greenerMIAMI

Take a Photo, Win a Hybrid

America the Beautiful! The National Parks Service is running a photo contest, and the prize will have you seeing green.

"The winning photo will become the image featured on the 2008 "Federal Recreational Lands Pass." In addition, the Grand Prize Winner will receive a Ford Escape Hybrid SUV; a 5-day, 4-night trip for four including airfare to a federal recreation area of the winner's choice, a CASIO Exilim Zoom Camera; and a one-year Federal Recreational Lands Pass."

So what are some of the areas locally that are included in the contest requirements? Big Cypress National Preserve, Biscayne National Park, and Everglades National Park just to name a few. See Recreation.gov for a complete listing of Florida parks, but make sure that the park listed is part of one of the following: National Park Service, Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, Bureau of Reclamation, and U.S. Forest Service.

Amateurs only! Three photos per person, deadline is end of 2006.

Via - AutoblogGreen

Road Trip: Greener Maryland

I recently traveled to Maryland, and was hit by "green" every time I turned around.

Recycling bins all over the airport. Image that. (Too high tech for Miami?)

A "green" message in the hotel bathroom. One of these, help us reduce water, energy, and detergent usage by reusing your towels. The sad news? They didn't deliver. New towels placed in the room in the evening. How disappointing. More on this in the future.

Lots of hybrids! This one even has a special license plate: EZONAIR.

Green cover stories on many magazines in the newsstand!

• Bloomberg Markets: VCs Get Pumped
• Natural Home: Greenspeak 101, Step into Sustainable Gardening
• Garden Design: Great Green Design
• Worth: Al Gore Interview
• American Way: MBA's are the latest things to go green

Children's nature books for sale in the airport. Suzanne Tate's series focuses mostly on water and the creatures living in it. Crabby's Water Wish hopes to improve water quality. Mary Manatee teaches the kids all about these sea cows. 28 books in all.

All of the rental car companies are located in a central hub, which shares a shuttle bus for passengers to the center (fewer shuttles necessary). Written on the top of the bus: Powered by Clean Natural Gas.

Thanks for showing me your green side, Maryland!

Sunken Boats: Who's Responsibility?

As I was watching the City of Miami television station the other day, they discussed the use of federal funds in order to finally remove some of the boats sunken by Hurricanes Katrina and Wilma. The real deal is that the boat owner is responsible for boat removal. I believe that it is not reasonable to rely on the boat owner to remove their sunken boat from the water...at least not the way the system is currently set up. Supposedly if an owner does not remove the vessel, they are subject to criminal charges, but I don't think that's what happened with these hurricanes.

During the hurricanes we saw pictures on the news of sunken houseboats, sailboats, motorboats. Debris floating away, and I'm sure, chemicals leaking into the water. These boats sit there forever, causing a big mess, until somehow, someone pays for the removal.

The Derelict Grant program, which "has" funds for this kind of thing, did not receive funds for the 2004-5 or 2005-6 fiscal years. Also see the Derelict & Abandoned Vessels FAQ.

My idea: Require boat owners to place a deposit in a secure fund (bank) that would cover such removal. Basically, pre-pay. They could even pull out the interest every year for all I care. It just seems that the current system isn't working. Years can pass before lawsuits finish and a governmental organization finally offers up some cash. If a person owns a boat, they need to be able to afford to deal with the worst consequences.