Fix it now

In the latest green news, Tampa Congresswoman Kathy Castor is marking Earth Day by filing a bill long sought — and long denied — by the Florida delegation and most Democrats: a permanent ban on offshore drilling around the state’s Gulf coast.

Initial media reaction is that the bill has a tough road ahead of it, caught up in the Democratic leadership’s lack of desire to revisit the contentious issue after a 2006 compromise that resulted in a temporary ban for Florida until 2022. Caster has led the fight in recent days against an effort to open Florida offshore drilling grounds for natural gas exploration, a Republican-led effort that had hoped to take advantage of public dismay with rising energy prices.

From her office comes these quotes from the Democrat:

“It is ridiculous, not just ironic that they are trying to allow drilling as part of a beach water-quality bill. If they go as far as to introduce an oil drilling amendment in a beach water-quality bill, I don’t know what else they wouldn’t do,” said Castor.

“Drilling off of our beautiful beaches is the energy policy of the past,” said Castor. “If President Bush and my colleagues on the other side of the aisle truly wanted to address high oil prices, they should have voted with the Democratic majority to take the huge tax breaks away from the big oil companies at a time that they are making record profits. Instead of these huge tax breaks for big oil the New Democratic Congress wants to invest those dollars in alternative energy and transportation opportunities to break our addiction.”

“We are fighting for a new direction on energy policy and renewable sources of energy. We value our natural environment, and we value the public health of our communities,” Castor continued. “Tomorrow, we will celebrate the 38th Earth Day, which gives us an opportunity to focus on the key challenges facing us in preserving our planet.”

“This year’s Earth Day coincides with a deepening economic crisis in America. That’s why the New Direction Congress has begun to address the global warming crisis and to spur a cleaner, greener, and more prosperous economy for the American people,” said Castor. “We have begun to reverse the failed energy policies of the past, committing instead to reducing greenhouse gas emissions and promoting renewable energy for the future. By focusing on rapidly expanding the production of clean, alternative energy and reducing our use of oil, we can both reduce global warming and create green jobs.”

“More can and must be done to deal with these challenges facing us in preserving our planet and strengthening our economy,” Castor concluded. “We shouldn’t be endangering Florida’s natural environment and vital tourism economy for 25 days worth of oil and 35 days worth of natural gas, which is all that is estimated to be produced by the area opened up under the compromise of 2006.”

Here’s a good piece by the League of Conservation voters on Dubya’s obsession with fouling our tourist beaches.

(Photo by Enrico Strocchi) 

Creative Loafing is about to come out with 100 green technologies you can use now to go green. However, while green technology may be all the rage, local governments don’t really want you using green technologies. The reason is simple: governments like to spend money, and one of the local government’s largest sources of income is taxes on utilities. Unknown to most residents is that every time you buy a gallon of gas, turn on a light, or flush a toilet, the government charges you a utility tax, and the more you use, the more revenue goverment collects in utility taxes.

For example, Tampa took in nearly $11 million in gas tax, $26 million electric taxes, and $3.4 million in water taxes, for a total of more than $40 million for fiscal year 2007. What makes matters even worse is that these taxes are based upon price, so the more you pay at the pump or the more you pay to TECO, the more revenue the City collects. This places the City in the awkward position of wanting utilities to charge residents as much as possible so City revenues grow in step.

The unfortunate consequences of this scenario are that it creates a perverse reward system for government to want its taxpayers to pay more and more for utilities, while at the same time it discourages residents from adopting green technology. The government is the largest consumer of energy in the United States. If there was a large demand from federal, state and local governments for green technologies more and more companies would produce these products, ultimately driving down price and making them more available and affordable to the ordinary consumer.

Ultimately what we end up with is a bunch of politicians who talk up green technology but ultimately don’t implement any of the technologies, or they use these technologies in such a limited way that the demand for the products is negligible because of cost. For example, if Tampa replaced all of its street lights with LED street lights, the city would save close to $6 million a year. That is $6 million it would not have to collect in taxes, not to mention the environmental benefits the upgrades would produce. Did you know that Tampa is building a new parks and recreation building that won’t be LEED-certified? If any building was going to be environmentally friendly, don’t you would think it would be the parks building? Did you know that Tampa has not replaced any of it existing office lighting systems with LED bulbs?

