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IN THIS ISSUE |
Member Alert
AAA Watch
Top Story
Partners
In The News
Washington Watch
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Member Alert |
The Year In Review:
Should Old Alerts Be Forgot, And Never Brought To Mind?
Ah, 2006 has been a busy year for member alerts. We've warned the morally upright and hygienically adept members of Better World Club about so many things: towing rental cars, timetables for receiving maps,
updating your address when you move, and so much more.
How much more? Find out by
perusing recycled member alerts from 2006. Have a happy new year. We look forward to alerting you in 2007. |
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AAA Watch |
Oregon/Idaho AAA to Pay $50,000, Return Fees in Car Sales
State of Oregon Says AAA's Auto Brokering Service Claimed To Be "Free"--But Wasn't
Two weeks ago, Oregon Attorney General Hardy Myers announced a settlement with AAA Oregon/Idaho over allegations that the nonprofit's auto-buying brokerage engaged in deceptive trade practices.
AAA's AutoSource admitted no wrongdoing but agreed to pay $50,000 to the consumer protection fund, plus hidden fees it allegedly charged several thousand customers, Myers' Department of Justice said. AutoSource is jointly owned by the AAA
Oregon/Idaho of Portland and Centennial Management Inc. of Littleton, Colo.
"AAA AutoSource sold vehicles throughout Oregon claiming its auto brokering services were 'free' when they were not," Myers said. "In Internet advertisements and in the AAA Via magazine, the company misled consumers by claiming that they
would 'negotiate the best deal possible' for its clients when, in fact, they were hiding fees from them."
Complete Story
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Member Specials |
The Year In Review:
The Great Deals and New Discounts BWC Offered its Members in 2006
2006 has been a good year for
cheap
cost-conscious Better World Club Members. We introduced all kinds of great discounts, from insurance to books to bicycle trips.
Click here to check out Kicking Asphalt's Member Specials of 2006.
AND REMEMBER, BETTER WORLD IS NOW OFFERING AUTO AND HOMEOWNER INSURANCE IN 20 STATES. YOU CAN FIND THE
LIST HERE. WE'D APPRECIATE YOUR FILLING OUT AN APPLICATION AND ALLOWING US TO GIVE YOU A QUOTE. BWC OFFSETS THE FIRST 2,000 MILES OF
CARBON FOR AUTO INSURANCE CUSTOMERS (see Story Above.).
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Top Story |
NEW! Better World Club Offers Carbon Calculator for Flights
Travel Generates More Greenhouse Gas Than You Might Think
And You Thought the Air Inside the Plane Was Bad
Did you fly home for the holidays? Sure, flying can be great--especially if you're in the back of the plane and under five feet tall. And who doesn't love tiny bags of nuts and those little felt slippers you
sometimes get on international flights? Or those free drinks--which you receive when you're the pilot.
But, flying isn't all fun and games. Every passenger on a plane is responsible for hundreds, sometimes thousands of pounds of the pollutants that contribute to global warming. A passenger traveling round-trip from Seattle to Los Angeles,
for example, is responsible for more than a ton of CO
2
emitted into the atmosphere. Who wants a ton of CO
2
weighing on their conscience? Or their lungs?
So what can you do? You can offset the greenhouse gas that your travel generates by obtaining a "carbon offset" from Better World Club. And we work with the Tides Foundation to keep your offset tax deductible.
Better World Club pioneered travel carbon-offsets to help fight global warming as part of our Travel Cool! program. Better World Club and it's members have offset over 10,000,000 lbs of carbon.
Are you interested in finding out how much CO
2
you were responsible for this year? Head on over to our new
Carbon Calculator, plug in the airport codes for arrival and departure, and check it out.
Are you looking to book a trip? When you use
this BWC travel form, as well as displaying information on flights and hotels, you'll also see carbon-emission information..
Please send your offset payments to:
Better World Club
Attn: TravelCool!
20 NW 5th Avenue Suite #100
Portland, OR 97209
And remember, purchasers of auto insurance from Better World Insurance receive a free carbon offset for the first 2,000 miles of their driving.
