Continued Evolution for Green Options Media

Welcome to GreenOptions.com! My name is David, and I have an announcement to make:

Soon, it will be time to say goodbye to Green Options Media.

But that doens’t mean that the constituent parts of Green Options Media are going away. Indeed, the momentum created by Green Options Media in 2008 has had more of an effect across the web than we ever could have expected, as people and blogs that were supported by the network slowly metastasized (yes, a bad metaphor), creating content and important conversation where there otherwise would have been less or none.

People who saw their first ongoing paid blogging gigs with us now regularly blog for the New York Times, Fast Company, and many other mainstream outlets. Blog and bloggers who contributed to the growth of Green Options Media back then are now spread throughout the web, improving on the original Green Options model with the founding and building of their own networks, Including LiveOAK Media and Simple Earth Media.

Now I’ll describe what’s happening to GreenOptions.com and the other 10 blogs (in the dropdown lists above). Come back to this page for the full explanation as I have time to put it out there, but for now, the Clif Notes version:

* Around the end of March, GreenOptions.com will become the new brand for EcoHuddle.com

* Soon after, the other 10 blogs of the current Green Options Media network will be relaunched under a new umbrella brand. Until then, those sites can still be accessed through the dropdown lists at the top left of your screen.

Doesn’t make sense right now? Don’t worry, stick around, and it will soon.

Thanks!

David Anderson

The page no longer exists

Try one of these:

ecopreneurist.com

inspiredeconomist.com

greenbuildingelements.com

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The Business & technology Channel is undergoing a transition.

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The Green Options Media network — All Sites

Business & Technology News & Opinion Family & Lifestyle

A New Season for Green Options Media

Editor’s Note: This announcement is now fully public. See the post on TechCrunch and our internal announcement below.

By David Anderson

It is an important day for us here at Green Options. Today we announce our acquisition by Virgance, another Bay Area startup which has generated incredible buzz for its novel approach to creating change.

Virgance is based on the observation that sometimes, campaigns for change can be scaled most effectively with business models behind them—an assumption that GO Media was originally founded upon.

Although my personal realization of this idea was based on my experience working at a nonprofit before starting Green Options, this assumption is not intended as a slight to the nonprofit world. Indeed, there are many functions which only nonprofits can reliably and independently perform. But the double- and triple-bottom line movement proves that there is also room for human activity that does good AND sustains itself financially.

People will do anything for money. Virgance is betting that “anything” includes making positive change. That’s a bet that I can get behind.

Those who follow GO Media blogs know that I’m not much of a blogger. I’ve always worked behind the scenes to keep our little blog network humming, while other talented and knowledgeable writers built our reputation for interesting, useful, unique content.

Over the past two-plus years, more than a hundred writers have made their mark somewhere on our network. But it all started with just a few. Jeff McIntire-Strasburg (founder of Sustainablog, a green blog that predates even Treehugger) and other professional bloggers provided GO street cred in the blogosphere in the early days. Jeff in particular brought a professional editorial voice and a strong sense of corporate conscience to our young venture.

After less than a year of blogging, we realized that normal people access ‘green’ topics most effectively through niches that they already care about, such as cars or family care. There was an obvious opportunity to create a blog network which would address each of those niches more consistently.  GreenOptions.com relaunched as GO Media at GreenFest 2007, and we spent the early part of 2008 building out the network, which would soon become 15 blogs, covering everything from craft-making to eco-politics.

That’s how startups go, evolving constantly in features and business model. And that evolution continued throughout 2008 as GO Media’s reach continued to grow. Along the way, there has been no shortage of challenges: maintaining a virtual newsroom, training green experts to blog, matching writer payments to advertising revenue, and countless others.

But there have also been many, many amazing accomplishments by those involved with GO, and proud moments for me. To name a few: multiple stories on the homepage of yahoo.com (including one yesterday), literally hundreds of items on the frontpage of Digg, and syndication deals with major newspapers, magazines, and web media. Smart college grads and amateur journalists who started writing with GO Media have used what they learned through our writer training and support to start their own popular, sustainability-focused blogs and have gone on to blog for the likes of the New York TimesFast Company, and the Sundance Channel.

Throughout the journey, there have been many dedicated writers who’ve taken on additional editorial duties for little or no extra compensation. This commitment (by Alex Felsinger, Ariel Schwartz, Tim Hurst, Nick Chambers, Jennifer Lance, Gavin Hudson, Reenita Malhotra, Lucille ChiJeff, Mark Seall, and many others) helped GO continue to grow through a period where many online media outlets were failing outright. It’s my hope that those who worked so hard when GO was on its own will have even greater opportunities to make a difference under the aegis of Virgance.

Part of the reason joining Virgance felt so right is that the stories of those who helped make Green Options Media what it is absolutely mirror those of the crew at Virgance. Every early employee at Virgance has sacrificed financially and personally in order to play a part in scaling a sustainability revolution. I know this firsthand because my role post-acquisition is to handle Virgance’s operations and HR, and I’ve already seen the same extraordinary commitment in the people at Virgance that the people at Green Options have been displaying for over two years.

But the most compelling thing about applying the value created by GO Media to Virgance’s broader mission is the amazing potential for yin-yang-style synergy (I know, I hate that word too) between what we’ve built and what Virgance is building. GO Media specializes in giving people interesting, accessible information, and Virgance specializes in enabling individuals to take action in an effective, collective way. Connecting information and action seems like a no-brainer, but effective, scalable examples of this are somewhat few and far between.

The idea that Green Options Media can play a role in keeping people informed and changing attitudes toward sustainability has been a primary driving factor for all involved since its inception. We hope to amplify those effects by exposing our readers to actionable options provided by Virgance.

I believe that we are truly entering a new season for business, which is why the ‘coming-out party’ Virgance is having in San Francisco next week has been dubbed ‘Equinox‘ — even though it’s coming a few weeks after the actual beginning of spring. The event is hosted by SF Beta, and if you’re in the Bay Area, check it out to see what all the excitement is about. If not, keep an ear to the interwebs for more rumblings over time.

Thank you to everyone who has been a part of this odyssey. I can’t wait to see where we go from here.

-David Anderson, Founder of Green Options.

Disclaimer

All Green Options Media titles are composed of curated content, but make no claims to the accuracy of their reporting. The sites publish both rumors and conjecture, in addition to accurately reported information. Information on the sites may contain errors or inaccuracies; the sites’ proprietors do not make any warranty as to the correctness or reliability of the sites’ content. Links to content on and quotation of material from other sites are not the responsibility of Green Options Media. All Green Options Media sites are in compliance with the Digital Millennium Copyright Act.

Email sent to any of the Green Options Media sites is considered our property. We will respect and protect anonymous sources as tipsters, but all correspondence is considered available for publication.

Privacy

GREEN OPTIONS MEDIA PRIVACY POLICY

This privacy statement covers all of the GREEN OPTIONS MEDIA sites (”GOM Sites”). Please read this statement carefully before using proceeding to access GOM Sites. Your use of GOM Sites indicates your agreement to abide by the Terms in effect.

Information Collection
Green Options Media is the sole owner of the information collected on the GOM Sites. Green Options Media may collect information from our users at several different points on the GOM Sites.

Comments
In order to enhance their use of the GOM Sites, users can choose to leave comments on particular articles of interest. Commenters may register anonymously. However, if a third party complains that a comment breaches our Terms of Service (e.g. libels them), then in accordance with our Terms, we will make reasonable efforts to contact the commenter and alert them to the situation. If we are required to by law to disclose commenters’ contact information, we will attempt to contact commenters to give them the opportunity to respond to such requests. Please refer to our Terms of Use for more information.

Mailing Lists
Green Options Media may launch a mailing list for some or all of the GOM Sites, in order to provide subscribers with relevant information - breaking news, or weekly or daily round-ups, for example. In order to sign up to receive regular emails from a site’s mailing list, users must submit information including a valid email address and demographic information such as location and interests. This information will be used in aggregate form only in order to assess general user interest in various internal and third party products and services, and your personal and contact information will not be passed to any other organization.

Users who choose to sign up for a mailing list will receive regular emails from the site. Most of the time, these will be content from the site in question, but we may occasionally send out an email from a third party sponsor. This will be infrequent, and does not represent an endorsement by Green Options Media of any products advertised therein. It will clearly be marked as advertising: please check it out, as we hope you will feel that it is relevant to you. Since editorial independence is critical to us, you can be sure that we will never send out a sponsored email in the guise of a glowing product review. If you do not wish to receive emails from third party advertisers, please do not sign up for the mailing list.

Discussion Group and Cookies
In order to further enhance the user experience, Green Options Media runs a commenting service on some or all of the GOM Sites where users can discuss common topics of interest. Users have the option of signing up for this service, and to do so must submit information including a valid email address. Green Options Media uses this information to screen out users who leave comments prohibited by our terms and conditions of use and to pick out topics of interest to discussion board users. Green Options Media will not pass this information to any other organization except in aggregate form.

The discussion board service may use cookies. A cookie is a piece of data stored on the user’s computer tied to information about the user. We may use both session ID cookies and persistent cookies. For the session ID cookie, once users close the browser, the cookie simply terminates. A persistent cookie is a small text file stored on the user?s hard drive for an extended period of time. Persistent cookies can be removed by following Internet browser help file directions.

By setting a cookie on a GOM Site, users will not have to log in a password more than once, thereby saving time while on the site?s discussion board. We store a cookie on each user’s machine that contains a username and encrypted password. You can configure your browser to accept all cookies, reject all cookies, or notify you when a cookie is set. If you reject all cookies, you will not be able to use Green Options Media products or services that require you to “sign in,” and you may not be able to take full advantage of all offerings. However, not all Green Options Media services require that you accept cookies.

Third Party Cookies
Some of our business partners may use cookies on our site (for example, advertisers). However, Green Options Media has no access to or control over these cookies, once we have given permission for them to set cookies for advertising. This privacy statement covers the use of cookies by Green Options Media only and does not cover the use of cookies by any advertisers.

Third Party Advertising The ads appearing on this Web site are delivered to you by web advertising partners. Information about your visits to this site, such as number of times you have viewed an ad, is used to serve ads to you.

Google Advertising
Some ads appearing on this Web site are delivered to users by Google, among other services. Information about users’ visits to this site, such as number of times they have viewed an ad (but not username, date of birth, or any other personal information), is used to serve Google ads to users on this site. For more information about Google and cookies, please click here.

Links
The GOM Sites contain links to other sites. Please be aware that Green Options Media is not responsible for the privacy practices of such other sites. We encourage our users to be aware when they leave our site and to read the privacy statements of each and every Web site that collects personally identifiable information. This privacy statement applies solely to information collected by Green Options Media.

