greenerMIAMI

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.

Plug-in Hybrids: Sherry Boschert

Today I attended the lecture at FIU given by author Sherry Boschert, who recently wrote Plug-In Hybrids: The Cars That Will Recharge America. She is a medical news reporter by training, and an environmentalist by passion. Sherry is the Founder and President of the San Francisco EV Association.

The lecture started out with a show of hands who had seen the film, Who Killed the Electric Car? Very few hands went up - though the room was mostly full of FIU students. If you haven't seen the film already, get it from the library or Netflix, it will explain so much more than I can explain here.

Plug-In Hybrids (PHEVs) are much more complex than regular electric vehicles (EVs), but solve the number one consumer concern: "But what if I want to take a road trip?" PHEVs have different ranges: 20, 40, 60 miles on pure electric before you will need to start using gasoline. For most people, this would mean that you would still almost never need gasoline - just a little charge overnight.

She covered the main concerns of many people when they hear about PHEVs: Q: Isn't it dirtier because most conventional electricity comes from coal? A: Coal is dirty, gasoline is much dirtier. Q: Won't my electric bill go up as my gas bill goes down? A: Yes, a little, but to power an EV will cost 2 cents / mile (@ 9 cents/kwh...we pay 5) and 13 cents/mile for gas (@$2.50/gallon). A 2 KW rooftop solar array can produce enough energy to drive 12,000 miles/year. Q: If everyone starts plugging in there cars, aren't we going to need more power plants? A: Charging is mainly done at off-peak hours when there is sufficient energy supply. Then, an interesting note in the presentation: The US imports 55% of oil. Vehicles use 2/3 of all petroluem in US and 1/3 of all energy.

Afterwards, I took a ride in my first EV with some students from FIU's Environmental Studies program. Watch the video below to see our first 14 seconds of the ride (Amy Mehu driving). Later I got behind the driver's seat and went for a ride with some other students. Incredible, and quiet! Thanks so much to Charles Whalen for letting us test drive his very own EV, and for driving down from Delray Beach so that we could see it. He is the PR Director & Director of Public Charging Infrastructure for the Florida Electric Auto Association.

See more photos in our Flickr Set: Plug-In Hybrids

Websites:

Energy Forum (FIU)

Cal Cars

Plugs and Cars blog

Toyota Dream House PAPI

Set America Free (bipartisan)

Plug-In Partners

Plug-In America

At the Library:

Who Killed the Electric Car?

The Car That Could

Teachers: FREE DVD, An Inconvenient Truth

Attention Teachers!!! Al Gore & Laurie David are giving away 50,000 free DVDs of An Inconvenient Truth to teachers. See the release below and visit Participate.net to sign up.

"AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH" DVDS FOR TEACHERS
50,000 copies of the acclaimed documentary will be donated on a first come, first serve basis to teachers across the country interested in using the film as a teaching tool in classrooms via Participate.net. This generous donation was made possible with the cooperation of Paramount Vantage, Participant Productions, The Environmental Media Association, and private funders.

The DVD's will be given away starting Monday, December 18, 2006 thru Thursday, January 18, 2007. Teachers are encouraged to log on to Participate.net to request the DVD, which will be delivered within 6-8 weeks. A free curriculum guide is also available for download.

"An Inconvenient Truth" Discussion

We thought we would create an online space where Miamians could discuss An Inconvenient Truth after the Viewing Party on Saturday. Use the comments section to tell us what you thought of the film, and hopefully start a discussion.

FREE Viewing: An Inconvenient Truth

Ecoist.com and greenerMIAMI.com invite you to see Al Gore's An Inconvenient Truth, FREE in the Wynwood Art District, Miami Saturday, December 16, 7pm. RSVP

On Saturday, December 16, 2006 Ecoist & greenerMIAMI will be hosting a screening of Al Gore's movie An Inconvenient Truth along with the MoveOn organization.

Thousands of us are going to get together in living rooms, patios, garages,and parking lots around the country, watch the blockbuster documentary, and press Congress to take action to solve our climate crisis.

This is the movie everyone has been talking about! Haven't see it? Here's your chance. Seen it already? Bring a friend who hasn't and watch it with us again! Read a greenerMIAMIer's review of the film.

Please forward this invite to as many people as you like and invite all interested people to come.

Event Details

Saturday, 16 Dec 2006, 7:00 PM
Mitrani Art Building/Ecoist HQ
2628 NW 2nd Avenue Miami, FL 33127 (map)
RSVP

The movie screening will take place outdoors, in our warehouse's parking lot. Please bring blankets or beach chairs to sit and food and drink to share with others.

