Need Some Economic Stimulus? Join our Scavenger Hunt!

Just over two weeks ago, we announced the Red, Green and Blue/ReframeIt scavenger hunt for details and background on Barack Obama’s and John McCain’s energy and environmental policy proposals.

Then the economy went to hell.

Well, OK, actually that’s been brewing for a while, but with the plunge in the stock market and the freezing up of the credit markets in the last couple of weeks, nearly all of us have our eyes on the economy now. With that in mind, we’ve decided to tweak this event to put it more in line with your biggest concerns leading up to the election.

First, we’re going to refocus on the candidates’ plans to build a green economy.

And secondly, we’re going to give away $1200 in prizes. The participant who builds the most impressive body of web finds and comments will receive a $1000 grand prize, the runner-up will receive $100, and we’ll also give away two $50 honorable mentions. Consider it our own little economic stimulus package. In addition, the winner (or, Election Transparency Guru, as we’ll name him/her) will receive a guest posting opportunity on Red, Green and Blue.

So, here’s how it works: we’re still very interested in the presidential candidates’ records on energy and environmental issues, but we want to focus on those ideas and concepts surrounding the creation of a green economy. Both have plans along these lines: Barack Obama wants to “Help create five million new jobs by strategically investing $150 billion over the next ten years to catalyze private efforts to build a clean energy future,” while John McCain plans focus on “[establishing] a market-based system to curb greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, mobilize innovative technologies, and strengthen the economy.” Any information you can find on their records regarding sustainable economic development will be critical to helping voters make an informed decision on these issues.

We don’t want to limit the scavenger hunt to the presidential candidates records, though, as there are a ton of great ideas out there that the next president could incorporate into his plans for growing a green economy. So, in addition to vetting Obama’s and McCain’s records, we want you to go find some of the best concepts out there on sustainable economic growth. What concepts, policies, technologies and models will best serve the next US president in moving the country towards green growth?

Join us, and take your shot at creating more transparency in this election, and snagging $1000. Here are the details participating:

1. Sign up with ReframeIt, a new social media application that allows you to comment on the text of any website without permission of that site – you’ll find instructions at the end of this post. ReframeIt works through a browser extension (Firefox or Internet Explorer), and is a bit like taking notes in a book: you can highlight text, and comment in the “margin.” Your comments are available to other users, so you can start conversations right beside the site, article, speech, or other information that you find. When you sign up through the link below, you’ll automatically be added to the group created for this event.
2. Get familiar with Obama’s and McCain’s policies on energy and the environment:

• BarackObama.com: Energy and Environment
• JohnMcCain.com: Climate Change
• Barack Obama’s Senate page: Energy and Environment
• John McCain’s Senate page: Energy and Environment

3. Start digging! Some of the kinds of information resources you’ll want to consult for information on the presidential candidates:

• Speeches (talks to “special interests” might be particularly revealing here)
• Writings (op-eds, etc.)
• Voting records (don’t forget that McCain served in the House of Representatives, and Obama served in the Illinois Senate)
• Archived news articles and op-eds (home town papers will give perspectives you may not find elsewhere)

But don’t stop there! Start looking for ideas that the next president needs to consider for inclusion in his plan to build a green economy:

• Concepts for building economic growth and wealth based on preserving and renewing natural resources.
• Technologies that show promise for maintaining and expanding economic opportunity with a negligible environmental impact.
• Policy prescriptions from office-holders, think tanks, academics and citizens.
• Articles and op-eds addressing the intersection of environmental protection and economic growth.

4. When you come across something interesting, revealing, or enlightening, note it in ReframeIt.

Contest Rules:

• In order to be eligible for prize consideration, you must submit at least five relevant sites and comments to the RG&B group on ReframeIt.
• Winners will be determined by a panel of three judges. Their decision is final.
• Judges will determine the winners based on the quality of submissions made to the RG&B ReframeIt group.
• The contest will run through November 1, and winners will be announced on Red, Green and Blue on November 3 (the day before the election).

Instructions for signing up with ReframeIt:

To sign-up use this link http://reframeit.com/groups/53z7JVSH9zU/members/new and follow the instructions. Just a reminder after you press the “Download Extension” button remember to:

1. Press the Allow button in the message strip that appears on the top of the web page
2. Press the “Install Now” button in the window that appears
3. Restart Your Browser by pressing “Restart Now”

For more information on ReframeIt, check out their introductory video:

Let us know if you have any questions… and have fun while contributing to a higher level of transparency in this important election!