ifPeople Newsletter, Vol. 2, No. 8, September 2005

ifPeople Newsletter (Spanish)
September 2005 (Vol. 2, No. 8)

Dear friends,

Greetings and happy fall (or spring)! Thanks to all of you who came to see us at the Green Festival in Washington, DC. We enjoyed continuing to get to know you and find new innovators in the community. We have all been busy in the last months while the state of the US has changed and the citizens and world have reacted. In Atlanta, where ifPeople is headquartered, we are dealing with a huge wave of Katrina evacuees. The cofounders have been involved both personally and with ifPeople to aid in the resettlement of people to our region. In this edition of our newsletter, we open a small dialog about technology and what we have seen in response to Katrina. We also inform you about a pioneering initiative by several US states that aims to reduce the emission of greenhouse gases. In addition, we bring you an update about the recent International Plone Conference that took place in Vienna and exciting events that are coming up soon. We invite you to visit our updated event page and welcome your comments and feedback.

Best wishes,
Chris and Tirza
ifPeople co-founders

* International Plone Conference Concludes in Vienna This past week, novice and veteran Plone developers, founders and contributors came together in Vienna to attend the Third Annual Plone Conference. Plone is a highly regarded Free Software content management system with a dedicated international community. As was the case with New Orleans 2003 and Vienna 2004, this year’s edition of the Annual Plone Conference is a major worldwide event that promotes open source technologies and contributes to spreading the use of Plone as a powerful professional solution.
Read more

* Energy Star Appliances Just Got Cheaper!
Well, at least temporarily. Individual consumers from the state of Georgia will have the opportunity to buy Energy Star appliances and be exempt from paying the state¢s 4% sales tax. Created by governor Sonny Perdue, Georgia's sales Tax holiday will take place from Thursday, October 6th through Sunday, October 9th. The tax exemption applies to Energy Star appliances that cost $1500 or less and comprises dishwashers, clothes washers, air conditioners, ceiling fans,fluorescent light bulbs, dehumidifiers, programmable thermostats and refrigerators. Georgia shoppers will not only have the chance of benefiting from a major price reduction but also purchasing energy-efficient products that contribute to the protection of the environment.

* A new paper on FairSource and ifPeople's experience in Latin America
The paper, which was invited for the Fordham University conference Entrepreneurship and Human Rights and presented by Christopher Johnson, provides case studies on ifPeople's piloting of the FairSource standard for fair trade in services and working with microenterprises in Latin America's Southern Cone. Read More

* Green Festivals draws big crowds for sustainable economy in DC
The annual Green Festival in Washington, DC took place September 24-25 for the biggest celebration of sustainable economy during the year. ifPeople exhibited again this year, and brings you some news and photos from the event.
Read More

Featured events:

* Bioneers Southeast Forum
Join us in Atlanta on October 28-30, 2005 at the Savannah College of Art and Design, to bring together broad range of organizations, institutions, companies, community leaders and innovators from across metro Atlanta and the southeastern United States to celebrate solutions and success in the first Bioneers Southeast Forum. This exciting event will feature the plenary sessions from Bioneers conference, as well as, workshops, youth events, a expo of local responsible businesses and non-profits, and entertainment. By sharing the models, case studies and success stories that emerge when these nature-based solutions are put
into action, Bioneers inspires and catalyzes progressive change in people and their communities. See www.inspiringfutures.org/bioneers to register now or learn more. Please act soon, as Early Bird rates end
October 2.

* Web 2.0 Conference
October 5 - 7, San Francisco, CA

* “Sustainability as Securuty” ESW National Conference
October 5-9, Austin, Texas

* Electronics Recycling and Collection
October 8, Atlanta, GA

* Bioneers Conference
October 14-16, San Rafael, CA

For more events information, see
http://www.ifpeople.net/community/news/events

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ifPeople creates and implements information technology solutions for Web sites, intranets and custom business applications. Our consulting services provide support in collaboration, marketing, and sustainability strategy. Please contact us to find out what we can do for you.
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