Catalog Choice

I moved into a new apartment earlier this week and have been eagerly checking my mailbox for my first piece of mail. Well, I got it yesterday, and sadly it was a Victoria’s Secret Catalog. It reminded me that one of the things I need to do is to update my address profile on Catalog Choice so those pesky catalogs don’t find themselves back into my mailbox. There are now over 1,061,000 people on Catalog Choice! Check out what the postal regulatory Vice Chairman Nancy Langley had to say about Catalog Choice here.

So as you head home for Thanksgiving, make sure you remind all your friends and family about signing up for Catalog Choice. And while you’re reducing your catalogs, make sure to also head over to Forest Ethics’ Do Not Mail Campaign. You can their petition to reduce your junk mail, because you’re probably one of the 89% of Americans who support a national Do Not Mail Registry.

2nd Meeting of the NYC Public Policy Communicators Group

Last month I attended the first meeting of the New York City Public Policy Communicators Group. I blogged about it here. Well the event was a great success and they’ve just scheduled their second meeting for Friday, December 12th. The topic, which was chosen via a survey distributed to the participants at the first meeting, will be the most effective methods and best experiences in reaching high profile columnists or editorial boards. Other topics that were ranked high in the survey of participants were the best practices in online communications, how to use social networking to advance your issues, and measuring the effectiveness of your communication efforts. I hope we get to explore some of these topics in future meetings.

If you want to attend, you can RSVP to shasan@publicagenda.org. The meeting will be held at the New York Times Building, 620 Eighth Avenue (between 40th and 41st street), at the offices of Covington and Burling.

And lastly - the group is looking for a new name. Any suggestions out there?

A Green Economy

Everyday we hear about more people losing their jobs, but we haven't heard much about what they're supposed to do or where they should turn. In a hopeful outlook, Forbes.com, among many others such as Van Jones of Green for All, predicts that the future of the U.S. economy is looking quite green.

According to a new report by the U.S. Conference of Mayors and Global Insight, an economic research firm, the green economy could soon become the nation's fastest-growing job segment, as it has already added more than 750,000 jobs in 2006 and is set to add millions more in the next few decades. The report predicts that green jobs will account for about 10% of new jobs over the next 20 years and that by 2038, renewable electricity production will create 1.23 million jobs; alternative transportation fuels, 1.5 million jobs; engineering, legal, research and consulting positions will be more than 1.4 million; and commercial and residential retrofits at 81,000 jobs. In total, there could be 4.2 million jobs generated in the near future.

So where to find these jobs? Forbes.com predicts that people will be able to find a wealth of green jobs in Houston, Washington, D.C. and Boston. Not to be forgotten, California holds three of the nation's 10 largest green jobs markets: San Francisco, San Diego and Los Angeles. And guess which city will have the nation's largest green jobs market? New York. In 2006, the city generated more than 25,000 green jobs. By 2038, New York's new economy could create about 200,000 jobs.

With new, green jobs on the horizon, I think it is important to prepare the new workforce by educating people on the skills needed to attain these jobs. I hope that as the environment and the green economy become increasingly significant, so will education.

The Progressive Women's Voices Program

An Overbrook Foundation grantee, The Women’s Media Center, is now accepting applications for its 2009 Progressive Women’s Voices Classes. The Progressive Women’s Voices Program is an effort to “change the conversation” by making sure that there are plenty of qualified, authoritative, progressive women experts available to editors, reporters, producers, and bookers.

In the first year of the program, WMC intensively media trained 33 women who have gone on to earn over 1000 media hits year to date. Its inaugural class was a stellar group, with experts in foreign policy, reproductive rights, environmental issues, racial justice, voting rights, the history of feminism, immigrant communities, outsider cultures, national security, and many more areas of expertise.

It’s great to see that they have had success with their first training. In 2008, the Progressive Women’s Voices women wrote Op Eds in the Washington Post and The New York Times, features for Elle and New York magazine, were quoted in USA Today, Forbes, Variety, Mother Jones, the Wall Street Journal, Slate, Salon, The New Republic, the Los Angeles Times, on the Associated Press and Reuters wires, appeared on Good Morning America, CNN, MSNBC, CBS Nightly News, Fox News, ABC News, CNBC, The Tyra Banks Show, PBS’s “To The Contrary,” Bill Moyers, on numerous NPR shows, and in hundreds of other significant media outlets.

