greenerMIAMI

Video: greenerMIAMI Goes to Best Buy

Best Buy recently invited us over to their Dadeland store to talk about Energy Star appliances and electronics with their in store experts. Enjoy the video:

Green Jobs: City of Miami, Office of Sustainable Initiatives

The City of Miami's Office of Sustainable Initiatives is looking to expand their team! They currently have three open positions. Short summaries of the expected duties are below. The complete job description can be seen by clicking the name of each position. If you would like to apply, please send a cover letter and resume to Edith McClintock.

Environmental Specialist

Examples of projects/programs include, but are not limited to: implementing City of Miami Tree Master Plan; developing or coordinating production of communications or educational materials; coordinating committees, summits, events or forums; functioning as liaison with nonprofit organizations receiving funds or working on projects with MSI; delivering community and departmental presentations and trainings on sustainable initiatives; monitoring and evaluating MSI projects.

Environmental Coordinator

The duties of the position include, but are not limited to: analyzing, implementing, and evaluating long-term plans to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from city operations; compiling and preparing detailed reports and making recommendations for operational improvements; performing statistical and financial analysis and hypothesis testing; identifying system and organizational difficulties hindering the accomplishment of MSI goals & objectives; assisting in the installation of new procedures and management techniques; conducting research on national environmental trends; performing analysis of departmental practices and policies and comparing them to industry-wide best practices; researching legal and policy issues related to MSI goals & objectives; drafting memorandums, ordinances, and a variety of other correspondence; conducting community and departmental presentations and trainings; assisting with improving community relations and responsiveness to issues raised by citizens.

In addition to the two positions noted above, the office is also looking for an Administrative Assistant.

Florida Speaker defends coal?

Florida Power and Light must have cringed when they read that the Speaker of the House, racing to the defense of polluting utilities, declared that Florida was a coal burning region.  So much for all those bill inserts the Speaker gets at his West Miami home saying that FPL is one of the cleanest utilities in the country (using almost no coal compared to their peers).  Florida Power & Light’s energy production in this state is comprised of natural gas (43%), nuclear (19%), oil (17%), and coal (18%), with the remaining demand being mostly purchased power.

Ironically, Rubio is on the opposite side of the debate from the very utility that serves the bulk of the State’s energy customers.  FPL has been quoted several times in the Herald supporting placing a cost on carbon (i.e. cap and trade) largely because their parent company FPL Group is a member of the US Climate Action Partnership (USCAP) and their sister company FPL Energy is a major player in clean, renewable energy with investments in wind, solar, and biomass.  USCAP, a group of mom-and-pop shops like Alcoa, DuPont, and General Electric, recently called for:

“…a policy framework for mandatory reductions of GHG emissions from major emitting sectors, including large stationary sources and transportation, and energy use in commercial and residential buildings. The cornerstone of this approach would be a cap-and-trade program.”

As for a “common sense” approach as the Speaker suggests, what timeframe are we to make these common sense decisions?  If we’re serious about weaning ourselves off of oil and creating new Florida industries in the process, we need to aggressively line up policies that make us competitive in the US and in the world.  And fast.

Those European countries with their “Big Government mandates” are rapidly establishing themselves as international leaders in alternative energy.  Germany, whose citizens flock to Florida for our abundant sunshine, has become the international leader in solar energy and created tens of thousands of jobs in the process.  Silicon valley is the phoenix rising – this time not as the center of the “new economy” but the center of the “green economy” re-branding itself as “solar valley.”

Florida has the most to lose (think rising tides) and the most to gain (lots of sunshine, a year-round growing season and a dire need for good-paying blue-collar jobs). 

“Common sense” says that rising fuel costs are inevitable.  Our state should be investing in the green economy like everything depends on it.  It does.

Bringing Your Own Bags Not Always Easy At Publix

You may remember that last year I brought my own bags to Publix and had a weird experience in which my Publix cashier could not comprehend for the life of her why someone would not want to waste plastic bags.

Turns out, my experience was nothing compared to what local resident Alex recently experienced:

Hi Rebecca, I normally do most of my produce shopping at the farmer's market but I recently saw a segment on TV about the Publix in Dadeland having the largest organic section, so I headed over there today and got some great things.