Log Files
Like most standard Web site servers we use log files. This includes internet protocol (IP) addresses, browser type, internet service provider (ISP), referring/exit pages, platform type, date/time stamp, and number of clicks to analyze trends, administer the site, track user’s movement in the aggregate, and gather broad demographic information for aggregate use. IP addresses, etc. are not linked to personally identifiable information. We may use a tracking utility that uses log files to analyze user movement.

Business Transitions
In the event Green Options Media goes through a business transition, such as a merger, acquisition by another company, or sale of a portion of its assets, users’ personal information will, in most instances, be part of the assets transferred.

Legal Disclaimer
Though we make every effort to preserve user privacy, Green Options Media may need to disclose personal information when required by law wherein we have a good-faith belief that such action is necessary to comply with a current judicial proceeding, a court order or legal process served on any of the GOM Sites.

Notification of Changes
Whenever Green Options Media changes its privacy policy, we will post those changes to this privacy statement, and other places we deem appropriate so our users are always aware of what information we collect, how we use it, and under what circumstances, if any, we disclose it.

Contact Information
If you have any questions or suggestions regarding our privacy policy, please contact the editor of the GOM site in question, or send an email to editors AT greenoptions.com, or by mail to Green Options Media, 164 South Park, San Francisco, CA 94107

Legal

This statement covers all of the Green Options Media sites (”GOM Sites”) and any associated content including email and RSS feeds. Please read this statement carefully before proceeding to access any of the GO Sites. Your use of the GO Sites indicates your agreement to abide by the Terms in effect.

Privacy Policy | Disclaimer | Terms of Use:

Use of Content

Green Options Media provides RSS feeds for each of its sites, authors, and tags, located at greenoptions.com/feeds.

Creative Commons License

Green Options Media provides a general license to use these feeds as detailed below, provided that they are not modified in anyway (including the stripping of ads):

Acceptable Usage

For personal use in RSS readers, you may use Full ad-supported feeds. Ads must not be removed from the feeds.

For all other uses, including reproduction on websites, you may only use the Excerpt feeds, unless otherwise agreed with the company.

Web Syndication Terms of Use

1. Internal links in the Site content must not be removed.

2. The Site logo and/or URL should appear on each page displaying site content.

3. The format or branding of the headlines, text and other information provided in the RSS feeds must not be modified.

4. “More From…” links back to original Site at the end of each post must be included on content pages and may not be removed.

Print Syndication Terms of Use

1. Reproduction of screenshots from any Site is permissible, without prior written approval, so long as the site logo and URL is fully visible or otherwise included on the page.

2. The Site logo and URL must appear prominently at the top of each section displaying site content.

3. Content must appear unedited, except for replacement of hyperlinks with full URLs and use of product manufacturer’s site links where appropriate.

4. Images from a Site must not be used in print without you obtaining the appropriate copyright clearances yourself.

General Terms of Use

1. The RSS feeds may not be spliced into or otherwise redistributed by third-party RSS providers.

2. No content, including any advertisements or other promotional content, shall be added to the RSS feeds.

3. Green Options Media reserves the right to object to your presentation of the RSS feeds and the right to require you to cease using the RSS feeds at any time.

4. Green Options Media further reserves the right to terminate its distribution of the RSS feeds or change the content or formatting of the RSS feeds at any time without notice to you.

5. Green Options Media provides this content “as is” and Green Options Media. shall not be held liable for your use of the information or the feeds.

6. Use of a Site’s content, including text and images, on your site, or in print, is entirely at your discretion. Green Options Media is not responsible for any complaints regarding content or images that you choose to display on your site or in print.

TO THE FULLEST EXTENT ALLOWED, GREEN OPTIONS MEDIA DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES INCLUDING WARRANTIES FOR MERCHANTABILITY, NON-INFRINGEMENT AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. By accessing the RSS feeds or the XML instructions provided above, you indicate that you understand and agree to these terms and conditions.

Corresponding with Green Options Media

Any correspondence with the GOM Sites or with Green Options Media including any documentation or images, are considered property of Green Options Media. Green Options Media reserves the right to reproduce such correspondence, in whole or in part, on any of the GOM Sites or its affiliates.

Comments Terms of Use

The comments sections on GOM Sites are accessible to users by invitation only (such invitations coming either from GreenWeb Inc. editors directly or by referral from existing comment users). GOM’s comment user registration system has been designed so that, if the user so chooses, they can remain completely anonymous, even to us.

In order to make our comments useful and interesting, the following guidelines have been established for comment users:

* Do not post threatening, harassing, defamatory, or libelous material.

* Do not intentionally make false or misleading statements.

* Do not offer to sell or buy any product or service.

* Do not post material that infringes copyright.

* Do not post information that you know to be confidential or sensitive or otherwise in breach of the law.

* Keep all comments relevant to the particular GOM Site where the comment is being posted.

* Green Options Media will not accept responsibility for information posted in the Comments.

Please note that once you post a comment to one of our sites, it becomes part of the public conversation. Our policy is that we will not remove a user’s comments unless we deem them to be in violation of our Terms of Service. So if you want to say something that you will later regret personally, it is advisable that you use a username that does not identify you. We cannot remove your comments simply because you have a change of heart about making them.

Additionally, it is our policy not to delete comment accounts.

However, Green Options Media reserves the right to remove comments entirely at its discretion, including for alleged violations of terms of service or legal rights.

Green Options Media is not responsible for the content of user comments. If a third party complains that your comment violates our TOS or their rights, we will invite them to respond in the comments themselves. If they pursue the complaint, we will make reasonable efforts to contact you by the means you have provided us, to alert you to the situation. We will protect your contact information as described in our privacy policy, but may be compelled to turn it over pursuant to legal process.

Image and Video Terms of Use

Green Options Media sites typically display images, audio, and video (the “Material”) as part of blog posts written by our editors. The types of Material editors are authorized to use on Green Options Media sites include:

* Material licensed from photographic archive and video vendors

* Material supplied to our editors or released into the public domain by public relations and marketing companies for press purposes

* Reader-submitted Material, with the implied representation that the person submitting the material owns the copyright in the material and the right to give it to us for use on our site(s)

* Material published on Flickr or other public photo / video sites with licenses granted under Creative Commons, with attribution in accordance with the CC license granted in each case

* Material commissioned by Green Options Media

* Material that we believe to be covered by the Fair Use Doctrine, taking into account factors such as:

1. The purpose and character of the use (i.e. transformation from the original, use for criticism, satire or parody

2. The nature of the copyrighted work (i.e. factual or newsworthy vs creative works)

3. The amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the whole (i.e. use of cropped, reduced, low-resolution Material used for no more than to convey the point made)

4. The effect on the potential market for the copyrighted work (e.g. use that is not substitutive for the original, or would never be licensed in any event)

If Green Options Media receives notice that Material posted is not in keeping with these terms and conditions or the intended use of the Comments section where it is posted, we reserve to right to remove the material.

If you think we have published Material that infringes your copyright, we will address your concerns; however, if the material falls into one of the categories listed above, we believe that our use is legitimate and we will not remove it from the site.

Please note that we will respond only to notices of alleged infringement that comply with the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. The text of the Act can be found at the U.S. Copyright Office Web Site, http://lcWeb.loc.gov/copyright/.

To file a notice of infringement with us, you must provide a written communication (by email with an attached and signed PDF or by fax) that sets forth the items specified below. Please do not send us regular mail, as we may not receive it in a timely fashion.

To enable us to address your concerns, please provide the following information:

1. For each allegedly infringing image, video or piece of text that you wish to have removed from one of our sites, provide the exact permanent URL for the page containing the material.

2. Provide information reasonably sufficient to permit us to contact you: an email address is preferred, as well as a telephone contact number.

3. For images, provide the following information detailing your claim to ownership of the copyright in the allegedly infringing image:

* Proof of copyright in the image concerned, namely proof of registration of the Image under the DMCA,

OR, absent such registration,

* a detailed description of where the photograph was taken, by whom, who or what the subject of the image is, AND

* Evidence to support your claim that you own the copyright in the image.

We will not comply with requests to remove an image where the complainant cannot prove that they own the copyright in the image in question.

4. Include the following statement: “I swear, under penalty of perjury, that the information in the notification is accurate and that I am the copyright owner or am authorized to act on behalf of the owner of an exclusive right that is allegedly infringed.”

5. Sign the document and fax it to:

(866) 630-6702, Attn: (Green Options Media Legal / DMCA Complaints)

OR email it to:

copyright AT greenoptions DOT com

Please note that you will be liable for damages (including costs and attorneys’ fees) if you materially misrepresent that any material on our sites is infringing your copyrights.

Indeed, in a recent case a company that sent an infringement notification seeking removal of online materials that were protected by the Fair Use doctrine was ordered to pay such costs and attorneys` fees. The company agreed to pay over $100,000. Accordingly, if you are not sure whether material available online infringes your copyright, we suggest that you first contact an attorney.

We also reserve the right to publish your letter on the site(s).

External Links Disclaimer

GOM Sites routinely contain links to external, third party websites. By providing links to other sites, Green Options Media does not guarantee, approve or endorse the information or products available at these sites, nor does a link indicate any association with or endorsement by the linked site to the GOM Site in question.

Green Options Media does not operate or control and has no responsibility for the information, products and/or services found on any external sites. Nor do such links represent or endorse the accuracy or reliability of any information, products and/or services provided on or through any external sites, including, without limitation, warranties of any kind, either express or implied, warranties of title or non-infringement or implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose.

Visitors to GOM Sites assume complete responsibility and risk in their use of any external sites. Visitors should direct any concerns regarding any external link to its site administrator or webmaster.

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Founded with the mission of “empowering sustainable choices,” the Green Options Media blog network reaches a broad range of the green market, including a major segment not served by other green websites.

The greatest potential for change and for developing new markets lies in appealing to the newcomers to the green lifestyle, those in what is sometimes called the “light green” or even “conscious, but cautious” consumer segment. These are people who have discovered the benefits of living a more eco-friendly lifestyle but who also need guidance, support and encouragement to incorporate green practices and products into their lifestyles.

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Business & Technology News & Opinion Family & Lifestyle

Dissenters’ Rights

Dissenters’ Rights

1. DELAWARE

SECTION 262 DELAWARE GENERAL CORPORATION LAW

§ 262. Appraisal rights.

