Sunday, June 29, 2008

Central Florida Green Guide and Friends


I have yet to meet these folks but I hope too soon. They seem to have a good network of interested folks who are working on moving Central Florida forward into sustainable practices.

Sunday, June 22, 2008

Green Gorilla cartoon

This was a good attempt to create a cartoon that was entertaining and teaches about environmental issues. Hope there are more to follow.

Friday, June 20, 2008

Carrotmob - Wow!




Click here to see video



Click here to see video


Click here to see video

In a nutshell, carrot mob is an idea that Brent Schulkin came up with and it is brilliant. Whether or not it can be replicated is to be seen, but here's how it works:

Brian went to small ma-pop stores and asked the question: How much of your earnings would you be willing to use toward making your store more eco-friendly, if we sent all of our friends to shop at your store on that day? Each store bid on how much they would set aside for an eco-friendly upgrade. The bids started at 10% but the winner pledged that 22% of their earnings would be used for the eco-friendly upgrade and they won.

So on a date set, the "mob" came to shop at this store. The carrot is like a gold star for doing something good. So this store got the carrot and the carrot mob came out to support this store. Typically the store brought in $3,000 on a good day. The day of the carrotmob, the store earned over $9,000 in three hours. The 22% that they pledged was used to change out some of the lighting they had in the store and lower their energy consumption. Lots of the food items were donated to the local food bank and there was a free concert afterwards.

So carrotmob worked! The environmental community won something and the business owner was rewarded for their decision to use some of the proceeds for helping to make their business a little greener.

Wow! What a fantastic idea. Kudos to Brent.

Thursday, June 19, 2008

Taking a Break- enjoying Harry Potter

Interestingly, I read an article in the New York Times about how people were feeling a bit overwhelmed by the "green" message that was beginning to permeate the media. They highlighted that for everyone one solution that was proposed, there were two other groups and views that argued against it. I realize this is all part of the democratic process, but it can be tire you out at times.

How true... I"m just taking a break from it and working on finishing the 5th book of Harry Potter, "The Half Blood Prince." Boy is that an uplifting story series. What an amazing writer JK. Rowling is and what a gift she gave to our all of us.

Friday, June 13, 2008

Tim Russert dies


It feels like a meteor has hit the earth and created a huge crater in the earth's crust. He was a voice for all Americans and the standard bearer for truth telling. It feels like the earth has moved under our feet. How will we ever replace his voice, his passion, his commitment, his drive and his dedication to to our country? Thank you for your gift to all of us... You will be sorely missed.