pelf-ism is contagious

The Super-Cars Shout Out Competition is a contest that allows you to place a simple, colorful flyer on high mileage cars that you encounter, showing the vehicle owner that s/he has done something worthy by choosing a leading-edge (in terms of miles per gallon, or mpg) vehicle, while also allowing yourself to participate in this competition. Optionally, you can re-use a single copy of the flyer on multiple vehicles to avoid paper waste. Printing flyers on recycled paper is definitely recommended.

Image credit: Tommy Wong.

How do I join?

1. Download and print one or more of the official Super-Cars Shout Out Competition flyers, preferably on recycled paper, because you don’t want to create more trash, do you?
2. Find a 40+ miles per gallon (or 16.74 kilometers per liter) car from the list (e.g. Perodua Kelisa, Perodua Kenari, Kia Picanto, Hyundai Getz, etc.).
3. Place the flyer under the windshield wiper.
4. Use a digital camera or good cell phone to photograph.
5. Upload the image to the PlanetThoughts.org website.

OK, so what do I get if I win?

The prize for this competition will be at least USD 500 guaranteed, and will go to the person with the largest number of valid uploaded images. So if you are not in it for the fun and the mission, there is another reason to join in. And to make this fun for the wise car buyers, USD 50 will be given per month to one randomly selected car owner who contacts PlanetThoughts that month and who has a valid photo of their of car uploaded on our site by any other entrant.

Note: No individual or their family can win more than one secondary prize (the USD 50), but such winners are still eligible for the grand prize.

Anymore rules and regulations?

Yes, but for your benefit, I will keep them short and straight-to-the-point:

1. The competition will run from January 3rd to June 2nd, 2008.
2. You CANNOT participate if you are a vehicle dealer or manufacturer or car repair garage owner or staff.
3. Photographs of vehicles must be seen “in the wild”. For example, auto dealer parking lots and immediate surroundings are NOT valid as image sources for this competition. Mall parking lots not connected to car dealerships are valid image sources.
4. Images must include a visible copy of an official Super-Cars Shout Out Competition flyer.
5. The winner will be selected using a weighted value calculated from the number of valid uploaded car images from each participant.
6. More rules @ the official Super-Cars Shout Out Competition page.

To all of you who have just gotten up on a lazy New Year’s Day, planning your activities and shopping sprees for the day, be glad that you aren’t in the office right now because New Year’s Day is a working day here in Terengganu (and Kedah and Kelantan and Perlis, perhaps?)! Oh by the way, have you heard? Today is also the day Kuala Terengganu will be proclaimed a Heritage Waterfront CITY *clears throat* and it has been raining since last year!

This is just a quick note to tell you that the “Save the Ocean” group-writing project has kick-started today, and whether or not you are one of the participants, I’d love it if you would promote the campaign on your own blogs and tell your blog readers about the campaign. Who knows, they might have additional suggestions on how we can save our oceans

OK, on top of that, I have also participated in PK Tan’s Malaysia Wildlife Conservation Campaign, and I have published an article entitled Wildlife conservation in Malaysia @ The Giving Hands. It is truly amazing to see the results of the collective effort put in by fellow bloggers. You will learn about things that you will otherwise not learn about, or will take a long time to.

OK, so how did YOUR countdown go?

Yes, you read that right! I am organizing a group-writing project at The Giving Hands in January 2008 and the theme is Save the Ocean.

Why should I participate?

Have you always been awed by the beauty of our oceans? Have you always loved the ocean when you were small? Do you have a lot of fond memories of the ocean while growing up? Are you always upset whenever you see people polluting our beautiful oceans? Have you always wanted to write about the environment but found it irrelevant to the niche of your blog?

The opportunity has just came a-knockin’

Image credit: O mar by Azorina.

How do I participate?

If you are interested, please pick one of the tips listed below (yes, you may pick more than one tip) and let me know in the comments, so that other people are aware which tips are still available and which ones have been grabbed. I will update the list from time to time to reflect the tips that have been taken up

You may write from your own points-of-view, or from your own experience, or from stories you have heard or read. You may also write a factual article (please remember to include the sources of reference) or a photo-article (only images).

Once you have written your article, I will need you to send me the script (before Dec 31st) to be published at The Giving Hands. You are also encouraged to provide a short biography at the end of your article to introduce yourself (and yes, you may include links to your own blog in your biography).

Wait, I have other questions!

1. May I post the same article on my blog?

   Yes, you may. This is a group-writing project and is aimed at creating and raising awareness on how we can all do our part to save our oceans. I am not a fan of duplicate contents but some things are worth repeating.

2. Will there be a winner? What are the prizes?

   By taking up this group-writing project, you are already a winner in my eyes and the eyes of your blog readers. And by participating in the project, you are also showing other bloggers that you are capable of doing something very meaningful

Now, here’s the list of 31 tips:
(tip #1 will be published on Jan 1st, 2008, and so on)

1. Go to the beach — littlebro
2. Dive responsibly — Jakartass
3. Keep your home aquarium ocean-friendly
4. Talk about the ocean in your place of worship
5. Get married on a wild beach — nimrodjo
6. Go on a whale-watching trip — Rinnah
7. Take the kids surfing, or have them take you
8. Walk on whatever beach you want — little polaris
9. Eat organic and vegetarian food — Will
10. Grow a natural yard or garden — julie
11. Conserve energy to help the seas — tears in heaven
12. Save the sea turtles
13. Opt out of the throw-away culture — Kristarella
14. Raise funds for an ocean-related organization — Vladimir
15. Use less plastic — David
16. Be a marine sanctuary volunteer
17. Conserve water — betmo
18. Eat seafood that’s healthy and sustainable — Steve
19. Drive a fuel-efficient car, car pool or use public transport — Guilherme
20. Sail on an ocean-friendly cruise ship
21. Join a coastal cleanup
22. Keep your household refuse non-toxic
23. Support your local wetlands — Pearl
24. Live a reasonable distance from the beach
25. Join/Volunteer at a Marine Mammal Rescue Centre
26. Don’t feed the sharks — Steve
27. Keep oil off our shore — PK Tan
28. Don’t exploit sea creatures for vanity’s sake — Yvy
29. Visit an Aquarium — Pelfy
30. Learn your local maritime history
31. Vote for those who protect the coasts — Vladimir

Let me know if you need some suggestions or ideas to write your article, and I am glad to discuss/work with you

What better ways to begin the new year than blogging to raise awareness on saving our oceans? Hurry up, pick your tips before they are all snatched!

A HUGE thank you goes to the following bloggers who have helped promote this group-writing project:

• Pelf is a word… by Jakartass
• beach by littlebro
• To pick up the challenge or not? by tears in heaven
• Get a life! by soufulow

P/S: This group-writing project is inspired by David Helvarg’s 50 ways to save the ocean.

If you care about the planet then you may have a future in Environmental education. If you are passionate about the environment and unhappy in your current career an online degree could put you in a job you will love fighting for a great cause.