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Earth Day, Every DayWhile our humble galaxy is gearing up to honor Mother Earth's 4,500,000,000th year, we're pretty sure that our entire solar system (yes, even Pluto) is gushing that she doesn't look one tectonic shift over 4.4. Regardless of her age, celebrating Earth Day never gets old, and on April 22, humans everywhere will shine the limelight on the importance of preserving our planet's marbled beauty.When you take our fleet to the street, you're doing your part to keep the green stuff where it belongs—on the ground and in your wallet. Every year, City CarShare members reduce traffic jam headaches, save millions of pounds of CO2, and shed car maintenance and gas bills by choosing to share cars rather than owning them. Studies also show that our members are more likely to live a lower-carbon lifestyle by using other ways to get around, like walking, biking, and mass transit.* 
On average, every person who joins City CarShare reduces the need for 100 gallons of gasoline per year. Our hybrid and plug-in hybrid vehicles, which make up 40% of our fleet, produce 25-90% less harmful pollutants and ozone-depleting gases than conventional cars. And even when hybrids are not located at your favorite Pod, you can still drive easy knowing that all our vehicles are at the top of their class in fuel and emission efficiency, according to EPA ratings. City CarShare is proud to be the Bay Area's greenest and least expensive car sharing provider. We couldn't do it without your support. So this Earth Day, think about how your CCS membership has helped to make our planet a better place to be, and enjoy the Earth Day events taking place throughout the Bay.
* UC, Berkeley, Institute of Urban and Regional Development, San Francisco City CarShare: Longer-Term Travel-Demand and Car Ownership Impacts
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Prize Alert!Do you like prizes? Then
our
Facebook page or follow our Tweets and stay tuned for a fun Earth Day Contest.
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Oakland Bound Earth Day - CCS Birthday Mixer with YNPNsfbaA cupcake, a cold libation, and 100% corporate-free fun? If this tasty trio sounds like a perfect way to cap off your day, you'll want to set aside Thursday, April 21 for a happy-hour fête in Uptown Oakland. Co-hosted by Young Nonprofit Professions Network SF Bay Area (YNPNsfba), the Earth Day - CCS Birthday Mixer will take place from 6 - 8 p.m. at Bar Three Fifty-Five (355 19th Street, Oakland, CA).All City CarShare members who attend the event will score a free drink ticket, a sweet treat, and a chance to bond with the Bay Area's brightest young nonprofit leaders. Since 1997, YNPNsfba has been dedicated to empowering young nonprofit professionals with expertise, resources, and social opportunities that enhance their skills, build confidence, and provide an outlet for sharing ideas. Learn more about YNPNsfba's volunteer-run organization at 
www.ynpn.org/sfba. While you're online, check out
transit.511.org to create your pub-trans game-plan.
Bar Three Fifty-Five is just a casual stroll away from the 19th Street BART Station, so load up that Clipper Card, drink responsibly, and have a blast!
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Find Squishy, the Octopus, and Win Prizes! This plush East Pacific Red Octopus (native to our coastal waters) was officially named Squishy by the 8-year-old son of a CCS member winner. Attached to one of Squishy's tentacles is a scroll announcing that you've won prizes from our local sponsors with instructions on how to claim them. Twenty lucky members have already won since we launched this promo, and April's winners will enjoy some pro-planet goodies in celebration of Earth Day 2011. Since living 'la vida' vehicle-free is pretty awesome in itself, our monthly sponsors make everyone feel like a winner with generous discounts for City CarShare members. For more information on our We ♥ the Bay Area hidden ticket promo and to catch up on all the exclusive deals your fob opens, click here. April Goodie Bag Details:
Sponsor Highlights 
California Academy of SciencesInside the California Academy of Sciences, you can get nose-to-beak with penguins, fly to Mars from a cushy recliner, take a virtual safari in the African Hall, find a real-life Nemo darting through a Philippine coral reef and get a glimpse of an orangutan as you climb into a rainforest canopy. Click here to learn more 
Green Pawz Located in the Cole Valley/Upper Haight neighborhood, Green Pawz is the only green-certified pet boutique in San Francisco. Click here to learn more 
Rainbow Grocery Cooperative Dinosaur kale, quinoa in bulk, the best cheese selection in the city, and a fresh baguette? From the everyday to the eclectic, the Rainbow Grocery Cooperative has your shopping list covered. A Mission favorite since opening its doors in 1975, Rainbow Grocery was awarded San Francisco's 1st Green Retail Business Certification for its dedication to fair labor practices, worker-owned businesses, and fellow collectives. Click here to learn more 
Berkeley Bowl Where can you find top-rated produce in Berkeley? Berkeley Bowl, of course. With two locations serving Berkeley and the East Bay, Berkeley Bowl is an independent, local supermarket committed to bringing high quality groceries at low prices since 1977. We're pretty sure lots of you East Bay members already shop here but if you haven't checked out the Bowl, please do because we give this store two snaps up! Click here to learn more 
479° PopcornLaunched in 2008, San Francisco-based 479° Popcorn is the gastronomic genius of founder Jean Arnold, a passionate epicure with a Le Cordon Bleu degree and a very well-worn passport under her toque. Combining flavors from the international pantry with only organic, locally-sourced ingredients, 479° Popcorn offers a sophisticated twist on a snack-time favorite with eight varieties ranging from Chipotle Chile & Almonds to Fleur de Sel Caramel. Click here to learn more |
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Prize Alert!
