greenerMIAMI

Florida Summit on Global Climate Change - RFK, Jr & Schwarzenegger

As a follow up to the Governor's Summit on Climate Change held in Miami this month (see previous posts), I wanted to touch on what Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger & Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. covered.

First of all, to see Robert F. Kennedy, Jr speak in person was incredible. What an amazing speaker. You may see his entire speech here. I was especially intrigued by his discussion on the level of mercury in our bodies, and how it can be tested. Just a week or so later, I found that Ted Danson is discussing the same issue through his non-profit, Oceana.

Want to know what your mercury levels are? RFK Jr.'s org Waterkeeper & GreenPeace have teamed up to offer you this service. For $25 you can order a mercury testing kit. You send them some samples of your hair, and in a few weeks, they’ll send you back your results.

I was disappointed to find out, however, that Bobby made a similar speech two years ago to the Sierra Club. I guess I thought I was experiencing something extremely unique. It may be naive on my part - as someone like Robert F Kennedy, Jr. must make speeches daily across the country and the world.

The Governator also was an interesting listen. And though I stopped recording just before he said "Let's say Hasta La Vista Baby to GreenHouse Gases," I did catch some interesting moments of his speech, which can be seen in entirety here.

Win Tickets: Linkin Park Projekt Revolution, Aug. 10 WPB

Get ready to rock! Linkin Park & the Projekt Revolution tour are coming to West Palm Beach and we've got free tickets to give away. (It makes the photo of Linkin Park in front of palm trees even more meaningful.)

What does a rock concert have to do with greenerMIAMI? This concert has gone green.

• Biodiesel - Music for Relief has teamed up with Reverb to fuel at least a portion of the trucks & buses with biodiesel fuel.
• $1 of each ticket purchased will be donated to Music for Relief and American Forests to plant trees, hoping to offset 167 tons of carbon emissions.
• Projekt Revolution is trying to implement recycling at the concerts at each individual venue.
• Revolution Village will include a Music for Relief booth in which fans can calculate their own carbon emissions and purchase carbon offsets.

Plus, don't forget to stop by the video booth to let Linkin Park and the world know what you've done for Music for Relief!

It's like a mini-Live Earth, but with a little less pop and a lot more rock! NowWhat.com will be posting video as the tour progresses - check 'em out.

Who: Linkin Park, My Chemical Romance, Taking Back Sunday, HIM, Placebo, Julien-K, Mindless Self Indulgence, Saosin, The Bled, Styles of Beyond, and Madina Lake

Where: Sound Advice Amphitheatre, West Palm Beach (map)

When: Friday, August 10, 2007. Doors open at 12 noon.

Tickets: $24.50 (General Admission / LAWN) , $24.50 - $64.50 (Reserved Seating). Buy them OR enter to win here on greenerMIAMI!

How to enter to win a pair of Projekt Revolution tickets: Email us your name, email, phone and mailing address. You'll get extra points if you tell us why you want to go! Entries must be received by Sunday, August 5, 2007. You must be 18 or over to enter. We'll select the winner and send out the tickets in the mail on August 6, 2007.   

Deadline for Everglades Comments July 31

From the Sierra Club:

From now until July 31st, the National Park Service is accepting public comments on a new management plan for Everglades National Park. This decision will determine the park's management policy for the next 15 to 20 years. Please take a few minutes to read the Sierra Club's position on this important issue and then send your comments in at the National Park Service's website provided below.

See the Everglades newsletter & description, and the comment form to submit your thoughts.

The Sierra Club supports Alternative D. If you'd like to read the entire email sent from the Sierra Club, including their recommendations, follow the link below.

Want local organic veggies later this year? Sign up now.

If you haven't heard of the 100-Mile Diet yet or the new book that goes along with it, Plenty...then definitely go snooping around. Here's the basic, important, piece: almost every ingredient on your plate has travelled at least 1500 miles to get there. So, it doesn't taste as fresh, and has a huge carbon footprint. And I'm not even going to talk about the pesticides.