Everything was wonderful until my mom and I were at the register and I told the bag boy that I would be using my own bags and he politely said okay and went onto another line. Then a guy who was next to us goes to the cashier, "Why do you let these kind of people steal the jobs from the bags boys, that's what they're here for!!!!" And the cashier agreed and said, "I know right, you offer them help but they think they're too good."

Well, my mom pretty much exploded with anger and explained why we do what we do and the cashier rudely replied, "Psst, yeah whatever." Everyone in the line could see what was going on and I am sure they were completely discouraged from ever bringing their own bags in fear of being humiliated by the Publix employees and customers.

How does one react to being treated like a smaller person when you're actually making a difference? I'm scared to even go back into that Publix.

Best Regards, Alex

I have to admit that I have some days that I am commended for bringing my own bags to Publix by my cashier & bagger. Most of the time, however, it is an extremely stressful experience. What's missing is a system for bringing your own bags - a way to let the cashier & bagger know that you don't want to use disposable bags. And some training on the employee side to understand that this is an important issue to some customers.

The fact is, however, that Publix and other grocery stores will have no reason to do any of this until a decent percentage of their customers actually bring their own bags. Right now, I'm told by a cashier at my local Publix, it is me and one other lady. In order to affect the change, we need more people to bring their own bags! (Visit reusablebags.com for a wide variety of bags for this purpose.)

We contacted Publix regarding this matter. Here's what they said:

"Publix customers are encouraged to discuss any opportunities with their store manager or by contacting the Publix Consumer Relations Department. For Consumer Relations, the phone number is 1-800-242-1227." You can also contact them online. Make sure to have your store name or number available when you do so.

Alex recently wrote us back after another trip to the same Publix.

I actually went to the same Publix yesterday and they now have a ton of grocery canvas bags where you check out. (I didn't see those last time.) The bag boy was totally nice when I said I'd be using my own bag. Whatever didn't fit in one bag he put in a paper bag for me. I had a much more delightful experience this time.

Have you brought your own bags to the grocery? How did it go?

Win It! Book Review: The Green Book

The Green Book has been getting a lot of play in the media since releasing. Filled with tips on how to be good to the environment, celebrity quotes are also scattered throughout the book. (That makes it extra popular in the media, and even on my other website, Ecorazzi.)

The book is actually quite a good resource. You want to know about something specific? It's probably covered. Some random examples from flipping through the book:

• Are you a bicyclist? Recycle your tires instead of tossing them. You'll prevent 2 pounds of rubber from being landfilled and will provide materials for many things, including bike paths.
• At the hotel, turn the lights off when you're not in there. 75% of the energy used in hotel rooms is when the bathroom light is left on for more than 2 hours...an it's usually unoccupied.
• Avoid using rubber bands. 3/4 of all rubber bands are synthetic, made from crude oil.

And while the tips are helpful, I personally found the book very repetitive. All entries have the same format: What to do, benefits of doing it, and some comparison (ie: if all of the unused X items were lined up it would circle the globe Y times).

The Green Book is a good overall resource for going green to the newbies in the area. It covers topics from home and entertainment to travel and sports. Plus, you can learn how many minutes Jennifer Aniston spends in the shower.

But don't take my word for it. Read it yourself. Check it out from the Miami Dade Public Library, or enter to win. Just tell us why you want the book in a comment on this post. We'll select a winner on August 15, 2007. US mailing address required to win.

Hybrid sales strong – Hummers and Expeditions soon to be sold for scrap value

This post was contributed by Mr. Sunshine, a new greenerMIAMI correspondent.

Well, it looks like the American car makers are going to get their clock cleaned again. 

An AP story in the Herald by Dee-Ann Durbin reveals:

Although a slowdown is expected in the second half of the year, J.D. Power is forecasting total sales of 345,000 hybrids for 2007, a 35 percent increase from 2006 when the current record of 256,000 was set.

The Toyota Prius continues to be the bestselling hybrid model, accounting for just more than half of all hybrids sold.

Remember the anti-Japanese 1980’s when US automakers would have symbolic “bashings” of some little Datsun or Toyota?  You’d better dust off your safety glasses because I think the windshields are gonna get bashed again and our domestic auto manufacturers have nobody to blame but themselves.