So think you know of a woman whose voices should be heard in the media? WMC has three classes scheduled for the year, the first one in New York on February 6th-7th. Applications for the first class will be open until December 15th. Check out their website for complete program details.

Reactions to a Plastic Bag

I'd like to post a follow-up to Nikki's post last week on plastic bags, since The New York Times web site attracted hundreds of comments regarding the proposed 6-cent fee on each bag. Earlier this month, Mayor Bloomberg announced that he would seek a 6-cent fee on each plastic bag to raise as much as $16 million a year for the city and to help New Yorkers become a little greener. His well-intended effort, however, has been met with much pushback.

According to an article in The Times, while many welcome the change, there are those who disagree, citing the usefulness of plastic bags to clean up after pets or to hold other trash. Others cite the inconvenience of carrying a cloth bag around in a city where most people walk or take public transportation to the grocery store. Many grocers and retailers also oppose the tax, fearing that more people will demand paper bags, which is more expensive (and also kills trees).

In the article, the Food Industry Alliance of New York State said the city should provide incentive programs for stores, such as the nickel customers get back at some chains like Whole Foods if they use their own bags.

Several other European countries already impose hefty taxes--as much as 33 cents--on plastic bags. In the U.S., San Francisco has banned them from large grocery stores and pharmacies unless they are biodegradable. Ikea started phasing out plastic bags in March 2007 with a 5-cent surcharge per bag. Last month, the store eliminated all bags. By that point, however, more than 90% of its customers had switched to the big blue bags the store sells for 59 cents or used a Costco-like bagless option.

I agree that it is nearly impossible to completely eliminate the need for plastic bags, but I do think that a fee would provide incentive for people to cut back. All it takes is a little effort to change our habits--to fold up a cloth bag and put it in our pocket on the way to the grocery store. And with fashionable cloth totes becoming increasingly popular amongst designer labels, women can easily substitute one in for the daily purse.

The Case Foundation's Social Citizen Quiz

Ever wanted to know what kind of social citizen you are? Well, it’s possible you never even thought about it. But now thanks to the folks over at the Case Foundation you can find out in just eight quick and easy questions. The question in their new quiz include asking about your volunteer habits, to the ways in which you donate to favorite causes.

Click here to take the quiz! After you’re done you’ll get to tell them in 500 characters or less (which may seem like an eternity if you’re used to Twitter’s 140 character limit) how you could benefit from the tools that they are offering. You can win great prizes including a Flip video camera, a $100 Apple gift certificate and two hours of consulting time with a social media expert! So, what are you waiting for?

The First Eco-Friendly Billboard

Times Square, an iconic place known for its lights, signs and crowds, is now becoming a little more eco-friendly. According to an article in the New York Times, the first eco-friendly billboard will be placed 55 feet off the ground at northwest corner of Seventh Avenue and 42nd Street. The $3 million sign, powered entirely by solar and wind energy, will go dark in when there is no sun or wind after a few days since it does not have a backup generator.

But that's not stopping it.

The 126 feet wide and 47 feet high sign, powered by 16 wind turbines and 64 solar panels, will begin to be constructed this month, just in time for a lighting ceremony on December 4th.

Ricoh Americas Corporation, the equipment and document storage supplier that owns the sign, says that the sign could save as much as $12,000 to $15,000 per month by generating its own electricity. Additionally, the sign would prevent 18 tons of carbon from being released into the air each year. The company said that the only other similar sign in the world is one it built in Osaka, Japan in 2003. That sign has 26 small propellers and 39 solar panels.

The sign will be fittingly colored green. This seems like a great idea, and I hope it inspires more companies to take similar steps. Can you imagine an eco-friendly Times Square that goes dark after a few days of clouds and rain. This reminds me of a video clip the New York Times did on a greener, dimmer skyline in New York City. Click here to see it!

Presidential Election Protection

Here’s some great post-election news!

Last Tuesday Voter Action engaged in election protection and monitoring efforts in various targeted states across the country. With the support of volunteer monitors and legal support working out of their Seattle and New York headquarters, they reviewed data from InfoVoter Technologies being fed by two national hotlines: the MYVOTE1 hotline and the CNN hotline (877-GOCNN08). There were over 41,000 calls on the CNN line alone!

Here are three key victories from Voter Action from last week:

· With this monitoring, and with the support of volunteer lawyers from several law firms, they were able to reach out to local and state election officials in a number of states to further report these voting problems and to seek remedies on Election Day. Their press release issued during the election on this election monitoring activity can be found here.