Parking: Free parking on 26th street

Entrance: Through the parking lot alley on 26th street and the corner of NW 2nd ave.

Can't find us? Call: (305) 674-0433 or (786) 556-3628

The Complete Organic Pregnancy

I wrote a book review for on Groovy Green this week. Please check it out! (The book and the review.)

If you are interested in going all or partially organic for your pregnancy (and I'm not just talking food, sister), this book is for you.

Go read my review. The book is currently on order at the library.

Saving Our Reefs

Get ready to tune your TV to WLRN Channel 17 tonight - or set your TiVo - at 8pm. It is the premiere of a new documentary called Saving Our Reefs. It was filmed mainly in the Florida Keys, and tells the local story of our local coral reefs.

I had the pleasure of seeing it last week at a special WLRN event. It has beautiful footage, but also tells a very important story. In this one-hour special, you'll see underwater footage of healthy reefs, and suffering reefs. You'll get to see what local organizations and individuals are doing to improve the situation.

Don't miss Saving Our Reefs tonight at 8pm. But, if you do, don't worry, you can catch it again on Thurs. Nov 16 @ 10pm, Fri. Nov 17 @ 11pm, Mon. Nov  20 at 9pm and Sun. Nov 26 at 2pm. While this program will only be shown locally right now, it is planned to have a national release in January.

Short Attention Span Eco-Film Fest

About a week from now, the Earthdance Short Attention-Span Film Festival is showing on Miami Beach. It seems like a good activity to try and get a greenerMIAMI group to attend. If you are interested in attending as part of a group with greenerMIAMI, please visit our group events page. Sign up for the group and start a conversation.

More about the film festival: $6-$10.

17 environmentally themed short films (30 seconds-30 min. each /90 min total)
No time to save the world? No Problem. The BEST OF 2006 EarthDance Short- Attention-Span Environmental Film Festival enlightens as it entertains. Presented by the Oakland Museum of California, EarthDance is the largest festival of environmental short films in the United States. EarthDance’s juried compilation of documentaries, mockumentaries, animations, high adventures, and dramas invite you to laugh with a purpose as you celebrate the hope and humor found in the natural world. The BEST OF 2006 World Tour captures all of the creativity, humor, and excitement of the most inspiring films of the 2006 EarthDance Film Festival. People are demanding more from their media, and this enticing collection of independent, alternative films - created by a host of domestic and international filmmakers - is a source of non-toxic insight and inspiration!

Books In My Life

I was tagged by Summer for this book meme. All books are linked to the Miami Library site. Please utilize your local library and share books, it's the green thing to do!

A book that changed my life
The Mindbody Prescription: healing the body, healing the pain by John Sarno. I'm one of those people that has suffered back, arm, leg, etc. problems all of my life. I was recently introduced to this book by Manola, and it really has changed my life.

A book I’ve read more than once
The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho. I've actually read it twice in English and once in Spanish - my first book (and only to date) that I have read in Spanish.

A book I’d take with me if I were stuck on a desert island
The Clan of the Cave Bear by Jean M Auel for inspiration!

A book that made me cry
Probably most books I've ever read. I cry at everything.

A book that I wish I had written
Cradle to Cradle by William McDonough. Absolutely incredible eco-book that goes waaaayyy outside of the box...where I have trouble going on my own. Highly recommended.

A book that I wish had never been written
All books have a place in this world!

A book I’ve been meaning to read
Eragon by Christopher Paolini. A gift to me by a good friend, I haven't dedicated time to it yet, but I will.

Books I’m currently reading
I happen to have a weird assortment from the library right now. Brilliant Food Tips and Cooking Tricks by David Joachim, Made to Break by Giles Slade, Fundraising for Dummies by John Mutz and Katherine Murray, and CSS Web Design for Dummies by Richard Mansfield.

See other book reviews on greenerMIAMI in the Books & Films category. And so I say to all of the guys over at Groovy Green, TAG, YOU'RE IT!

Book Review: The Omnivore's Dilemma

I first heard about the book, The Omnivore's Dilemma, on the Colbert Report, I really wasn't that interested. I'm not an omnivore, after all. I guess I didn't get what the book was about. Then I read Steve's review, and decided that I should take a look at this book.

The Omnivore's Dilemma follows author Michael Pollan's experiences through preparing four meals. He starts at the beginning, visiting the places where the food is grown - getting the whole experience from "farm to plate".

The four meals include: Conventional industrial food production, Big Organic, Small farm organic, and Hunting & Gathering.

I highly recommend the book to anyone who is at all curious about where their food comes from. It will change the way you eat. The library has 29 copies, so request it and it won't be much of a wait. Check it out now!