As the global financial crisis worsens, and we all stand on the brink of joblessness, homelessness and hopelessness, Citizens Bank in Massachusetts chooses to turn back the clock a few months to when people actually gave a crap about the environment with its new "Green$ense" campaign. Yes, it uses a "$" instead of an "s." And things go downhill from there. According to the press release: "Those enrolled in Green$ense receive 10 cents for each electronic transaction they make, up to $10 per month and $120 per year." Full disclosure: I bank at Citizens, and I'd prefer they focus on waiving that $39 insufficient-funds fee. Banks like paperless transactions not because they love the environment but because it saves them money and eliminates physical records to support consumer disputes. From now on, I'm demanding not one but two transaction slips whenever I go to Citizens, just like I make Whole Foods double-paper-bag my groceries. Screw the Earth, it makes me feel better. And in these trying times, to quote Green$ense's own tagline, "Every little bit helps." UPDATE: This kind of thing is hardly limited to the Northeast.

—Posted by David Gianatasio