(a) Any stockholder of a corporation of this State who holds shares of stock on the date of the making of a demand pursuant to subsection (d) of this section with respect to such shares, who continuously holds such shares through the effective date of the merger or consolidation, who has otherwise complied with subsection (d) of this section and who has neither voted in favor of the merger or consolidation nor consented thereto in writing pursuant to § 228 of this title shall be entitled to an appraisal by the Court of Chancery of the fair value of the stockholder’s shares of stock under the circumstances described in subsections (b) and (c) of this section. As used in this section, the word “stockholder” means a holder of record of stock in a stock corporation and also a member of record of a nonstock corporation; the words “stock” and “share” mean and include what is ordinarily meant by those words and also membership or membership interest of a member of a nonstock corporation; and the words “depository receipt” mean a receipt or other instrument issued by a depository representing an interest in one or more shares, or fractions thereof, solely of stock of a corporation, which stock is deposited with the depository.

(b) Appraisal rights shall be available for the shares of any class or series of stock of a constituent corporation in a merger or consolidation to be effected pursuant to § 251 (other than a merger effected pursuant to § 251(g) of this title), § 252, § 254, § 257, § 258, § 263 or § 264 of this title:

(1) Provided, however, that no appraisal rights under this section shall be available for the shares of any class or series of stock, which stock, or depository receipts in respect thereof, at the record date fixed to determine the stockholders entitled to receive notice of and to vote at the meeting of stockholders to act upon the agreement of merger or consolidation, were either (i) listed on a national securities exchange or designated as a national market system security on an interdealer quotation system by the National Association of Securities Dealers, Inc. or (ii) held of record by more than 2,000 holders; and further provided that no appraisal rights shall be available for any shares of stock of the constituent corporation surviving a merger if the merger did not require for its approval the vote of the stockholders of the surviving corporation as provided in subsection (f) of § 251 of this title.

(2) Notwithstanding paragraph (1) of this subsection, appraisal rights under this section shall be available for the shares of any class or series of stock of a constituent corporation if the holders thereof are required by the terms of an agreement of merger or consolidation pursuant to §§ 251, 252, 254, 257, 258, 263 and 264 of this title to accept for such stock anything except:

a. Shares of stock of the corporation surviving or resulting from such merger or consolidation, or depository receipts in respect thereof;

b. Shares of stock of any other corporation, or depository receipts in respect thereof, which shares of stock (or depository receipts in respect thereof) or depository receipts at the effective date of the merger or consolidation will be either listed on a national securities exchange or designated as a national market system security on an interdealer quotation system by the National Association of Securities Dealers, Inc. or held of record by more than 2,000 holders;

c. Cash in lieu of fractional shares or fractional depository receipts described in the foregoing subparagraphs a. and b. of this paragraph; or

d. Any combination of the shares of stock, depository receipts and cash in lieu of fractional shares or fractional depository receipts described in the foregoing subparagraphs a., b. and c. of this paragraph.

(3) In the event all of the stock of a subsidiary Delaware corporation party to a merger effected under § 253 of this title is not owned by the parent corporation immediately prior to the merger, appraisal rights shall be available for the shares of the subsidiary Delaware corporation.

(c) Any corporation may provide in its certificate of incorporation that appraisal rights under this section shall be available for the shares of any class or series of its stock as a result of an amendment to its certificate of incorporation, any merger or consolidation in which the corporation is a constituent corporation or the sale of all or substantially all of the assets of the corporation. If the certificate of incorporation contains such a provision, the procedures of this section, including those set forth in subsections (d) and (e) of this section, shall apply as nearly as is practicable.

(d) Appraisal rights shall be perfected as follows:

(1) If a proposed merger or consolidation for which appraisal rights are provided under this section is to be submitted for approval at a meeting of stockholders, the corporation, not less than 20 days prior to the meeting, shall notify each of its stockholders who was such on the record date for such meeting with respect to shares for which appraisal rights are available pursuant to subsection (b) or (c) hereof that appraisal rights are available for any or all of the shares of the constituent corporations, and shall include in such notice a copy of this section. Each stockholder electing to demand the appraisal of such stockholder’s shares shall deliver to the corporation, before the taking of the vote on the merger or consolidation, a written demand for appraisal of such stockholder’s shares. Such demand will be sufficient if it reasonably informs the corporation of the identity of the stockholder and that the stockholder intends thereby to demand the appraisal of such stockholder’s shares. A proxy or vote against the merger or consolidation shall not constitute such a demand. A stockholder electing to take such action must do so by a separate written demand as herein provided. Within 10 days after the effective date of such merger or consolidation, the surviving or resulting corporation shall notify each stockholder of each constituent corporation who has complied with this subsection and has not voted in favor of or consented to the merger or consolidation of the date that the merger or consolidation has become effective; or

(2) If the merger or consolidation was approved pursuant to § 228 or § 253 of this title, then either a constituent corporation before the effective date of the merger or consolidation or the surviving or resulting corporation within 10 days thereafter shall notify each of the holders of any class or series of stock of such constituent corporation who are entitled to appraisal rights of the approval of the merger or consolidation and that appraisal rights are available for any or all shares of such class or series of stock of such constituent corporation, and shall include in such notice a copy of this section. Such notice may, and, if given on or after the effective date of the merger or consolidation, shall, also notify such stockholders of the effective date of the merger or consolidation. Any stockholder entitled to appraisal rights may, within 20 days after the date of mailing of such notice, demand in writing from the surviving or resulting corporation the appraisal of such holder’s shares. Such demand will be sufficient if it reasonably informs the corporation of the identity of the stockholder and that the stockholder intends thereby to demand the appraisal of such holder’s shares. If such notice did not notify stockholders of the effective date of the merger or consolidation, either (i) each such constituent corporation shall send a second notice before the effective date of the merger or consolidation notifying each of the holders of any class or series of stock of such constituent corporation that are entitled to appraisal rights of the effective date of the merger or consolidation or (ii) the surviving or resulting corporation shall send such a second notice to all such holders on or within 10 days after such effective date; provided, however, that if such second notice is sent more than 20 days following the sending of the first notice, such second notice need only be sent to each stockholder who is entitled to appraisal rights and who has demanded appraisal of such holder’s shares in accordance with this subsection. An affidavit of the secretary or assistant secretary or of the transfer agent of the corporation that is required to give either notice that such notice has been given shall, in the absence of fraud, be prima facie evidence of the facts stated therein. For purposes of determining the stockholders entitled to receive either notice, each constituent corporation may fix, in advance, a record date that shall be not more than 10 days prior to the date the notice is given, provided, that if the notice is given on or after the effective date of the merger or consolidation, the record date shall be such effective date. If no record date is fixed and the notice is given prior to the effective date, the record date shall be the close of business on the day next preceding the day on which the notice is given.

(e) Within 120 days after the effective date of the merger or consolidation, the surviving or resulting corporation or any stockholder who has complied with subsections (a) and (d) hereof and who is otherwise entitled to appraisal rights, may file a petition in the Court of Chancery demanding a determination of the value of the stock of all such stockholders. Notwithstanding the foregoing, at any time within 60 days after the effective date of the merger or consolidation, any stockholder shall have the right to withdraw such stockholder’s demand for appraisal and to accept the terms offered upon the merger or consolidation. Within 120 days after the effective date of the merger or consolidation, any stockholder who has complied with the requirements of subsections (a) and (d) hereof, upon written request, shall be entitled to receive from the corporation surviving the merger or resulting from the consolidation a statement setting forth the aggregate number of shares not voted in favor of the merger or consolidation and with respect to which demands for appraisal have been received and the aggregate number of holders of such shares. Such written statement shall be mailed to the stockholder within 10 days after such stockholder’s written request for such a statement is received by the surviving or resulting corporation or within 10 days after expiration of the period for delivery of demands for appraisal under subsection (d) hereof, whichever is later.

(f) Upon the filing of any such petition by a stockholder, service of a copy thereof shall be made upon the surviving or resulting corporation, which shall within 20 days after such service file in the office of the Register in Chancery in which the petition was filed a duly verified list containing the names and addresses of all stockholders who have demanded payment for their shares and with whom agreements as to the value of their shares have not been reached by the surviving or resulting corporation. If the petition shall be filed by the surviving or resulting corporation, the petition shall be accompanied by such a duly verified list. The Register in Chancery, if so ordered by the Court, shall give notice of the time and place fixed for the hearing of such petition by registered or certified mail to the surviving or resulting corporation and to the stockholders shown on the list at the addresses therein stated. Such notice shall also be given by 1 or more publications at least 1 week before the day of the hearing, in a newspaper of general circulation published in the City of Wilmington, Delaware or such publication as the Court deems advisable. The forms of the notices by mail and by publication shall be approved by the Court, and the costs thereof shall be borne by the surviving or resulting corporation.

(g) At the hearing on such petition, the Court shall determine the stockholders who have complied with this section and who have become entitled to appraisal rights. The Court may require the stockholders who have demanded an appraisal for their shares and who hold stock represented by certificates to submit their certificates of stock to the Register in Chancery for notation thereon of the pendency of the appraisal proceedings; and if any stockholder fails to comply with such direction, the Court may dismiss the proceedings as to such stockholder.

(h) After determining the stockholders entitled to an appraisal, the Court shall appraise the shares, determining their fair value exclusive of any element of value arising from the accomplishment or expectation of the merger or consolidation, together with a fair rate of interest, if any, to be paid upon the amount determined to be the fair value. In determining such fair value, the Court shall take into account all relevant factors. In determining the fair rate of interest, the Court may consider all relevant factors, including the rate of interest which the surviving or resulting corporation would have had to pay to borrow money during the pendency of the proceeding. Upon application by the surviving or resulting corporation or by any stockholder entitled to participate in the appraisal proceeding, the Court may, in its discretion, permit discovery or other pretrial proceedings and may proceed to trial upon the appraisal prior to the final determination of the stockholder entitled to an appraisal. Any stockholder whose name appears on the list filed by the surviving or resulting corporation pursuant to subsection (f) of this section and who has submitted such stockholder’s certificates of stock to the Register in Chancery, if such is required, may participate fully in all proceedings until it is finally determined that such stockholder is not entitled to appraisal rights under this section.

(i) The Court shall direct the payment of the fair value of the shares, together with interest, if any, by the surviving or resulting corporation to the stockholders entitled thereto. Interest may be simple or compound, as the Court may direct. Payment shall be so made to each such stockholder, in the case of holders of uncertificated stock forthwith, and the case of holders of shares represented by certificates upon the surrender to the corporation of the certificates representing such stock. The Court’s decree may be enforced as other decrees in the Court of Chancery may be enforced, whether such surviving or resulting corporation be a corporation of this State or of any state.

(j) The costs of the proceeding may be determined by the Court and taxed upon the parties as the Court deems equitable in the circumstances. Upon application of a stockholder, the Court may order all or a portion of the expenses incurred by any stockholder in connection with the appraisal proceeding, including, without limitation, reasonable attorney’s fees and the fees and expenses of experts, to be charged pro rata against the value of all the shares entitled to an appraisal.