There are other options, however. Down in the Redlands there are several groups of people that work very hard every day in order to be able to provide us with delicious, fresh, organic food. Not only do they sell at the farmers markets in late winter, but they have a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture).

Through the Redland Organics CSA, you can order a subscription for an entire season of local veggies. You'll pick them up at a location near you each Saturday morning from mid-November until the beginning of April.

You can pay $600 for a full share for those 20 weeks of food ($30 a week and read: a TON of food) or $360 for a half share (also, lots of food). (Pictured: a typical March full share) Deposits for next year need to be in place by September 1, but move quickly as the shares can sell out before that. 

If you read my post from last year's experience (Read all of Tere's, too: Week 1, Week 2, & Week 4), you'll see that both Tere & I had some trouble getting accustomed to this way of eating. Six months later, however, I'm missing this fresh, delicious, and healthy local food.

I crave the Asian mix that I didn't know how to eat. A reader told me: simply eat it as a salad with some bleu cheese dressing. How I think about that delicious flavor - edible flowers & all. You may not know what every veggie is each week, but they'll tell you.

It's an experience, it's good for the environment, your body, and the local farmers. Give it a shot! 

Wife Swap Needs An Eco-Family. Got One?

A Casting Producer for ABC's Wife Swap has contacted us, in search of moms to feature on the current season of the show. If you haven't seen the show, you can imagine: two moms from two very different families get the opportunity to swap lives (but not bedrooms - everyone has their own!) for a week to experience what it's like to live a different lifestyle - and to see what they can teach each other about their own lifestyle.

So why did they contact us? They want a treehugging family, of course! Here's how they put it:

We want to feature a family who is involved with the Earthship lifestyle, in hopes of shattering any common misconceptions of what family life for an Earthship dweller might be like! We encourage all families, the bolder and more adventurous the better, with 2 parents at home and school aged children (6-17) to apply immediately. The family can be involved with any aspect of an Earthship way of life (solar living, composting, etc.)

If you're interested in applying, send an email Abby Koocher. And tell her greenerMIAMI sent you!

Saturday, July 21: Flagler Monument Cleanup

This post was contributed by Luiz Rodrigues of ECOMB. This is a cool opportunity to be able to even get ON the island. Via Critical Miami, we find that Worm-Hole Laboratory recently visited the island to find it "in poor condition and the beach had piles of trash and overflowing garbage cans."  Be at Island View Park by 9am on Saturday, and don't forget to register.

Flagler Monument Island Cleanup: part of the City of Miami Beach Adopt-a-Park Program.

What: Help ECOMB volunteers, the City of Miami Beach Neighborhood Services, Environmental Resources, Public Works, Police and Parks Departments cleanup the shoreline of the Flagler Monument Island, Miami Beach.

Sponsors: the City of Miami Beach Neighborhood Services, Environmental Resources, Public Works, Police and Parks Departments.

Where: Meet us at Island View Park, on Purdy Avenue (just north of the junction of the Venetian Causeway in Miami Beach; map).

When: Saturday, July 21, 2007 - 9:00 am to 12:00 noon. Registration begins at 8:30 am

Parking: Parking will not be enforced for legally parked vehicles at Island View Park parking lot meters until 1 pm.

Community Service Hours: you will receive 4 CSH for this event.

Registration, Release Form & More Info

Publix to Open Green Supermarket

During Serve to Preserve: A Summit on Global Climate Change on Friday, one of the leaders of Publix was part of a leadership roundtable. He told us that in addition to researching solar energy, Publix is "looking at alternative [methods] of refrigeration and air conditioning." He also stated that Publix is"recognizing that it's good for business and it's also good for the environment," which was really one of the general themes of the conference overall. He continued, "Something else that's been a real benefit since we've gotten into this is: we employ about 140,000 people in five states in the Southeast and what we're learning is that young people that we appeal to for employment, what we find is that they expect business to do a good job..."

