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The Virtual Office – Corporate America’s Green Solution

David Atkinson – CTO AnsweringService.com, Wednesday, March 03, 2010

The AnsweringService.com Virtual Office was born out of a need to create a professional office space in the heart of the CBD of any given city that accommodated the needs of the mobile professional. What has evolved is a revolution in corporate social responsibility, specifically in the area of reducing corporate environmental impact. A virtual office is essentially a shared office space in which users share office resources, significantly reducing environmental impact and taking positive steps towards social and environmental responsibility.

Research shows that positive work environments effect productivity but only recently have the corporate sector taken a keen interest in their impact on the environment. The reality of the fact that industrial and commercial energy account for nearly 30% of the U.S. greenhouse emissions has shown the corporate world that they need to take greater responsibility. The U.S. has now taken Europe’s lead with Packaging Recovery Organization, …

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Cities in Vermont

Located in the New England region of the Northeastern U.S.A., Vermont is home to 621,000 Americans making it the second least populated state in the country. The state capital is Montpelier and the largest city is Burlington. It is the only New England state with no coastline and is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, New York to the west and the Canadian province of Quebec to the north. It is one of 4 U.S. states to of been its own republic at one time in history.

Vermont is notable for Lake Champlain which makes up 50% of it western border and the Green Mountains. Vermont is the leading producer of the maple syrup. Tourists are attracted to the states premium ski resorts.

Native Americans inhabited Vermont between 8500-7000 BC, and during the archaic period between 8000-1000 BC they migrated year round. Trade networks and villages were established during the Woodland period (1000 BC – 1600 AD). The small group of the Algonquian tribes, that included the Mohican and Abenaki peoples, was pushed out by the Iroquois around 1500-1600.

Jacques Cartier was the first European to visit Vermont in 1535. In 1609 Samuel de Champlain, a French explorer claimed Vermont as part of New France. He erected a Fort which was the first European settlement in Vermont. Dutch-British settlers from Albany established a trading post and settlement in 1690.

The first permanent British settlement was established in 1724. The French constructed a fort that gave them control of the New France/Vermont border region in 1731-34. On the fifth attempt to capture the fort, the British finally succeeded in 1759 and pushed the French out of the area. The 1763 Treaty of Paris gave control of the land to the British.

New settlers came to Vermont while Massachusetts, New Hampshire and New York all contended for this frontier area. In 1770 the Ethan Allen organized a militia to protect New Hampshire settlers against New York migrants; this led to Vermont becoming independent in 1777. For the first six months of the state's existence it was called New Connecticut. In 1791 Vermont became the 14th state admitted to the Union. The Constitution of Vermont was the first to abolish slavery in its constitution. State law again banned slavery in 1858.

Dairy farming is the primary source of the agricultural economy of the state. The manufacturing and sale of artisan foods, fancy foods, and novelty items trading in part upon the Vermont "brand". About 25% of the country’s maple syrup production comes from Vermont.

IBM is the largest for profit employer in the state. It provides 25% of all manufacturing jobs in Vermont. In 2007 it employed 6,800 workers. It is responsible for $1 billion of the state's annual economy.

Source: Wikipedia