(k) From and after the effective date of the merger or consolidation, no stockholder who has demanded appraisal rights as provided in subsection (d) of this section shall be entitled to vote such stock for any purpose or to receive payment of dividends or other distributions on the stock (except dividends or other distributions payable to stockholders of record at a date which is prior to the effective date of the merger or consolidation); provided, however, that if no petition for an appraisal shall be filed within the time provided in subsection (e) of this section, or if such stockholder shall deliver to the surviving or resulting corporation a written withdrawal of such stockholder’s demand for an appraisal and an acceptance of the merger or consolidation, either within 60 days after the effective date of the merger or consolidation as provided in subsection (e) of this section or thereafter with the written approval of the corporation, then the right of such stockholder to an appraisal shall cease. Notwithstanding the foregoing, no appraisal proceeding in the Court of Chancery shall be dismissed as to any stockholder without the approval of the Court, and such approval may be conditioned upon such terms as the Court deems just.

(l) The shares of the surviving or resulting corporation to which the shares of such objecting stockholders would have been converted had they assented to the merger or consolidation shall have the status of authorized and unissued shares of the surviving or resulting corporation.

2.  CALIFORNIA

Chapter 13 of the California Corporations Code

§ 1300.  REORGANIZATION OR SHORT-FORM MERGER; DISSENTING SHARES; CORPORATE PURCHASE AT FAIR MARKET VALUE; DEFINITIONS

(a)        If the approval of the outstanding shares (Section 152) of a corporation is required for a reorganization under subdivisions (a) and (b) or subdivision (e) or (f) of Section 1201, each shareholder of the corporation entitled to vote on the transaction and each shareholder of a subsidiary corporation in a short-form merger may, by complying with this chapter, require the corporation in which the shareholder holds shares to purchase for cash at their fair market value the shares owned by the shareholder which are dissenting shares as defined in subdivision (b).  The fair market value shall be determined as of the day before the first announcement of the terms of the proposed reorganization or short-form merger, excluding any appreciation or depreciation in consequence of the proposed action, but adjusted for any stock split, reverse stock split, or share dividend which becomes effective thereafter.

(b)        As used in this chapter, “dissenting shares” means shares which come within all of the following descriptions:

(1)        Which were not immediately prior to the reorganization or short-form merger either (A) listed on any national securities exchange certified by the Commissioner of Corporations under subdivision (o) of Section 25100 or (B) listed on the National Market System of the NASDAQ Stock Market, and the notice of meeting of shareholders to act upon the reorganization summarizes this section and Sections 1301, 1302, 1303 and 1304; provided, however, that this provision does not apply to any shares with respect to which there exists any restriction on transfer imposed by the corporation or by any law or regulation; and provided, further, that this provision does not apply to any class of shares described in subparagraph (A) or (B) if demands for payment are filed with respect to 5 percent or more of the outstanding shares of that class.

(2)        Which were outstanding on the date for the determination of shareholders entitled to vote on the reorganization and (A) were not voted in favor of the reorganization or, (B) if described in subparagraph (A) or (B) of paragraph (1) (without regard to the provisos in that paragraph), were voted against the reorganization, or which were held of record on the effective date of a short-form merger; provided, however, that subparagraph (A) rather than subparagraph (B) of this paragraph applies in any case where the approval required by Section 1201 is sought by written consent rather than at a  meeting.

(3)        Which the dissenting shareholder has demanded that the corporation purchase at their fair market value, in accordance with Section 1301.

(4)        Which the dissenting shareholder has submitted for endorsement, in accordance with Section 1302.

(c)        As used in this chapter, “dissenting shareholder” means the recordholder of dissenting shares and includes a transferee of record.

§ 1301.  NOTICE TO HOLDERS OF DISSENTING SHARES IN REORGANIZATIONS; DEMAND FOR PURCHASE; TIME; CONTENTS

(a)        If, in the case of a reorganization, any shareholders of a corporation have a right under Section 1300, subject to compliance with paragraphs (3) and (4) of subdivision (b) thereof, to require the corporation to purchase their shares for cash, such corporation shall mail to each such shareholder a notice of the approval of the reorganization by its outstanding shares (Section 152) within 10 days after the date of such approval, accompanied by a copy of Sections 1300, 1302, 1303, 1304 and this section, a statement of the price determined by the corporation to represent the fair market value of the dissenting shares, and a brief description of the procedure to be followed if the shareholder desires to exercise the shareholder’s right under such sections.  The statement of price constitutes an offer by the corporation to purchase at the price stated any dissenting shares as defined in subdivision (b) of Section 1300, unless they lose their status as dissenting shares under Section 1309.

(b)        Any shareholder who has a right to require the corporation to purchase the shareholder’s shares for cash under Section 1300, subject to compliance with paragraphs (3) and (4) of subdivision (b) thereof, and who desires the corporation to purchase such shares shall make written demand upon the corporation for the purchase of such shares and payment to the shareholder in cash of their fair market value.  The demand is not effective for any purpose unless it is received by the corporation or any transfer agent thereof (1) in the case of shares described in clause (i) or (ii) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (b) of Section 1300 (without regard to the provisos in that paragraph), not later than the date of the shareholders’ meeting to vote upon the reorganization, or (2) in any other case within 30 days after the date on which the notice of the approval by the outstanding shares pursuant to subdivision (a) or the notice pursuant to subdivision (i) of Section 1110 was mailed to the shareholder.

(c)        The demand shall state the number and class of the shares held of record by the shareholder which the shareholder demands that the corporation purchase and shall contain a statement of what such shareholder claims to be the fair market value of those shares as of the day before the announcement of the proposed reorganization or short-form merger.  The statement of fair market value constitutes an offer by the shareholder to sell the shares at such price.

§1302.  SUBMISSION OF SHARE CERTIFICATES FOR ENDORSEMENT; UNCERTTFICATED SECURITIES

Within 30 days after the date on which notice of the approval by the outstanding shares or the notice pursuant to subdivision (i) of Section 1110 was mailed to the shareholder, the shareholder shall submit to the corporation at its principal office or at the office of any transfer agent thereof, (a) if the shares are certificated securities, the shareholder’s certificates representing any shares which the shareholder demands that the corporation purchase, to be stamped or endorsed with a statement that the shares are dissenting shares or to be exchanged for certificates of appropriate denomination so stamped or endorsed or (b) if the shares are uncertificated securities, written notice of the number of shares which the shareholder demands that the corporation purchase.  Upon subsequent transfers of the dissenting shares on the books of the corporation, the new certificates, initial transaction statement, and other written statements issued therefor shall bear a like statement, together with the name of the original dissenting holder of the shares.

1303.  PAYMENT OF AGREED PRICE WITH INTEREST; AGREEMENT FIXING FAIR MARKET VALUE; FILING; TIME OF PAYMENT

(a)        If the corporation and the shareholder agree that the shares are dissenting shares and agree upon the price of the shares, the dissenting shareholder is entitled to the agreed price with interest thereon at the legal rate on judgments from the date of the agreement.  Any agreements fixing the fair market value of any dissenting shares as between the corporation and the holders thereof shall be filed with the secretary of the corporation.

(b)        Subject to the provisions of Section 1306, payment of the fair market value of dissenting shares shall be made within 30 days after the amount thereof has been agreed or within 30 days after any statutory or contractual conditions to the reorganization are satisfied, whichever is later, and in the case of certificated securities, subject to surrender of the certificates therefor, unless provided otherwise by agreement.

§ 1304.  ACTION TO DETERMINE WHETHER SHARES ARE DISSENTING SHARES OR FAIR MARKET VALUE; LIMITATION; JOINDER; CONSOLIDATION; DETERMINATION OF ISSUES; APPOINTMENT OF APPRAISERS

(a)        If the corporation denies that the shares are dissenting shares, or the corporation and the shareholder fail to agree upon the fair market value of the shares, then the shareholder demanding purchase of such shares as dissenting shares or any interested corporation, within Six Months after the date on which notice of the approval by the outstanding shares (Section 152) or notice pursuant to subdivision (i) of Section 1110 was mailed to the shareholder, but not thereafter, may file a complaint in the superior court of the proper county praying the court to determine whether the shares are dissenting shares or the fair market value of the dissenting shares or both or may intervene in any action pending on such a complaint.

(b)        Two or more dissenting shareholders may join as plaintiffs or be joined as defendants in any such action and two or more such actions may be consolidated.

(c)        On the trial of the action, the court shall determine the issues.  If the status of the shares as dissenting shares is in issue, the court shall first determine that issue.  If the fair market value of the dissenting shares is in issue, the court shall determine, or shall appoint one or more impartial appraisers to determine, the fair market value of the shares.

§ 1305.  REPORT OF APPRAISERS; CONFIRMATION; DETERMINATION BY COURT; JUDGMENT; PAYMENT; APPEAL; COSTS

(a)        If the court appoints an appraiser or appraisers, they shall proceed forthwith to determine the fair market value per share.  Within the time fixed by the court, the appraisers, or a majority of them, shall make and file a report in the office of the clerk of the court.  Thereupon, on the motion of any party, the report shall be submitted to the court and considered on such evidence as the court considers relevant.  If the court finds the report reasonable, the court may confirm it.

(b)        If a majority of the appraisers appointed fail to make and file a report within 10 days from the date of their appointment or within such further time as may be allowed by the court or the report is not confirmed by the court, the court shall determine the fair market value of the dissenting shares.

(c)        Subject to the provisions of Section 1306, judgment shall be rendered against the corporation for payment of an amount equal to the fair market value of each dissenting share multiplied by the number of dissenting shares which any dissenting shareholder who is a party, or who has intervened, is entitled to require the corporation to purchase, with interest thereon at the legal rate from the date on which judgment was entered.

(d)        Any such judgment shall be payable forthwith with respect to uncertificated securities and, with respect to certificated securities, only upon the endorsement and delivery to the corporation of the certificates for the shares described in the judgment.  Any party may appeal from the judgment.

(e)        The costs of the action, including reasonable compensation to the appraisers to be fixed by the court, shall be assessed or apportioned as the court considers equitable, but, if the appraisal exceeds the price offered by the corporation, the corporation shall pay the costs (including in the discretion of the court attorneys’ fees, fees of expert witnesses and interest at the legal rate on judgments from the date of compliance with Sections 1300, 1301 and 1302 if the value awarded by the court for the shares is more, than 125 percent of the price offered by the corporation under subdivision (a) of Section 1301).

