Daily Loaf

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

Sustainable beer 101: A guide to growlers- Benefits of refillable beer jugs far exceed the lure of fresh tap beer.

Refresh your mind, body and spirit by reconnecting with nature- Living in such a busy world these days overloaded with technology leaves little time to get back to the basics and connect with the planet we live on. Take some time out of your busy schedule and reconnect with nature, which will balance you physically, mentally and spiritually.

Ronald McDonald gets a pie in the face from PETA protester- Ronald McDonald takes one in the kisser from a PETA protester who is against McDonald’s “controlled-atmosphere killing” of chickens.

St. Petersburg College and Tampa Bay green building chapter announce partnership- St Petersburg College’s Corporate Training Office announced a partnership with the Florida Gulf Coast Chapter (FGCC) of the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) to provide a comprehensive sustainable building operations training course based on the LEED for Existing Buildings: Operations and Maintenance rating system.
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The Issue
Hot water consumption!

The Greater Issue
Between 80 and 90 percent of the energy used to heat water is wasted.

With 110-million households in the country, that’s a lot of inefficiently used energy.

The cost of heating water amounts to 14% of your utility bill.

Be Part of the Solution
You don’t have to take cold showers, eat on dirty dishes or wear dirty clothes to conserve energy and save money.  Follow these simple steps to reduce your hot-water consumption:
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What’s the buzz on the latest issues in the Green Community? Check out what you may have missed this last week:

St. Petersburg College’s new Natural Science, Mathematics and College of Education building is certified LEED® Gold- St. Petersburg College recently announced that for the second time in as many months, the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) has awarded LEED Gold certification for one of its new campus buildings.

Best of the Bay of the Day: Best organic smoothie- Believe it or not, algae and bee pollen add up to a delicious drink called the Spirulina Power Buzz. Read this to find out where to get one.

Tips to improve gas mileage (and save some green)- Do you have a lead foot or drive an inefficient automobile?  Here are a few simple tips to improve gas mileage and save a bunch of green!

Living Sustainably in Tampa Bay: Darren Brinkley, owner of REAL Building- Brinkley is the owner of REAL Building and home that he built for his family in St. Petersburg is the first home in Florida to achieve the LEED for Homes Gold Rating.
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St. Petersburg College recently announced that for the second time in as many months, the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) has awarded LEED Gold certification for one of its new campus buildings.

The Natural Science, Mathematics and College of Education building on the Clearwater campus received the certification. The other LEED Gold building is the Student Services building on the St Petersburg/Gibbs campus.

LEED stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design and is a nationally accepted certifier of high performance and environmentally sensitive buildings. Gold is its second highest designation. 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:

The Earth Charter: How ethics can change the world (video) – The Earth charter was created by thousands of people representing hundreds of countries aiming at a universal ethical code of conduct for human beings. How do we treat each other? How do we treat the world? These questions were raised and answered.

City of Tampa Green Business Designation Program- As of this week, the City of Tampa became one of just a handful of cities nationwide to start a green business designation program.  Outside of the West Coast (California and Washington state), Tampa will join major metropolitan areas like Philadelphia and Knoxville in rewarding private businesses that have become or want to become more environmentally-friendly.

Why buying recycled, repurposed products is so important- Preserving the Earth’s natural resources is vital to the future of the planet and all of its inhabitants. Buying recycled and repurposed products is a great way to make a positive impact on the environment by cutting back on waste and the resources needed to make new items.
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In 1967, that smug businessman from the film “The Graduate” took Dustin Hoffman’s character aside and declared “I just want to say one word to you, just one word: ‘plastics.’”  Ever since that iconic moment, plastic has signified society’s wasteful tendencies and has come to represent our “throwaway culture”.

The prepackaged bottle of water is the epitome of waste.

Plastic bottles are manufactured from non-renewable petroleum and natural gas.  Annually, Americans dispose of 29 billion water bottles, requiring 1.5-million barrels of crude oil (enough oil to keep 100,000 cars running for one year), resulting in the release of 2.5-million tons of carbon dioxide.  In addition, scientists have found that over time, plastic bottles can leach chemicals linked to birth defects, miscarriage and prostate cancer into the water. Read the rest of this entry »

Do you receive way too much junk mail? Here are some tips to lighten your junk mail load:

The issue:

-Every year, each of us receives almost 560 pieces of junk mail, accounting for 43% of all delivered mail!

-Every year, the US EPA estimates 44% of junk mail isn’t even opened, creating four tons of waste!

-Every year, junk mail uses as much energy as almost three million cars!

-Every year, junk mail consumes 100 million trees or approximately 550,000 tons of paper!
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