Official Gristmill Endorsement: Greendimes

They flattered my kids—quid pro quo! 13

A few months ago, Maywa mentioned a service called Greendimes, which -- in exchange for $5 $3 a month -- will take over the arduous task of reducing your junk mail by getting your name off distribution lists. It will also plant a tree in your name each month.

Partly thanks to procrastination and desperation, my wife and I gave the service as a Christmas gift to a few people this year, including my mother-in-law.

Here's an email exchange my MIL just had with Greendimes.

MIL:

I received a membership as a Christmas gift from my daughter and son-in-law and was delighted to learn of your organization and its efforts. As an individual, I have worked diligently for nearly 20 years to eliminate or at least minimize the amount of junk mail I receive. It truly is a never-ending task which requires frequent effort, time and money. Other people I have encouraged to follow my example have complained that it is simply "too much trouble" so they continue to add all that unwanted paper to their garbage (or here in Seattle, their recycling) cans. Now I can offer them a simple and effective alternative.

Keep up the good work!

PS I plant a tree to celebrate each of my grandchildren's birthdays, so am doubly pleased to know that my tree planting efforts are expanded through Green Dimes.

Greendimes founder Pankaj Shah:

Thank you so much!

How many grand children do you have? How about we plant some trees on their behalf, too?

MIL:

I have four...a five year old grand daughter and three grandsons aged 3-1/2, 3 and 17 months. The trees I plant represent my hope for the future of the world they will inherit.

Shah, cc'ing his assistant:

Wow, congratulations. Brigitta, send American Forests enough money to plant 400 trees (100 for each grandchild). Just figure out what the cost is and ask Lena to cut the check during the next run.

Have a great day!

Planting 100 trees for each of my kids? That earns you the Official Gristmill Endorsement. Hats off to you, Greendimes.

David Roberts is staff writer for Grist. You can follow his Twitter feed at twitter.com/drgrist.

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  1. GreenEngineer Posted 5:53 am
    23 Jan 2007

    but where?I wonder where they're planting the trees.  Makes a big difference, regardless of whether you're worried about climate change, deforestation, or ecosystem degradation (although the optimal parameters are probably different for each concern).

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  2. d41295 Posted 6:52 am
    23 Jan 2007

    $0/mthI have eliminated essentially all of my own junk mail, and it has cost me exactly $0 per month. I am adament about ensuring that companies with which I do business do not share my name & address. I always return notes in pre-paid envelopes in the event I do get junk mail, or I email the company to tell them to remove me from their mailing list.
    It works fine. And it doesn't cost a significant $60/yr.

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  3. greendimesjill Posted 2:50 pm
    23 Jan 2007

    Thanks! and more tree infoHello,

    Jill at GreenDimes here.  I work for and am a member of GreenDimes.  Thanks very kindly for your endorsement.  We appreciate your comments and are doing our best to help folks reduce their junk mail.  
    Congratulations to d41295 for getting off the direct mail lists.  Your diligence and persistence have paid off.  I am one of the lazy, nay, time pressed people who know they should get off junk mail lists but never get around to it.  That's where GreenDimes is a huge benefit, it not only saves me time and energy, but it actually gets done. Plus the benefits of having GreenDimes opt me out of selected catalogs in addition to the junk mail, and planting a tree on my behalf every month is fabulous - at least I think so, which is why I joined the company.
    GreenEngineer, we are working with Trees for the Future to plant trees in India, Haiti, and Senegal.  And soon we will be adding tree partners for the U.S. and Central America.  Our partners are experienced, they train local folks about planting, grafting, and growing trees, and the trees planted provide more than oxygen.  They serve as wind blocks, help the soil retain water, put nutrients back in the soil, and even act as natural fences to protect agriculture from wildlife.  The type of tree planted depends on the needs of the local community. You can read more about the trees are members are supporting at http://www.greendimes.com/plant-trees.html.
    Stop by anytime, we're happy to answer your questions.
    Thanks again, David!
    Jill Finlayson, Marketing Director at GreenDimes

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  4. greendimesjill Posted 4:23 pm
    23 Jan 2007

    price correctionThe price mentioned for the cost of GreenDimes was slightly off.  GreenDimes costs just a dime-a-day, or $3 a month (not $5 a month). The annual membership works out to $36 for the year.