· Citizens from a variety of backgrounds became a key component in reclaiming their elections process and in working with local elections officials in order to serve the voters and deal with problems on Election Day. Voter Action partnerships with state-based groups in New Mexico (Voter Action volunteers), Colorado (through a partnership with Common Cause), Maryland (Save Our Votes), Pennsylvania (through Voter Action networks and Common Cause), North Carolina, Indiana, and Florida (through Common Cause), created on-the-ground verification networks that assisted in following up on data reported to the hotlines and that identified voting problems from the field.

· Examples of their Election Day protection work include: accessing dry ballots for a polling location so that they could be scanned and people could continue to vote (NC); clarifying voting rules and regulations regarding absentee and provisional ballots (NM); ensuring voters were able to vote on paper ballots when machines were down (PA); providing voters and poll workers with advice on how to find voters’ names in the county voter rolls when there was exclusion in the state database (NM); addressing voter intimidation tactics towards Hispanic voters (CO); and alerting the public safety board when a polling location was shut down because of a gas leak (PA).

Congratulations to Voter Action for a job well done!

The Future on Wheels

While many of Americans, struck by a flailing economy, are fretting over gas payments for their SUVs and arguing over proposed rail systems, it seems like the Europeans have outdone us yet again. New bike-sharing programs are popping up in major cities all over Europe, from Barcelona to Lyon to Rome. According to an article in the New York Times, bike-sharing has provided mayors with a simple solution to ease congestion and improve the environment. For the price of a bus, mayors can invest in a fleet of bicycles, thereby avoiding years of construction and approvals required for a subway.

By excluding access to tourists and day-trippers, the new systems function as low-cost alternate public transportation. The bike programs also feature electronic cards and computerized bike stands that speed up the process of picking up and dropping off bikes, and ease payments through deductions from bank accounts.

In Barcelona, the city's program, Bicing, has used bright red bikes for the past 18 months. The program provides 6,000 bicycles from 375 stands, which can be found every few blocks. Riders pay $30 for yearly membership and are issued a smart card to remove a bike from a mechanized dock. In Germany and Austria, most programs give members cellphone text messages with codes to unlock bikes.

Even Shanghai, a city that tried to eliminate bicycles a mere 10 years ago, opened a pilot bike-sharing program last month.

The programs are still far from perfect, however, as bike stands run out of bikes at peak hours or are full after the morning rush, leaving some to scramble for parking spots. While the kinks are being worked out, I believe it is safe to say that the programs are off to a strong start and are quickly becoming mainstream throughout Europe. I hope the U.S. catches up soon, as Washington, D.C., Montreal, Chicago, Boston and New York are currently weighing their options.

Paper or Plastic

Paper or Plastic? It's the question we often hear when going to the grocery store. But things may be about to change. Thanks to New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, shoppers may have more to consider when answering that question. Mayor Bloomberg has proposed a six cent fee for every plastic shopping bag given to shoppers. This proposal happens to not only help the environment but also the $4 billion deficit the city faces within the next two years. One cent of the fee will be given to the retailer of the bags while the other five cents will be given to the city. It is estimated that this could generate up to $16 million a year.

Mayor Bloomberg is said to be inspired by other cities such as Seattle and San Francisco that have done their own measures to curb plastic bags, in some cases banning them completely in large grocery stores. This success is not limited only to the municipal level but also to countries around the world like China, Australia and Ireland to name a few. South Africa has also enacted a ban after many have labeled the plastic bag the "national flower" for they are found discarded everywhere.

Plastic bags constitute a large portion of the trash we throw away; with The Worldwatch Institute estimates that Americans alone discard around 100 billion plastic bags per year. That's about 6 or 7 bags per person per week. Many of these bags wind up in the ocean, where they can choke and entangle marine birds and mammals, such as sea turtles, who can not distinguish the plastic bags from jellyfish. Eventually these bags find their way to the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, a swirling mass of trash twice the size of Texas, where they can take up to 1,000 years to break down.

So next time we hear, "paper or plastic?" say neither and carry your groceries in a cloth tote. The environment and your wallet will thank you.

The Youth Vote

According to new data released by the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement, exit polling from Tuesday’s data indicated that youth voter turnout this week increased by at least 2.2 million votes over the 2004 Presidential Elections. It’s estimated that between 21 and 24 million young Americans voted on Tuesday.

