Confuseus On Litterbugs

Or, Calling The Exterminator!

Yesterday RecycleBill wrote about the high cost of cleaning up litter. Today the groovy green guru proposes his own solution to this growing problem though I’m not sure if readers of Confuseus.com will agree.

Confuseus sez, "Key to stopping litterbugs, poison. Confuseus recommend high dosage DDT or arsenic."

Emcycle

Or Peddle This!

The only thing RecycleBills wants to know is how much does it weigh? The Emcycle claims to be the "first all weather banking three wheeled electrically assisted pedal cycle." Check out the video.



At 24" wide and 80" long the Emcycle is not much bigger than a regular bicycle but it's not for every rider as I measure 26" wide with my elbows touching my sides and I'm just an average sized American male. Anyway, I'm very curious as to what the Emcycle weighs as experience has taught me that any motorized bicycle weighing 100 pounds or more soon becomes very hard to peddle once the gas tank goes dry or the battery dead. But with a 40 mile range that shouldn't be a problem for most commuters.

Who knows, maybe someday EZ MotorBikes Of Greenssboro will add Emcycles to our line of motorized bicycles and alternative vehicles.

Sunstore Solar Energy Solutions

Or, Sunspot Baby?

RecycleBill doesn't know anything about Sunstore Solar Energy Solutions but when I found out they do business in North and South Carolina I thought I'd pass their link along. You know, being that they're green and all...

Make Your Blog Carbon Neutral! For Free!

Originally posted: Tuesday, 26 January 2010 at 6:16 PM

Or Green Link Scam?

RecycleBill got the following e-mail from christin.gericke AT kaufda.de on 26 January, 2010:

"Dear Blogger,

just stumbled over your blog - nice work!

I am part of a young team in Germany, working for an initiative called "Make it green!". Our goal is to have a small part in reducing the carbon footprint by raising awareness of the severe environmental damage caused by carbon emissions. One of our activities is to raise awareness of the carbon emissions resulting from the use of the internet - specifically of blogs. We have therefore created "My blog is carbon neutral" buttons so bloggers can demonstrate that they care about the environment and the carbon footprint of their blogs. Our idea is to point the way and to convince the international community to contribute more to protect the environment.

Now how do we actually neutralize your blog's carbon footprint? We are planting trees in Plumas National Forest in Northern California for our project to neutralize the carbon footprint of blogs. Thousands of wildfires have burned in many national forests over the past ten years and 88.000 acres of Plumas' were destroyed by !two! fires in 2007. For replanting this area we need help from bloggers all over the world! For every participating blog, we plant a tree. One blog - one tree.

Why do we do this? We are a German based company called kaufDA, which provides advertising brochures of local stores online to help consumers search for specific products and find good deals in their neighborhood. This reduces the amount of brochures printed and so the project helps the environment by reducing unnecessary paper in mailboxes. An American on average receives 41 pounds of junk mail per year. This has the same carbon footprint as burning six gallons of gasoline.

For more details and to find out how you can participate please go to http://www.kaufda.de/umwelt/co2-neutral/my-blog-is-carbon-neutral/

We'd be glad to plant your tree! Help us and show that you care! Every tree counts!

Best wishes from Germany,

Christin "Make it green!"- Team"

So I replied with the following:

"Looks like a scam to get backlinks... Tell me more?"

But I didn't stop there. I located the website for the Plumas National Forest and e-mailed them a copy of the e-mail that was sent to me.

I'm still waiting for replies from the US Forest Service and Kaufda.de but if this is what I think it is then it's the lowest link bait scheme I've ever seen. I'll keep our readers posted.

Update: 28 Jan. 10 6:30 am EST AsI have yet to hear back from the National Forest Service or kaufDA I decided to send the following e-mail to Mark Derowitsch, mderowitsch AT arborday.org Public Relations Manager, National Arbor Day Foundation:

"Mr. Derowitsch,
Can you confirm or deny the following links?

http://recyclebills.squarespace.com/recycleblog/make -your-blog-carbon-neutral-for-free.html
http://www.kaufda.de/umwelt/co2-neutral/my-blog-is-carbon-neutral/"

I'm awaiting responses from the National Forest Service, kaufDA and the National Arbor Day Foundation and will again update this post when I learn more.

Update: 28th Jan 2010 5:00 pm EST Mark Derowitsch of the National Arbor Day Foubdation replied earlier today with the following e-mail:

"Mr. Jones,

We have not done business, and are not familiar, with this outfit from Germany.

I can tell you that the Arbor Day Foundation plants trees in the Plumas for all the right reasons -- to help restore ecosystems, to clean the air and to clean the water.

If you have any more questions, please let me know.

Best,

Mark"

It now appears that kaufda.de is greenwashing in hopes of gaining inbound links to their website in the hope they will be more highly ranked in search engines thus increasing their website's page views and advertising rates. I don't know how many Germans might ever read this post but if I were a German consumer I would be contacting kaufda.de's advertisers and warning them of what appears to be a greenwashing scam.

As of this latest reposting I've yet to hear back from kaufda.de or the National Forest Service.

