Green Florida

Yes, yes, we have all read about the $2.4 billion Florida Power and Light (the FPL Group) is investing in major solar energy projects. Announced at the Clinton Global Initiative in New York City, the gigantic utility company will be investing in solar thermal, a smart network to monitor energy management and to launch a new consumer education program, along with products that consumers can buy with their own money to reduce energy usage. FPL is working with a California startup called Ausra...Read Full Story

In a previous post , I mentioned some technologies that had been listed in the Top 10 for 2007, by the Partnership for Advancing Technology in Housing (PATH). These technologies were rated based upon their durability, efficiency, affordability and environmental performance in residential homes. As we may have guessed, solar water heating was listed. What I didn't expect was the statement that said solar water heaters have been commercially available since the 1800's! Is this correct? A little...Read Full Story

Several months ago, the Unitarian Universalist Church on North Meridian Road unveiled its solar panels. A part of its Green Sanctuary program, the UU church is the first in Tallahassee to go solar.Read Full Story

Our family tradition when traveling east and we cross the Suwannee requires each passenger in the car, related by blood or not, to sing the beginning lyrics of "Way Down Upon the Suwannee River" (while still the official state song, it was replaced this year by a more appropriate Official State Anthem, "Florida: Where the Sawgrass Meets the Sky" ). Traveling south requires a stop on US 19 at the Suwannee River State Park to acknowledge the venerable river and to comment on how high/low the...Read Full Story

Every once in a while you wish you had just the perfect fact as rebuttal to some inane global warming comment made by your brother-in-law or wish you could have one, comprehensive source for reliable facts that you could access quickly. Real Climate is a one stop link for resources that people can use to get up to speed on the issue of climate change for complete beginners to those seeking serious discussion of details. Click on "start here" and find your niche. The site was started as a...Read Full Story

I've been in misnamed "Tampa Bay" three times recently, and yesterday afternoon drove over to St. Petersburg Beach through "Paradise Island" with many Mcmansions built on dredged sand, perched precariously overlooking shallow seawalls, anxiously awaiting a hurricane force wind the likes of which have not been seen in this area in decades. In the hotel the night before, I had watched a commercial for ugly pre-fab homes, now called modular housing and pondered Dwell Magazine's recent modular...Read Full Story

In Sarasota County on what used to be a landfill, Florida Solar Power and Light switched on its newest and Florida's largest array of solar panels. According to the FP & L press release, this solar array is the second-largest in the southeast with 1,200 solar photovoltaic panels covering more than 28,000 square feet (about half the size of a football field. The solar panels will produce 250 kilowatts of clean energy, enough to power 55 homes, reducing carbon emissions by 654,000 pounds per...Read Full Story

Take a trip on any part of Florida's 1,800 miles of coastline, and you're bound to find a lighthouse. From St. Augustine to Key Biscayne, scores of lighthouses invite visitors to climb spiral staircases to take in breathtaking views of the state's magnificent terrain. Visitors to lighthouses come for several reasons, including the structures architecture and romanticism. "My wife is into the romanticism of lighthouses," said Gene Oakes, president of the Florida Lighthouse Association. "I...Read Full Story

Several times a year, I make the trek to visit family at the Beaches of South Walton in Florida’s northwest corner. Every time, I’m amazed by how many shops, restaurants, golf courses and resorts have sprung from every crevice in this valuable, sun-drenched area. While I’m impressed with how communities in the South Walton area have balanced progress with nature, I sometimes long for a taste of Old Florida. If you haven’t experienced the way things used to be in the Sunshine State, there are...Read Full Story

Recently the Partnership for Advancing Technology in Housing ( PATH) released its 2007 list of the top technologies for the year. These are technologies that are on the market right now that can improve the durability, efficiency, affordability and environmental performance of the homes we build. Number 8 was Permeable Pavers and Pavement . It's amazing that it is now being listed as a technology of 2007. I saw these over ten years ago while touring the Florida House in Sarasota and I thought...Read Full Story