What’s particularly exciting about this news is that for the first time in over 20 years, young voters share of the electorate also surpassed that of voters over 65; young people made up 18% of the electorate.

And it just may have been those youth voters that helped propel Barack Obama to the White House. Young voters favored Obama over McCain 66% to 34%. According to this article from MSNBC, that’s the highest share of the youth vote obtained by any candidate since exit polls began reporting results by age in 1976!

Even more telling? Barack Obama won the overall popular vote by about 8 million and he won the youth vote by 8.3 million.

While it will take some more time to sort through the data to tell exactly how many young people voted, for whom and why, (and how those voters were mobilized using new media), the early signs are encouraging; young people are registering and young people are voting. Let’s hope we can say goodbye to the days of civic apathy for young voters!

A Glance at the Others

With the world savoring a taste of history with Barack Obama the President-elect, I want to note the other issues people voted on during Tuesday's election. A couple of key projects at stake were rail systems, aimed at supporting existing transportation systems and reducing their greenhouse gas emissions.

In my home state of Hawaii, where local boy Obama won 72% of the vote, Honolulu residents also got a chance to decide whether to build a rail transit system. With 53% of the vote, the city will establish an elevated steel rail transit system. According to the Honolulu Advertiser, the $4.3 billion project will span 20 miles and connect the west side of the island with downtown. Following Tuesday's decision, the City Council announced that it might switch the route to include a stop at Honolulu International Airport, which would cost $4.5 billion.

California also supported Proposition 1A High-Speed Trains, with 52% of the vote. According to the San Francisco Chronicle, the $40 billion project envisions a zero-emissions, high-speed train that would make it possible to travel from downtown San Francisco to Los Angeles in only 2.5 hours. A one-way fare would cost about $55, making it a reasonable alternative to flying or driving.

Constructing these rail systems would support existing transportation systems that are increasingly strained by population growth. The benefits of these rail systems are their ability to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and traffic. They would also help connect people with urban centers and provide access to suburban sprawl. Additionally, in tough economic times, these massive construction projects are projected to provide badly-needed employment. The passage of Prop. 1A, for example, is estimated to generate 160,000 construction-related jobs.

"This Is Your Victory"

No one can argue that last night was historic on many levels. President Elect Barack Obama has arrived.

Although the voting is finished, we are really just beginning. As we sort through the next few days, weeks, months, and years, we will all look back at this time and think to ourselves, this is a day that changed American history. As Obama said last night, “This Is Your Victory”, but it will be our future.

24 Hours To Go

There’s less than one day to go until the election and it seems to be the only thing on everyone’s minds. In that spirit, here’s a post all things election-related.

First, although it’s obvious, don’t forget to vote tomorrow. Can’t remember where your polling site is? New Yorkers can click here to remind themselves. Here’s also a link to the New York State Board of Elections. Interested in seeing the hours the polls will be open tomorrow in your state? Click here.

Also, before you head out to the polls, be careful about what you’re wearing. Certain states like Virginia, forbid voters to wear campaign clothing (for example wearing an Obama t-shirt), so make sure you check your state’s laws, or be prepared to remove anything that could be considered voting paraphernalia before you get to the polls.

It’s also important to let others know that you’re voting, and how your experience is going tomorrow. Experiencing long lines? Turned away at a polling site where you are registered? Forced to show ID at a poll? Did you use an electronic voting machine that malfunctioned, switched your vote or was just plain confusing? People need to know! If you’re interested in sharing your voting experiences via Twitter, click here for the Twitter Vote Report website, which officially launched last week and will allow you to report on how the vote is really going during this election. Also Watch The Vote is leading an efforts in key states like Colorado, Maryland, New Mexico and Pennsylvania. The national CNN Election Hotline, 1-877-GO-CNN-08 allows voters to record voice complains or find their poll locations. The data collected from all these will help protect your vote.

Any other last minute questions you may have? There are a lot of really great resources out there you can look at for tomorrow. For starters, check out the American Civil Liberties Union Voting Guide.

So on the last day before the election, make sure you exercise your civic duty tomorrow, and encourage everyone else in your lives to vote tomorrow. But remember that your civic duty will not end after you cast your ballot tomorrow, no matter if you end up voting for the next President or not. Voting is simply the first step in creating the kind of future you want to see.