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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 |
It's Not That The Tow Truck Drivers Don't Like You
In Extreme Weather Conditions, Towers Often Only Respond To Police Calls
It's wintertime and that means black ice, snow storms, and ditches. Oh My! When severe weather hits, you may find yourself stranded along with 50 other people in your area. If this is the case the best option
for you is to contact the police. In many areas, when severe weather hits, towing companies will only respond to police calls. In these situations the police department is your best option for a speedy recovery. Of course, we will
reimburse you for that tow. |
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AAA Watch |
Scaremongering Over The Intercounty Connector
A letter to the editor of the Washington Post
by MAHLON G. "LON" ANDERSON
Director, Public and Government Affairs
AAA Mid-Atlantic
The proposition that the intercounty connector will sicken or kill children ["ICC Could Be Hazardous to Your Children's Health," Close to Home, Dec. 3] is an outrageous diatribe to scare people into opposing construction of this
much-needed artery.
The article's premise is that car exhaust is unhealthy and therefore busy highways near schools and parks are dangerous to children's health.
While we need to be concerned about the impact of exhaust on children, realistically, large numbers of schools and parks locally and nationally have been built near major highways for decades, while life expectancy has increased.
Complete Story.
Children Raised Near Busy Roads Have Poorer Lungs
by Catharine Paddock
Medical News Today
US scientists suggest that children who grow up near busy roads or highways with traffic pollution have poorer lung function and are more likely to suffer long term respiratory and heart-related health problems than those who live further
away.
The study is published in the early online edition of the Lancet.
Complete Story |
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Member Specials |
Take A Walking Tour Of A Wolf Sanctuary With Wolf Haven
BWC Members Receive Discounts On Tours And Camping
Better World members receive $2 off each regular priced admission and $5 off the Howl-in Camping Package.
Click here for more details on this member discount!
Wolf Haven International is a non profit organization dedicated to conservation of wolves since 1982. Through education, conservation and a sanctuary for displaced wolves, they work to protect their resident wolves, along with those in
the wild. Tours of their sanctuary are available daily May through September with the last tour starting at 3pm. The sanctuary is closed in February and has limited hours for the rest of the year. For details of open hours check out
their website at
www.wolfhaven.org. Supporters can also help them care for the wolves that live in the sanctuary by 'adopting' or sponsoring one (or more) wolf or by becoming a member of Wolf Haven International.
This Atlas Won't Make You Shrug
BWC Members Receive a 10% Discount at the Dar Itrane Eco-Lodge in Morocco
There's nothing ho-hum about the high Atlas range in Morocco. The Dar Itrane eco-lodge offers guests breathtaking views of the range as well as and access to traditional Berber culture.
The lodge is built of adobe and other natural materials to promote and respect the building traditions of the Bougmez Valley, offering both authenticity and a high level of comfort. The lodge also boasts green building extras like solar
energy, waste management, and water consumption management.
Click here to find out more about the Dar Itrane Eco-Lodge in Morocco.
Dar Itrane rates are noted in Euros.
Calculate the US exchange rate here.
Related Links
The Dar Itrane discount was first featured in the
January edition of TravelCool, BWC's monthly travel enewsletter, which you can
sign up for now.
We Cannot Tell A Lie - This Is A Great Deal
Book With BWC And Save On Last-Minute President's Day Weekend Trips!
Mount Vernon. Monticello. Crawford? Wherever you want to spend President's Day weekend this year, Better World Club can get you a deal. Just
click this link to score a great deal on a last-minute President's Day Weekend trip.
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Top Story |
Better World Club Selects DriveNeutral as Carbon Offset Partner
BWC to Expand Services to Help Members Offset Annual Driving, Flying, and More
Better World Club has offered carbon offsets through its TravelCool program for five years now. We were the first to do it in the roadside assistance industry, the travel industry, and the insurance industry. After
achieving all these "firsts", most folks would be content to stay at home, watch TV, and become "one" with their couches. Not us, however. We tried, of course, but our spouses kicked us out of the house and sent us back to work.
So, forced to work, we decided to make our carbon offset program even better. To do this, we partnered with DriveNeutral, a nonprofit business entity within the Presidio School of Management in San Francisco.
Working with DriveNeutral will help BWC facilitate the development of needed expertise and innovation in the field of Sustainable Management. DN provides a clinic environment for Presidio students working toward an MBA in sustainable
business. The lessons learned in this clinic environment are carried on by the students as they lead our transformation to a sustainable society.
