Thanks to a wiry old man named Bernard, Ponzi schemes got a bad rap in 2009.  But there's a travel organziation out there looking to see that the Ponzi scheme has a good start to the new decade. Ruba, a new travel guides and tour reviews site, has launched a blogger challenge to "help offset the negative environmental impacts of travel by planting trees for badges placed on blogs," according to Community Manager Erin Kiskis in a recent email. 

Thus a Ponzi scheme is born.  But it's more like a pyramid scheme than anything.  So here's how the "Ponzi Tree Scheme" works:  Ruba plants a tree not only for each badge placed on a bloggers' blog, but ALSO for each reader who sees that badge, clicks on it, and installs one on their own blog or site. Bloggers can watch their "returns" grow right there on their badge - it automatically updates based on the number of other bloggers who have come along after and planted their own trees.  Click on our tree below to get started.  Even if you just "plant" the badge on your blog, Ruba will plant a tree.  So if you're feeling bad about cutting down that Christmas tree, here's your chance to make up for it.

---

---