Chrysler (the company that cheats fuel economy requirements by calling the PT Cruiser a “truck”) has turned into such a lemon for it’s former parent company Daimler-Benz that it dumped it at a loss to a private equity firm.

GM will officially lose it’s crown as the #1 car maker to Toyota this year which (surprise) pins it’s new found status as the world’s largest car company to their investment in fuel efficient and hybrid-drive cars.

From Yurika Geyama, AP Business Writer, posted on Herald.com 8/3/07:

Booming sales of fuel-efficient cars helped lift Toyota to its biggest quarterly profit and put the maker of the Prius hybrid on pace to beat General Motors as the world's No. 1 automaker this year.

…Surging gas prices have proved a big plus for Toyota as drivers flock to its fuel-efficient models, including the Camry, the best-selling model in the U.S., and the Prius gas-electric hybrid.

Ford, which was on track to start turning out hybrids, has backed off, but at least offers one hybrid model – in an SUV of course.

GM is betting on the Back to the Future “Volt” which is half-Harry Potter fantasy car at this point since the engineers at GM admit they have no idea where the “Volt” will get the “juice” to “go.”  I bet they wish they hadn’t smashed up all those EV1s now.

Now don’t get me wrong.  I don’t think hybrids are the solution to all our global warming and "peak oil" woes.  I’m not sure any car technology will do that really.  But as gasoline settles uncomfortably around $3 a gallon with all expectations that it will inexorably rise as world demand grows, US car companies, still deluded to this reality, will try to stick a hybrid drive in a Hummer and call it the Eco.

Like Yogi Berra said “it’s déjà vu all over again.”

For a list of the most fuel efficient cars on the road, visit fueleconomy.gov

Save the Cypress from Becoming Mulch!

The Gulf Restoration Network is trying to save the coast's cypress forests from becoming mulch sold at Walmart, Lowe's, and Home Depot. You can take action on their website and send an email directly to these companies.

Greentime Covers Renewable Energy Credits & Carbon Offsets

The following video has been contributed by the folks over at Greentime. These are two local residents, Rhett Aultman & Amy Hale that have undertaken learning to live more sustainably. At the same time, they are sharing these experiences on their video blog. We're going to republish their weekly videos here on greenerMIAMI for a bit. Let us know what you think!

Here's Episode 12: Renewable Energy Credits and Carbon Offsets. If you'd like to watch their previous episodes, make sure to visit their website, Greentime.

Click To Play

Biodiesel Event in Miami Lakes, Sunday, August 5

Get your biodiesel on this Sunday from 10am - 6pm in Miami Lakes. Our friends at Sol Atlantic Biodiesel (your local source for B99 biodiesel in the Miami and South Florida region) are sponsoring a Bio TDI Event.

TDI refers to the Volkswagen Turbo Direct Injection Diesel engine. And though the event was started as a get together of local eco-minded VW TDI owners, there will also be Mercedes, Dodge, and Ford vehicles that run on biodiesel on site.

$10 per car gets you in to this fun day of food, cars, and biodiesel. Local green organizations will also be onsite. (Contact Sol Biodiesel if you want to request a booth.) So bring your biodiesel vehicle (and fill 'er up on site!), or your regular car and check out all of the cool locals that are already using biodiesel!

Event info. Map.

Plus check out their recent feature in the Herald.

New Arrival Plum TV Miami Beach Takes Time to Focus on Environment

There's a new neighbor in town, and we're excited! Please join us in welcoming Plum Miami Beach. You can watch their locally-made content online, on Channel 5 in Miami Beach, and on demand with Comcast & TiVo.

In addition to covering the arts, community interest, and events, Plum is producing a weekly eco-segment called Earth Bytes.

Below, we have embedded for your viewing pleasure three videos.

The first is an interview with ECOMB Director & dear friend of greenerMIAMI, Luiz Rodrigues.

Next up, the first Earth Bytes video, Bright Ideas, gives you tips on how to make the lighting in your home eco-friendly.

Finally, the latest edition of Earth Bytes, Keep It Cool, discusses your A/C & keeping it as efficient as possible.