And so it goes that Publix continues its foray into specialty stores. In September, the first Publix Greenwise Market will open in September in Palm Beach Gardens. They are attempting LEED certification on the building, organic certification for prepared foods, and more. Miami's not next on the list for a Greenwise Market, however: Boca Raton, Tampa & Vero Beach stores are planned to open after the Palm Beach Gardens branch.

Just last month, Publix received the Sustainable Large Business Best Practice Award from the Council for Sustainable Florida. Specific programs that Publix submitted with their application for the award include:

Get into a Green Routine, a Publix program launched in 2002 to educate associates on energy conservation. Since launching, the company has succeeded in reducing electricity usage by an average of 7 percent overall and approximately 23 percent in new stores.

Publix reduce-and-reuse before recycling program, where plastic is re-used for the shipping of product. Recycling efforts in 2006, lead Publix to recycle more than 209,000 tons of cardboard and 7,600 tons of plastic.

Okay Publix, we're listening. Now let's see how you can really affect change and get your customers to bring their own bags. How about charging for bags like IKEA does? Or putting out more "loose" fruits & veggies, instead of packaging them in Styrofoam & plastic wrap? Or labeling foods so that we can tell which ones (if any) are local?

More Thoughts, Video on Florida Summit on Global Climate Change

So much information was given today at Serve to Preserve: A Florida Summit on Global Climate Change today in Miami. See our previous post and continue reading for more analysis & summary.

Larry Schweiger, CEO of the National Wildlife Federation, had the honor of introducing Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. today. He told us, "This is not an issue of left or right and I think the governor as a Republican has once again demonstrated that it is not an issue of politics."

It was my great honor to be able to hear Robert F Kennedy speak in person. Watch Robert F Kennedy Jr's entire speech - it was incredible and completely unedited!

RFK Jr. focused on a free market capitalism and stop rewarding bad behavior through government subsidies. He recommended Terry Tamminen's book, Lives Per Gallon, which is now on my wish list! While you're at it, check out Bobby's book, Crimes Against Nature. He also said that we have a "negligent & indolent press in this country that has simply let down American democracy."

You can also watch Gov. Charlie Crist's entire opening speech from July 12, 2007. He set forth the idea that Florida can be the leading producer of ethanol. And we're not talking ethanol from corn - sugar cane & citrus (and citrus waste) are the goals. (Video link.)

More bits & pieces from today:

Solar panels will finally be installed on the Governor's Mansion next week. Additionally, the Governor said that all new government buildings will be green, the fleet will be green, and more.

We need to stop urban sprawl & drive people back into the cities. New York City is the most eco-friendly / efficient city in the US. Residents of NYC take an average of 165 trips on public transit per person per year. Miami? 30. Guess where the 2nd best transportation system in America is? Just a few hours away: Walt Disney World.

There were several comments throughout the day regarding the absence of the federal government at this summit. It was asked at the press conference and this was the result:

Though I was pleased overall with the event today, one thing that I found disappointing were the swag bags. Each conference attendee was given a canvas bag with the summit logo on it, stuffed with a t-shirt (with the logo), a bag of Starbucks coffee, a pen, and conference brochures. Unfortunately, the only thing that was eco in that bag was the pen, made from recycled materials. The tee and canvas bag were made from conventional cotton. A typical cotton t-shirt requires 1/3 lb of pesticides to produce. The coffee, Verona, was neither one of Starbucks' Fair Trade or organic versions. I wish that they had though more in depth about the messages they were sending with these "gifts". The good news? No bottled water all day. Pitchers & pitchers of tap.

More to come tomorrow...

Serve to Preserve Day 1: General Themes

Today I attended the Florida Summit on Global Climate Change hosted by Governor Charlie Crist. First, let me just say that I'm so pleased to see an event like this occurring, and not just focusing on the local government, but to see representatives & press from across the state together and ready to tackle this issue.

I do hope that we can get to the point soon where we can get beyond the basics of trying to convince everyone that climate change exists, and what it is, and move on to more solutions & ideas. General themes that were discussed today:

ECONOMY, ECONOMY, ECONOMY

I should have counted how many times I heard the term "The Great State of Florida" today. Not that I don't agree. Crist pointed out that Florida's economy is directly affected by the environment. Tourism is our #1 industry and what brings people here time and time again has everything to do with our environment.