The Tides Foundation administers our foundation so that name needs to be on the check. We will send you a receipt for your tax-deductible donation.
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Partners |
Thinking Outside The Cubicle
A progressive advocacy group for business people was just formed this summer, with Better World Club being one of the initial members. New Voice of Business is a non-partisan, national organization of
business people working, through our businesses, in collaborative partnerships to develop pragmatic solutions to benefit business, society, and the world.
New Voice of Business will strategically focus on the economy and the emerging role of business to bring about the tipping point to a more positive future.
New Voice is offering a discounted membership, reducing the $250.00 annual fee to $100.00. You can learn more about New Voice of Business and join them at
www.newvoiceofbusiness.org.
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Gas Saving Tips |
Stick It In Your Car Hole
Or, If You're Feeling Hoity-Toity, You Can Call it a "Garage"
- Resist the urge to fill your garage with old magazines, things you intend to take to Goodwill someday, or pirate treasure*. Keep your garage clear of junk and leave plenty of room for your car.
- Now that your garage is clean, you should keep your car there when you're not driving it. During cold weather, this will keep the car a little warmer when you start it, thus improving fuel efficiency. Keeping your car in the garage
also protects the car's rubber and plastic bits, which are vulnerable to the sun, heat, bird poop, and other things that corrode your car.
- In the winter, park your car so the front is in the warmest part of the garage possible. This will help the engine warm up more quickly when you start the car, improving fuel efficiency.
[*This is just common sense: Pirate treasure always has some kind of curse on it. Believe us, you don't want a cursed car hole.] |
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In The News |
FROM THE ARCHIVES:
Given the holiday shutdown, we dug through the KA Archives and found this article which indicates that peace & love are not the only eternal issues. Happy New Year Everyone!
163 BC
''All the News That's Fit to Chisel!"
Jews Claim to Set New Record for Energy Efficiency
No Longer Have to Depend on Persians for Eternal Oil?
It's a Miracle!
 The Jews of Jerusalem claimed a new record for energy efficiency today as their temple's eternal light burned for eight
days despite having only one day's supply of oil.
Does this mean an answer to the Eternal Oil Crisis?
As the eternal flame is based on olive oil, this could be a challenge to OPEC--the Olive Petroleum Exporting Countries.
However, doubts were generated as word of the oil miracle was contained within an epistle stating that the Jews defeated the Greeks in a battle over the Temple of Jerusalem.
A spokesman for pro-roadway lobbying group Alpha Alpha Alpha (AAA) put it this way. "Right! And the guys who teach abacus in town can kick the Spartan's asses! And I'm King Antiochus the Fourth!
"And, what if it is true? We're not going to run our horses on olive oil, are we? Sorry, Pegasus, no more hay, here's some olive oil.
"So, is it really such a big deal? Geez, why don't we make an annual holiday of it for Athena's sake?"
Jewish community leader Judah Maccabee responded, "This miracle is just the first of many. We believe that it is Jehovah's will to replace the horse with the hybrid mule. And, by the way, if you have to take a mule on a long trip, you
should offset its methane emissions."
But, Britannia Petroleum, multinational producer of olive oil and hay, also downplayed the significance of the Jews' achievement. "Zeus wouldn't have put hay in the ground if he didn't want us to use it. Alternatives to hay might be
feasible in ten to twenty years, but not now," asserted a BP spokesman. |
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Washington Watch |
U.S. Considers Listing Polar Bear as Threatened Species
Species Endangered by Global Warming
Will Administration Encourage Extinction of Gas Guzzlers?
Polar bears may be facing extinction and should be on the U.S. endangered species list, the Bush administration said on Wednesday in a decision that raised questions about the president's skeptical stance
on global warming.
Complete Story
More Washington Watch in Driving Change:
- Finally, Someone Agrees With BWC Regarding Auto Emissions: It's Not Just About Global Warming, It's About Pollution |
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BWC High-Mileage Review