We are stashing prizes in the glove compartments each month in 10 cars to celebrate our first decade milestone. Find Squishy, pictured here, and you're a winner! Squishy will tell you how to claim your prize. Good luck! |
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Pod Watch
Coming Soon!
If you would like to offer parking or make suggestions for new Pods or vehicle types, please contact us at memberservices@citycarshare.org. Our criteria for vehicles, other than being reliable and roomy, include fuel and emissions efficiency. Because our cars are driven a lot more than an average car owners' wheels, having cars with a lower carbon impact is an especially important consideration for City CarShare. |
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Berkeley Rep's Three SistersThere's daily drama, reality-TV "drama," and then there's Tony award-winning staged drama from the talented cast and crew of the Berkeley Repertory Theatre. Since its first production in 1968, the Berkeley Rep has blossomed from a tiny storefront theater to two dedicated main stages, a school for the theatrical arts, and an annual audience of 180,000.And the Rep works hard to be green. Starting in the 2007, the Rep adopted a Green Policy that includes initiatives such as constructing sets from recycle-friendly steel, and gaining LEED certification for current and future buildings. Plus the staff earns extra eco-points for sharing our cars. 
Discover the humor and heartache of one of the world's greatest plays, told anew through the lyricism of two leading
voices in contemporary theatre: director Les Waters and playwright Sarah Ruhl. Anton Chekhov's Three Sisters tells the
story of an entire village of unlucky lovers struggling with the bittersweet distance between reality and dreams. Ruhl
and Waters enliven the story with the same elegant understanding of intimacy that infused their last Berkeley Rep
collaboration, In the Next Room (or the 'vibrator' play), which went on to play on Broadway.
Three Sisters runs at The Berkeley Repertory Theatre from April 8 - May 22, 2011. To purchase tickets, check out the rest of the season and learn more about the history and community of The Rep, click here. |
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Prize Alert!Want to win tickets to Three Sisters? Send an e-mail to marketing@citycarshare.org with at least one of the names of the two women who launched City CarShare 10 years ago for a chance to win tickets to Three Sisters. |
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Keep Sharing - RideShare Update
With the launch of our RideShare pilot program last month, dozens of City
CarShare members have offered a shotgun seat to other members on their trips. For those of you who missed the news about
the program's debut in March, RideShare is a members-only carpool hub that expands your transit options to include any
location where your fellow City CarShare members live, work, and play.
Any member with an active personal account can offer to share their reservation with another member by opting in to CCS RideShare during the reservation process. When you get a message from our reservation system that let's you know someone is interested in joining you, all you need to do is initiate contact with your potential rider through our easy, anonymous messaging system. You maintain the freedom to decide on a meeting place and time, as well as the compensation, if any, that you arrange with your rider. During the pilot period, City CarShare is offering this service free of charge. If you are looking for a ride, the process is just as easy. Just log in and click the RideShare link on top of the log-in page, and search the posted reservations for a match. If you see one, send a message. For more information, visit our RideShare pages on our website here. Ready to RideShare pronto? Check out the current rides open for sharing now. |
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Prize Alert!Our RideShare pilot launch reward is still in play! We've got more $10 driving credits to give away to members who post their rides by the end of April. Plus, if you're part of first 100 connections made through our message system (either as a driver or a rider), you'll qualify to win a $100 gift certificate from Rainbow Grocery or Berkeley Bowl! (These RideShare connection rewards are also only be available until the end of April.) |
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Plant My Phone Update: 116 Trees Planted, Thanks to You!