So if you believe in green technology you should call or write to your local government and demand that they adopt green technology. You should call your state legislature and tell them that they should exclude green improvements from property taxes and tell them to FIX IT NOW.

All of the green technologies I mention above don’t cost jobs; they could be funded from the capital improvement budget (which is not property tax revenue) and would ultimately save the city millions of dollars a year that could be given back to the taxpayers.

For the record energy-wise, because I am often asked, I drive a Mini Cooper (I get about 25 miles to the gallon) and my office uses high-efficiency lighting. On most days you don’t have to put on a single light in our offices because our window design allows sufficient light into the office during the day. The coatings on our windows allow light to enter but does not heat the office. In addition, we use programmable thermostats and an on-demand electric hot water system for our restroom. Each of these systems was installed to make our office energy efficient and results in thousands of dollars of savings a year. So whether you believe in saving the planet or just saving money, green technology can work for you.

Bonus Tracks: download the city’s utility tax revenue and local option gas tax fund documents. (in Adobe Acrobat .pdf files)

The Florida Legislature might have a long way to go in protecting gay rights, but recent legislative decisions indicate that they might be taking a step in the right direction.

Last Tuesday, the Florida Senate Commerce Committee approved a Civil Rights bill that would ban anti-gay discrimination in employment and housing statewide by 7-1. The bill will now be reviewed by the Senate Community Affairs Committee.

The Civil Rights bill, sponsored by Sen. Ted Deutch, is similar to a bill sponsored by Rep. Kelly Skidmore, which is currently making its way through the House. While both bills would ban discrimination based on sexual orientation, the House bill bans discrimination on the basis of gender identity, as well.

Gov. Charlie Crist has yet to comment on whether or not he would approve the bill.

Currently, Florida protects residents from employment and housing discrimination via the Florida Civil Rights Act and the Fair Housing Act, which both ban discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, handicap or marital status, but omit protections based on sexual orientation.

Also under legislative review is the Safe Schools anti-bullying bill, sponsored by Rep. Nick Thompson, which was heard on Tuesday by the Senate Criminal Justice Committee. It would protect all students from sexual, racial, and religious harassment, but makes no mention of bullying based on sexual orientation or gender identity.

Despite this omission, local activists view the bill as a step in the right direction.

“You don’t want to kill the bill. It may not pass as is, but it is a start. You don’t want to push too hard to kill what is the start of a good bill,” said Florida ACLU legislative director of Larry Spalding.

The city of Tampa, which has a mixed record (at best) on going green, has named a “Green Officer” for the municipal government, according to a City Hall news release today:

Mayor Pam Iorio has designated Thom Snelling, the current Deputy Director for Growth Management and Development Services, as the City’s Green Officer.  Snelling will perform these new duties in addition to his duties as Deputy Director.

His primary responsibility in this role will be to ensure the City of Tampa reaches its goal to become a Certified Florida Green Local Government by October of 2010 and to coordinate programs that will help the City fulfill its commitment to the U.S. Mayor’s Climate Protection Agreement.  As part of his duties, Snelling will work continually to advance the use of green building techniques and sustainable development practices.

Roberta Fernandez of Planet Partnership, an organization that works to mobilize communities to take action in reducing carbon footprints, spoke about methods both big and small to reduce our own impact on the environment.She began by saying that while natural variations in weather patterns have always been a part of the Earth’s history, most scientific research supports the theory that the extreme weather we’ve seen in recent years is a result of human negligence.

She supported this by citing some shocking statistics — for example, that two-thirds of China’s glaciers may be melted by 2060, that the Alps could be ice-free by 2050, and that Greenland lost 220 cubic kilometers of ice in 2005, the equivalent of billions of gallons of water.