§ 1306.  PREVENTION OF IMMEDIATE PAYMENT, STATUS AS CREDITORS; INTEREST

To the extent that the provisions of Chapter 5 prevent the payment to any holders of dissenting shares of their fair market value, they shall become creditors of the corporation for the amount thereof together with interest at the legal rate on judgments until the date of payment, but subordinate to all other creditors in any liquidation proceeding, such debt to be payable when permissible under the provisions of Chapter 5.

§ 1307.  DIVIDENDS ON DISSENTING SHARES

Cash dividends declared and paid by the corporation upon the dissenting shares after the date of approval of the reorganization by the outstanding shares (Section 152) and prior to payment for the shares by the corporation shall be credited against the total amount to be paid by the corporation therefor.

§ 1308.  RIGHTS OF DISSENTING SHAREHOLDERS PENDING VALUATION; WITHDRAWAL OF DEMAND FOR PAYMENT

Except as expressly limited in this chapter, holders of dissenting shares continue to have all the rights and privileges incident to their shares, until the fair market value of their shares is agreed upon or determined.  A dissenting shareholder may not withdraw a demand for payment unless the corporation consents thereto.

§ 1309.  TERMINATION OF DISSENTING SHARE AND SHAREHOLDER STATUS

Dissenting shares lose their status as dissenting shares and the holders thereof cease to be dissenting shareholders and cease to be entitled to require the corporation to purchase their shares upon the happening of any of the following:

(a)        The corporation abandons the reorganization.  Upon abandonment of the reorganization, the corporation shall pay on demand to any dissenting shareholder who has initiated proceedings in good faith under this chapter all necessary expenses incurred in such proceedings and reasonable attorneys’ fees.

(b)        The shares are transferred prior to their submission for enforcement in accordance with Section 1302 or are surrendered for conversion into shares of another class in accordance with the articles.

(c)        The dissenting shareholder and the corporation do not agree upon the status of the shares as dissenting shares or upon the purchase price of the shares, and neither files a complaint or intervenes in a pending action as provided in Section 1304, within Six Months after the date on which notice of the approval by the outstanding shares or notice pursuant to subdivision (i) of Section 1110 was mailed to the shareholder.

(d)        The dissenting shareholder, with the consent of the corporation, withdraws the shareholder’s demand for purchase of the dissenting shares.

§ 1310.  SUSPENSION OF RIGHT TO COMPENSATION OR VALUATION PROCEEDINGS; LITIGATION OF SHAREHOLDERS’ APPROVAL

If litigation is instituted to test the sufficiency or regularity of the votes of the shareholders in authorizing a reorganization, any proceedings under Sections 1304 and 1305 shall be suspended until final determination of such litigation.

§ 1311.  EXEMPT SHARES

This chapter, except Section 1312, does not apply to classes of shares whose terms and provisions specifically set forth the amount to be paid in respect to such shares in the event of a reorganization or merger.

1312.  RIGHT OF DISSENTING SHAREHOLDER TO ATTACK, SET ASIDE OR RESCIND MERGER OR REORGANIZATION; RESTRAINING ORDER OR INJUNCTION; CONDITIONS

(a)        No shareholder of a corporation who has a right under this chapter to demand payment of cash for the shares held by the shareholder shall have any right at law or in equity to attack the validity of the reorganization or short-form merger, or to have the reorganization or short-form merger set aside or rescinded, except in an action to test whether the number of shares required to authorize or approve the reorganization have been legally voted in favor thereof; but any holder of shares of a class whose terms and provisions specifically set forth the amount to be paid in respect to them in the event of a reorganization or short-form merger is entitled to payment in accordance with those terms and provisions or, if the principal terms of the reorganization are approved pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 1202, is entitled to payment in accordance with the terms and provisions of the approved reorganization.

(b)        If one of the parties to a reorganization or short-form merger is directly or indirectly controlled by, or under common control with, another party to the reorganization or short-form merger, subdivision (a) shall not apply to any shareholder of such party who has not demanded payment of cash for such shareholder’s shares pursuant to this chapter; but if the shareholder institutes any action to attack the validity of the reorganization or short-form merger or to have the reorganization or short-form merger set aside or rescinded, the shareholder shall not thereafter have any right to demand payment of cash for the shareholder’s shares pursuant to this chapter.  The court in any action attacking the validity of the reorganization or short-form merger or to have the reorganization or short-form merger set aside or rescinded shall not restrain or enjoin the consummation of the transaction except upon 10 days’ prior notice to the corporation and upon a determination by the court that clearly no other remedy will adequately protect the complaining shareholder or the class of shareholders of which such shareholder is a member.

(c)        If one of the parties to a reorganization or short-form merger is directly or indirectly controlled by, or under common control with, another party to the reorganization or short-form merger, in any action to attack the validity of the reorganization or short-form merger or to have the reorganization or short-form merger set aside or rescinded, (1) a party to a reorganization or short-form merger which controls another party to the reorganization or short-form merger shall have the burden of proving that the transaction is just and reasonable as to the shareholders of the controlled party, and (2) a person who controls two or more parties to a reorganization shall have the burden of proving that the transaction is just and reasonable as to the shareholders of any party so controlled.

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Thank you for your interest in writing for Green Options! Before filling out an application, please take a moment to review our Writer Recruitment FAQ, which should answer a lot of initial questions about our editorial processes, payment, general terms and conditions, and life as a Green Options writer.

When you have reviewed the FAQ, please take a moment to fill out the following application.

FAQ – Writing For GO Media

Q: What is GO Media?

A: GO Media was the first green blog network and is now the second largest sustainability-focused network online, with 15 independent sites and over a million monthly readers. We have over 100 writers, including a mix of journalists, industry professionals, and politicians including: SF Mayor Gavin Newsom, Portland Mayor Sam Adams, CEO of Coulomb Richard Lowenthal, Head of Vehicle Electrification for GM Frank Weber, and the CEOs of all major solar energy companies.

Our top blogs are syndicated to numerous media outlets, including Popular Mechanics, Huffington Post, NYTimes blogs, The Guardian (UK), and we’re one of a handful of publishers to make it onto Yahoo.com once a month (which can bring us a million readers to a single post). Writing for us can provide substantial exposure, and we’ve had several writers move on to positions at Fast Company and the NYTimes.

GO has a tremendous presence in social media, including a rank of #16th for digg.com front page appearances in 2008, right between CNET and Time.

GO Media provides writers and green experts with a substantially larger distribution platform than would be available to most individuals. Our writers have repeatedly expressed amazement at author-level readership that can span in the millions over the course of a few months. Our stories are frequently posted on the top of major social media networks like Digg and Reddit, the front page of Yahoo.com, or syndicated to other major media outlets.

We also put our writers in touch with a network of over 100 green experts and professionals through our writer community, and offer the chance to learn the tricks of some of our most successful writers, professional bloggers, and social media experts.

Q: Who Owns GO Media?

A: GO Media was acquired in Q4 of 2008 by activism startup Virgance. Virgance represents an entirely new way to do business, functioning as an incubator for positive change. In 2010, exciting changes will be coming to the network. Stay tuned for details.

Q: What is GO’s Mission?

A: GO is dedicated to “empowering sustainable choices” through good news. Our original goal was to create a news platform capable of competing with mainstream media in reach, topic selection, and quality of content. We wanted to provide an opportunity for geen experts, citizen journalists, or industry leaders to reach the largest possible audience, in a way that positively informs the national discussion of important topics.

Q: How can I get involved?

A: If you’re interested in our mission, we’re always looking for citizen and professional journalists (as well as students), who are passionate about a topic. Some of our contributors write for exposure, and some simply write to promote good news or cover an underreported topic. It’s a mission and a campaign, and we’re always looking for help. Virgance itself is also on the lookout for qualified applicants, interns, volunteers, and partners to further our collective goals.

Q: How much do you pay per post?

A: Many of our contributors are not paid, and simply use the platform for exposure or because they strongly believe in our mission.

GO Media writers are currently paid a combination of fixed post rate and a bonus based on traffic. This structure provides a payment system that is optimized towards different levels of writer engagement, providing greater incentives for increasing levels of commitment.

Writers posting less than four times within a month - which is below our minimum Paid Writer commitment level - will be classified as Guest Contributors and will not be paid. Payment will be resumed in this case as soon as the minimum four posts per month limit is reached. There is an individual per post payment cap of $250.

For some background reading on performance-based pay-scales, see Nick Denton’s justification for nuanced compensation systems.

Q: How many page views might I expect to get?

A: That depends entirely on how much you write, and can also depend on how hard you work to promote your material. A post that is not promoted in some way will usually receieve an average of 2,000 hits, whereas posts that are popular on social media can get anywhere from 3,000-50,000 pageviews (or more) in a 24 hour period. Some additional incentives are provided for this type of promotion. Posts that are properly crafted using the best practices of search engine optimization can receive hundreds or thousands of hits per month on an ongoing basis.

Fact: The standing record for pageviews on a single post is 1,000,000 in 24 hours.

Fact: The standing record for monthly search traffic on a single post is approximately 30,000 pageviews per month. Search terms: “electric cars”.

GO Media has been one of the most successful networks on social media since it’s inception, and we’re well equipped to help anyone who wants to learn.

Q: How do I know how many pageviews I’m getting?

A: One of the most useful tools we’ve developed is our highly-customized WordPress interface, which includes a real-time stats tracking system. The stats tracker keeps tabs on all writer post pageviews and commissions, which not only gives writers a way to see how much they’ve made for the month (updated continuously), but also shows the source of referral traffic. This provides writers with an extremely powerful tool to help promote content more effectively.

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A: In general you are free to post whenever you like, although we do require that you post at least four times a month in order to qualify for payment, and we prefer our paid writers to post at least 2-3 times per week. Posting on a more or less regular schedule can help us to plan our content calendar, although this is not always required.

Q: What is GO’s Business Model?

A: GO is funded entirely by advertising revenue. We run a series of standard of banner advertisements that you can see on every post, along with higher-value “beyond-the-banner” campaigns, and some in-text and contextual advertisements.

As a result of this model, GO gone through some growing pains in the effort to meet the financial needs of writers while maintaining a viable business. We think it’s important that our writers understand the limitations of this model (e.g. we have to wait for advertisers to pay us before we can pay you), because this helps you understand where we’re coming from.

Q: How do I get paid?

A: We pay our writers no later than 30-60 days after month end via paypal. We working on moving that up for all writers. It can take up to three months for advertisers to settle their accounts with us.

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A: Any posts you write will remain the property of Green Options, and we shall have exclusive use of your posts for the first 5 days.  After that you may re-use your post on your own blog, or even resell it elsewhere. However, in this case we do ask that you add a link back stating that the post was first published at Green Options. We are open to discussing special arrangements concerning this.

Q: How do I get started?