    Cheers,

    Jill

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  5. David Roberts's avatar

    David Roberts Posted 5:03 pm
    23 Jan 2007

    Oops!Sorry about that, Jill -- corrected the post.

    www.grist.org

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  6. amazingdrx Posted 12:23 am
    24 Jan 2007

    Excellent!Any comment on the strange op/ed in the NYT warning against tree planting warming the planet Jill?  It was bizzare.
    http://gristmill.grist.org/story/2007/1/16/779/27646
    Hopefully the "scientist" (computer model guesstimator) that wrote it has had his ears boxed soundly and has learned his lesson. I know I left him a message on his phone all about it.

    http://amazngdrx.blogharbor.com/blog

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  7. d41295 Posted 2:41 am
    24 Jan 2007

    "time pressed"Jill, I am as "time pressed" as the next person. It's just that I care enough to do this job myself, instead of paying good money for what is a trivial (and somewhat enjoyable) job.

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  8. d41295 Posted 2:44 am
    24 Jan 2007

    treeshttp://amazngdrx.blogharbor.com/blog wrote:

    > Any comment on the strange op/ed in the NYT

    > warning against tree planting warming the planet

    > Jill?  It was bizzare.
    Would you care to, you know, offer any actual scientific proof or reasoning? WHAT was bizarre about it? What was wrong about the essay. Since you "boxed" this scientist's ears "soundly," I assume you must have a actual argument. It escapes me why you would not present it here on on your blog.

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  9. amazingdrx Posted 2:46 am
    24 Jan 2007

    But I didPresent it here.  It was conclusive.  Check it out.

    http://amazngdrx.blogharbor.com/blog

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  10. sunflower's avatar

    sunflower Posted 3:14 am
    24 Jan 2007

    Albedo of forestsThe thermal balance of a forest is more complicated than just albedo.  Forests are cool due to shade, evaporation cooling, and black-body radiation of infrared.  The effects on climate are more complicated.  Example, Phoenix is some 20 F. warmer from the local greenhouse effect of atmospheric moisture from watering lawns, fountains, and swimming pools.  So the albedo of northern forests is just one variable and not a cause to kill trees.

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  11. sunflower's avatar

    sunflower Posted 3:47 am
    24 Jan 2007

    20 F. Phoenix humidityI do not have the ref. and do not remember the parameters (stagnant air, heat index or ambient?).  The study did show that humans significantly affect local climates.
    Planting trees seems to be a good idea in cities, around farms, for energy, and probably a good idea for adapting to climate change.

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  12. Greta Posted 10:51 am
    02 Mar 2007

    GreenDimes Sounds Greenalicious.Not only is it time consuming -- considering that none of my requests have actually been implemented, so I have to constantly repeat the same process -- but for me it is quite stressful.  
    I am so deeply in love with the Environment (who, by the way, ALWAYS brings me flowers!) that it  broke my heart to receive that 1st B&H glossy, 4-color, 200-plus-page catalog. With the 2nd and the 3rd, I was nearly homicidal or suicidal...I won't declare which.  Okay, slightly dramatic emphasis, but nonetheless indicative of my intense remorse.  And, with every repeated call to f'ing Dell (for a whole year and counting!), my blood boils.
    Not to mention that phoning these people repeatedly (with lengthy hold times) costs me 15 cents per minute.
    As a filmmaker, I had hoped to arrive at the Dell president's office with a truckload of unwanted catalogs and my camera, to lay a little truthiness on his/her ass.  Sadly, I cannot bear to let that many catalogs pile up.
    So, if I ever have $3 a month to spare (read: documentary filmmaker), I will look into GreenDimes.
    ---
    P.S. -- Do you know that these scumbag junkmailers actually mine your personal address from court documents?  I filed an appeal to a traffic ticket recently and started getting junkmail, as a result. (Your social security address is readily available through court docs too.)

    www.NoPunProductions.com ~ AmericaTheGreen.org

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  13. idealist4sale Posted 6:51 am
    11 Oct 2007

    Even cheaperIt looks like GreenDimes is even cheaper now. I just signed up for a one-time fee of $15. I don't have to pay again unless I move.

    http://blogspot.idealist4sale.com

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