Like many of us, I rely on the computer and internet for work and, increasingly, for pleasure. Switching it off is not really an option.

Yet, I am also concerned by the fact that the IT industry is a growing contributor to the world’s greenhouse emissions. I am trying to do my part – cutting back my usage (curbing my addiction) and not indulging my love of gadgets by upgrading to the shiniest new toys as soon as they become available.

Now I have found another solution. Click 4 Carbon is a for-profit business based in the UK that aims to raise money for forestation projects in Asia. The site includes an online community and information about how to green your lifestyle. That’s all well and good but I’m sure you readers are pretty clued up about that already. What really excites me is the search tool.

Nearly anyone who uses the internet uses search. There’s no need to feel guilty about that, despite what you may have read. (The claim that two Google searches uses as much energy as boiling the kettle for a cup of tea is a myth, based on some sketchy physics guesswork and a misquote). Yet you can do better.

What I like about Click 4 Carbon is that it is not asking me to change behaviour – it is simply asking me to be smart about it. If whenever I need to do a search, I do it through Click 4 Carbon instead of Google or Yahoo. This way, I am helping a green business survive and fund forestation projects in Asia at the same time. It is still powered by Google so I know the search results will be good and the site also pledges to offset the carbon used to run the business, including its servers.

Now this is what I have been searching for.

Image: DeclanMT

Citizen journalism, open government, status updates, community building, information sharing, crowdsourcing, and the election of a President.

Our children will inherit a world profoundly changed by the combination of technology and humanity that is social media. They’ll take for granted that their voices can be heard and that a social movement can be launched from their laptop. They’ll take for granted that they are connected and interconnected with hundreds of millions of people at any given moment. And they’ll take for granted that a black man is or was President of the United States.

What’s most profound is that these represent parts of a greater whole. They represent a shift in power from centralized institutions and organizations to the People they represent. It is the evolution of democracy by way of technology, and we are all better for it.

For most of us, social media has changed our lives in some meaningful way. Collectively it is changing the world for good. Given the pace of innovation and adoption, change has become a constant. Every so often we find the need to stop and reflect on its most recent and noteworthy developments, hence the following list.

Please note this is not a top-10 list, nor are these listed in any particular order. It’s also incomplete. So we ask that you add to this conversation in the comments. If you’d like to Retweet this post or take the conversation to Twitter or FriendFeed, please use the hashtag #10Ways.

1. Take Social Actions: The nonprofit organization Social Actions aggregates “opportunities to make a difference from over 50 online platforms“ through its unique API. It recently held the Change the Web Challenge contest in order to inspire the most innovative applications for that API. The Social Actions Interactive Map won the $5,000 first prize. The result is a virtual tour of the world through the lens of social action. “People are volunteering, donating, signing petitions, making loans and doing other social actions as we speak “” all over the world. To capture the context of the where, this project uses sophisticated techniques to extract location information from full text paragraphs.” You can also join the Social Actions Community, which is powered by Ning“¦which now boasts more than one million individual social networks.

2. Twitter with a Purpose: This list could be exclusive to Twitter. The micro-blogging sensation was featured on our first two lists (a three-tweet), and it’s certain to be a fixture. From Tweetsgiving, the virtual Thanksgiving feast, to the Twestival, which organized 202 off-line events around the world to benefit charity: water, it’s become the de facto tool for organizing and taking action. Tweet Congress won the SXSW activism award, and celebrity Tweeps Ashton Kutcher and Kevin Rose Tweeted their two million followers about ending malaria. Max Gladwell recently initiated the #EcoMonday follow meme as a way to connect and organize the Green Twittersphere.

3. Visit White House 2.0: Inside of its first 100 days, the Obama administration has managed to set the historic benchmark for government transparency and accountability. The President’s virtual town hall meeting used WhiteHouse.gov to crowdsource questions from his 300 million constituents, complete with voting to determine the ones he’d have to answer. All told, 97,937 people submitted 103,978 questions and cast 1,782,650 votes. The White House continues to raise the bar with its official Facebook, MySpace, and Twitter channels. In so doing President Obama is not just setting the standard for state and local government in the U.S. He’s establishing the world standard. The Obama administration is spreading democracy not by force but through example. Because you don’t have to be an American citizen to be a friend or follower of White House 2.0.