A: As soon as we have reached an informal agreement on your joining the team we will send you a registration link, as well as some supporting information to get you posting with us as quickly as possible. At the same time we will be sending you a contract for signature using our online contract management system

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A: Yes! One of the perks of our blog network is the flexibility to write about whatever topics speak to you! If you typically write about sustainable fabrics and suddenly feel the need to write about electric cars, we’re behind you 100%. Otherwise, we wouldn’t be doing this.

We’ll sometimes ask for volunteers to write about a particular topic or ask writers from a particular blog to contribute to a one-time weekly theme, but these are more for fun than any kind of editorial requirment.

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Press

June 23, 2008
San Diego Business Journal: Could Perks of Clean-Diesel Engines Offset Higher Fuel Costs? Jetta BlueTDI Arriving Here in August, Mercedes BlueTec Expected By Fall
By Liz Wiedemann, San Diego Business Journal Staff

When diesel fuel prices jumped higher than gasoline prices a year and a half ago, some expected to see the price go back down.

Cornell says not to bank on it.

“I don’t see it coming down — not anytime soon,” he said.

June 16, 2008
ABC News: Cars of Tomorrow May Help Us Kick Oil Habit. Three Competing Technologies That May Someday End Big Oil’s Grip on Consumers
By Tuan C. Nguyen

Cornell of greenoptions, who lives with a roommate in a two-person house, admits it would be a “tough” situation if they both owned plug-in vehicles that needed to be charged. Still, he doesn’t see such a problem as a “deal breaker.”

“If a car like that was available in an affordable price range, I’m sure we would figure something out,” he says.

June 6 2008
Lifehacker: Less Junky Alternatives to Popular Junk Food

Weblog Eat Drink Better rounds up several healthier and more environmentally friendly alternatives to popular junk food, from Oreos and Doritos to Snickers and Pop Tarts.

June 4, 2008
Huffington Post Green: Green Wine: Bag-In-Box Has Smaller Carbon Footprint

May 10, 2008
New York Times: WHAT’S ONLINE; Blogging Against Barbie
By Dan Mitchell

…when Mattel recently issued a news release promoting its new line of Barbie BCause accessories for the doll — hats, handbags and the like — it was too much for the blogger on Eco Child’s Play, Jennifer Lance.

”The eco-conscious young girls I know of steer clear of Barbie,” she wrote. ”Truly green families will not be fooled by Mattel’s greenwashing.”

April 22, 2008
FOX KRIV Houston, TX: Website Gives You the ‘Green Options’ (Video)

Blogroll and Green Directory List

On this page, we’d like to introduce you to some of our friends in the green blogosphere. When you want to explore outside of the Green Options network, you can check out the sites below for further environmental information and inspiration.

Green Sites

Earth2Tech

EcoGeek

Environmental Graffiti

Environmental News Network

Green Living Ideas

Greensearch

Grist

Huddler GreenHome

Inhabitat

Lazy Environmentalist

Low Impact Living

Max Gladwell: Social Media and Green Living

The Alternative Consumer

thedailygreen

Triplepundit

WebEcoist

Green Directories

Best Green Blogs

BlogCatalog - Environmental Listings

EcoBusinessLinks - Green Directory

The Green Directory

Earth & Economy

We Like

HolidayLEDs.com

CleanTechies Blog

Scientific American Environment News

Internships

We are currently recruiting for two summer internship positions:

Web Publishing Internship

All interns must be current college students who will receive credit for their internship. Keep reading for more details.

Web Publishing Internship

Do you care about the environment? The future? Want to make a difference, or at least start learning how? It starts here.

Company Profile:
GreenOptions.com is an online media community geared toward empowering sustainable choices. Despite the amount of green information out there, we know that many people are still hunting for practical, personal knowledge that allows them to live a more eco-friendly lifestyle without breaking their budget or seriously sacrificing comfort and convenience.

We provide a place for average people to connect with whatever aspects of the green movement appeal to them, and make informed decisions that allow them to live a responsible, healthy and abundant life.

Job Description: Green Options is now accepting applications for Summer Web Publishing Interns. Responsibilities will include assisting the writers in our blog network with promotion, through use of social media. You will have the opportunity to learn about Search Engine Optimization through participating in various projects to improve our visibility in the search engines. You will also help with researching other blogs and websites for networking opportunities, as well as contribute to our Community Forums. There may also be opportunities for editing, and writing for our network.

For a list of our network blogs, and community features, check out the Green Options homepage.

Required Skills: We are looking for web-savvy interns with great online research skills. Knowledge of and interest in specific green topics is important, as well as a willingness to help out with both the fun and the tedious projects. Ideally interns will have knowledge or be users of social media sites such as Digg and StumbleUpon. Prior experience using WordPress is also helpful, as well as general proofreading abilities. Great communication skills and an ability to learn quickly are key.

Our company is run collaboratively with offices in San Francisco and St. Louis, with remote staff throughout the country. Your work can largely be done virtually, although preference will be given to candidates local to our offices. Interns should feel comfortable working independently, and virtually.

Time Commitment: All GO internships are unpaid and require a three-month or semester-long commitment, with a minimum of 10 hours of work per week. Internships are available only to currently enrolled college students, who will receive credit for the experience. Applications will be accepted on an ongoing basis until our openings are filled. Anticipated start date in May/June.

To Apply: Please send your resume and cover letter to internships@greenoptions.com with the subject line “Summer Web Publishing Internship”

Green Options Media Feeds

Below are all of the syndication feeds available from Green Options Media. If you’re new to RSS feeds, check out our informational FAQ to the right.

All Green Options Network Blogs

Do you want everything Green Options has to offer from every blog in our network? We like you already! Our global Green Options feed is for you.

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Blog Feeds

If you would rather subscribe to your favorite individual blogs, these feeds are what you’re looking for.

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Author Feeds

We have a few dozen of the best writers in the green blogosphere, and not enough column inches to list them all here. The good news is that each of them has their own RSS Feed.

To subscribe an Author’s Feed, click on their name in the byline of any blog post. You’ll find that author’s feed in the “Stay Up to Date” box on the subsequent page.

Twitter Icon Twitter Feeds

Green Building Elements

Cleantechnica

EcoLocalizer

Eat. Drink. Better.

Red, Green, and Blue

Planetsave

EcoWorldly

Gas 2.0

Ecopreneurist

Crafting a Green World

Ecoscraps

FeelGood Style

The Inspired Economist

How Can I Subscribe to Green Options Content?

You can subscribe to Green Options content with our email summary or by using our RSS feeds.

What Is RSS and Why Is it Useful?

RSS iconRSS stands for Really Simple Syndication, and it’s a convenient way for you to stay up to date on the latest content from your favorite blogs. You can read the most recent posts from all of the blogs you’re subscribed to on a single website or a single screen on your desktop — called a feed aggregator or feedreader. All of the Green Options Media blogs (and many of our special features!) offer RSS feeds.

How Do I Subscribe to Green Options RSS Feeds?

To subscribe to an RSS feed for a given blog or subject listed to the left, copy (right-click and select “Copy Link Location” or “Copy Shortcut”) and paste the feed URL into the appropriate window in the feedreader you’re using.

After you have subscribed, our latest content will appear automatically in your feedreader within minutes after we post it. You can quickly scan the headlines and decide which ones to click on and read.

What Programs Can I Use to Sign Up for RSS feeds?

You can subscribe to RSS feeds using either a web-based feedreader that you view in a browser window or with a software application you download onto your computer. There are dozens of excellent options that are free and easy to use. Here are a few that we recommend:

Web-based Feedreaders:

Software Applications:

Green Options Vortex Widget

Take Green Options wherever you go on the web! You can easily copy it to your website, blog, personal start page ( i.e. Netvibes, iGoogle, and Pageflakes) or computer desktop to stay on top of the latest Green Options news and information. To get started, click the “copy me” button at the bottom of the Vortex, then click “Everything else.” To learn more, go to www.vortexme.info.

[vortex_widget]

Terms of Use

Terms of Use (effective as of November 30, 2007)

Welcome to the Green Options Media network (a service of GreenWeb, Inc.). By accessing and using Green Options Media sites and its services (the “Service”) you are agreeing to be legally bound by these Terms of Use.

1. GENERAL.
GreenWeb, Inc. (”GO”) may change these Terms of Use from time to time so be sure to check back periodically. Your use of the Service after any changes have been posted will constitute your agreement to the modified Terms of Use. You understand and agree that GO may discontinue or change GreenOptions.com and/or the Service at any time, without notice. You also understand and agree that GO may discontinue or restrict your use of the Service for any reason without notice and without any liability to you. In addition, when using GreenOptions.com and the Service, you shall be subject to any posted guidelines or rules applicable to the Service, which may be posted from time to time and which are hereby incorporated by reference into these Terms of Use.

2. COPYRIGHT.
The content displayed on sites in the Green Options Media network, including the selection, arrangement, and design (”Content”) is the property of GO or its licensors, and is protected by copyright and other intellectual property laws. The Content may be used only for your personal and non-commercial use and may not be edited or modified for any purpose. By accessing Green Options, you agree not to reproduce, retransmit, distribute, disseminate, display, sell, publish, broadcast or circulate the Content to anyone, except that you may occasionally reproduce, distribute, display or transmit an insubstantial portion of Content, for a noncommercial purpose, to a limited number of individuals, provided you use the phrase “Used with permission from GreenOptions.com, a service of GreenWeb, Inc.” All rights not expressly granted herein are hereby reserved.

GO does not claim ownership of the Content you submit or make available for inclusion on Green Options. The Content is the property of the author of such Content. You agree to grant GO a perpetual, royalty-free and irrevocable right and license to use, reproduce, modify, adapt, publish, translate, distribute, transmit, publicly display, publicly perform, sublicense, create derivative works from, transfer, and sell such Content in any format now known or hereafter created, and to use your name and other identifying information you provide in connection with that Content. You also permit any visitor or member of Green Options to use such Content for personal use as described above.

If you believe in good faith that any Content infringes your copyright, you may send us a notice requesting that the material be removed though we cannot guarantee that any action will be taken as a result of your correspondence. Notices should be sent to copyright@GreenOptions.com.

3. DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTIES AND LIABILITY. You agree that your access to, and use of, the Service and the Content available in the Green Options Media network is on an “as-is”, “as available” basis. Sites in the Green Options Media network include facts, views, opinions and recommendations of individuals and organizations deemed of interest, and GO does not endorse these views, opinions and recommendations. GO specifically disclaims any representations or warranties, express or implied, as to GO and the Content, including, without limitation, any representations or warranties of accuracy, completeness, timeliness, noninfringement, merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. GO will not be liable to you or anyone else for any loss or injury caused in whole or part by its negligence or contingencies beyond its control in procuring, compiling, interpreting, reporting or delivering Green Options and the Content. In no event will GO be liable to you or anyone else for any decision made or action taken by you in reliance on the Content. GO shall not be liable to you or anyone else for any damages (including, without limitation, consequential, special, incidental, indirect, or similar damages), other than direct damages, even if advised of the possibility of such damages. Because some states or jurisdictions do not allow the exclusion or limitation of liability for damages or the exclusion of certain types of warranties, parts or all of the above limitation may not apply to you.

