NextMark, Inc., a leading provider of tools and resources to buy mailing lists, sell mailing lists, and learn about mailing lists, announced today it has been awarded a patent for a new mailing list selection technique it has invented. The United States Patent and Trademark Office has issued NextMark patent number 7,246,077 for its Systems and Methods for Generating Highly Responsive Mailing Lists. .

Stop junk mail before it's garbage

Each year, more than 100 million trees are chopped up and 28 billion gallons of water are used to create the paper that goes into junk mail, according to the company GreenDimes. And Alameda County garbage officials estimate that 5 percent of the waste sent to landfills is junk mail.

You can go a long way toward reducing the amount of garbage you create by getting off the mailing lists used to send such unsolicited mail.

You can find a company to do the legwork for you. Companies like GreenDimes, www.greendimes.com, can notify all the mailing list companies in exchange for a fee -- about $36 a year for GreenDimes.

You can also do it yourself. You can get help by ordering a kit at www.stopjunkmail.org or call (877) 786-7927.

You should also write to request that your name is removed from mailing lists.

Spam nuisance 'can be combated'

Consumers are becoming increasingly angry about rampant SMS and email spam, but what they do not know is that the law is on their side and that there are ways to stop and even prosecute persistent spammers. This was the message from Cape Town-based privacy lawyer Brendan Hughes, of Michalson and Associates, in a presentation on data privacy legislation to Durban businesses last week. Hughes, a member of the appeals panel that adjudicates complaints for the Wireless Application Service Providers' Association (Waspa), said that direct marketing using consumers' personal information was "big business". However, Hughes said businesses that continued to send marketing material or spam to consumers who had asked to be removed from mailing lists could be criminally prosecuted under Section 45 of the Electronic Communications and Transactions Act of 2002.

Sustainable Ballard hears about legislative environmental record

Local non-profit Sustainable Ballard celebrated its fourth birthday recently by reviewing several energy and environmental successes of the past state legislative session.Sen. Jeanne Kohl-Welles, D-Seattle, was the key speaker at the event held at the Sunset Hill Community Club. She applauded the organization for its grassroots efforts in promoting a more sustainable community.Though Kohl-Welles hasn't served on any environmental committees since the mid-1990s, she said it was still an issue she paid a lot of attention to."I'm not an authority on this," she warned the audience, "but I love these issues. I feel passionate about the environment in this state, country and the world and I want to do everything I can."When Democrats took over the majority in the House last November, it did more than anything else to advance environmental legislation, Kohl-Welles said.

Auto insurance without car

You might not have a car, but that doesn't mean you don't need auto insurance.

Take Sandy, a Baltimore resident who occasionally rents a car but finds insurance from rental agencies cost-prohibitive.

She writes in an e-mail: "I usually rent a car about twice a month for a day or a weekend, sometimes longer. The loss damage waiver offered by the car rental companies often costs as much as the rental fee - and sometimes even more. I know that many credit card agreements provide insurance coverage for car rentals, but this does not always mean full coverage. Is there a policy available from any insurance company that would provide coverage on a yearly basis for people in this situation?"

Sustainable Ballard hears about legislative environmental record

Local non-profit Sustainable Ballard celebrated its fourth birthday recently by reviewing several energy and environmental successes of the past state legislative session.Sen. Jeanne Kohl-Welles, D-Seattle, was the key speaker at the event held at the Sunset Hill Community Club. She applauded the organization for its grassroots efforts in promoting a more sustainable community.Though Kohl-Welles hasn't served on any environmental committees since the mid-1990s, she said it was still an issue she paid a lot of attention to."I'm not an authority on this," she warned the audience, "but I love these issues. I feel passionate about the environment in this state, country and the world and I want to do everything I can."When Democrats took over the majority in the House last November, it did more than anything else to advance environmental legislation, Kohl-Welles said.

Auto insurance without car

You might not have a car, but that doesn't mean you don't need auto insurance.

Take Sandy, a Baltimore resident who occasionally rents a car but finds insurance from rental agencies cost-prohibitive.

She writes in an e-mail: "I usually rent a car about twice a month for a day or a weekend, sometimes longer. The loss damage waiver offered by the car rental companies often costs as much as the rental fee - and sometimes even more. I know that many credit card agreements provide insurance coverage for car rentals, but this does not always mean full coverage. Is there a policy available from any insurance company that would provide coverage on a yearly basis for people in this situation?"

Stop junk mail before it's garbage

Each year, more than 100 million trees are chopped up and 28 billion gallons of water are used to create the paper that goes into junk mail, according to the company GreenDimes. And Alameda County garbage officials estimate that 5 percent of the waste sent to landfills is junk mail.

You can go a long way toward reducing the amount of garbage you create by getting off the mailing lists used to send such unsolicited mail.

You can find a company to do the legwork for you. Companies like GreenDimes, www.greendimes.com, can notify all the mailing list companies in exchange for a fee -- about $36 a year for GreenDimes.

You can also do it yourself. You can get help by ordering a kit at www.stopjunkmail.org or call (877) 786-7927.

You should also write to request that your name is removed from mailing lists.