Our Environment, Global Warming, and How You Can Help!

By Gordon Browner

There’s no question that our planet is warming up. Average global temperatures have risen around the world in the last 100 years, especially in the past 20 years. There are many theories out there when looking for answers to this, but only two are obvious. One of those theories is the idea that the Earth naturally goes through temperature cycles during the course of its existence. Another idea is that we as humans are introducing untold amounts of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere and this is causing the planet to heat up.

Regardless of how and why Earth is warming up, it’s happening, won’t stop anytime soon, and may be dangerous in the long run. Maybe it’s human activity or maybe it’s not, nobody will be able to tell us what the exact cause is. However, what we do know is the human population most certainly contributes to the warming of the planet. The good part is we have the power to slow it down and cut our carbon dioxide output down drastically.

There are many things you can do to help our environment and cut down on your carbon footprint, all of which are reductions of energy usage at home and on the road. First and foremost, replace all the light bulbs in all your residencies to the energy-efficient bulbs. This is huge and will save you hundreds of dollars a year on your power bill, thus promoting a cleaner environment. You can also replace your old appliances with newer, energy-efficient models. The same goes for your air conditioner. These are the top 3 ways to cut your power costs at home.

There’s now a 4th and big way to reduce your carbon footprint and power bill, that is, solar panels and wind turbines you can build yourself. You can find guides and manuals online that teach you about everything you need to know. The best part about this is how simple and easy it is to construct a green energy power system in your home. Not many people know about this, but it’s a serious money saver when comparing DIY green energy to professional installations. They cost tens and tens of thousands of dollars. If you’re interested in such projects there’s a popular new site on the internet that will feed you all the information you need.

Finally, and the most effective way to reduce your carbon footprint is to avoid driving your vehicle! Walk, jog, roller blade, or bike everywhere and anywhere you can. Get that blood pumping and the savings of fuel and energy mount up incredibly fast. If you can apply multiple techniques described here, I guarantee your energy costs will drop drastically.

Placed here by Glen S. Luckman via Glen Luckman

Glen Luckman Copy http://glenluckman.org/

Thanks to Glen Luckman

How to Deliver a Killer Speech Introduction

Provided by Glen S. Luckman

Public Relations How to Do it Well

Author Clyde Lee Dennis

Public Relations, often referred to as PR is the management of internal and external communication of an organization to create and maintain a positive public image. It’s a process that involves popularizing successes, downplaying failures, announcing changes, and many other activities.

Public relations are a very important management function in any organization and it should be understood that it is not synonymous with publicity.

Public relations specialists are often times referred to as communications specialists and media specialists, among other titles, and serve as advocates for businesses, nonprofit associations, universities, hospitals, and other organizations, and build and maintain positive relationships with the public. They also handle organizational functions such as media, community, consumer, industry, and governmental relations; political campaigns; interest-group representation; conflict mediation; and employee and investor relations.

These specialists are the ones who draft press releases and contact people in the media who might print or broadcast their company related messages and material. As well as arranging and conducting programs to keep up contact between organization representatives and the public.

Public relations specialists work in busy offices and in smaller firms usually get all-around experience, whereas those in larger firms tend to be much more specialized. Concentrated in large cities, where press services and other communications facilities are readily available and many businesses and trade associations have their headquarters.

To become leaders they must show creativity, initiative, and good judgment and most importantly have the ability to communicate thoughts clearly and simply.

Public relations managers also evaluate advertising and promotions programs for compatibility with public relations efforts and serve as the eyes and ears of top management within a company. They may even confer with labor relations managers to produce internal company communications such as newsletters about employee-management relations, and with financial managers to produce company reports.

Public relations people working for a company may handle consumer relations or the relationship between parts of the company such as the managers and employees, or different branch offices and include ongoing activities to ensure the organization has a strong public image.