4. LINKS TO THIRD PARTY SITES.
Green Options may contain hyperlinks to web sites operated by persons other than GO. You agree not to hold GO responsible for the content or operation of such web sites. A hyperlink from Green Options to another web site does not imply or mean that GO endorses the content on that web site or the operator or operations of that site. You are solely responsible for determining the extent to which you may use any content at any other web sites to which you might link from Green Options.

5. ADDITIONAL LEGAL TERMS.
These Terms of Use, your rights and obligations, and all actions contemplated by these Terms of Use will be governed by the laws of the United States of America and the State of California, as if these Terms of Use were a contract wholly entered into and wholly performed within the State of California. These Terms of Use will not be governed by the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods. If any provision in these Terms of Use is invalid or unenforceable under applicable law, the remaining provisions will continue in full force and effect, and the invalid or unenforceable provision will be deemed superseded by a valid, enforceable provision that most closely matches the intent of the original provision. These Terms of Use are the entire and final agreement regarding Green Options and its Content, and supersede any prior or contemporaneous communications between GO and you regarding Green Options and its Content.

6. USER OBLIGATIONS.

(a) In consideration of your use of the Service, you represent that you are of legal age to form a binding contract and are not a person barred from receiving services under the laws of the United States or other applicable jurisdiction. You agree to provide true, accurate, current and complete information about yourself upon registration and thereafter. You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your password and account, and are fully responsible for all activities that occur under your password or account. You agree to immediately notify Green Options of any unauthorized use of your password or account or any other breach of security. GO cannot and will not be liable for any loss or damage arising from your failure to comply with this Section 6. You agree to comply with all local rules regarding online conduct and acceptable Content, including all applicable laws regarding the transmission of technical data exported from the United States or the country in which you reside.
(b) You agree not to use GreenOptions.com or the Service to:

1. upload, post, email, transmit or otherwise make available (“Post”) any Content:

• that is unlawful, harmful, threatening, abusive, harassing, tortious, defamatory, vulgar, obscene, libelous, false or inaccurate, invasive of another’s privacy, hateful, or racially, ethnically or otherwise objectionable;

• that you do not have a right to make available under any law or under contractual or fiduciary relationships (such as inside information, proprietary and confidential information learned or disclosed as part of employment relationships or under nondisclosure agreements); or

• that infringes any patent, trademark, trade secret, copyright or other proprietary rights (”Rights”) of any party;

2. harm minors in any way;
3. impersonate any person or entity, or falsely state or otherwise misrepresent your affiliation with a person or entity;
4. Post any unsolicited or unauthorized advertising, promotional materials, “junk mail,” “spam,” “chain letters,” “pyramid schemes,” or any other form of solicitation;
5. Post any material that contains software viruses or any other computer code, files or programs designed to interrupt, destroy or limit the functionality of any computer software or hardware or telecommunications equipment;
6. interfere with or disrupt the Service or servers or networks connected to the Service, or disobey any requirements, procedures, policies or regulations of networks connected to the Service;
7. violate any applicable local, state, national or international law, intentionally or unintentionally;
8. “stalk” or otherwise harass another; and/or
9. collect or store personal data about other users.
(c) You agree to be fully responsible for your own Content. GreenOptions.com acts as a venue for you to Post your Content. While GO has the right to refuse to post or remove, edit or abridge any Content for any reason, it is otherwise not involved in the writing or decisions as to the Content of its users. As a result, GO has no control over the quality, accuracy or legality of the Content in the Green Options Media network. All Content posted on GreenOptions.com and in the Green Options Media network is the sole responsibility of the person from whom such Content originated. Because the Green Options Media network is a venue, in the event that you have a dispute with a user of Green Options and its Service, you release GO and its officers, members and employees from claims, demands and damages (actual and consequential) of every kind and nature, known and unknown, suspected and unsuspected, disclosed and undisclosed, arising out of or in any way connected with such disputes.
(d) You agree to indemnify and hold GO and its officers, members and employees harmless from any claims, damages, losses or costs (including reasonable attorney’s fees) that arise out of any of your Content, including, without limitation, any Content posted or otherwise provided by you that infringes any copyright, trademark, intellectual property right of any person or defames any person or violates any person’s rights of publicity or privacy, or otherwise violates these Terms of Use.

7. TRADEMARK INFORMATION. The Green Options and Green Options Media logos, Green Options, GO, Greening the Good Life, and the other trademarks, service marks, logos and trade names displayed Green Options (the “GO Marks”) are the trademarks of GO. You agree not to display or use the GO Marks in any manner without GO’s prior written consent.

Jobs

Click here for current Internship Positions

Green Options is Looking for a Contract Ad Sales Representative

Green Options Media is looking for an experienced and effective ad sales representative for our portfolio of green lifestyle blogs and web tools.

Your expertise and energy will help us succeed in our mission to provide information and decision-making tools for consumers as they choose options for more sustainable lifestyles.

Green Options Media provides an exciting opportunity to contribute to an early-stage company and to put your professional skills to use in ways that do good for others and the environment.

If you are highly motivated and experienced online advertising sales representative, who wants to make a big impact in your career and in the world, Green Options is for you.

Our Culture:
While we see the need for innovative solutions to our (the world’s) problems, we are not treehuggers or hippies per se. We believe market-based solutions are the key to reaching true sustainability. We’ve tried government and policy work and have seen the lack of success that intelligent, well-meaning people have had at effecting change; we are entrepreneurs supporting change at the individual level, knowing that through the emerging possibilities of the Internet, we can make a significant difference.

We are passionate about what we are doing and are highly cooperative, using web-based collaboration tools for efficiency. As a team of self-motivated professionals with diverse skills, we expect everyone to both take responsibility for specific projects and demonstrate leadership, but to also share information widely and to take input from the rest of the team.

Initial Responsibilities
• Develop new advertising prospects through cold calling, your personal network, attending networking events, and other marketing initiatives (to be supported by the Green Options Media marketing team)
• Complete proposals, negotiate sales, and close ad buys
• Evaluate results and performance for clients and provide advice for optimizing campaigns
• Participate in strategy sessions with the Green Options Media team to provide high value for advertising clients
• Manage ad client relationships for optimal satisfaction

Necessary Skills and Characteristics:
Because you will be key to increasing our revenue and helping us build the company, your ambition and creativity will shine. You will be self-directed much of the time but will be joining an experienced ad sales director and our team of marketing and editorial professionals, so excellent people skills are important.

At least two years of ad sales experience with a verifiable track record are required.

Since we are a technology-based and collaborative company, you will have knowledge of, and ideally experience in using, 37 Signals online tools (particularly Basecamp) as well as Google Docs. You should be comfortable with RSS feeds, and ideally use them to keep up on daily news in your personal life.

And, perhaps it goes without saying, but your love of the environment and a passion for helping more and more people “green” their lives should be evident to all around you.

Growth Opportunities:
We are a young and highly ambitious group. As you help us grow, you can hire support for your areas of responsibility and manage a larger portion of the operations.

Compensation:
This is a contract position (at least initially) with commission-based compensation to reward your results.

How to Apply:
Please send a resume with cover letter explaining why you can more than excel in this position to adsaleshiring@greenoptions.com (Only submissions with letters can be considered.)

Green Options Privacy Policy

GREEN OPTIONS MEDIA PRIVACY POLICY

This privacy statement covers all of the GREEN OPTIONS MEDIA sites (”GOM Sites”). Please read this statement carefully before using proceeding to access GOM Sites. Your use of GOM Sites indicates your agreement to abide by the Terms in effect.

Information Collection
Green Options Media is the sole owner of the information collected on the GOM Sites. Green Options Media may collect information from our users at several different points on the GOM Sites.

Comments
In order to enhance their use of the GOM Sites, users can choose to leave comments on particular articles of interest. Commenters may register anonymously. However, if a third party complains that a comment breaches our Terms of Service (e.g. libels them), then in accordance with our Terms, we will make reasonable efforts to contact the commenter and alert them to the situation. If we are required to by law to disclose commenters’ contact information, we will attempt to contact commenters to give them the opportunity to respond to such requests. Please refer to our Terms of Use for more information.

Mailing Lists
Green Options Media may launch a mailing list for some or all of the GOM Sites, in order to provide subscribers with relevant information - breaking news, or weekly or daily round-ups, for example. In order to sign up to receive regular emails from a site’s mailing list, users must submit information including a valid email address and demographic information such as location and interests. This information will be used in aggregate form only in order to assess general user interest in various internal and third party products and services, and your personal and contact information will not be passed to any other organization.

Users who choose to sign up for a mailing list will receive regular emails from the site. Most of the time, these will be content from the site in question, but we may occasionally send out an email from a third party sponsor. This will be infrequent, and does not represent an endorsement by Green Options Media of any products advertised therein. It will clearly be marked as advertising: please check it out, as we hope you will feel that it is relevant to you. Since editorial independence is critical to us, you can be sure that we will never send out a sponsored email in the guise of a glowing product review. If you do not wish to receive emails from third party advertisers, please do not sign up for the mailing list.

Discussion Group and Cookies
In order to further enhance the user experience, Green Options Media runs a commenting service on some or all of the GOM Sites where users can discuss common topics of interest. Users have the option of signing up for this service, and to do so must submit information including a valid email address. Green Options Media uses this information to screen out users who leave comments prohibited by our terms and conditions of use and to pick out topics of interest to discussion board users. Green Options Media will not pass this information to any other organization except in aggregate form.

The discussion board service may use cookies. A cookie is a piece of data stored on the user’s computer tied to information about the user. We may use both session ID cookies and persistent cookies. For the session ID cookie, once users close the browser, the cookie simply terminates. A persistent cookie is a small text file stored on the user?s hard drive for an extended period of time. Persistent cookies can be removed by following Internet browser help file directions.

By setting a cookie on a GOM Site, users will not have to log in a password more than once, thereby saving time while on the site?s discussion board. We store a cookie on each user’s machine that contains a username and encrypted password. You can configure your browser to accept all cookies, reject all cookies, or notify you when a cookie is set. If you reject all cookies, you will not be able to use Green Options Media products or services that require you to “sign in,” and you may not be able to take full advantage of all offerings. However, not all Green Options Media services require that you accept cookies.

