Yahoo! Issues 'Greenest City in America' Challenge With Reward of Hybrid Taxi Fleet

Matt Dillon and Global Green USA join in effort to 'Be a Better Planet;'

Coincides with introduction of Yahoo! Green eco-site

    NEW YORK, May 14 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- With the multi-megawatt
 backdrop of New York City's Times Square, Yahoo! Inc. ( YHOO) will
 issue a challenge today in search of the greenest city in America.
 Co-founder David Filo, joined by actor Matt Dillon and Global Green USA CEO
 Matt Petersen, will introduce "Be a Better Planet"
 (http://better.yahoo.com/planet), a program that empowers Americans to take
 action against climate change. Consumers participate by using Yahoo! tools,
 resources and communities to become better planetarians.
     (Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20070514/AQM078 )
     The winning city, which will be announced following the program's
 conclusion on June 8th, will be rewarded with a fleet of hybrid taxi cabs
 or the equivalent cash donation, to be dedicated toward city greening
 projects. To kick off the program, Yahoo! will also donate a fleet of
 hybrid taxis to New York City, recently determined to produce 1% of all
 U.S. greenhouse gases. By displacing traditionally fueled cabs with hybrid
 taxis, Yahoo! will be helping New York City edge closer to its ambitious
 environmental goals. The City will also save enough gas to drive a hybrid
 vehicle 56 times around the Earth.
     "Americans everywhere are taking notice of the increasingly dire
 predictions around global climate change," said Yahoo!'s David Filo. "We
 want to make it easy for consumers to do something, as well as help them
 build enduring habits that can truly make a difference. We believe many
 small individual actions can add up to significant change."
     The program coincides with the introduction of Yahoo! Green
 (http://green.yahoo.com), a new site launching as a one-stop resource for
 the growing number of environmentally-concerned consumers. The eco-site is
 designed to inform and empower consumers with the latest news, tips, and
 ways to take action. The site features a personalized plan to protect the
 planet -- a pledge that allows consumers to choose from a menu of actions
 to reduce their personal carbon emissions and see the collective impact of
 everyone who participates. In the near future, it will include the latest
 environmental headlines from Yahoo! News; featured content from Global
 Green USA, Environmental Defense, NRDC, and Lime; blog feeds from
 environmental authority Amory Lovins, Environmental Defense's chief
 scientist Bill Chameides and EcoGeek; green shopping tips; the
 18Seconds.org site; relevant content from Yahoo! Answers, Yahoo! Groups,
 the Yahoo! Autos Green Center; with even more content and features to come.
     "Part of reducing global warming pollution can be as simple as turning
 off the lights when not being used, changing to compact fluorescent light
 bulbs and walking or using public transportation more often," said Matt
 Dillon. "I'm excited to support Global Green USA's work with Yahoo! to get
 the word out about more simple solutions to global warming through this
 program -- I urge everyone to take the pledge to make their city the
 greenest in the country."
     Dillon will also ask the question "What are the most effective yet
 simple ways people can save energy?" on Yahoo! Answers, the leading Q&A
 site on the Web, inviting people to share their thoughts and offer advice.
     Lower Carbon Diets with Yahoo! Green, Yahoo! Answers and Yahoo! Mobile
     To participate in the "Be a Better Planet" promotion, users can do one
 or more of the following:
     --  Yahoo! Answers: Help save the planet by answering an environmental
         question and contributing to the growing body of knowledge and advice
         on Yahoo! Answers;
     --  Yahoo! oneSearch: Learn more about living a greener life by conducting
         a "green" mobile search on Yahoo! oneSearch, a new search service with
         results optimized for the mobile phone. Consumers can enter keywords
         such as "organic food," "public transport," "recycle center," "bike,"
         and "ride share" to find relevant resources;
     --  Take the Green Pledge: Visit Yahoo! Green and commit to lowering their
         carbon diet by pledging such actions as changing light bulbs, taking
         public transportation, using reusable shopping bags, properly
         inflating tires, and recycling more.
     Participants earn points with each green action, contributing to their
 hometown's overall ranking, which will be visible nearly in real-time on an
 interactive national map. They will also receive a free energy-efficient
 compact fluorescent light bulb (CFL), while supplies last.
     The "Be a Better Planet" promotion is part of Yahoo!'s new integrated
 branding campaign, "Be a Better ___," which launched on April 30 with
 online, television, radio and cinema advertising. Its goal is to inspire
 consumers and businesses to be better at whatever interests them by tapping
 Yahoo!'s breadth of products and services.
     "Our buildings and transportation are two of the greatest contributors
 to global warming," said Global Green USA's Matt Petersen. "Across the
 country, cities are leading the fight against global warming -- through
 green policies, sustainable buildings, and solar power -- while our federal
 government fails to act. We applaud Yahoo! for mobilizing its users to
 shift their actions, and in turn further reduce the impact of our cities on
 the environment."
     Global Green USA -- which works with cities to create policies,
 programs, and incentives to create more cost-effective, energy efficient,
 healthier buildings -- will partner with the winning city to green a
 school, city building, or a citywide green building program (see
 http://globalgreen.org/greenbuilding/index.html for their "Municipal Green
 Building Guide") should the winning city choose Yahoo!'s cash donation in
 lieu of hybrid taxis.
     Yahoo!'s Commitment to the Planet
     Yahoo! has a long track record of supporting environmental
 sustainability both in its operations and on its global network. The
 company uses renewable power, hydroelectric energy, and passive cooling at
 its various facilities and data centers. Its award-winning commute
 alternatives program offers incentives such as Wi-Fi enabled biodiesel
 shuttles and generous public transit subsidies. The company has also
 launched several sustainability-focused product initiatives, including an
 annual Earth Day resource site (earth.yahoo.com), the Yahoo! Autos Green
 Center, and 18Seconds.org, dedicated to educating Americans about the
 cost-savings and environmental benefits of CFL bulbs.
     Yahoo! recently replaced incandescent light bulbs with CFLs on its
 billboards in New York City, San Francisco, and Los Angeles, and announced
 that it will become carbon neutral in 2007.
     About Global Green USA
     Global Green USA is a national environmental organization and is the US
 affiliate of Mikhail Gorbachev's Green Cross International. To learn more
 about their work on green cities, sustainable building, and other smart
 solutions to global warming, visit http://www.globalgreen.org.
     About Yahoo!
     Yahoo! Inc. is a leading global Internet brand and one of the most
 trafficked Internet destinations worldwide. Yahoo!'s mission is to connect
 people to their passions, their communities, and the world's knowledge.
 Yahoo! is headquartered in Sunnyvale, California. For more information,
 visit pressroom.yahoo.com or the company's corporate blog, Yodel Anecdotal
 (http://yodel.yahoo.com).
 
 

SOURCE Yahoo! Inc.