Most retail offerers of carbon offset instruments finance projects traded on the Chicago Climate Exchange (CCX). DN is the only company that does this exclusively. CCX has the most legally enforceable system of accountability, and the
National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD) reviews each member's account annually for accuracy. In addition, every offset project must contract with a CCX approved third-party verifier who audits the projects where they take place,
not just through the project's paper trail.
Even before partnering with DriveNeutral, Better World has been offering its members several carbon offset options:
1.) Book a flight through Better World Travel – Members who book round-trip domestic US flights
with a Better World Travel Agent will get a free carbon offset for their flight ($11 value).
2.) Book a flight through the
Internet, another travel agency, or airline and
send your tax-deductible donation to offset the CO2 emissions from your flight. ($11 for domestic flights or $22 international flights.)
3.)
Purchase auto insurance through Better World Insurance – offset your car's first ton of greenhouse gas emissions free. ($11 value).
4.)
Make a donation – For each $11 donation you will offset roughly one ton of CO2 emissions.
Now, thanks to our partnership with DriveNeutral, BWC members will be able to use handy carbon calculators embedded in our website to quickly and easily assess their carbon emissions and offset them right away.
Need To Get Out Of Town In A Hurry?
Try Our Spiffy New Booking Engine
BWC Joins The National Biodiesel Board's 'Biodiesel Alliance'
Apparently They'll Let Anyone In
Unlike Groucho Marx, BWC is more than happy to join a club that will have us as a member. The Biodiesel Alliance is a diverse coalition of organizations, agencies and businesses from across the nation who
find common ground in their support for biodiesel fuel. Founded and managed by the National Biodiesel Board, the Biodiesel Alliance supports information sharing and opportunities to help advance the use of clean-burning, renewable
biodiesel fuel that meets high industry standards. As a result, the Biodiesel Alliance is instrumental in helping others to recognize the benefits of biodiesel to human health, the environment, national energy security and the US
economy.
Better World Club is listed as one of the Biodiesel Alliance's many
Business/Corporate Members. Are you an individual or part of an organization that would like to join the Biodiesel Alliance?
Click here to sign up! |
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Partners |
Georgia On Our Mind – And In Our Fleet Program
BWC Partners With The Nature Conservancy In Georgia
BWC is proud to announce that we are now providing roadside assistance coverage to The Nature Conservancy's fleet in Georgia. The Nature Conservancy is a non-profit organization whose mission is to preserve
the plants, animals and natural communities that represent the diversity of life on Earth by protecting the lands and waters they need to survive.
TNC has developed a strategic, science-based planning process, called
Conservation by Design, which helps them identify the highest-priority placeslandscapes and seascapes that, if conserved, promise to ensure biodiversity over the long term.
Worldwide, there will be thousands of these precious places. Taken together, they form something extraordinary:
a vision of conservation success and a roadmap for getting the Conservation Blueprint.
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Enviroculture |
Lucky Number 79
Mother Nature to Star at the 79th Annual Academy Awards
And She Won't Be Wearing Fur
The year 2006 seemed to see an encouraging increase in awareness (dumbstruck fear?) of the far-reaching environmental problems presented by global warming. And as a result – despite a supporting cast of
other nominees– the environment will shine at this year's Academy Awards, even if we couldn't find it a big enough dress to wear on the red carpet.
Complete Story
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Gas Saving Tips |
Running Errands?
Add Fuel Efficiency To Your "Do" List
- Leave your car at home. Walking, riding a bicycle, and taking the bus are all more environmentally friendly options. A bicycle pannier is handy for carrying groceries home by bike.
- If you need to drive, you should plan your route ahead of time. The more efficient your route, the more fuel-efficient your trip will be.
- If you have multiple stops on your trip, you should try to make your first stop the most distant from your home. Doing this, your engine will warm up more quickly, making your car more fuel efficient for the rest of your trip.
- Unless you're trying to find a one-armed man while simultaneously avoiding Tommy Lee Jones, you should avoid backtracking on your route. Backtracking increases the distance you travel, causing you to burn more gas. Jumping off of dams
is also a bad idea.
