce’s event: ‘Green Media: Practical and Legal Considerations for Communicating Your Message’ on May 19 at the Environmental Defense Fund in San Francisco.

The FTC is in the process of updating green guides that prohibit unfair or deceptive advertising and marketing claims, Myers said. Although some ads may escape FTC notice, competitors and others may initiate litigation.

Emily Cowan of Ecofabulous added that new green products have to overcome consumer’s tendencies to gravitate to traditional and familiar brands. Melissa Mansfield of Green Gorilla Media pointed out that the increase in groups offering green certification has consumers confused. But some consumers are willing to pay more for products with green certification, Christina Weber of Sustainable Industries said.

Other advice for businesses from the panel:

• Tell an authentic story
• Don’t worry about being green, be amazing
• Live your brand
• Once you lose your green credibility, it is difficult to get it back

I ended up working for the Obama campaign three times. I wrote about the first time previously, so I won’t detail it here. But in short, it was not rewarding or uplifting in the slightest, and I had to content myself with the knowledge that I was there for a cause, not for entertainment, and that I was doing what needed doing, as judged by people more informed than I.

I really needed that attitude the second time, on the Saturday before Election Day, when I accompanied a friend and a friendly woman who rode up with us up to Manchester, N.H. We were assigned 50-60 specific residences — identified previously as likely pro-Obama — and it really sucked. At many of the houses, there were three cars in the driveway and signs of movement inside, but no answer at the door. There was no doubt — these people were avoiding us!

A couple of the times that people did come to the door, they expressed their extreme weariness at the pesterings of people like us. “You’re the fifth person to knock on the door,” one woman said. I didn’t want to make the intrusion worse, so I didn’t ask if they were all for Obama, or over what period it was, but it didn’t matter anyway. It was hard to see how we were helping anyone or anything.

That night, I related this story to a friend who lives in Manchester, and he confirmed the basics. He then followed up the next day with a call from the scale in his kitchen: “Just from the weekend, the leaflets left on our porch weigh 1.4 pounds. Just from the weekend!”

It’s fair to point out: It was the final-weekend push, and it was general inundation, not just from Obama. And New Hampshire, of course, has longer campaigns than anyone, so they are more prone to canvass fatigue.

Even so, I had no idea there was a resource/profligacy issue tangled up in this! Think of all the trees that died, and for what? To annoy those whom the campaigns want to draw close? Not just waste, but alienation — the vote-for-me double play!

Monday, on my third try, I finally found my niche, entering data in the back room — literally — of the Arlington, Mass., Obama office. Because the place was packed — the fever pitch was palpable, as the body heat of three dozen volunteers, many of them using their own cell phones to call Indiana, Pennsylvania, and North Carolina, raised the atmosphere to stuffy — it was still semi-social, but I finally felt as if I wasn’t being a public nuisance.

Even then, I couldn’t escape evidence of it. My role was to enter results of other people’s calls into a voter database, to help the campaign focus its get-out-the-vote effort. More than once, the same names came under my cursor from different lists, and several times, I saw callers’ margin notations that this person had just been called by someone else.

The conventional line is that the Obama campaign was exceptionally organized, and I wouldn’t challenge that — it elected a mixed-race Illinoisan to the leadership of a nation built, in part, on slavery — but in tiny sliver I was exposed to, there sure were lots of warts.

The $307 billion piece of legislation, which provides direct payments to corn producers reaching as high as $10 billion annually, was heavily influenced by the agriculture lobby. The corn-ethanol production mandate increases mandated by the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 remain untouched in the Farm Bill, despite efforts by some in congress to address concerns of rising food costs and dubious energy saving from corn ethanol. Refiners will be required to produce 9 billion gallons of corn-ethanol this year, while cellulosic ethanol mandates won’t reach those levels until 2020, giving the corn-based sector time to become entrenched in the market.

Between 1980 and 2000, the corn ethanol industry received subsidies as high as $12.8 billion. As the mandates remain unchanged, tax credits for ethanol production were reduced from $0.51 per gallon to $0.45 cents per gallon making capital investments in cellulosic ethanol and other emerging alternative fuels less attractive. There is a $1.01 per gallon tax credit for cellulosic ethanol production, but corn ethanol production mandates limit the market for cellulosic ethanol. While hundreds of millions of dollars have been allocated for cellulosic ethanol research, production tax credits and loan guarantees, these incentives are token measures in comparison with feedstock subsidies and onerous production mandates for corn ethanol.

As corn ethanol production went through a period of expansion, agribusiness was able to reap the benefits of a larger tax credit and high usage mandates, providing corn ethanol an enormous headstart. Corn ethanol producer VeraSun opened a new production 110 million gallon facility over the summer which will increase their annual production to 1.3 billion gallons a year. In comparison, Khosla Ventures backed Range Fuels‘ planned cellulosic ethanol plant in Georgia, which will be the first commercial scale cellulosic ethanol plant in the US, is projected to have a production capacity of 20 million gallons annually by the end of 2008. While receiving some corporate and government support, cellulosic producers like Range Fuels, Mascoma, and Coskata are at a competitive disadvantage as they receive lower subsidies and production mandates than corn ethanol producers.

With Iowa on the mind of any Congressman or Senator with Presidential ambitions, it is uncertain whether advanced biofuel producers will see an improved legislative climate following the 2008 election. The Farm Bill has been the subject of spirited debate on the campaign trail, with Senator Obama expressing his support for the bill as Senator McCain laments the pork-barrel laden law (see a summary of their positions here). Under either administration, it will take a herculean effort to supplant corn-ethanol producers as the dominant players in the alternative fuels marketplace.

It provides city financing of bona fide capital (long lived) upgrades to individual property (residential, multi-family, commercial) with no upper limit. The loan is secured by a tax lien directly to the property (not the borrower). Because the debt runs with the land it is not due on sale of the property and the next buyer assumes the obligation without credit considerations. The “Energy Special Assessment” is paid as a line item (like voted indebtedness, school bonds, etc) on the property tax bill.

Interest rates are attractive (6% quoted in the article), terms generous (maybe 10-20 years is quoted often) and there is no credit check. The infrastructure is assumed to be mostly in place with city building plan checkers review proposals, inspectors verify the work.

Once enough loans have been made the thought is to float a municipal bond with repayment security via the energy bill reduction provided by the upgrades.

Via this link read the Desert Sun article by reporter K Kaufman which provides more background.