4. Claim your Zumbox: What happens when all mail can be sent and delivered online to any street address in a paperless form? That’s the big question for Zumbox, which has created an online mail system with a digital mailbox for every U.S. street address. And while the answer to that question remains to be seen, it promises to be as liberating as it is disruptive. A key quality for Zumbox is that it’s closed system much like that of Facebook, only instead of true identity it’s true address. This will enable people to better connect with their communities including their neighbors, local businesses, and the mayor’s office. The primary agent of change, though, might not be that this uses street addresses but that it enables direct and potentially viral feedback, which is a virtue that e-mail and the USPS do not offer. The first methods are to request exclusive paperless delivery and to block a sender, but others are certain to evolve such as real-time commenting and ways to share mail with friends, family, and colleagues. Welcome to Mail 2.0. (Disclosure: Zumbox is a client of Rob Reed, the founder of Max Gladwell.)

5. Host a Social Media Event: This is the year of the social media event. No meaningful gathering of people is complete without an interactive online audience, especially when it’s so easy and cost effective to pull off. Essential tools include a broadband connection, laptop, video camera, projector, and screen. Add people and a purpose, such as entrepreneurship. Promote it through social media channels, and you have a social media event. A recent example in the green world is the Evolution of Green, which was hosted by Creative Citizen, a green wiki community. It celebrated the launch of a new Web property, EcoMatters, while also establishing a new Twitter tag. By posing the question, “How can we go from green hype to green habit?” and including the #GreenQ hashtag, it sparked a conversation between attendees and the Twittersphere in real time. Thus was born a new mechanism for getting answers to green questions via Twitter.

6. Travel the World: More than anyone else, Tim O’Reilly knows the potential for social media to change the world. In his opening keynote at this year’s Web 2.0 Expo, he called for a new ethic in which we do more with less and create more value than we capture. This provided the context for SalaamGarage founder Amanda Koster, whose presentation followed O’Reilly’s. The idea is that social media has enabled each of us to have an audience. Whether through Twitter, Flickr, YouTube, or a personal blog, each of us can have influence and reach. What’s more, it can be used for good. SalaamGarage coordinates trips for citizen journalists (that means you) to places like India and Vietnam in conjunction with non-government organizations like Seattle-based Peace Trees. The destination is the story, as these humanitarian journalists report on the people they meet and discoveries they make. Their words, images, and video are posted to the social web to gain exposure and because these stories just need to be told.

7. Build It on Drupal: You may not have noticed, but the open-source Drupal content management system (CMS) has quickly become the dominant player on the social web. While we still prefer WordPress as a strict blogging application, Drupal has emerged as the go-to platform for building scalable, community-driven Web sites. It powers Recovery.gov, a key part of President Obama’s commitment to transparency and accountability. PopRule uses it as a social news platform for politics. And Drupal will soon become the platform for Causecast, a site where “media, philanthropy, social networking, entertainment and education converge to serve a greater purpose.” This is especially significant because Causecast CEO Ryan Scott is transitioning the site off of Ruby on Rails because Drupal has proved more efficient, user friendly, and cost effective. (Disclosure: Max Gladwell founder Rob Reed is co-founder of PopRule.)

8. Green Your iPhone: Looking for an organic diner within biking distance that has a three-star green rating? There’s a app for that. It’s called 3rd Whale, and you can download it for free. (Except that the star rating is actually a whale rating.) Complete with Facebook Connect, this iPhone app locates green products and businesses in 30 major North American cities. It uses the iPhone’s dial function to select a category (food), sub-category (restaurants), and distance (walking, biking, or driving). In Santa Monica, this might give you Swingers diner for its selection of veggie and vegan fare. You could then get directions from your current location using the iPhone’s built-in Google map, rate your experience on the three-whale scale, and write up a quick review. 3rd Whale recently released a new feature that integrates green-living tips, which can show how much energy or waste you’ll save by taking a given action.

9. Unite the World Through Video: Matt’s dancing around the world video inspired many to tears. Today, more than 20 million people have viewed his YouTube masterpiece, where he performs a kooky dance with the citizens of planet earth. The most recent example of this approach is Playing for Change, which connects the world through song. The project started in Santa Monica with a street performance of the classic Stand By Me and expanded to New Orleans, New Mexico, France, Brazil, Italy, Venezuela, South Africa, Spain, and The Netherlands. The project was superbly executed via social media, complete with a YouTube channel, MySpace, Facebook, and Blog. It’s received tremendous mainstream media exposure and also benefits a foundation of the same name.