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Special Announcements |
The Fidelity Investments MS 150 Bike Tour to benefit the National Multiple Sclerosis Society Rhode Island Chapter
Saturday, June 23 and Sunday, June 24
Join the movement! Participate in this year's Fidelity Investments MS 150 Bike Tour. This year's route begins at Cranston West High School. From there, you'll ride highlights of the best roads from the
2004-2006 routes including Providence, Little Compton and Westport to your overnight at Salve Regina University in Newport where evening festivities await. On Sunday, you'll traverse the Newport Bridge and continue along the coast through
Wakefield and the surrounding areas, back to Cranston. Ride to end multiple sclerosis! Ride for a cure! Visit
www.ms150ri.com for info. |
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Washington Watch |
Bush Mentions Global Warming, Energy Independence in State of the Union Address
OK, Our Work Is Done! Let's Go Shopping!
Wait: Energy Independence Raised in Prior Addresses and Dependence Increases Each Year
We Might Have to Actually Do Something...
If Bush Were Noah, When God Told Him the Flood Was Coming, He'd Have Bought Swim Trunks
President Bush let the American people know the desiribility of greater energy independence and that global climate change is a challenge in last week's State of the Union Address.
When discussing energy independence, he did focus on the important role of technology as having the potential to make America more independent. But then he said the following:
"We made a lot of progress, thanks to good policies here in Washington and the strong response of the market."
In fact, we have made virtually no progress. The U.S. is nearly twice as dependent on foreign sources of oil today than when President Richard Nixon first raised the issue in 1973. (Over 60% of our petroleum is imported.) This percentage
has continued to increase throughout the Bush Administration.
Complete Story
Energy Grants Back Plug-In Cars, Ethanol
By Sholnn Freeman
Washington Post Staff Writer
The Department of Energy announced this week $17 million in grants to support the development of battery technology for plug-in hybrid vehicles and ethanol, two areas in the energy debate where officials in Washington and Detroit are
closely aligned.
The money will be offered as two grants, one for $14 million for the plug-in technology and the other for $3 million for ethanol. The money for battery development is intended to improve the technology's performance. The $3 million in
ethanol grants will support engineering advances to improve how flex-fuel engines use the E85 blend.
Complete Story
Better World Club has testified numerous times in support of Pay As You Drive Auto Insurance. Dean Baker, the co-director of the Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR) laid out the case recently:
If Environmentalists Cared About Global Warming ...They would all be pushing for pay as you drive auto insurance. I know that insurance isn't very cool or sexy, like
some of the high-tech solutions for global warming. But pay as you drive insurance has the great advantage of being something that could in principle have a big impact beginning tomorrow, and it does not face massive political opposition.
There is nothing else that comes close in terms of its potential impact on a short-term basis.
Just to restate the basics, currently people treat auto insurance as a fixed cost of driving. They pay pretty much the same for their insurance regardless of whether they drive 1000 miles or 20,000 miles.
Complete Story
Dean Baker's blog, "Beat the Press," where he discusses the media's coverage of economic issues, can be found at the American Prospect's web site.
More Washington Watch in Driving Change:
- Pelosi Wants Ad Hoc Committee to Show Global Warming On Democratic Legislative Agenda |
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In The News |
 A Convenient Plug For BWC
Al Gore Loves Our Green Travel And Carbon Offsets
The book version of 'An Inconvenient Truth' contains all the stats and graphs that we've all grown to love from his lecture of the same name. As an added bonus, however, the book also includes information
on how to fight global warming on a personal level.
Under the 'Reduce Air Travel' heading, Gore notes, "If you must fly, consider buying carbon offsets to compensate for the emissions caused by your air travel. For assistance in planning green travel and purchasing carbon offsets, visit
our travel page.
EPA Considers Removing Ban on Lead
BWC Recognized for Pusing Ban's Removal
by Rose Hunt
Associated Content
Lead is now being reconsidered by the EPA for a drop in health standards. Lead is as poisonous as it was twenty-five years ago yet due to a ninety percent drop of lead in the air, the Battery Council International is arguing that the
pollutant should be taken off the list of regulated pollutants. Lead is linked to death and birth defects, and is still tested in young children due to its harmful effects.
Originally in 1976, the ban on lead was asked for by the automobile manufacturers because the lead in gasoline damaged catalytic converters.
Complete Story
Winter Road Must-Haves
by Consumer Reports
9WSYR.com
With the snow fast approaching, the last place you want to be is stuck in your car on the side of the road. Consumer Reports helps you prepare for winter's worst with these nine items--every driver should have in their vehicle.
Complete Story |
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BWC High-Mileage Review: