Greeniac 1 is a new voice in the Going Green movement. He prefers to be anonymous, fueling efforts to inform rather than seeking fame, or even recognition. I spoke with him by phone recently and he talked about his new website, www.greeniacs.com. He expressed his concern that the present green advocacy is creating a back lash. Greeniac 1 does not call himself an environmentalist, but a technicalist; he looks at the data and trends. For whatever reason, the data shows that early environmentalists in the late 50s and 60s did not resonate with everyone with their image of “space ship earth.” The trends point to their failure to inspire people to protect the planet.

The message is correct but the delivery is the problem because people don’t like to be lectured. People usually embrace freedom of choice and do better when they have the resources to make better informed decisions. They do more if it’s of their own volition and fits with their lifestyle. Greeniacs believe that if people have access to good information, they will make good choices that fit their lifestyle. "By opening the coffers of information we hope people will do as they see fit. Our research team will help find the questions people have. We’re thrilled to send people to other sites for information because we aren’t interested in mining information for resale. My directive to modify software to not obtain information meant that I had to pay extra to customize the site. Our site design is a counter-culture approach."

We talked about a major challenge for the Green Movement. It hasn’t addressed the fact that Green can be expensive and the less affluent may be discouraged from doing and thinking Green. The poor are lower on the political scale than many of those who embrace the Green movement. I mentioned my own interest in embracing diverse folks on environmental issues and my concern that the Going Green leadership appears to be mostly white folks. Greeniac 1 agreed and described a dilemma in Berkeley where a biofuel procurer needed more space and wanted to expand across the street. Unfortunately, the expansion would put a minority business out of business. The situation is a practical dilemma that is too often seen where poor neighborhoods are asked to sacrifice more than affluent ones. Too many times poor folks are told that they’re hurting the environment if they’re not wearing natural fibers while the affluent drive their expensive cars that use biofuels to go skiing at Lake Tahoe.

Greeniacs do not preach and avoid causing racial and class fault lines. No one is judging anyone else, and we should consider what people need to do to survive. “We’re Switzerland—we just educate people. I’m a simple guy. An entrepreneur, a problem solver, and was admitted to the bar many years ago, but didn’t have the right attitude to be a lawyer. I have a visual handicap that makes it hard to read. I’ve been forced to compensate for the challenge by developing auditory and memory skills and forced to think. It’s a powerful negative to be unable to access the writing of the great thinkers. Yet, I’ve always believed you play the hand you’re dealt . . . I’ve been married for 33 years and raised 2 daughters. I’m just a hard working kid from Brooklyn trying to get the lights turned on. I try to figure out “why” and somehow impact the next 40-50 years knowing the probability of one person making an impact is infinitesimal. But I’ll continue to roll up my sleeves and try to do something. I have the luxury of environmental ignorance. I don’t take a position that is confrontational; I’m a facilitator.”

Greeniac 1 has a particular interest in involving young people. They have energy and enthusiasm because they’ll see major environmental damage in their lifetime. He created the Greeniacs site to help broaden their thinking just as universities are created so that ideas can be exchanged and debated. The site launched in late September with 735 unique visitors and had almost 1,000 in the first week of December. Recently, the site acquired its own server powered by green service; setting an example for others.

Greeniacs are non-political and transcend all historical diversity and political categories. We’re all in the club; we’re on this ship together. We need to bail it out faster and faster. If we don’t succeed, the ship goes down as do we all. The press release about the launch of the website has received considerable attention. Greeniac1 is flattered and flabbergasted by the number and quality of the groups supporting the site. One member, Greeniac 831, explains the success of this approach as the result of talking about the environment with regular people, not the elite or the academics. He is President Emeritus of Stanford University and a PhD in human biology but says that academic journals don’t inspire most of us; don’t even get read. I’m inspired by the Greeniacs approach myself and recently joined. I am Greeniac 10796; there are apparently a lot of us. Go to www.Greeniacs.com and join the crew – you can’t lose.

[Article from  www.americandiversityreport.com ]

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Introducing a Green Social Network that won't sell out

San Francisco, California - In a sea of green, a growing chorus of Greeniacs are setting themselves apart.  "I've never had so much fun losing money in my life," says Greeniac1 - the Stanford-educated Greeniacs founder (who seeks no personal notoriety from www.greeniacs.com - preferring to use his Greeniacs ID for communication).  He's referring to the substantial investment he's made to launch a non-political website and social network for exchanging ideas about living green while "keeping the lifestyle you currently enjoy."  He adds, "We've built it. Now you drive it," in an open invitation to individuals and communities to take advantage of the sophisticated technology the new website delivers. 

Why greeniacs.com is different
    There are no ads and no venture capital "so the content remains pure and compelling," Greeniac1 explains.  The expansive high-tech platform lets Greeniacs easily create personal blogs and profiles, and participate in an encouraging, easy-going forum for sharing leads and lessons learned. 

    Also, the site's server and data center are powered solely by clean renewable energy generated from hydro dams.  A 15-person team of young technology and eco-researchers based in Silicon Valley and the Bay Area are in it for the long haul where the reward is an improved planet.

    Greeniac1 imagines, "What if 20,000 Greeniacs encouraged one another when buying their next car, to only purchase one that got 35 miles or more per gallon?  Notice surely would be taken.  The sky's the limit.  Being a Greeniac is going to be a hip badge of honor.  Log on and join us."

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For details and to schedule an interview,
contact Lisa Frank, FRANK RELATIONS
at 404-255-8567 or Iisafrank@greeniacs.com

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The staff at Greeniacs have all been busy learning about the many ways that we can choose earth friendly options in all aspects of our life and so, of course, we recycle in the office and buy recycled paper, support green businesses whenever possible and we are always looking for ways to improve.

We've learned that there are plenty of green choices to be made and one can still live an abundant life living "green".  What's really wonderful is that in the marketplace, which is naturally driven by supply and demand, we consumers get to vote for green products, or not, every time we make a purchase.  But we are limited to what's available.  And although times are changing, green options aren't always available or even very clear. 

Greeniacs knows that it's not easy making the shift towards considering the green implications of every little step you take.  It can start to feel very political and that's not what we're about, we're about encouraging everyone to just do what they can. Some of our staff are really green in their lifestyle and others employ a few practices in that direction... the point is that if people do what they can, when they can, gradually we will note improvements in our environment. 

Will choosing paper or plastic or bringing your own bags to the grocery store change the air quality in your neighborhood?  You won't notice a change immediately but it will certainly have an impact on your local landfill which does impact your community.  We know that every little step we take is just one more drop in the bucket, and thousands and millions of drops can add up to a tidal wave of difference over time. 

That's why Greeniacs.com is proud to announce to you that we've taken one more step in the "Green" direction. Greeniacs.com has moved it's server to a secure data center that is powered by 100% Hydroelectricity! We're just doing what we can, one step at a time.

P.S. And even if global warming isn't real, who wants to live in a polluted planet? Anything that people can do to improve air quality in the world  has got to be a good thing. 

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Greeniacs has removed the membership fee!

We are pleased to report that we have changed the model for Greeniacs.com from a membership supported model, to a completely free website. 

Why? 

There are a lot of reasons why the free model makes sense. The number one reason that stands out for us is that a free website reaches everyone, which better supports the goal of helping people to learn about being green. 

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