10. Rate a Company: The conversation about corporate social responsibility (CSR) takes place across the social web on blogs, Twitter, and YouTube, but a central hub for this information and opinion is still to be determined. SocialYell seeks to address this by building an online community around the CSR conversation, where users can submit reviews of companies together with nonprofit organizations and even public figures like Michelle Obama. The major topics are the Environment, Health, Social Equity, Consumer Advocacy, and Charity. The reviews are voted and commented on by the community in a Reddit-like fashion with both up (Yell) and down (shhh) voting. The site is relatively new and still gaining traction, but there’s no question that a resource like this is needed to shine a bright light on CSR and and other related issues.

11. Publish a collective, simultaneous blog post on a universal topic: As Nigel Tufnel might say, this list goes to eleven. Let the #10Ways conversation begin”¦

Final note: This is Max Gladwell’s third list of “10 Ways to Change the World Through Social Media.” The first was posted a year ago today on Sustainablog.org, and the sequel followed five months later. If a single headline can capture the Max Gladwell raison d’etre, this is it.

First up, hate throwing away pill bottles? I do – and ditto the capsules that 35mm film came in before we went digital. Put them all to good reuse instead.

Why are we doing all this? Why go green? Why talk it up to anyone who will listen? According to The Good Human, these are the wrong questions – because there are zero reasons not to want to go green.

At last, the practical yet painfully unhip personal shopping trolley gets a make-over. Out go the plastic, tartan-painted horrors (iconic if you’re a Brit) and in come the ethical Turtle Trolleys. Form an orderly queue.

For those of you living in climates with more sunlight than rain, one fun way to take the load off your AC bill is to line the windows with a film that blocks most of the heat and all of the UV rays. We spotted this variety via Modern Eco Homes, although that’s not a recommendation, since we haven’t tried it and the reviews are rather conflicted. Nice idea, nonetheless.

Feeling like the tide of human kindness is at a low ebb? Maybe the story of a tiny cardboard robot can convince you otherwise – and show a little of what binds people together in the big cities even when they think they’re alone.

Here’s a peek at some of the blogs we read.

For a head-scratching example of how environmental pollution gets even more messy when it hits the courts, read the mystery of the $42 Million Pesticide Dump at Treehugger. Shared blame means no blame, apparently.

Congratulations to Viva Terra – they’ve made it onto TIME’s Green Design 100.

On April 25th, Ford set their new hybrid on a journey to promote its astonishing fuel economy. Ford claimed it could manage 1,000 miles on a single tank of gas. Ford was wrong – it managed a jaw-dropping 1,445 miles. Is this the perfect PR stunt?

Watering plants is all about fine judgment. When you’re growing plants as an agricultural business, it could also be the difference between dehydrating your plants to death or killing your profits with over-watering. But modern technology has the answer – a tiny sensor that monitors if individual plants are getting just the right amount of water. Sounds like science fiction, but it’s right here at IEEE Spectrum.

Take a look at the photos in this post at designklub. Without looking at the text – how big would you say they are? You’re probably way off, because it’s the fascinating work of Christien Meindertsma, who is channeling the 16th Century Dutch cordage industry with his practical, tactile creations.

Have you heard of the Energy-Water Nexus? If not, be prepared – it’s a worry.

The latest casualty of global warming is…an Internet domain name? Like the Maldives, the islands of Tuvalu are starting to disappear into the sea, and they own the .tv domain. If they go, do their websites? No so – and frankly, I think the inhabitants are probably worrying about other things right now. Gawker via Hippyshopper.

A splash of color for you. The Boys in Blue are going green, as seen at Red Green and Blue. Got that?

Proving that modern table design is far from dormant, these three sustainably-produced tables have just graced the Modern Design Function Exhibition in San Francisco, and they’re all the work of local table guru Dylan Gold.

Why won’t the world simplify itself? Why do we fight entropy so much with our clutter and complication? I admit, I’m actually speaking about myself here – but if you struggle to simplify as well, try some of these spring-cleaning, simplifying techniques at Apartment Therapy.

Goats are eating machines. That’s why they’re proving a good green alternative to lawnmowers, with the added value of being family-friendly and almost unbearably cute. Ever-greening Google was quick to spot this – and MG Siegler from Techcrunch dropped in to see how a hired army of goats had fared with Mountain View’s variety of 4-foot brush.

We already know that dung is a deeply stylish substance – in the right context, that is. But would you believe that cattle dung will soon power L’Oreal? It’s fast becoming clear that poop – er, “biomass”- will be a superfuel of the 21st century.

We’ve talked about the problem of palm oil before. The Independent has undertaken a two-month investigation, and concludes that even more palm oil is being use than originally thought – finding it in 43 of 100 of Britain’s top grocery brands, no less.

When it comes to eco-friendly lighting, it’s nice to see America take the LEED. (You’re fired – Ed.). The latest glowing engineering feat? The Henry Miller theater in New York – the city’s first to be LEED-certified.

Josyln at Simple Lovely just drew her line in the sand. This Earth Day, she used her final paper towel. What would you – or what did you – give up this year? (We’ve given up the bottle.)

It could have become yet another Los Angeles housing development – but today, the Baldwin Hills scenic overlook offers a glimpse of the city before it was the city. One worry – it’s near what is estimated to be the largest urban oil field in the United States. See the full story at Dwell.

And lastly, if you’ve wondered what Larkyn has been up to, she’s been growing her own blog, Little Willow. A sample post: she’s helping spread the word about shoes resurrected from the basement of a Swedish clog factory.

Image: Szymon Blasczczyk

Do you have your email set up for Google alerts? I do. One of them is for “eco-fashion” (go figure, right?).

A few days ago I got an email talking about Oxfam Great Britain’s secondhand and ethically-produced clothing you can buy online and was flabbergasted by how great the pieces were in both sections.

I’m ashamed to say I never knew the same Oxfam has over 700 shops, including specialist shops for books, clothes and music all over the world, which sell many fair-trade items and clothing. This all started in 1948.

According to the website, the proceeds from these usually get paid to different charities or are used to further Oxfam’s relief efforts around the globe. They rely on people donating things for free.

In just the Second Hand section, there are 1,282 pages and numerous others in the Ethical Collection. Where to begin?

Well, how about page four of their Second Hand store under Evening Wear for this stunning evening dress which goes for around $31.00?

Wait until you see the back of it…

First, up – let’s hear it for cheerleader calendars! Yeah! (Sometimes I really hate my job, the research is such a burden, and so on).

Since sometimes it seems Treehugger has been around longer than the Earth itself, you’ll know it’s a momentous occasion when it collects together the best of all its posts in one place. Take a look, here at Best Of Green.

If you’re looking for another reason to be proud of your nearest or home city, find out where it ranks on Fast Company’s top 25 Least Wasteful American Cities – and if it’s somewhat down the list, why not ask your local authority why?

Remember the Cola Wars? Pepsi vs. Coke. Then Pepsi vs New Coke…and then The Entire World vs. New Coke, forcing Coca Cola to hurriedly backtrack. Coke won the day (read Malcolm Gladwell’s Blink to learn why) but that rivalry is forever simmering. Cut to the present…and could eco-friendliness become their new battleground? Greenopia puts the cola heavyweights to the test.

Could this be more poignant? Eco Worldly has a post on 11 recently extinct creatures that were photographed while they were alive. Will we see their likes again?

Pity brown paper bags – they suffer from a distinctly unglamorous street-cred. Yet you can do this with them. (Thanks to Alicia at Eco Chick.)

When you’re cycling around the city this summer – which is easy when bikes are this portable – you might want some cool tunes a-playing. Dave Burdick has his own suggestions at HuffPo (have to say, hearing Morrissey would make me want to crash, but to each their own). Oh, and I’d say to keep the headphones out of your ears when the wheels are turning, but you knew that already.

Detergent comes in either cardboard or plastic, and nothing else. Why? Yes, I’m scratching my head too, when glass is the perfect choice. So here’s how to do it right, at Apartment Therapy.

Inhabitat poses the question, is boxed water better? (The answer: fractionally.)

Marisa Belger enjoys getting to grips with quality recycled products at MSN Green – including recycled windshield glass (of which we’re also a fan).

Now for some truly shocking before-and-after photos. You think that turning off the lights for Earth Hour doesn’t make that much of a difference to the average skyline? If you take a look at these photos at Boston.com (via Earthfirst), the problem is glaringly obvious.

If you haven’t heard of El Hierro, we can’t exactly blame you (it’s actually the smallest island in the Canaries). But you can expect to hear a lot more about it, since it’s set to become one of the very few islands round the world that are powered totally from renewable sources. The bulk of the electricity is generated from hydro-wind sources, including a wind farm embedded in the crater of a dormant volcano!

Google is proving decidedly adept at changing the world. Take Google Earth, and the zillions of truly useful applications and map overlays that are being developed for it by scientists, technologists and committed amateurs worldwide. The latest? It’s called The Path To Green Energy, and it’s been developed by The National Audubon Society and the Natural Resources Defense Council. In a nutshell: here’s where to build renewable energy. Amazing. (Thanks, Consumer Energy Report).

Now, let’s see what you think about this one. Scientists at MIT have discovered how viruses can be used to charge up batteries. Yes – viruses. No solvents, no toxic ingredients, completely natural – but technically using living creatures to generate power (very Matrix, I must say). And there’s the other issue, which is…hey, they’re viruses. Leaky batteries that could be infectious? Hmm.

Arianna Huffington recently invited Deep Green Living to have a mosey around her house and suggest ways she could be a little more eco. And…there are logs for the fire made of compressed coffee grounds? Can you imagine the aroma? I think Christmas just came early.

Ask a child to draw a cow, and it’ll probably be eating grass. Because that’s what cows do, right? Generally speaking, not so much. Will Winter and Todd Churchill think this is wrong – and they have a plan.

Taxi drivers in Boston aren’t too keen on the hybridization of the city’s taxi fleet, citing economic rather than environmental objections. Is this where local government steps into the breach? Follow the story at The New York Times.

Still staying with the ‘Times: sustainable building is how Pittsburgh transformed itself from a steel-industry giant to a slimmer, greener incarnation – and it looks set to ride out the recession in a slow, steady, sustainable way.

So – encouraging people to go green. The ones who switch off at the word “green”? Tough call. The sensible course of action is to focus on results, as with these 10 arguments at Planet Green – and in doing so, remind them that “green” is sometimes just a modern word for what’s been regarded as common sense for decades.

Yet another worrying sign that all is not well with GM crops – Treehugger reports that South African corn growers have been struggling with a harvest of tinkered corn that has failed to produce any seeds. Millions of dollars down the drain, and a sense of dread for the next harvest.

Guerrillas are getting everywhere. We’ve heard of (and love the idea of) guerrilla gardeners – but now it’s the turn of guerrilla retailers. Except, not really, because they’ve always been everywhere you look. Cultcase looks at 6 of the most remarkable.

We’re social media addicts, here at EcoSalon. And no, we don’t want to think of the amount of time we’ve spent on Stumbleupon, Digg, Facebook, Twitter and the like. (Too scary). But the National Wildlife Federation has a nice reminder of the power of social media to make a difference – in this case, saving wildlife. (So maybe it’s not so scary after all). Oh, and remember to Facebook your boss.

Want to go on holiday knowing that your dollars are reaching the community in the best way possible? Sounds like voluntourism is for you – here’s an outline at Razoo.

And finally…here we go again.

Have a great weekend, everyone.

Image: Daniel Pink

I’ve always shied away from art that’s hidden away in cold galleries. Rather, I want to see art that is spontaneous, context-driven and made by the imaginations of people like you and me. Learning To Love You More is a website that’s done just that.

Artists Miranda July and Harrell Fletcher have posted open-ended artistic assignments online and anybody can choose one (or more), do the work and post their outcome online.

Paintings, photographs, poetry, video – all forms of media are there, and the results have come from everyone, not just professional artists. Interestingly enough, this people-driven art has garnered the interest of a wide variety of display centers for exhibitions worldwide.

There are hundreds, if not thousands, of examples posted throughout the website, but here are some that stood out for me. Check out the site and let me know which ones spoke to you.

Feel the News
(shown above)

Write Your Life Story in Less Than a Day

Record the Sound That Is Keeping You Awake
Make a Field Guide to Your Yard

Make an Educational Public Plaque

Recreate an Object from Someone’s Past

You own the what? Yes, it’s true – there are some states where you’re breaking the law by collecting rainwater, because legally, it simply isn’t yours to collect. Okay, it’s rarely enforced – but still illegal. (What about accidental collection? Do you have to hand it in to the police? What about condensation or dew? It boggles the mind).

No matter what you think of Alice Waters (here are our thoughts), you can’t deny her heart is in the right place when it comes to the White House lawn. Now that smart Mrs Obama has dug it up and planted her very own Victory garden, how do you think Waters reacted? Corby Kummer finds out over at the Atlantic.

We’re staunch advocates of energy-efficient ways of dealing with laundry, from line-drying (the quirkier the better) to a little help from flying saucers. However, for sheer thoroughness on the subject, chelseaGREEN’s article on not being a laundry energy glutton has us beat. Bravo.

There’s a hybrid race going on. Honda released a new range. Toyota seems to have panicked and leapt on the bandwagon with their version of a hybrid, the Yaris. Honda? Your move – and any other players?