It was made clear that Florida has the potential to be the leading producer of ethanol - and it seems like it's probably one of the new goals of the state. (Ahem, sorry, Great State.)

ENERGY EFFICIENCY

Alternative energies are great, but first and foremost we should be looking at efficiency - not wasting the energy we use!

GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS

We're gonna reduce 'em, baby.

A COAL PLANT NEXT TO THE EVERGLADES? WHO'S IDEA WAS THAT?

It was mentioned more than once today that the Florida Public Service Commission recently voted down an FPL request for 2 new coal power plants in Glades County. Thank you Florida PSC!

What to expect tomorrow:

1) Some pretty cool speeches. Watch them LIVE or later in the archives.

• Theodore Roosevelt IV - 9:00 a.m. Friday, July 13
• Vinod Khosla, Khosla Ventures – 9:30 a.m. Friday, July 13
• California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger – 12:00 p.m. Friday, July 13

2) Governor Charlie Crist will sign into action some incredible policies. Supposed to be a secret surprise until tomorrow, the press did their research and found out ahead of schedule. From the Miami Herald article:

Florida will adopt California's car-pollution standards -- the toughest in the nation -- and become the first state in the Southeast to enact targets for reducing greenhouse gases, under executive orders Gov. Charlie Crist plans to sign Friday in Miami.

Drafts of the orders released Tuesday would require the state secretary of environmental protection to immediately adopt rules to limit pollution-causing emissions for cars, diesel engines and electric companies. The orders also impose tough new energy conservation goals for state agencies, demand better fuel efficiency from state-owned vehicles and require state cars to ``use ethanol and biodiesel fuels when locally available.''

But the most optimistic step in Crist's green agenda is the requirement to lower the amount of carbon dioxide in the air to 1990 levels by 2025, and 80 percent lower by 2050, in spite of what is expected to be a near doubling of the state's population.

Here's what the governor had to say about the basic concept and the "leak":

Gov. Crist to roll out the green carpet for the “Governator” and Environmental Icon RFK Jr.

This post was contributed by a local resident. greenerMIAMI will actually be attending the Summit and will bring you up to date information as quickly and as often as possible! Stay tuned!

Well, to those of us who have been pushing for what seems like eternity for Florida to take action on global warming, the last couple months have been flat-out surreal.  First we have our newly elected Governor, in his first State of the State address, actually declare that climate change is not only real (duh) but that it is “one of the most important issues that we will face this century.”

That’s a real quote.  From the Governor of Florida no less.  I’m not kidding – look it up yourself if you like.  You could have knocked me over with a feather.

Now top that with not one, not two, but three conferences either hosted or attended by Florida Cabinet members over this summer on the very issue of Climate Change.  It’s like someone flipped a switch (or made a really popular movie out of a slide show) and now everyone wants to be green.  Kermit’s day has finally arrived!

Anyway, the point of this post is really to let you know that the big show – a star studded event that so far includes union pariah, turned greenest governor ever, Arnold Schwarzenegger, the environmental super-dude Robert F. Kennedy Junior, and Theodore Roosevelt IV – descendant of The Teddy himself and the Chair of the Pew Center for Global Climate Change – will be hosted in the “canary in the coal mine” for climate change.  Yep, Miami. Tomorrow. Check it out yourself at myfloridaclimate.com.

The agenda page of the website just published and includes a pretty good compilation of experts in various fields.  Unfortunately not too many from Florida.  The State may be slow to realize the importance of this problem (better late than never at least), but we have some great people with lots of experience in academic circles and local government.  Hopefully we'll hear a bit of that in the late Thursday session.

Although the cynic in me wants to make this conference no more than a tour of the next Atlantis, I’m truly hopeful that we can focus this event (and the inevitable international media spotlight) to finally get our Country on track and join the rest of the world in trying to come up with a real plan.  And quick.