Paul Young sent me the news that the Second Chance Trees initiative has been selected as one of 50 finalists in a competition sponsored by American Express called "The Members Project." Second Chance Trees is an effort to raise awareness about and funds for rainforest re-forestation around the world. Second Life residents can purchase virtual trees in a lush rainforest setting for L$300 (about one US dollar), which funds the planting of a real tree in a rainforest somewhere in the real world.
Paul says that if Second Chance Trees wins the competition, they could get up to $5 million, which would fund millions of trees. Amex card holders can vote for Second Chance (or any other member project) by going to http://www.membersproject.com.
There's a YouTube video that explains the Second Chance initiative, but of course it's best to teleport in and check it out yourself in-world (teleport SLURL.) Buy a few trees while you're there. I'm partial to the "Golden Shower" and the "Mangium" myself. Second Chance Trees was conceived, developed and built by social media agency Converseon in partnership with the non-profit Plant It 2020.
