energy efficiency, green buildings, slow foods, hybrid cars and alternate fuels.

"A society built on green design, sustainable energy and closed loop systems, a civilization afloat on a cloud of efficient, non-toxic, recyclable technology." ~~Alex Nikolai Steffan

Wednesday, October 26

BEYOND DISPOSABLE

The Butterfly, the Beetle, and the Bee. Made from found objects, by Jami Joelle Nielsen
       At this week's Sustainable YOU conference, participants tried hard to follow Tim Center's detailed instructions:  There is a container for recycling, there's a container for composting (thanks to FAMU) and there's a container for trash.  Here's what goes in each. . .

Meals and refreshments were served using biodegradable cutlery and plates, no meat could go into the compost, some things could only go into trash.   Despite our best efforts, some rolls got into the recycling instead of compost and paper napkins caused a dilemma--clean and recycled or used and trash?  Many people brought their own thermal coffee mugs from home, with not a bottle of water in sight anywhere. 

Discussions around reduce, reuse and recycle were everywhere those two days.  One question was: What if nothing were disposable? What if we, as consumers, questioned whether anything should be acquired that did not have some kind of life beyond its original purpose?  Most us have learned the statistic that each American generates four and a half pounds of waste per day, (Story of Stuff) but what does that really mean in terms of making purchasing decisions?  Is it enough to recycle most of the stuff and throw the rest into the landfill?

[Leon County outsources its landfill to Jackson County, so Leon residents can now add additional transportation to the cost of throwing something away.]

Check out the Beyond Disposable article here and There is no such thing as garbage—only wasted resources.

Monday, October 17

FABRIC GAS STATION A PROTEST

At the corner of East Colvin Street and Nottingham Road in Syracuse, N.Y., sits perhaps the only gas station that ever protested gasoline. This abandoned station was the home of the World Reclamation Art Project, and it was once covered in knitted, stitched and crocheted fabric squares that were submitted by participants worldwide to protest the world’s dependency on oil. People from across the globe sent Jennifer Marsh their handmade squares, and the International Fiber Collaborative sewed the panels together to completely cover the gas station.
from mother nature network

Sunday, October 16

NATIONAL PLUG IN DAY

Have you hugged your electric car today?




 National Plug In Day, taking place today, Sunday, Oct. 16, is a nationwide observance drawing global attention to the environmental, economic and other benefits of plug-in electric vehicles through simultaneous events staged in at least twenty major cities nationwide, including one in Kissimmee, FL.

Learn more at Plug In America where you can find the plug in vehicle tracker to learn what's new and upcoming in the world of electric vehicles.

Friday, October 14

SUSTAINABLE YOU CONFERENCE - ARE YOU REGISTERED?

 SUSTAINABLE YOU CONFERENCE

The City of Tallahassee, Leon County and the Collins Center's Sustainable Florida program are partnering to host the Sustainable YOU conference, October 24-25 in Tallahassee.











Featured Speaker:  Majora Carter, founder of Sustainable South Bronx



This is the sixth annual Sustainable Florida conference and promises to be a great opportunity to learn about cutting edge sustainability practices and policy:
  • Sustainability professionals - from business, government, non-profits and beyond.
  • Policy makers - for state, regional, and local government policy makers, elected officials and managers along with non-government organizations, non-profit advocates and associations
  • Higher Education - a special track for the participants of the Educational Alliance for a Sustainable Florida (EASF) and others interested in advancing the sustainability agenda in universities and colleges.
  • Grassroots 101 - For the individual consumer looking to reduce expenses, live more sustainability and exploring steps that they can take in their own lives.


 REGISTER HERE:

https://collinscenter.site-ym.com/?page=0SustainableFLHome

Sunday, October 9

WHY THE OCCUPY MOVEMENT IS A GREEN ISSUE

Image by timparkinson
The following excerpt from Governing magazine describes how cash-strapped state parks are forging partnerships with corporations to close their budget gaps. Once the corporations move from contributors to owners of your park, it is no longer in the public domain and they get to regulate its use. 

Use this as a metaphor for what is happening at every level of our economy and no one will have to wonder any longer about an 'objective' for the national Occupy movement.  Substitute the word local park with clean energy, environmental protection, conservation, access to clean water, clean air, etc.

In New York, for example, Nestle’s Juicy Juice contributed $350,000 to build playgrounds in seven state parks. In California, Coca-Cola and Stater Bros. Markets have raised about $1.9 million to support reforestation and other state park preservation efforts. Most of these efforts come with recognition—on a playground sign, on a park pass—of the corporation’s contribution.
When a California firm called Government Solutions Group brokered a $7.5 million deal since 2004, chief executive Shari Boyer told Governing that this is not philanthropy but business: “These are partnerships. The corporation has to get something out of it.”

Asked how Coke products intersect with California’s state park mission, company spokesman Bob Phillips said Coca-Cola’s support of park restoration is part of its “live positively” platform, in which “sustainability is part of everything we do, particularly in this time of cost cutting and downsizing.” Phillips rejected the idea that Coca-Cola products were not in sync with parks’ health and environmental missions, noting instead that state parks “provide opportunities to be physically active.”

For information on Occupy Tallahassee, visit their FB page: http://www.facebook.com/occupytally

Follow Occupy on Twitter:  #OccupyTally #OccupyFlorida #OccupyWallStreet, #OWS