GRANDE PRAIRIE WINS THE FIRST GREEN GROUCH 50-CITY CHALLENGE!
Congratulations to everybody in Grande Prairie for winning the first GREEN GROUCH Fifty-City Challenge. A special thank you to Michelle Gairdner of Grande Prairie for being the driving force that really got the whole challenge started. It was her actions in bringing the idea to Grande Prairie City Council that got the whole thing in motion. If you are interested in knowing what's happening with The GREEN GROUCH, we will post on this page periodically to keep you updated. Thank you to EVERYBODY who participated!
PLEASE SUPPORT OUR CAMPAIGN FOR WARNING LABELS ON PAPER CUPS
Click Here to See Our New Video About Warning Labels on Paper Cups!
On August 22, 2011 we launched a campaign to lobby the Federal Government to require warning labels on paper cups. We want people to know that, not only are paper cups NOT made from recycled material, but they're also NOT RECYCLED, because of the polyethelene coating on them. In addition, paper cups give off methane gas in landfill,which has
23-times the heat trapping power
of carbon dioxide. We really do need warning labels on paper cups!
Click Here to See Our Warning Label Video!
We very much hope that you will strongly support this campaign by telling as many people as possible about it. We're hoping that Canada will be the first Country in the world to require these warning labels.
If you would like to sign our petition that will be presented to various governments, please click the link below.
Click Here to Sign Paper Cup Warning Label Petition
We've also finished filming a new live action video with our GREEN GROUCH character. We're hoping it's funny enough to attract a lot more attention to the site! However, due to time constraints, this new video will not be on the site for some time.
Click Here to See The Studio Where We just filmed a New Green Grouch Video
BRAND NEW - YOUR OWN PERSONALIZED GREEN REPORT
On June 22, 2011 we launched a new feaure that gives you your own PERSONAL GREEN REPORT. It lets you know how green you are, according to all your entries on the weekly checklist. It details your participation rate, and let you know what your strengths and weakness are, as far as mother earth is concerned. It's available RIGHT NOW! Click the link below to see your very own GREEN REPORT.
Click Here to See Your Own Personal GREEN REPORT!
ARCHIVE ISLAND - BOOK PREMIERE
We're happy to announce that a new book titled "Archive Island" is making its worldwide premiere on the GREEN GROUCH website. The first fifty pages are available to members of the GREEN GROUCH community. Click the link below to read the first fifty pages!
In the year 2361 Archive Island is the only free nation on earth. The rest of the world falls under the rule of the militaristic United World Government (UWG), which was created through a motion at the United Nations. Military rule was needed to enforce drastic changes necessary to protect the planet.
Archive Island was created to preserve the history of how earth used to be. Everyone living in the shadow of the UWG dreams of being selected to study at the University of Archivilla (pronounced 'ark-uh-vill-ee-uh') on Archive Island. It's the only place on earth where you can speak freely, create art, own a car, and hear the voices of a society that flourished long ago.
Unlike other futuristic books you may have read, Archive Island isn't really about the future. It's about looking at our world through a different lens. This website was selected to introduce Archive Island because both share similar themes. The GREEN GROUCH is all about getting people to start making lifestyle changes necessary to protect the planet. Archive Island is partly a cautionary tale about what will happen if we don't! To read the first fifty pages of the Archive Island book, click the link below!
For those interested, one episode of an Archive Island radio drama has been created. Click the link below to hear it.
New Social Networking Feature Launched
We just launched our new social networking tool (messaging system) on May 11!
Click Here to Try Out Our New Messaging System!
We know we'll never be Facebook, and that's not our intention. But, we think we might have a unique way to increase referrals AND help people make new friends! This new feature allows you to
contact anybody that you have referred,
or anybody that referred you.
Here's how it works: Let's say you chat with somebody while you're waiting in line for coffee. You mention the Green Grouch website and encourage them to participate. To get more points for your city, you recommend that they enter your
referral code
when they sign up. If they do, it will show up on your Message System page and you will be able to
send them a message!
So, we recommend that you make sure you know your
referral code
(check the REFER OTHERS page), and start
giving it out
to people you want to meet. It's an excellent way to make new friends. Maybe you don't want to hassle your family, friends, or co-workers to be a bit greener. Why not hassle strangers instead, and turn them into friends? The Green Grouch wants you to
make new friends
Click here
if you have any concerns, questions, or input about this new feature.
Red Deer Takes First Place
After weeks of hard work, Red Deer has broken out into first place in Canada's first 50 City Green challenge! The Green Grouch team thanks Mayor Flewwelling for accepting the challenge from Grande Prairie's Bill Given and getting Red Deer into the race. There's still lots of time for a Grande Prairie comeback!
