One reason to not hate the 408 East West Expressway

Like most Central Floridians, I HATE the 408 East-West expressway during rush-hour. I commute an hour to work in the morning and evening. I come from 60 miles away and end up spending half of my commute sitting on the 408 (which is the shortest distance per highway I drive) . I have literally had a temper tantrum while stuck in grid lock in the midst of a killer migraine and doing the pee pee dance. (The "pee pee" dance while sitting is mostly awkward twitching, not so much dancing or wiggling). It is really the only road that makes my commute suck. Well now I have one reason to not hate it so much. It's going green!!! While the road is constantly undergoing one construction project after another, the Expressway Authority has finally started recycling the old concrete. They used to just throw that stuff in the land fill, but I guess they grew a conscience. They are now incorporating the old concrete into the new concrete they pour. They have saved 100,000 tons of concrete from going to the landfills and back onto the road. The Expressway Authority has saved 7,200 truckloads of material off the road which significantly reduces transport costs and carbon emissions. Granted this isn't the most exciting green initiative in central Florida, it is still awesome and gives me a reason to not hate this stretch of highway... as much. I hope that the success and money savings from green initiatives like these inspires other projects to do the same.

Best Central Florida Blog!!

Pulse of Central Florida is a great blog about all things Central Florida. From events, to art, to people, it covers topics that are relevant to us Floridians. My favorite posts are the name the location pictures. These are places that you probably pass everyday but never pay enough attention to. I also enjoy new ideas on places to visit, like this park in Maitland. I was lucky enough to be featured on the blog as well :) Check it out here. Thanks so much for the exposure PCF!. I love one of the blog's authors, Ashley Edwards. He is such a dynamic guy that shows some real interest in going green and that's what it's all about. I would love an opportunity to highlight some local green initiatives, places and people on Pulse of Central Florida. For example,the Orlando Science Center supplies plastic-ware that is derived from corn and is biodegradable. Hooray science!!! So if you live in Florida or are planning to visit, check out Pulse of Central Florida to find out what is happening in the City Beautiful.

Hippy Pirates throwing stink bombs to save whales

I’m sure everyone has seen all the advertising for Animal Planet’s Whale Wars on every site you visit these days. Not sure if it peaked your interest, but you know I watched it. So you have this group of green vegan hippies out in the roughest ocean conditions in the world hunting for Japanese whalers. What could go wrong? In the first episode, pretty much everything. What do you expect when you have a group of untrained tree huggers living onboard a ship named the Steve Irwin? Total chaos and freak accidents of course. First they capsize their Zodiac with 4 people on board and take forever to rescue them. Then in the panic of the rescue, one crewmember damages the rotor blade of their scout helicopter. This makes for great TV, but even worse for the reputation of the Sea Sheppard’s. Founded by the founder of Greenpeace, this ship has harassed whalers for 25 years. The captain is a surly bastard who was kicked out of the very organization he created. Greenpeace has non-violently been revealing the dirty work of these so-called “research” whaling vessels for years. The Sea Shepherd’s say that they must act to stop these whalers from killing thousands of whales each season and are willing to die for their mission. At the rate they are going, that is a possibility. Greenpeace refuses to offer any kind of help towards the Sea Shepherd’s and does not want to be associated with these hippy pirates. With good reason, they are kinda taboo. These are international waters, where the Japanese are acting in accordance with their government under the banner of medical research. The law was constructed in a way that benefits the “researchers” since in order to comply; they must not waste any part of the whale. So whale meat “waste” is collected and sold legally. How clever these whale killers are to get lobbyist to create this beneficial law.
While I did tear up seeing these whales slaughtered, I’m not sure that the Sea Shepherd’s are the answer. Yes, they slow down the whaling efforts, but they only slow it down, they don’t shut it down. Violence begets violence. As the Sea Shepherd’s harass these whalers who are acting in accordance with their laws, it is only natural that the whalers are going to step up their game and people are going to die. While the Sea Shepherd’s villianize Greenpeace for only acting passively and taking pictures of these whalers, I commend them. People have to see what is happening. People have to be moved to react and do something about it. The only real way to shut these whalers down is by pulling at the Japanese’s heartstrings and getting them to put pressure on their government to ban whaling. I know this is easy said than done, but I don’t think some hippy pirates throwing stink bombs at a whaling fleet is going to stop this practice. With that said, I do think it is awesome that there is crew willing to risk their lives to save some whales.