As we all snap up new models of smart phones as soon as they hit the store shelves, aging Apple iPhones or scuffed-up
Blackberrys are being discarded at a rapid rate. According to the EPA, Americans annually retire 140 million mobile
devices. Nearly 90% of these phones are improperly disposed of in landfills, leaching hazardous materials into the
environment over time.
Last year, City CarShare partnered with SF-based MokuGift in support of an innovative reforestation program called PlantMyPhone. Participating in the PlantMyPhone program gives individuals a new and easy way to recycle cell phones and fund tree planting projects across the globe. For each phone recycled, an average of 15 trees will be planted through the Billion Tree Campaign, an eco-venture started by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). In our first year, City CarShare members have recycled 76 old phones and planted 116 brand-new, CO2 munching trees. To flex your green thumb without even breaking a sweat, mail your phone in to PlantMyPhone with a postage-paid mailer bag. You can find the mailer bags inside the glove compartments of our cars. Or you can pick up one at the City CarShare office during office hours, M-F, 9am-5pm. We're located at 1182 Market Street, Suite 300, SF (in the Orpheum Theater building above the Civic Center BART/Muni station). |
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Prize Alert!Don't have an old phone to recycle right now? You can still pledge here to recycle your phone when the time comes. As a bonus, MokuGift is offering awesome prizes for everyone who registers the tracking barcode on their mailer bag at http://register.plantmyphone.com. One out of every 500 City CarShare members who participate will walk away with $1000—that's a whole lot of rollover minutes. |
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Top Ten Ways to Drive Green(er)Many of the best practices for "green driving" are subtle, but over a year, their benefits add up in a big way. Making small changes in your driving can be the most effective way to reduce overall fuel use and carbon dioxide emissions—not to mention the cost of your trip—no matter what vehicle you are driving.
The upcoming summer season can make even nightfall as warm as high noon, so when the sun is out in full force, it's tempting to blast the AC as soon as you fob in; but more air conditioning means more fuel use. Keep the car cool by parking in a garage or under a shady tree, and try rolling down the windows before you roll out. Drive Your Vehicle to Warm It Up Today's autos reach optimum-operating temperature much faster when you are driving rather than idling. So even on the coldest Bay Area morning, your car does not need a lengthy warm-up to perform at its peak. Just try to avoid sudden or severe accelerations during the first few minutes after pulling out from a Pod and you will be good to go! Tame that need for speed As a City CarShare member you don't need to whip out your wallets to gas up. But don't forget that the environment pays every time anyone hits the pump. The EPA estimates that every 5 mph you drive over 60 is the same as paying an extra 20 cents per gallon! By keeping your speed under 60mph on the highway, you'll improve your (our!) mileage by 23%! Ride the "Green Wave" The kiss-your-finger-and-touch-the roof trick might work for you on good days to make those green lights, but here's a more realistic way to up your chances for smooth sailing. Traffic lights are often synchronized by clever engineers to reduce congestion and ward off potential traffic jams. Check out the Great Highway or Fell and Oak Streets in SF for example. A motorist driving at a specific speed will pass through a series of green lights without stopping. Plus, calm cruising can also curtail nasty fender benders. Keep on Rolling in Traffic Slow-and-go is always better than stop-and-go, and not just to reduce traffic woes. It can take 20% more fuel to accelerate from a full stop than from a 5 mph crawl. Increase your fuel economy by keeping distance between you and the car in front of you while maintaining a constant speed. It helps to keep things rolling by looking ahead down the road to anticipate stops too. Avoid Idling Every hour spent idling can burn more than half a gallon of fuel! Unless you're playing a key role in an intricate airport drop-off or after-school pick-up, make it a habit to always turn off your engine at the curb and never leave a running engine unattended. Don't be a Jack Rabbit: Avoid Jerky Starts and Stops Smart driving habits like gentle acceleration and smooth braking can improve fuel economy by up to 33% (and save your favorite car share organization more than $1 per gallon). And we know that guy is driving like molasses, but save your tailgating for the stadium parking lot to save more gas. Navigate to Reduce Carbon Dioxide Plan, plan, plan. That's our mileage-boosting mantra for every trip from a Trader Joe's run to a weekend in Yosemite. One of the easiest ways to reduce fuel use and CO2 emissions is to use a GPS system or online trip planner to find the shortest distance to your destination. Jot down your route before you head out, or use your smartphone to access a navigation app for more spontaneous adventures. Share your Ride If you've ever been stuck in a traffic jam while watching carpoolers fly past you like hot knives through butter, it's time to get green with your envy. With our fresh RideShare program, you can offer your ride or find one just by logging in or sharing someone else's reservation instead of making your own. Read more about it at here. Reserve a Prius Hybrid instead Sometimes, you just need that Tacoma (here's lookin' at you, IKEA). But for everyday driving, reserving a Prius hybrid or a Prius electric plug-in vehicle is the greenest choice you can make. Hybrid technology emits 25-90% less harmful pollutants and greenhouse gases than their gasoline-powered counterparts. Plus, they boast an impressive EPA MPG of 51 on city streets, and 48 on the highway. Comprising one-third of City CarShare's Bay Area fleet, there's plenty of Prius love to go around. Use our handy "search by vehicle type" feature when making your next reservation to find one near you. 