“The production of muscle tissue for human consumption”. Doesn’t that make you salivate? No? Me neither. However, in vitro meat seems inevitably on the way. (Some people will be delighted). And the reasons for developing “shmeat” are sound. Of course, we could just eat a lot less meat, and forgo the $billions in scientific research and industrial development. No, I’m probably wrong over here, just forget I piped up.

Exxon and Alaska. What a difference 20 years makes. Back then, in the wake of the Exxon Valdez oil spill, Alaskans couldn’t have been filled with more loathing. But now Exxon is on the rise again, even if the Alaskan ecology is still struggling to get back on its feet. Once bitten, twice…bitten?

So, you want your own living roof. Where to start? (Yes, I know, “up on the roof”. You’re hilarious). Paula Crossfield of Civil Eats has a few ideas, and she’ll be posting about the whole $2,000 dollar planned renovation as time goes on.

At last! Hot water going down the drain – what a waste. What’s needed is some kind of heat exchanger to strip the wasted energy out the water before it disappears. Something like the EcoDrain, then, as seen at Yahoo Green? Perfect.

And while we’re on the subject of common sense, what’s the point in leaving city skylines blazing with light every night? David Chiu of San Francisco can’t see one, which is why he’s proposed legislation to prohibit lights being left on in unoccupied commercial buildings – and if passed, it will make the city the first in North America to be so…sensible.

Where does the law draw the line between an activist and a terrorist? The curious case of Marie Mason throws this emotional issue into the spotlight – and Mason herself believes she’s being used to set an example, as the Guardian reports.

Frank McKinney. “Daredevil real estate artist” and “super hero meets Robin Hood”. Hair like Michael Bolton before he saw the light. A website that’s simply…unforgettable (make sure your sound is turned up). And the designer of the world’s first 15,000 square foot “eco-mansion“. No, really. My brain hurts, so please go and have a read of this article by Gus Garcia Roberts while I have a nice lie-down. Thanks.

Now here’s an intriguing crop innovation as reported by Paul Smith at TriplePundit: a way of growing rice that increases yields while cutting back on the amount of water used and cutting out pesticides? Even better, the method (known as SRI) could be adopted for millet, wheat and sugar cane! Yum.

Talk about poking a hornet’s nest. CityPass publishes a map of how green America is, city by city and State by State. The Internet catches fire and explodes. Criteria for judging greenness please, guys? (That’s if you’re still alive over there?)

If you’ve ever wondered what a fully-fledged bike culture feels like – here are some (somewhat wonderful) statistics from bicycle-mad Copenhagen, courtesy of Mikael Colville-Andersen. Coming to a street near you? Let’s hope.

And finally – why don’t we listen to the birds?

Image: sindesign

Gone are the days when you handed your money over to a charity organization…and the relationship ended there. If your heart felt short-changed by this business model, you’ll be happy to learn that we’re in more enlightened times, where the dazzling interconnectedness of the online world allows you to see where your money goes and learn how it’s helping the causes you believe in.

But where do you go first? Today we’re delighted to welcome Kathryn Hawkins, the editor at Razoo – a philanthropic site that can justifiably claim to be the only place you’ll need to go to donate to the cause of your choice. Tall tale? Not when you consider the millions of opportunities to give and Razoo’s  top-quality journalism outlining the most pressing charitable stories in the world today. These combine to connect you as never before with the recipients of your donations – to learn the human stories behind the headlines and know your place in shaping them.

Mike: Thanks for dropping by, Kathryn! In your opinion, what the number one way in which Razoo’s approach to charitable giving is distinct and groundbreaking? What features and services are you most proud of?

Kathryn: First and foremost, Razoo is the only online charitable giving platform service in which every single penny of your money goes directly to the charity. Usually, as much as five to 10 percent of your donation is eaten up in transaction costs, but Razoo passes it all straight on. Razoo also has a search engine that lets you browse through more than 1.6 million US-based nonprofits, checking out their ratings and reviews from Charity Navigator and Guidestar, as well as videos, the nonprofits’ newsletters, and any newspaper articles that mention them. If you’re a fan of a particular organization, you can even update the nonprofit’s organization page on Razoo.

What stories have you covered at Razoo that you think aren’t getting the press they deserve, making you want to shout them from the rooftops?

Human trafficking is a big one, for sure. I’ve done a few stories related to that: a Giving Guide to anti-slavery organizations, a story about a group of teen girls who created a nonprofit group to rescue children from slavery in Ghana, and a profile of five former slaves who’ve transformed their traumatic experiences into something positive, serving as activists to help end human trafficking. An estimated 27 million people are enslaved, some even in the United States. True numbers could be much higher, as many cases of human trafficking are never reported to officials. I think it’s an essential issue for everyone to learn about. Also, if you can spare a few dollars, make a donation to an anti-trafficking group like the Somaly Mam Foundation or the Coalition to Abolish Slavery and Trafficking to fund efforts to shut down human trafficking rings and provide counseling and support for former slaves.

We’re curious about the unusual name ‘Razoo’ – what the meaning behind it and why was it chosen to sum up the company?

A “razoo” is a New Zealand term for a coin of little worth. The word was chosen because it represents our vision of philanthropy – that everyone can make a meaningful contribution, no matter how small or large their individual donations are.

What can regular visitors to the website expect in terms of articles, news, updates and upcoming attractions?

We’ve recently started doing a “Daily News” section, with articles spotlighting current events related to social issues and philanthropy, including information on how the everyday person can help contribute to the cause. We’re also planning some big upcoming features, including interviews with celebrities (secret for now, but all will be revealed soon). But our biggest event of the moment is our March Goodness contest in which Razoo is giving away grants of up to $10,000 to the charities with the most donor supporters on Razoo. If you want to create a fundraising page for your favorite organization, you can also win an iPod. But it runs until the end of March, so there’s not much time left to get involved!

Image: batega

The self-styled eco fur debate rages on. Is it right to support the fur trade in creatures that are becoming a modern ecological menace? Meanwhile, sales in bushtail possum or “paihamu” furs continue to thrive. Ecopreneurist takes a closer look.

Have you had a look at the new-style Mother Jones, the website of the nonprofit organization whose magazine has won umpteen National Magazine Awards? They’ve gone Open Source (their website code is available to anyone for free) – and here’s why.

Dropping off spare clothing at your local charity shop? I bet there’s no underwear in there. Yet there are organizations crying out for your cast-off skimpies – including Project Underwear! (For other suggestions, check out a post on this topic at GreenMomFinds).

For those of you not versed in classic British sitcoms, you’ll have missed The Good Life - a ’70s show where two likable folks escape the rat-race and go entirely self-sufficient, to the utter disgust of their snooty friends. The show’s focus caused a stir at the time (although it was overshadowed by the accolades bestowed upon Felicity Kendal’s bottom) – but now it’s eminently sensible, and with rising food prices there’s never been a better time to follow suit and dig up the garden. Now where are those old episodes of The Good Life? Ah. On VHS.

And speaking of doing things yourself, we can recommend taking a wander through the handcrafted world of S.HOPtalk – the search for a one-off, not mass-produced, lifestyle.

Carrie Pollare gives a personal account of the devastating effect Alzheimer’s had upon her family – and explains why she founded the I’m Tired Of… campaign.

Since the climate is so fabulously complicated, it follows that climatology is often a head-scratcher. And there’s a lot of misinformation out there for the climate deniers to sink their teeth into. So it’s a hearty welcome for Peter Sinclair’s Climate Denial Crock Of The Week series on Youtube, as featured here on Greenfyre. Reassuringly sane.

Facts. We base articles on them. We check them. And sometimes, since we’re only human, we get them wrong. (When we do, we’ll come clean). But there are oversights and minor errors…and there are whoppers. Here’s one from the Washington Post’s George Will, and it’s the size of Texas, California and Oklahoma combined. (Thanks go to Carl Zimmer at Discover magazine.)

Ever wondered how investment in energy compares with investment in the conflict in Iraq? Wonder no longer. (Elsewhere, it’s estimated that Iraq’s total cost is between $2 and $3 trillion.)

Is your kitchen small but perfectly-formed…but mainly just small? SmittenKitchen sympathizes, and wants to to wring the best from your pots, pans, cupboards and stove. (A top tip – just in case my housemates are reading – is to wash up as you go. I’m just sayin’).

Candidate for the unfriendliest eco-friendly innovation – the green bullet. Traditional ammunition is filled with lead-antimony that leaches out of shell casings into the environment. The eco alternative uses “nontoxic alloys“, thus providing a greener way to…shoot things. Um.

Summer Rayne Oakes seems to hold every job title in the known world, but that’s untrue – she’s not an author. Oh, right. Starre Vartan shares her opinion of Style, Naturally at HuffPo.

Some links are good for a lunch-break click and read – and others belong in your Bookmarks. Here’s an example of the latter. MSN Green’s Local Directory can tell you where the nearest item-specific recycling service it, where to get local organic produce and where to snap up green consumer bargains.

A team of British medical researchers appear to have successfully cured a number of children of their life-threatening peanut allergies by feeding them peanuts. Read the full story at the BBC. (via The Alterntive Consumer).

And lastly, for a form of transport that just doesn’t quit – the Segway. The experts said it would kinda bomb, but what happened? It kinda bombed. (Okay, so sometimes the experts are bang on the money). Nevertheless, Chanel was impressed enough to develop their own version, featured here at Ecorazzi. It’s like the standard model, only at least 3 times the price. Can’t fail.

Image: gadgetbubba

Here’s a whole new kind of scam – pretending to be exposing an animal rights outrage. As greenUPGRADER reports, the “Human Society Of America” (there’s no such organization) claims to have exposed the appalling use of kittens are shark-bait (not true) and are asking for donations to give to animal rights groups (who know nothing of these events). Bless.

At last! A use for discarded banana peel – shoe polish. (A much nicer alternative to the usual variety which is filthy stuff at the best of times, and in some cases is toxic and even stains skin!)

Regarding the fight to reduce carbon dioxide, it’s possible there’s more at stake than we thought. Researchers at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Earth System Research Laboratory now believe that if CO2 levels continue to rise, there will come a point where the global climate’s ability to recover will be so diminished that irreversible changes will take place, despite any countering measures we might undertake – and it would take a thousand years to get back on track.

Count me among those people who obsessively love the taste of vanilla (so good in all sorts of things), but have no idea how to extract its goodness. Correction: count me among them no longer, thanks to bethany actually.

If only the U.S. were as bike-friendly as Copenhagen (although it’s getting there). The cycling mothers of Japan want their government to be as well, in the wake of new laws banning sannin-nori (”three on a bike”). And in a country with a famously low birth rate, some are even threatening to stick to one-child families to make the government pay attention.

Just imagine if your favorite search engine were vetted by a discerning team of researchers who sifted out all the wheat from the chaff so you didn’t have to. Searching a keyword and actually finding what you want? Impossible, surely – but that’s the admirable philosophy behind Sweet Search. Let’s just hope they have a lot of researchers.

And speaking of sweet, here’s my nomination for Wrong Of The Week: the Baskin Robbins Chocolate Oreo Milkshake. Are you sitting down? You would be after this monster – it’s 2,600 calories (that’s not a typo) and 135 grams of fat. In other words, it’s more than the recommended daily calories for an active man in a single drink. I fear for my species.

For happier news, Small Business Trends looks at how rural small businesses in America are going to be shaping up over the next year – and the theme is Local Local Local. We couldn’t agree more (the new President will probably have his hands full with the economy).

When trimming back on a household budget, it’s worth taking a good hard look at grocery shopping. Here are 20 ways to do that courtesy of Woman’sDay – and the star, for me, is #4: “DIY and save.” May 2009 be the year of the Ingredient, sending prepacking packing.

There are people who never seem to get sick, and cheerfully fly around at work in glowing health while the rest of us fight off the seemingly inevitable winter cold that’s doing the rounds. But it’s possible that there’s a secret behind the invulnerability – and it may involve massages, ginger and cold showers. Alicia Potter and Diane Mapes explain at MSN.

With all the current talk of energy independence and living off the grid, it’s surprising to see a major green site arguing just the opposite – but Sarah Lozanova makes a good case for staying grid-dependent at CleanTechnica.

Challenging another common assumption is Carly Weeks for GlobeLife Health, who argues that free-range chickens may not have as great a life as we suppose.

The problem with science (a journalist friend tells me) is that nothing’s certain. It’s woolly, vague, full of probabilities and possibilities. In other words, no good at all for stringing an arresting headline together. But this is because EcoGeek’s Law Of Incremental Suck matters more than exact deadlines laden with doom. Every day is progress – every day helps. It doesn’t help sell newspapers, but that’s just too bad.

Roofs should be alive! Our obsession with green roofing is hardly a secret, so you’ll understand how much fun we had looking through these examples sent in to the Huffington Post by its readers. But now we want more – MORE. Any others that you’d care to suggest?

Hello, what’s this: people eating a billion frogs a year? No, it’s not a bizarre Monty Python sketch but a sober analysis of UN trade data…and even John Cleese et al. couldn’t make some of these delicacies up!

Image: Peter Giger