Dive Shops are Going Green

Scuba Diving magazine recently featured a green dive shop in Boulder, CO. Ocean First Divers is incorporating sustainable practices into their operations, products and training. Most divers dive to experience the wonder of nature and are generally responsible when they are visiting beautiful reefs, springs or lakes. There is a natural connection between being a diver and understanding the importance of preserving dive spots. I am really impressed with what Ocean First Divers is doing with their shop and I hope more dive centers follow suit. In regards to operation, they have been able to reduce their trash by 90%, which is impressive. They have been able to offset their energy use by purchasing carbon offsets and are the only carbon neutral dive shop in the world. They have also been able to get their vendors to use less packaging. This is another great example of demanding green. Just because a vendor supplies a product one way ( i.e psycho packaging) doesn't mean that you have to accept it that way. So what can you do as a diver to be green?

1. You can purchase pre-owned equipment, which also has significant cost savings. I was able to get both my husband and my BC's and regulators for $650, which is insane for the quality and condition of the gear we received. Check out your dive shop's annual sale or swap meet. You'd be surprised how many people are willing to get rid of their gear for cheap.
*Before you go out and jump off a boat in the open ocean with pre-owned gear, make sure you test it in a safe place. We spent an hour in the pool checking for leaks before we did a shallow dive. There was no visibility, a super strong current and a fishermen kept trying to hook my husband but our gear functioned so we were still stoked.

2. When planning a dive trip, carpool with other divers. Don't have any diver friends? Stop by your local dive shop and set something up with them. My dive shop, Sea Dragons, is awesome. It is run by a great group of people who just want to help people get underwater as often as possible. You'll find that most dive shops are run by generally eco-consience people who love the ocean and want to protect it.

3. Bring a mesh bag with you on your dive. When you are exploring your dive destination, pick up any trash that you see. This is pretty common practice with most divers.

4. When you are topside, participate in a lake, river or beach cleanup in your area. Help keep the pollution out of your playground and keep Nemo's house nice and neat.

5. Join a local Surfrider chapter. When a group of ocean-minded individuals get together, real change can occur. Surfrider campaigns involve keeping our water clean, beach clean ups, beach preservation and protecting special places.

IcanhasGREENburger?

This pic is awesome in more ways than one. I love the reference to my fav lil funny pic blog http://icanhascheezburger.com/. Jimmy was before his time throwing those solar panels up on the White House. What bumhole took them down? Reagan took them down to repair the roof and I guess he "forgot" to put them back up. This is a really interesting quote from Carter

"a generation from now, this solar heater can either be a curiosity, a museum piece, an example of a road not taken, or it can be a small part of one of the greatest and most
exciting adventures ever undertaken by the American people; harnessing the power of the Sun to enrich our lives as we move away from our crippling dependence on foreign oil."

Well the solar panels are in a museum. I hope Obama "greens" the white house and puts solar panels back up, maybe a wind generator and upgrades the plumbing to conserve water. A green white house roof would be awesome!

Over Packaging is insanity!!

We do we always go overboard with our packaging? This is insanity. This small printer ink cartridge is requiring 3 pieces of packaging plus a hard plastic cover over the cartridge itself. This cartridge could have easily been sold in ONE package. Doesn't this cost the manufacturer more money too?? It is wasteful and sorta counterproductive to the bottom line. It is a win win to include less packaging.

Solar Powered Oysters

I come from an oyster lovin’ family. My mom eats a couple dozen oysters every Sunday. My mother in law can inhale a bushel in an hour. Oysters even got my marriage off to a rocky start ( ha ha get it, rocky). We had a small beach wedding with a few guests. The next day we had a wedding after-party where we invited everyone else. We had to have oysters of course, and my husband and his buddy ended up missing half the party on their hunt for oysters since our standby seafood market was fresh out. Everyone was a little worried when he didn’t show up, thinking that the marriage only lasted a couple hours and Mike was fleeing the scene. He eventually showed up with two bushels of oysters and it was worth it. It was a small sacrifice to make so that everyone could enjoy some oysters.
So why the hell am I writing about oysters again? I’m sure my family and I aren’t helping the fact that oysters are over harvested. The east coast supply is dwindling due to over harvesting and pollution. Oysters are not only tasty treats, but they also help filter all the crud that is in the ocean and are a vital part of the eco-system. So in a way, I am helping filter the ocean by eating the snot that makes up an oyster. Thin logic I know, but I want to feel better about my un-sustainable oyster consumption.
Hopefully I won’t feel very bad for long since there is a very green innovation taking place to help combat our declining oyster supply. One really smart marine biologist has come up with a solar-powered oyster reef. It creates a chemical reaction in the water (limestone deposits) that attracts oyster colonies. Oysters will now be setting up shop on these artificially stimulated reefs. I can see the branding strategy now…. solar powered oysters.