I have found there are natural laws that govern all life, and when they are applied, life flourishes.

One of these laws has to do with exchange:

All living organisms survive through exchange with their surrounding environment.

If you have a flow of activity that only goes one way...
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...it eventually exhausts it's source.

If you have a flow of activity where there is a flow from one direction...
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...and then a return flow...
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...the cycle is completed. Both sides get replenished and can be sustained.

This law is easy to see in action, even in something as simple as a single breath. We all breathe in air containing life-giving oxygen and exhale a breath containing carbon dioxide. Plants around us take in our carbon dioxide and give back more oxygen. To survive, both humans and plants need to exchange with each other. This same pattern of exchange occurs over and over in many forms all throughout Life.

And so it also applies to the business of a website. I out-flow information that benefits individual consumers and businesses. For me to continue to be able to do this, I need to be replenished with in-flow from businesses and consumers.

Exchange, in essence, is simply the act of accepting something and giving something in return. But there are different degrees of exchange. How we exchange makes the difference as to whether an activity can survive. In fact, everything survives according to the degree of exchange between those involved.

What doesn't work is for everyone to accept and give nothing in return. This is so much against survival that it is usually illegal in our culture. When a bank robber, for instance, takes money but gives nothing in return, we call it "crime." On the flip side, when a merchant accepts money from us and doesn't deliver the product as promised we call it "fraud." "Something for nothing" looks good on a short-term basis, but it can't be sustained as an ongoing activity.

Then there is a kind of inadequate exchange where one side gives and the other side gives something, but not enough to be fair. I bought some beautiful purple dahlias that looked fresh at the florist, but they only lasted two days after I got them home. That's inadequate exchange. I paid the full price, but I didn't get the full use of the flowers. When I mentioned it to the florist, to her credit, she kept her exchange in with me by voluntarily replacing them with fresh flowers equivalent to the full amount I paid.

Fair exchange is the minimum of what is required to sustain any activity. We're happy when someone exchanges with us fairly, giving us a good wage, for example, in exchange for our good quality product or service.

But there is something beyond fair exchange. Here is an example. At a gourmet take-out shop in Chicago, I purchased a chicken and a couple of side dishes. When I reached the register, it turned out they had extra cakes, left over from the day before. Instead of selling them as "day-old", they simply gave me a whole incredibly delicious apple cake. It didn't cost them anything. The cakes were already baked and would have been discarded. Instead, they turned their surplus into an opportunity to build goodwill that their customers won't forget. That's an abundant exchange!

The best exchanges are ones where everyone comes out feeling not just good about the exchange, but GREAT!

It's up to each of us to take a look at how we exchange with other people, businesses, our community, and the ecosystems which provide for our material support. The choice as to how we exchange is ours to make. The more we exchange fairly and with a little extra, in exchanges of all kinds, the more sustainable our activities will be.

If you have received abundance, and expect to continue to receive benefit from Debra's List as you use it in the future, please return the exchange in kind.

Here are some ways you can exchange with me ...

Write and tell me how Debra's List helps you
It makes my day when I find out that Debra's List is useful to people. And your testimonials are a big help in marketing the website. Please send me an email.

Tell your family, friends, and co-workers about Debra's List
Word-of-mouth is the best way to spread a message.

• tell people you know individually
• send an email to your address list
• post your experience with Debra's List on a bulletin board or discussion list
• write about Debra's List in a newsletter or local newspaper
• when someone asks you where to find a green product, refer them to Debra's List.

Become a sponsor
In the past, I've sold the type of information you find on Debra's List through books and newsletters. Rather than require your credit card to access the lists, or clutter the pages with advertising, I've set up a voluntary contribution program for both individuals and businesses.

become an INDIVIDUAL sponsor now...
become a BUSINESS sponsor now...

Make a purchase from an associate website.
When you enter these websites through Debra's List, they will give Debra's List a small commission--at no extra charge to you--through their associate program.