greenerMIAMI

Reclamation Project

If you haven't seen the mangrove seedlings in South Beach, which are part of Xavier Cortada's Reclamation Project, this is what they look like up close.

Everglades Skyway

Last Thursday the Everglades Skyway Summit was held at the Biltmore Hotel. I was supposed to be there, but in the end wound up missing the event.

Why the Skyway is important, from Build-the-Skyway.com:

Tamiami Trail (US highway 41) cuts through Shark River Slough, one of the Everglades’ deepest and most important water passageways. Scientists say this 11-mile section of the 1928 road must be elevated into a “skyway” if Everglades restoration is to succeed. The skyway will be an important first step in returning the historic water sheet flow through parched Everglades National Park and into Florida Bay. It will be beneficial to wildlife by reducing habitat fragmentation and preventing road kill. The project will create jobs and increase tourism while raising Everglades awareness at the same time. Best yet, an 11-mile skyway will serve as a visible symbol of Everglades restoration; a real benefit to the floundering project. The Sierra Club believes that Everglades restoration cannot happen without the full 11-mile skyway.

The following is a description of the Summit, written by Kristina Trotta of Sierra Club.

On Thursday, September 21st, the Biltmore Hotel in Coral Gables was the setting for the Everglades Skyway Summit, a one day conference that brought together representatives from the business community, government agencies and environmental organizations to discuss the Everglades Skyway – the best solution for restoring our Everglades.

The room was full as Rebecca Smith, a curator at the Historical Museum of South Florida, spoke about the rich history of the Tamiami Trail. She was followed by Dr. Richard Weisskoff, an economics professor at the University of Miami who told the crowd about the economics of the Everglades. Dr. Luis Prieto, a civil engineering professor at Florida International University later spoke on the role that bridges have played through world history. He discussed the mechanics of building the Skyway and how the structure would have significant meaning for the Miami-Dade community. Jonathan Ullman of the Sierra Club gave an overview of how all of these pieces – history, economics and engineering can all come together in our campaign to build the Everglades Skyway.

The day wrapped up with the keynote speaker, Senator Bob Smith, president of the Everglades Foundation. The Senator gave the call to action, encouraging all of the participants to contact decision makers and to work to see an 11-mile Skyway become a reality. His speech was impassioned and left the attendees with the feeling that they must do their part to get the Skyway built.

Although many were unsure of what to expect at the beginning of the day, the series of speakers gave a sense that the Skyway is attainable and that this is the campaign to get involved with. All participants were given an opportunity to join in on the excitement by endorsing the campaign and to take part in the subcommittees of the Everglades Skyway Coalition – politics, community and business.

For more information on the Everglades Skyway project, visit Build-the-Skyway.com and Sierra Club.

Save Gas

This chart was in a AAA magazine a while back. The data is sourced from fueleconomy.gov. How to save gas without a hybrid:

Air Conditioned Nightmare

Alternet recently published America's Air Conditioned Nightmare. The article has drawn attention from two of our gM friends. Check out the commentaries at KH's The Next Few Hours and also over at Groovy Green.

Dishwashers 101

Welcome to Dishwashers 101! Today we'll run through everything you need to know to cut down on your work in the kitchen, and save energy and water to boot!

Many people have the misconception that you can not put dirty dishes into the dishwasher. This is absolutely false.

Pre-washing dishes is not necessary. The key to receiving clean dishes at the end of a dishwashing cycle is to A) load the dishes correctly in the first place, and B) scrape off excess food from the plates.

Miami-Dade County says:

Save up to 15 gallons per load if you run your dishwasher only when full; select dishwashing cycles that use the least number of washes and rinses and avoid unnecessary rinsing of dishes before loading them into the dishwasher.

GE Appliances Support says:

Check the dishwasher loading. Make sure dishes are loaded properly to insure that water can reach all of the soiled surfaces in both racks.

Scrape dishes before placing them in the dishwasher. It is not necessary to pre-wash your dishes, just scrape off the big chunks.

Here are some common loading guidelines for assistance:

• Be sure that larger items do not block smaller items from the wash action.
• Place all items in both racks so that they are separated and face the center of the dishwasher. This will help to ensure that water reaches all soiled surfaces.
• Place glasses with the open end facing downward to allow proper washing action.
• Do not place glasses over the tines, but rest between the tines. This will allow the glasses to lean toward the spray arm and will improve wash performance. It also promotes dry performance by reducing the amount of water remaining on the top of the glass after the wash cycle is complete.
• Do not allow allow flatware to nest. This prevents proper water distribution between the surfaces. Load flatware, except knives, with some handles up and some down to prevent nesting. For safety, knives should always be loaded handles up.
• Avoid placing items over the retractable tower area in the lower rack. This tower provides wash action to the upper rack.
• Do not block wash system parts including spray arms and towers located in the lower and/or upper racks.

So give it a try - at least once or twice, and you should see that it works.

1. Select the short cycle for washing, and see if it gets the job done. It may work on some lighter loads, while you find that really dirty loads need the normal cycle.
2. Check your owner's manual for proper loading instructions for your particular model. Many manuals are now available online from the manufacturer.
3. Don't run water to "pre-wash or pre-rinse" your dishes. Scrape off the excess food, and load directly into the dishwasher. (If you'd prefer, I find that a wet sponge just wiped over the surface of various plates does the trick as well...without running the water.)