Thanks to all of the writers who submitted entries into Green Options' "The Lighter Side of Green" contest. Given the time frame for entries, and our pre-launch status, we were happy with the response we received. Thanks to all of you that took the time (and exercised your patience) in providing your response to the entries: rest assured that we considered your votes when we chose a contest winner.

The winner of the "Lighter Side of Green" is…. drum roll please…

Wendy Laird, author of "There is Nothing Funny About Environmentalism."

Wendy will receive the $100 prize, and a one-month starter contract as Green Options' resident humor writer. We hope that you're looking forward to her contributions as much as we are!

Again, many thanks to all of you who participated in the contest! This was only our first — we'll have many more!

Just a reminder that the entries in our "Lighter Side of Green" humor writing contest are up and ready for your votes. We have had some glitches with the voting system (which our developers are handling), so please make sure to:

• Vote in order
• Vote on every entry

We appreciate your feedback — it will definitely figure into our choice of the contest winner!

The submissions for Green Options' "The Lighter Side of Green" Contest are ready for reading… and voting! We've added a rating feature to each essay so you can tell us what you think.

We'll be deciding on a contest winner this week, and your response will certainly play a role in our decision. The winner will receive not only a $100 cash prize, but also a one-month starter contract as a blog columnist — so let us know which writer you'd like to see come back! We'll announce the winner next Monday.

Many thanks to our entrants — we'll have a tough time with this one!