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More about our We ♥ the Bay Area sponsorsCal Academy, continued
If you visit the museum now through May 1, the new exhibit Spring to Life will be in full swing with live ecosystems and
programs related to the frenzy of sprouting, blossoming, and emergence by which new life enters our world.
If you spot Squishy waving his tentacles from your glove compartment this month, you and a guest will have a chance to meet his friends and family on their own turf at the California Academy of Sciences in Golden Gate Park. Along with donating many Squishy ambassadors and free passes for our April 10th Anniversary goodie bags, the Academy is celebrating their love for the Bay with a coupon (attached to all Squishy's, year-long) for $5 off general museum admission, up to 4 tickets. Green Pawz, continued A veritable pet paradise, Green Pawz is stocked with all-natural, organic and raw pet food, as well as eco-friendly supplies and toys. They strive to support local vendors as much as possible, so shopping there is keeping our region healthy, too. Green Pawz has an in-store full service groomer that uses only all natural and organic shampoo and conditioner to clean your dog or cat. If you prefer to DIY, Green Pawz is happy to supply you with necessities like high-rise stainless steel tubs and high-powered dryers as well as a few luxuries--like organic fur-care, ramps for older dogs, and aprons to keep you suds-free. 
Julianne Walsh, the founder of Green Pawz, was in the Natural and Organic industry for 14 years before following her passion to foster a community for healthy, happy pets and their lucky humans. Her mission for Green Pawz is to be kind to our planet and everything living within it. CCS Member Perk: Through the month of April, CCS members can enjoy 10% off merchandise or grooming services at Green Pawz. Just let them know that you're a City CarShare member by flashing your fob when you swing by the store. Visit www.greenpawzsf.com to learn more or to schedule a grooming.Rainbow Grocery Cooperative, continued As an independent, local, and worker-owned grocery store, Rainbow provides goods from local organic farmers, bakers, dairies, and other businesses whenever possible. They strive to provide affordable groceries for all while minimizing their ecological footprint. Berkeley Bowl, continued In 2009, Berkeley Bowl extended their 40,000 square foot headquarters into a second store, Berkeley Bowl West, off 9th & Heinz Avenue. The new location is tucked a block north of Ashby and right off I-80. Berkeley Bowl West offers free ample ground and underground parking, great for City CarSharers and anyone who wants to peruse well-priced local, seasonal and exotic produce at this local gem. The new branch also features a cafe plus catering services. 479° Popcorn, continued 479° follows the artisan method of making popcorn from scratch, using heavy copper kettles for small batches. Heirloom corn varieties offer fluffy kernels with maximum crunch, and a robust, can't-get-it-from-the-microwave, corny flavor. 
Popcorn at the movies and a sweeping view of golden cornfields? That's classic Americana. Pungent black truffles and
fiery Pimento chili pods? That's a page from the globe-trotting travelogue of Jean Arnold. After more than a decade in
the business world, Jean decided that her fine food obsession needed a larger outlet. And so in September 2008, 479°
Popcorn was born, partly out of enthusiasm for her favorite snack and partly out of the frustration that she couldn't
find anything to meet her exacting standards.
CCS Member Perk: Are you all ears? For the month of April, 479° Popcorn is offering a 10% discount on all online orders exclusively for City CarShare members. Enter discount code CITYCARSHARE upon checkout.Thanks for Sharing! |
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If you want to contact us, please do not reply to this message. Instead, please send your email to memberservices@citycarshare.org. We are unable to read or respond to your replies to this message. THE FINE PRINT UNSUBSCRIBE FROM THIS NEWSLETTER If you are a former member, or have applied for City CarShare membership and wish to unsubscribe, go here: https://denali.citycarshare.org/signup/optout.action |
