Published on April 27th, 2009
I have to admit here that I have often joked about wanting a pet otter. Raising a baby otter is little different in real life, though. According to H.A.W.K.E.’s website:
It takes over a year to raise and care for a baby otter and thousands of dollars in food. They have to stay inside in a incubator and kept warm and given a special otter formula milk when they are this small.
All of that care gets expensive! Combine that with rising food and gas prices, and H.A.W.K.E. is in desperate need of support! If you want to help H.A.W.K.E. take care of Patty and the other critters they’ve rescued there are a few things you can do to help:
Read the rest of this entry »
Published on April 14th, 2009
Florida Power and Light is teaming up with a real estate company to build the first solar-powered city.
Not only will
Babcock Ranch, the planned community near Fort Myers, run on solar, the 75 Megawatt photovoltaic power facility they’re planning will produce more power than residents will use. The facility will be the world’s largest, at 350 acres. Developer Kitsch & Partners hopes the community will demonstrate that sustainable living is not just feasible but economically practical.
Check out some awesome renderings of the community!
Read the rest of this entry »
Published on December 10th, 2008
Wow, here’s one recycling program I never imagined before: recycling sex toys.
That’s just what one Florida-based company, Dreamscapes, located in Wesley Chapel, is doing. The seller of sex toys, videos, books and other sex-related products has launched a company-wide “Commitment to Green.” The initiative involves not only eco-friendly office lighting and paper and battery recycling, but a “Recycle Your Sex Toy” program.
Here’s how it works:
Read the rest of this entry »
Published on December 5th, 2008
OK, so I haven’t posted a weekly green news roundup in a while, but I’m getting back to making it a regular feature as of today. So what are the green scoops across the U.S. this week? There’s plenty:
- Over in Dallas, for instance, officials and urban designers are gathering today for an all-day “charrette” (or brainstorming session) to figure out what it would take to create a fully sustainable city block. They hope to follow up their meeting with an international competition to design just such a thing. (You can read more here (PDF)).
Read the rest of this entry »
Published on December 4th, 2008
Pensacola’s not a big city, population-wise, but it’s spread out over a large area that’s more car- than pedestrian-friendly. So it’s nice to see that visitors now have a more eco-friendly option for exploring the historic “City of Five Flags”: pedicabs.
The Pensacola News-Journal reports this week that the city welcomed its first pedal-powered taxi service this fall with the launch of Foot Taxi. The business offers eight pedicabs in a service area that encompasses most of the old downtown area, including many of the city’s popular nightspots and restaurants.
Read the rest of this entry »
Published on October 23rd, 2008
Tampa Bay Online reports today that city officials are looking at ways to “reconnect with the natural world” with the help of urban gardening. With so many other cities across the U.S. already rife with public vegetable gardens, there’s no reason Tampa shouldn’t be able to join the club.
Yes, gardening in hot, steamy Florida is — to be charitable — a challenge. My own summertime gardening efforts (I live in northwest Florida) yielded a pretty sad harvest: four or five beans, a dozen tiny strawberries that the snails usually got to first and a reliable supply of chives from a flowerpot. July and August are simply too brutal around here.
Read the rest of this entry »
Published on October 22nd, 2008
Yesterday, I did something I’ve been wanting to do for a long time: pick up my son from school using a bike and trailer instead of a car. It was exhausting (the last block home was the hardest), but I’m hoping to keep it up (even if my son complains, “We could be home already” — even though he’s the one who lobbied to ride in the trailer in the first place!)
With a gas-guzzling Blazer on its last legs, the only thing that’s been holding me back till now was the lack of an alternative. Stroke of luck number one came a few weeks ago, when I passed a house with an 18-speed women’s bike in the front yard with a sign that said “Free: Please take.” So I did.
Read the rest of this entry »
Published on September 23rd, 2008
An editor I worked with long ago who had lived through the Great Depression once told me her secret for surviving hard times: Be a jack of all trades. The more you can do, she explained, the better your chances of being able to eke out a living, no matter what.
Well, the way the economy’s going lately, it seems like it’s time to return to that can-do spirit. One man in central Florida has beaten many of us to the punch.
Read the rest of this entry »
Published on September 19th, 2008
You know those “safe-haven” laws that let parents drop off their unwanted kids in a safe place without fear of consequences? (In Nebraska, it’s even legal to give up an unruly 18-year-old!) Well, Florida’s doing the same thing for unwanted pythons, cougars and other non-permitted exotic pets.
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission (FWC) this week adopted a new rule that lets state and county animal control agencies take in non-native animals whose owners can’t — or don’t want to — take care of them anymore. No questions asked. No penalties.
Read the rest of this entry »
Published on August 26th, 2008
While the greening efforts of U.S. colleges and universities seem to capture the most media attention, elementary schools across the country are no slouches when it comes to eco-action.
Look at what’s happening at some of these schools:
Read the rest of this entry »