Presentation to Lethbridge City Council
The GREEN GROUCH team made a presentation to Lethbridge City Council on Monday, May 16. We're trying to convince them to join in the challenge. It will be much more interesting with another city participating! We're keeping our fingers crossed that their environmental committee will pass a motion to recommend that Lethbridge formally get involved, and then bring a motion to Council! Lethbridge already has some great environmental policies, and joining the challenge will be just one more way the city leaders can show their citizens that they care.
Letter Sent Out to Mayors Across Canada
Recently, Mayors across Canada were sent a
letter
(by email) from the GREEN GROUCH website inviting them to follow the lead of Mayors
Bill Given
of Grande Prairie and Morris Flewwelling of
Red Deer.
Both of these Mayors passed motions in their respective Councils to formally support the GREEN GROUCH fifty-city challenge. Bill Given also sent out a
letter
challenging the Mayors of Edmonton, Calgary, Red Deer and Lethbridge to beat them in
eco points
on the system. It will be very interesting to see which Mayors respond to our request.
We've started a
list
to report which Mayors are
supporting this project,
and we'll update it and post their names in the order that they respond. Stay tuned!
Waiting on Calgary, Edmonton, and Lethbridge
We're still waiting to hear from Mayor Naheed Nenshi of Calgary, Mayor Stephen Mandel of Edmonton and Mayor Rajko Dodic of Lethbridge to see if they care about helping to make being green FUN. We're very surprised that we didn't hear back from Naheed Nenshi (we sent him an email), as he talked so much during the Calgary Election campaign about how much of a priority the environment is to him. He even made headlines during a recent trip to Toronto for being the Green Mayor that rides the subway system. It will be interesting to see which Mayor will be the last to join the challenge.
Mayor Bill Given of Grande Prairie
was the first, and I would like to point out that he initiated the challenge on his own - THE SIGN OF A TRUE LEADER!
Send us Your Ideas For Our Talking Figure
We want to make our fifty city challenge fun! To make it fun, give us some ideas for what you would like our talking figure to say. Also, she doesn't have a name, so we don't know what to call her. Please send us your suggestions.
Click Here
to send us your ideas!
New Referral Card Available
We’ve created a new
referral card
to help you gain more points for your city. You get five bonus points every time somebody enters your
referral code
when they sign up. Simply write down your
referral code
in the spaces provide, and keep a few of them with you. They’re a great conversation starter, and they're going to work really well with the new
social networking feature
that we just launched. Click one of the links below to get the referral card in a format that’s best for you.
Remember, to encourage more personalized referrals (verbal, personal email, Facebook, etc) the referral box only shows up on the new account page if somebody comes to the site directly (ie, not from the link our system emails).
Click one of the links below to print out your own GREEN GROUCH referral card!
Colour PDF
Black & White PDF
Black & White JPG
Open Source Document
Grande Prairie Challenge
Click Here to See Letter From Grande Prairie Mayor (distributed with permission)
The Mayor of Grande Prairie, Bill Given, has sent a
letter
challenging the Mayors of Edmonton, Calgary, Red Deer, and Lethbridge to beat them in our Green Challenge. The Grande Prairie City Council has truly shown leadership in supporting this challenge. Red Deer City council formally passed a motion to join the challenge on Monday, March 21, 2011.
But, what has the response been from the Mayors of Edmonton, Calgary and Lethbridge? If you are in one of these cities and don’t feel your City Council is doing enough to support this challenge, why not contact your Mayor or local news media? Here are some numbers for you:
Edmonton Mayor's Office – 780-496-8100
Edmonton Radio 91.7 (The Bounce) - 780 424-2222
Calgary Mayor's Office – 403-268-5622
Calgary Lite 96 CHFM - 403-246-9696
Lethbridge Mayor's Office - 403 320-3823
Lethbridge 107.7 (The River) - 403-328-1077
GREEN GROUCH Media Page
There have been a number of stories in the media about the Green Grouch, and you can find most of them on our new
media page.
We will try to keep the page up to date as new stories arise, but you can always search google to find any new ones not added to the page yet. Also on the media page, we've put up some possible story angles for media interested in a good environmental story.
Speaking of media, on March 20, 2011, the Green Grouch was interviewed on The World Today Weekend with Sean Leslie on Vancouver's
CKNW radio.
Please Recommend us on Facebook
One of the easiest things you can to do help the planet is to click the RECOMMEND
button at the top of this page to recommend us on Facebook. A box should pop up allowing you to type in your own comments with the recommend. If you know your referral code, you could include it with your personal message (you can see your referral code on the
REFER OTHERS
page). Remember, by helping eco-friendly businesses succeed, you are also helping the planet!
Click Here to See The Status of Your Referrals
Click Here to See Your Referral Tree
