Daily Loaf

With the Thanksgiving holiday looming ahead in all its turkeylicious, cranberry sauce-drenched glory, I’ve decided to go obvious and give thanks for great music with a playlist of 10 of my favorite songs expressing gratitude, whether it’s for friendship, love, a great party or the gift of a fiber optic Jesus.

1. “Thank You for Being a Friend,” Andrew Gold, All This and Heaven Too (1978).
Gold’s hit reached No. 25 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in ’78, but the warm soft-rock number made pop culture history after it was shaved down to 46 seconds and recorded by singer Cynthia Fee for The Golden Girls. I watched a few hours of Golden Girls reruns on the Hallmark Channel recently and I let “Thank You for Being a Friend” — arguably the pinnacle of TV theme songs — play through every time. Yes, I watched six episodes in a row — so what? Golden Girls is ’80s sitcom gold (no pun intended) and bad old-lady fashion aside, it holds up rather well over time. Thus, this shout out is dedicated to the song and the show.

2. “Thank You,” Led Zeppelin, Led Zeppelin II (1969)
Delicate swells of Hammond organ by John Paul Jones, the bright, full-bodied strumming of Jimmy Page on his Vox 12-string guitar, and Robert Plant’s vocals serenading like a soft caress, then growing stronger with his passion — Led Zeppelin’s “Thank You” is a flawless love song for a hard rockin’ band, with poetic lyricism like, “And so today my world it smiles / your hand in mine, we walk the miles / Thanks to you it will be done / for you to me are the only one.” Read the rest of this entry »

What’s the buzz on the latest issues in the Green Community? Check out what you may have missed this last week:

Living with the land: Florida’s first Earthship (video) – Eric Stewart gives a firsthand look at Florida’s first Earthship in Manatee County, and gets his hands dirty while helping out.

Not getting a million-dollar bonus this year? Think local stimulus- Scott Milinder shows us a real stimulus package that will work for us: we all commit to “Buying Local First.” According to recent economic studies, shifting your buying habits to locally owned businesses creates more circulation of money, more economic activity and more jobs in the local economy.

Eco-friendly summertime fashion accessories- Are you searching for a unique and beautiful purse to enhance your summer wardrobe? Then why not consider one of these recycled handbags that are made from recycled items that help to promote a cleaner and healthier world, reports Jen Meier.
Read the rest of this entry »

I just participated in a panel discussion on offshore drilling of our Florida beaches, sponsored by the Tampa Bay Beaches Chamber of Commerce. Also joining me were Pinellas County Commissioner Ken Welch, Senator Nelson’s staff Shahra Anderson, and the Ocean Conservancy’s TJ Marshall, as well as two other panelists acting essentially as lobbyists for the oil industry from the Southern Strategies Group – the firm that came close last spring to getting our state legislature to okay oil drilling within three miles of our beaches.

Over and over, their message came across: “Trust us. The oil companies would never do anything to harm your beaches. Honest, we can drill and you’ll never see a spill, nary a drop nor a tar ball. Never mind that Texas beaches, naturally as nice as Florida’s, have almost zero tourism revenue because of the muck and tar balls that ruin a nice walk on the beach there. If we had anything to do with that, we’re sorry, but that would never happen here. We’re much more careful now. Trust us.”

Two problems with this argument:
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[Eds. note: Cathy's post was written Monday, before Senate President Jeff Atwater told reporters that he would not bring the offshore drilling bill up for a vote this year, effectively killing it, at least for now.]

Once again the foes of Florida’s future have united to pillage our natural resources.  You can hear the lip smacking and feel the glad-handing from here.  HB 1219 – the bill to allow oil drilling within sight of Florida’s Gulf Coast (that’s our coast), was passed in the House today by a vote of 70 to 43.  This is a bad bill for Florida, for the future of our beaches and the future of real energy policy change.  This bill buys a revenue band-aid, while trading the long-term health of our economy and our environment.  And let’s not forget that pesky climate change problem.  But I guess the creek won’t rise while these folks are in office.

However, as in most things, hope springs eternal.  The Governor has been making noises that he may not support this bill and we need to encourage that veto now.  Likewise, the senate can and must be contacted.  Let our local elected officials know that we want new energy policy or we choose new policymakers.   The stakes have never been higher.  Do whatever it takes to make them make them speak up for us now.  There’s info below the phone list with everything you ever wanted to know and everything they need to know about offshore drilling.  Let’s jam those phone lines! (See phone numbers below.) Read the rest of this entry »

Wayne Garcia is dreaming of a “green” Christmas.

Progress Energy is planning the country’s first brand-new nuclear power plant in over 30 years.

Tarballs and tourism: Why is Florida’s top tourism bureau endorsing offshore oil drilling?

Are gas stations shortchanging you? The answer may surprise you.