Janet Schlarbaum Public Relations

Posted by Janet Schlarbaum by Direction Janet Schlarbaum 

For more information about Janet Schlarbaum go to http://markschlarbaum.us

Writing a Public Relations Plan 5 Steps

By Melissa Anthony

Public relations can be defined as the practice of managing the information exchanged between an organization and those who are interested in - or potentially affected by - that organization. Effective public relations can be carried out by an organization’s own internal PR team, or it can be entrusted to an external agency. In any event, it is wise for an organization wishing to conduct public relations to devise a solid plan before acting.

An effective PR plan is one that satisfies the needs of both the organization and its various “publics” (i.e., those who are interested in and/or stand to be affected by the organization and its future actions). The organization itself benefits from a PR plan because the plan can help organize its thinking and actions related to how to best get their intended message out. Meanwhile, the intended recipients of the campaign’s message - and often many unintended recipients as well - stand to benefit from the process by being better informed about something that matters to their lives.

Whether your organization chooses to conduct its own PR work or to be represented by a PR firm specializing in the field, it is important to start with a solid plan.

Here are 5 tips for writing an effective public relations plan:

Step #1: Determine what message you want to convey, and to whom:

Every organization has its own challenges in terms of public perception. Some are looking to get more exposure, while others are looking to influence or change the public’s pre-existing perceptions . Still others want to highlight recent achievements in order to gain the attention of prospective investors, partners or customers.

Your public relations plan needs to start with a clear sense among the members of your PR team as to the nature of the message your company wants to convey. Then, your team needs to clearly define whom you would like to receive that message. For both items, be as specific as possible during the planning phase: they set the tone for the rest of your campaign.

Step #2: Gauge the current public opinion about your organization:

It is very important that your plan include your conducting of some formal or informal research about the nature of public opinion vis-à-vis your organization as it stands today. Rather than making assumptions about how your stakeholders - as well as your prospective investors, customer and partners - view your firm, it is important that you find out more about what they actually think. This type of research can take the form of secondary research such as reading opinion polls or articles about your firm, or it can take the form of primary research such as via interviews, surveys and focus groups. The bottom line: you need to know where you are now in order to know where you are going.

Step #3: Set a budget:

Effective PR can be done cheaply or even for free in some cases. However, as a rule you should anticipate some level of expenditure for your campaign,. Budget concerns are an important factor. Since your PR budget has a strong effect on the resources you can afford to put behind your plan, be sure to carefully set an appropriate budget by including all of the relevant stakeholders. Tip: if your CEO (or equivalent organizational leader) can be convinced of the potentially wide-ranging financial and reputation-related effects of the issue you are trying to convey to your publics, he or she will be much more likely to earmark the appropriate funds for your PR initiative.

Step #4: Decide how you will get the word out:

Good public relations work is a multi-faceted area of practice with a multitude of options available in terms of ways to communicate your message. For example, you may find ways to entice reporters to write special-interest articles written about your organization. Or, you might hold a public relations event, submit your organization for consideration for an industry award, or hold a press conference - just to name a few. The mode of communication you ultimately choose will depend upon many factors, including the nature of the message you want to convey, the current political climate around the issue (if applicable), the degree to which the issue is of general public interest, your PR budget, and other factors.

Step #5: Create a plan of execution, including a detailed timeline:

Every good public relations plan must include a step-by-step plan that outlines the key milestones of your PR effort and fills in the specific details for executing the plan. An important element of your plan of execution is to assign each task to a particular person, along with a deadline; this creates a sense of accountability for each task. Of course, once the execution phase is launched and some time passes, you will likely find yourself needing to adjust your tactics to meet an ever-changing environment. Still, this need to make ongoing adjustments to your plan is no excuse for skipping the mapping out of the tactical steps ahead of time. During periods of relative chaos, you will be glad to have a plan to which you can refer in order to keep things on track.

Every solid public relations plan should be built upon the basic framework highlighted above. Whether you conduct your own campaign or entrust your PR campaign to an expert PR firm, your plan - and the thinking you go through to formulate it - will go a long way toward helping you reach your PR objectives.

Janet Schlarbaum 5 Steps

Special thanks to Janet Schlarbaum at  http://markschlarbaumblog.com

Article placed by Janet Schlarbaum at http://mark-janetschlarbaum.com