Third Party Cookies
Some of our business partners may use cookies on our site (for example, advertisers). However, Green Options Media has no access to or control over these cookies, once we have given permission for them to set cookies for advertising. This privacy statement covers the use of cookies by Green Options Media only and does not cover the use of cookies by any advertisers.

Third Party Advertising The ads appearing on this Web site are delivered to you by web advertising partners. Information about your visits to this site, such as number of times you have viewed an ad, is used to serve ads to you.

Google Advertising
Some ads appearing on this Web site are delivered to users by Google, among other services. Information about users’ visits to this site, such as number of times they have viewed an ad (but not username, date of birth, or any other personal information), is used to serve Google ads to users on this site. For more information about Google and cookies, please click here.

Links
The GOM Sites contain links to other sites. Please be aware that Green Options Media is not responsible for the privacy practices of such other sites. We encourage our users to be aware when they leave our site and to read the privacy statements of each and every Web site that collects personally identifiable information. This privacy statement applies solely to information collected by Green Options Media.

Log Files
Like most standard Web site servers we use log files. This includes internet protocol (IP) addresses, browser type, internet service provider (ISP), referring/exit pages, platform type, date/time stamp, and number of clicks to analyze trends, administer the site, track user’s movement in the aggregate, and gather broad demographic information for aggregate use. IP addresses, etc. are not linked to personally identifiable information. We may use a tracking utility that uses log files to analyze user movement.

Business Transitions
In the event Green Options Media goes through a business transition, such as a merger, acquisition by another company, or sale of a portion of its assets, users’ personal information will, in most instances, be part of the assets transferred.

Legal Disclaimer
Though we make every effort to preserve user privacy, Green Options Media may need to disclose personal information when required by law wherein we have a good-faith belief that such action is necessary to comply with a current judicial proceeding, a court order or legal process served on any of the GOM Sites.

Notification of Changes
Whenever Green Options Media changes its privacy policy, we will post those changes to this privacy statement, and other places we deem appropriate so our users are always aware of what information we collect, how we use it, and under what circumstances, if any, we disclose it.

Contact Information
If you have any questions or suggestions regarding our privacy policy, please contact the editor of the GOM site in question, or send an email to editors AT greenoptions.com, or by mail to Green Options Media, 351 California St. Suite 950, San Francisco, CA 94104.

Contact

Advertisers

Please see our online media kit.

Got a story tip or idea?

Contact our press release desk:

News and Opinion Coverage: PR-NO [at] greenoptions.com

Family and Lifestyle Coverage: PR-FL [at] greenoptions.com

Business and Technology Coverage: PR-BT [at] greenoptions.com

Something wrong with one of our sites?

Let us know here.

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Journals


Users


About Green Options Media

Empowering Sustainable Choices

Green Options Media’s rapidly growing network of environmentally-focused blogs provides users with a broad spectrum of information for making sustainable choices. Launched in February, 2007, Green Options Media has grown into a leader among “green” news and information sources aimed at general audiences.

Written by experienced professionals and topic experts, Green Options Media’s individual blogs engage visitors with authoritative content, compelling discussions, and actionable advice. Users new to the “green life” can contribute to the conversation by joining in dialogue between our writers and visitors on individual blogs. We don’t preach to the choir, or require a commitment to our vision: we invite anyone with questions, or simply curiosity, to add their voices to the community, and share their approaches to achieving abundance while lightening their environmental footprint.

GO Media was acquired in Q4 of 2008 by activism startup Virgance. Starting in February, 2010, GO Media will be undergoing another transition — the current 10 blogs are being reorganized into a new network by original founder David Anderson.

Want to get involved? Send email to david [at] greenoptions [dot] com (please no press releases)

News

June 23, 2008
San Diego Business Journal: Could Perks of Clean-Diesel Engines Offset Higher Fuel Costs? Jetta BlueTDI Arriving Here in August, Mercedes BlueTec Expected By Fall
By Liz Wiedemann, San Diego Business Journal Staff

When diesel fuel prices jumped higher than gasoline prices a year and a half ago, some expected to see the price go back down.

Cornell says not to bank on it.

“I don’t see it coming down — not anytime soon,” he said.

June 16, 2008
ABC News: Cars of Tomorrow May Help Us Kick Oil Habit. Three Competing Technologies That May Someday End Big Oil’s Grip on Consumers
By Tuan C. Nguyen

Cornell of greenoptions, who lives with a roommate in a two-person house, admits it would be a “tough” situation if they both owned plug-in vehicles that needed to be charged. Still, he doesn’t see such a problem as a “deal breaker.”

“If a car like that was available in an affordable price range, I’m sure we would figure something out,” he says.

June 6 2008
Lifehacker: Less Junky Alternatives to Popular Junk Food

Weblog Eat Drink Better rounds up several healthier and more environmentally friendly alternatives to popular junk food, from Oreos and Doritos to Snickers and Pop Tarts.

June 4, 2008
Huffington Post Green: Green Wine: Bag-In-Box Has Smaller Carbon Footprint

May 10, 2008
New York Times: WHAT’S ONLINE; Blogging Against Barbie
By Dan Mitchell

…when Mattel recently issued a news release promoting its new line of Barbie BCause accessories for the doll — hats, handbags and the like — it was too much for the blogger on Eco Child’s Play, Jennifer Lance.

”The eco-conscious young girls I know of steer clear of Barbie,” she wrote. ”Truly green families will not be fooled by Mattel’s greenwashing.”

April 22, 2008
FOX KRIV Houston, TX: Website Gives You the ‘Green Options’ (Video)

Audience


Specs

<h4>Green Options offers a variety of advertising options, from text links to entire pages dedicated to the advertiser. Allow us to create an advertising program that meets your marketing objectives.</h4>
These ad spots are available on all Green Options Media blogs.

Contest Rules

To provide fair and equal chance of winning to all Green Options Media readers, the following are the official rules for all contests on Green Options Media websites.

NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. PURCHASE WILL NOT IMPROVE CHANCES OF WINNING.

All winners must be 18 years of age or older, unless otherwise stated and/or posted.

1. Entering Contests and Choosing and Contacting Winners
Winners of random email contests will be chosen at random from emails received.

Entrants must send entries using the correct contest entry email address, subject line, and any other specific entry information requested in the contest announcement. Green Options Media is not responsible for and will not consider incomplete or incorrect entries, or emails sent but not received by Green Options Media for any reason, as potential contest winners.

Winners of all contests will be contacted at the “sender” email address used to enter the contest, and the person receiving and replying to the winner announcement email will be considered the winner unless they specify another person within the reply email as the winner. Green Options Media will mail the contest prize to the address supplied by the recipient of the winner announcement email.

Only one entry per email address used to send the email will be considered for contest entry, unless multiple entries are specifically allowed in the contest posting. Unless otherwise specified in an individual contest post, no person may enter any contest more than once using multiple email addresses.

Claiming of prizes requires an email response to Green Options Media from the winning sender email address within 30 days of being notified of winning at the email address used to enter. Failure to respond shall mean that the winner forfeits the prize. Green Options Media is not required to award elsewhere any prizes forfeited by the chosen winner(s).

2. Submission of photo, text or other content for Contests
Entries selected for display and to win “best of” contests and any other contests requiring photo, text or other content from the entrants will be judged entirely at the discretion of Green Options Media.

By submitting any photo or information to Green Options Media, you hereby grant to Green Options Media and its affiliates, subsidiaries, licensees and assigns, an irrevocable, perpetual and royalty-free right to use, reproduce, edit, display, transmit, prepare derivative works of, modify, publish and otherwise make use of the submitted photo or other information in any and all media, whether now known or hereinafter created, throughout the world and for any purpose. In addition to other things, the rights granted to Green Options Media includes but is not limited to the right to resize, crop, censor, compress, edit, feature, caption, affix logos to, and to otherwise alter or make use of the submitted photo;

By submitting any photo or information to Green Options Media, you hereby represent and warrant that the submitted photo or information does not and shall not infringe on any copyright, any rights of privacy or publicity of any person, or any other right of any third party, and you have the right to grant any and all rights and licenses granted to Green Options Media herein, including but not limited to all necessary rights under copyright, free and clear of any claims or encumbrances;

You acknowledge and agree that Green Options Media shall have no obligation to post, display or otherwise make publicly available any photo or information submitted by you, and may, in its sole and unfettered discretion, remove, edit, modify or delete any photo or information that you submit to Green Options Media;

You understand and intend that any photo or information submitted by you to Green Options Media may be available for viewing, rating, review and comment on by the public, and understand that comments or ratings with which you disagree or are unhappy about may be published or otherwise become associated with any photo or information you submit to Green Options Media. By submitting any photo or information to Green Options Media, you hereby waive any privacy expectations that you may have with respect to any such photo or information submitted by you to Green Options Media.

You hereby agree to hold Green Options Media and its affiliates, subsidiaries, licensees sponsors and assigns harmless from and against, and hereby waive any right to pursue, any claims of any nature arising in connection with the inclusion in, publication via or display on any Green Options Media site, or any other use authorized under these Terms, of any photo or information submitted to Green Options Media by you;

Photos or information submitted by you to the Site shall be the property of Green Options Media, and Green Options Media shall have no obligation to preserve, return or otherwise make available to you or others any photos or information so submitted.

3. Awarding Prizes
Winners are solely responsible for all taxes and/or fees that may be incurred. All cash winners are required to verify proper and legal picture identification and Social Security number within 30 days of notification of winning the cash prize. Winner may forfeit any and all cash winnings if verification cannot or has not been made within 30 days. Upon proper verification, cash winnings will be awarded by check, and mailed to winner’s mailing address within seven (7) business days.

Each prizewinner must supply Green Options Media with his/her legal name, mailing address, birth date, daytime and nighttime telephone numbers. In the case of a cash winner, winner must also supply social security number.

Winners may not request substitutions of prize winnings. All winners are solely responsible for any and all taxes and/or fees, and all such additional costs that may be incurred.

Neither Green Options Media, Green Options Media sponsors, nor employees of Green Options Media or sponsors may be held liable for any warranty, costs, damage, injury, or any other claims incurred as a result of usage of any winners of a prize once possession has been taken of the product by winner. Green Options Media is not liable for any loss arising out of or in connection with or resulting from any contest promoted by Green Options Media.

If the specified prize becomes unavailable due to unforeseen circumstances, Green Options Media may substitute a prize of like or equal value.

Management, employees and families of Green Options Media are prohibited from winning any prizes awarded by Green Options Media

Green Options Media reserves the right to alter any rules of any contest at anytime. If you have any questions or complaints about a Green Options Media contest, please contact communitymanager AT Green Options.com.