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IN THIS ISSUE |
Member Alert
AAA Watch
Top Story
Partners
Washington Watch
In The News
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Member Alert |
We've Got Your Maps & Directions, But Give Us a Chance To Get Them to You
We Know That You Don't Plan Your Trips Overnight...
Oh, Sure. You Just Woke Up and Decided to Drive to Orange County... People in LA Don't Even Do That!
And Don't Forget to Send in Card in Membership Package to Receive Hotel Discount Guide
Summer time is a time for road trips and vacations. Do you need maps or directions to get to your favorite relaxation destination? Please give us two weeks to process map orders and driving
directions. You can find order forms and available on our website in the
Members Only page.
Still haven't made that hotel reservation? Don't forget to send away for your hotel guidebook. If you are holding on to the one we sent you three years ago it has a lot of outdated information that is not very useful. Spare yourself the
frustration and request a new one. |
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AAA Watch |
Not All of AAA Bad: Northern CA Adds Environmental Info to Website
Of course, BWC Takes Credit
We skip our AAA oversight this month to observe that we have noticed a healthy change in AAA's public relations. Northern CA AAA is adding environmental information to its site.
This comes as no surprise to Better World. In fact, it has been a hope that our presence would lead to AAA to a more balanced environmental viewpoint. Readers of this page know that this is not the case in, say, the Pennsylvania AAA which
is opposing greenhouse gas regulation, or Virginia AAA which cointinues to oppose bike paths. But we want to recognize progress when we see it: so keep it up Northern California AAA. (Of course, padding one's website is hardly the extent
of running a socially responsible shop, so we will keep you posted on the legislative moves of NorCA AAA--and the other 80 regional offices.)
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Top Story |
Boston Herald Names Better World's Massachusetts Insurance Agency as Best in Area
 Readers Vote Better World Club #1
Number 2 Agency Doesn't Get Message; In Ad It Claims to Be #1
Dewey Defeats Truman?
The Boston Herald and Tab Community Newspapers publish the Readers Choice Awards each year, to identify the best restaurants, retailers, and yes, insurance agencies, in the Boston Metro Area. This year,
Better World Club's American Consumer Insurance Agency was selected as the Best Insurance Agency. We don't know for sure, but consumers probably liked a number of the distinctive benefits provided by Better World and American
Consumer--including the 8% discount for Better World Club members.
But apparently WT Phelan, Better World's principal competitor in Cambridge, MA (American Consumer serves all of Massachusetts and Better World also works with agencies in 19 other states), somehow didn't get the word. There, in an ad, the
agency claims that it's number 1.
American Consumer will be taking out our own ad soon to correct the record. In the meantime, we remember that just because The Chicago Tribute published that Dewey defeated Truman in the 1948 Presidential election doesn't mean that Dewey
became President. |
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Partners |
Portland, OR Sierra Club to Offer "Travel Coo!l" Outings
 Better World Will Offset Greenhouse Gas of Sierra Club Tours
Sierra Club's Columbia Group has recently agreed to collaborate with Better World Club to offset the Club's greenhouse gas generated when traveling by car in any of the Group's outdoor activities.
Better World Club pioneered the
TravelCool! Carbon offset program to help fight global warming. Better World is credited as the first travel company in the world to offer this type of program to its customers.
What is a carbon offset? A carbon offset is an investment into a project or action with the goal of eliminating greenhouse gas emissions. Offset projects come in many varieties and may include tree planting or reforestation, building
retrofits (i.e. installing more efficient heating/cooling systems) or wind power projects. The common goal is to reduce fossil fuel usage, which in turn, eliminates harmful greenhouse gas emissions.
Recently, Better World Club donations have been used to replace outdated, inefficient oil burning boilers for the Portland Oregon Public Schools. The new boilers reduce carbon dioxide gas emissions by thousands of tons each year, saving
the school system dollars while protecting our air. This year, the award-winning program will help the Portland (OR) schools test an innovative project: a control system that uses CO2 sensors to reduce energy (i.e. by turning down the
heat) when a communal room such as a gym or auditorium is unoccupied.
A portion of the total donation collected ($0.25/person) will go toward funding local projects and programs that either reduce carbon emmisions (high efficiency boilers for school, wind energy, etc) or permanently retire carbon through
purchase of forests.
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Member Specials |
"Who Killed the Electric Car?" Opens
With Al Gore's "An Inconvenient Truth" and Other Eco-Films, KA Needs A Film Reviewer
"Makes 'An Inconvenient Truth' Seem Merely Inconvenient!"
No Member Discount, but Member Alexandra Paul did want to alert you to "Who Killed the Electric Car", a documentary which is about to go head-to-head with Al Gore's "Inconvenient Truth".
(the failure of fuel economy standards to increase since the mid-1980s, for example)--and doesn't explore adequately every possible consumer worry about the electric car (i.e. the EV's range limitations of 60-100 miles)--it does include a
number of startling moments: the refusal of GM to let lessee's purchase their adored vehicles, a GM spokesman asserting that that those same EVs would not be destroyed as the film cuts to crushed--and then shredded--EVs, and Chevron
acquiring from GM an innovative battery company--whose products are never heard of again.
As car companies--and the Bush Administration--challenge the regulations of auto greenhouse gas emissions of California and nine other states, we see a precedent in their challenges to electric vehicles in California. The film opens in
some cities this week. For more, visit the
movie website. |
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Washington Watch |
After Being Denied Arctic Refuge, House Loosens Restrictions on Offshore Drilling
From News Reports
Washington -- The House approved a bill Thursday that could dramatically boost offshore drilling across the nation by offering coastal states a huge slice of billions of dollars in federal royalties if they allow oil and gas rigs off their
shores.
Complete Story
Follow Up: Hybrid Tax Credit Opportunity to End
Eligilibility Lost for Prius Buyers, Maintained for Buyers of 16 MPG Suburban
No, Seriously.
EVER since the first Prius rolled off the assembly line almost a decade ago at the Takaoka plant not far from Toyota City, hybrid cars have basically been a luxury item. If you owned one, you could feel good
about using less gasoline and being a trendsetter, but you couldn't expect the fuel savings to make up for the thousands of extra dollars that the hybrid cost. There was no financial reward for environmental virtue. Read the
Complete Story [Registration Required]
More Washington Watch in 'Driving Change'
If A Conservative Government Believes in the Marketplace, Why Does it Give Public Property Away at No Cost--or Close To It?
Read More
Just What You Were Hoping For: High Gasoline Prices Generate Lots of Congressional Response.
Read More
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In The News |
"Going to hit the road, might travel, going to make sure AAA is card is up to date? Well, think again, there is an alternative to AAA, and it's really is more appropriate for those of us who are concerned about creating a better world.
It's appropriately called the Better World Club. And I'm thrilled to have the founder Mitch Rofsky on Eco Talk to discuss what's happening with this growing business. I love that, and your newsletter called Kicking Asphalt." Listen to the
Complete Story
Auto Club Offers New Spin
Roadside assistance helps more than drivers
By BARBARA SCHUETZE Issue date: Tue, Jun 13, 2006
The Tribune
"I am a firm believer that the marketplace gives consumers what they want," Mitch Rofsky says. "Consumers haven't demanded enough especially when it comes to seeing their values reflected in the marketplace."
Complete Story
Looking For Roadside Assistance?
Your first step is to check to see what coverage you might already have, including what comes with your credit cards or your new car. Some manufacturers offer roadside assistance free for the length of the warranty. Some certified used
cars, such as Toyota and Chrysler, do the same.
Complete Story |
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