Update: 29th January 10 6:30 pm EST. Today I received the following reply from Christin of kaufda.de:

"Dear Billy,

before we start our initiative in US, we contacted Arbor Day Foundation for a cooperation. Mr. Mark Derowitsch was not our contact person. For more information please contact or refer to Mr. Paul Knopp from Arbor Day Foundation.

PS: We were able to plant almost 500 trees in Germany! The trees are planted in "Oberharz Rübeland" by “Iplantatree”. Our partner in Germany for the “My blog is carbon neutral” initiative. For more details please visit: http://www.kaufda.de/umwelt/co2-neutral/teilnehmerliste-2/

Regards,
Christin"

So I sent Christin's reply to Mark Derowitsch of the Arbor Day Foundation with the following request:

"Mark, I just got the following from the German outfit:

"Dear Billy,

before we start our initiative in US, we contacted Arbor Day Foundation for a cooperation. Mr. Mark Derowitsch was not our contactperson. For more information please contact or refer to Mr. Paul Knopp from Arbor Day Foundation."

Can you verify?

Thanks -Billy"

I've yet to hear from the National Forest Service and don't expect to get another reply from Mr. Derowitsch before Monday as it is now Friday night. I'd like to believe that Christin is telling me the truth but without more information from the Arbor Day Foundation, The US Forest Service or the Plumas National Forest there's little more I can do but wait. So while I wait I've sent the following e-mail to iplantatree.org:

"Can you verify that iplantatree.org has worked with http://www.kaufda.de to plant trees in Germany or anywhere else. I would like to post your answer to the following thread:

http://recyclebills.squarespace.com/recycleblog/make-your-blog-carbon-neutral-for-free.html.

Thank you -Billy Jones"

Update: 29th January 10, 7:30 pm EST. Just heard back from Michael Bahr of iplantatree.org (micha AT iplantatree.org) with the following reply:

"Hey Bill,

Yes I can verify that. We have planted 750 trees for Kaufda.de in an mountaneous Area called Harz. You can See these trees on http://www.iplantatree.org/projects/status.html?projectId=3

Hey, of course they used this for Link Building but we think they guys are cool and their Business is something worth supporting.

Best regards
Michael"

I'm still awaiting more replies from the Arbor Day Foundation and the US Forest Service and should those replies be as favorable as that of Michael Bahr then I'll happily have them plant a tree on behalf of our RecycleBills.com Llc Local Recycler Search Engine

Update: 4 February 2010 7:20 pm EST. Still no responses from the US Forest Service, Plumas National Forest or the Arbor Day Foundation to support the claims of kaufDA. I'm leaning more towards believing this is a scam each and every day.

Update: 9 February 2010 7:40 am EST. Again, still no responses from the US Forest Service, Plumas National Forest or the Arbor Day Foundation to support the claims of kaufDA. I would think that if kaufDA's claims were true then kaufDA would be pushing hard to get someone to verify their claims. To date only a handful of bloggers have fell for this apparent scam and most have removed their original posts altogether. Only one still has the post live and to date that blogger refuses to publish my comments. My apologies to any who might have been taken in, it's not your fault. As one blogger wrote me in a private e-mail, "I just like trees."

If I were able to speak German I would contact German law enforcement and report Kaufda.de for possible fraud. Maybe one of our readers is versed in German.

Carolina Recycling Association

Or, Waste Not, Want Not?

Want to do your part to advance the cause of recycling and reduce waste in North and South Carolina? The Carolina Recycling Association is a trade group whose mission is to green the Carolina's thru recycling and advancements in recycling technologies. While the cost to corporations can run as high as $10,000 a year, grassroots memberships are available for only $50 per year. Members include major corporations, small businesses, individuals and local governments. From the CRA website:

" MISSION
To advance recycling and waste reduction in the Carolinas by training and qualifying people in the creation, operation and management of recycling and waste reduction programs and services.

GOALS
Q To establish, promote and maintain high professional and industry standards
Q To train and qualify people in the public and private sectors
Q To provide a mechanism for continued personal and industry advancement
Q To provide training paths supporting specialized career tracks
Q To ensure accessible and affordable training opportunities
Q To assist in meeting and exceeding the States’ Waste Reduction Goals

Q In the Carolina Recycling Association's continuing commitment to bring members and friends innovative, interesting and relevant training opportunities, the Caroline Recycling University (CRU) has been created to meet the training needs of the Carolinas.
Q The CRU provides comprehensive, professional, in-depth training opportunities for professionals in the recycling and solid waste industry and beyond.
Q The CRU ensures the establishment of high quality, accessible and affordable training opportunities for recycling and solid waste professionals in the public and private sectors.
Q The CRU promotes the achievement of state waste reduction goals throughout North and South Carolina.
Q The Carolina Recycling Association offers attendees recognition for attending CRU courses. Following the Professional Recyclers Qualification Training, professionals will have numerous opportunities to attend intermediate and advanced skill level courses for improving their skills and knowledge while receiving continuing education credits."

RecycleBill thinks this is something we need to get behind. To learn more visit CRA-Recycle.org. And tell 'em RecycleBill sent you. Or don't, I'll understand.