Swaptree

I have a new online best friend: swaptree. I have been using this gem for several months to trade DVDs, books, video games, and music that we no longer want for items that we do want. It's simple to get started, even simpler to start trading, and swaptree uses an algorithm to figure out that you can send an item to Person A, they send an item to Person B, and Person B sends an item you'd like, to you. You have the option to print a shipping label right from the site once a trade has been accepted by all parties, or you can take care of the shipping on your own. If you ship through the site, they track it and charge your credit card once for all shipments made in a month, making it a simple and seamless experience.

Like most social sites, you can rate other members you have traded with and there are groups you can join if you're looking for specific things or have similar interests. But when recently adding some DVDs and Wii games to our "have" list, I found a couple neat features. Swaptree will note high end items like DVDs and video games so that other members can only initiate the trade with an item of comparable value. You have the option to initiate the trade of your high end item for a low end item, so "mixed value" trades are not off limits, swaptree just tries to keep things fair. You can also add things from your Amazon wish list to your swaptree want list or be notified that you can get something for free by swapping while browsing through the following sites:

• Amazon.com
• BarnesandNoble.com
• Half.com
• Alibris.com
  
• booksamillion.com
• abebooks.com
• buy.com
• Powells.com

They also have the obligatory Facebook hook along with some other cool ways of updating your want list from existing lists or sites en mass. I find the interface cleaner than Craigslist, and I like that I can get rid of media I no longer want and receive things I've been waiting for by using good old fashioned trading to help decrease manufacturing more of the same and landfill waste.

So if you're looking to clear out some media that you don't need or want anymore, but would like something in return, give swaptree a try and enjoy the ease of swapping across the US (other countries to be added soon).

[image from swaptree.com]

You Decide

So this "Global Warming" thing gets a lot of attention from both sides of the fence. There are those that believe we are a main cause for the climate changes and there are those who believe it's just part of Earth's natural cycle with or without us. I'm not going to debate that now because there is enough of that going on. What I am going to do is post several links to sites that have information about how to cut down on energy and ideas to improve our lives. This has become very important to me and once I move into my new house, I hope to make more positive choices. No matter what side of the fence you're on, this information can help save you money, if not give you a good feeling about your actions, and who doesn't like saving money?

A site that I found recently focuses on improving bicycling in communities throughout the United States. I like it because they have great resources for helping out cities and counties to create better environments and opportunities for biking. This encourages exercise, cuts down on car traffic, and can be positive advertising to people looking to move into the area. Not only do they focus on construction efforts, but they also suggest training traffic engineers, motorists, and bicyclists about mixed traffic with cars and bikes living in the street together. I'm hoping to get something like this going in Cedar Rapids.

The next area I have several bookmarks in is alternative energy. This is important because we all know that non-renewable resources are being depleted and we will have to find better ways to maintain our standard of living. Some links to sites I like include projects with wind and manure and solar. I was also impressed to hear that the US government is actively looking into nuclear energy plants and several plans for building them are on the way.

One way of dealing with CO2 that is growing in popularity is consumer carbon offsets. Here is an independent study done to compare the many carbon offset providers to help consumers understand what they are paying for more and encourage the programs to become transparent to provide the best solution for everyone. The provider that I have used so far is NativeEnergy. This type of program is used to help offset the amount of "unclean" energy you are using and usually put it towards "clean" energy projects. Most sites will also have a calculator to add up how much energy you spend.

And lastly for this post, if you're looking to get a new car here is the government's fuel economy site where you can find all sorts of information.

So you decide on what you believe and what you want to do, just do something.