These and other issues, she said, will be the most devastating for developing countries, which do not have the economic capacity to survive issues like the loss of potable water supply or the flooding of coastal homes.

Fernandez emphasized the importance of environmental consciousness in the business world.

“Eighty percent of graduating college students say that working for an environmentally responsible company is important to them,” she said. It’s not only employees who seek out green companies, Fernandez says, but also vendors and consumers.

“Lead by example,” Fernandez urged. “Look at Wal-Mart. They’ve published vendor guidelines that give suppliers 12 months to comply with their environmental standards, or they say ‘okay, you’re off our vendor list.’ But don’t think that just because your business isn’t as big as Wal-Mart means that the steps you take aren’t making a positive impact. “

Fernandez said that reducing the effects of climate change and preventing future damage “begins with the realization that it starts with me, not that guy over there … take a look at your consumption and reduce it in every way that you can.”

(Bonus track: download Fernandez’s “The Little Book of ‘Convenient’ Things You Can Do To Stop Global Warming” in .pdf here.)

Editor’s note:  CL intern and USF journalism student Franki Weddington files from the USF Going Green Expo:

My first seminar of the day is “Biodiesel and Biofuels,” presented by Michael Lokey of Lokey Trucks. If you’re surprised to hear that a lecture on environmentally-friendly fuels is being presented by someone who sells gas-guzzling trucks and SUVs, join the club.

While most of the audience of about 40 people seem to be at least somewhat familiar with the concept of homemade biodiesel, I don’t even know how a diesel engine works, much less how to create fuel for it.

Fortunately for me, Lokey begins the discussion by briefly explaining the difference between traditional gasoline-powered internal combustion engines and diesel engines, which use compression and don’t require a spark plug. He says that a diesel engine is “basically just like a bicycle.” Sure it is.

Instead of using diesel fuel, Lokey says, a more environmentally friendly option is using vegetable oil or biodiesel to run your car. (A Dodge truck biofuel converter is shown at right.) Among their advantages is that they clean and lubricate your engine, can be stored safely for more than a year and reduce carbon emissions. Also, it keeps otherwise wasted veggie oil out of our sewer systems, which Lokey says currently costs the city of Tampa $300,000 annually.

Lokey explains that engines that run on straight vegetable oil (or “svo’s” as they’re called in the industry) will never become a viable option for mainstream consumption but will remain popular in the realm the environmentallyaware individual.

This is because unaltered veggie oil solidifies if not kept at the proper temperature, which is difficult in most environments and often requires two engines to be feasible. The factory engine houses the majority of the oil, which can be used once the engine is running and has heated it to a usable temperature, and another that uses the car’s coolant (which, apparently, is actually quite warm) to heat the oil while the car is turned off.

For most people, Lokey says, biodiesel, which is basically just veggie oil that has been chemically or physically altered to remain at a usable viscosity, is a more practical option.

While this may seem like an arduous task, Lokey says that “if you can check the pH balance in your pool and wash a load of laundry successfully, you’re probably overqualified” for making your own biodiesel, because essentially the only requirement is adding chemicals that stabilize the veggie oil.

Toward the end of the seminar, someone finally asks the question that we’ve all undoubtedly been thinking: “Don’t you own a truck dealership? Are your trucks all run on biodiesel?”

Lokey looks as though he’s gotten this question more than once. “For a small sum tacked on to each monthly car payment, we can convert the trucks to run on biodiesel. That’s with approved credit, of course.”

Two Tampa Bay latina public relations pros have formed a new outlet to discuss Hispanic political influence. The Hispanic Vision Forum is now up and running with discussion forums and a blog. One sample post:

When we report “Hispanics” or “Latinos,” who are we really talking about? Roberto Suro, for one, thinks journalists may not have a clear idea. Suro, a professor at the University of Southern California and former director of the Pew Hispanic Center, says the first and foremost, remember the characteristic about this population: It is diverse, dispersed, and growing and changing all the same time.

The HVF is the brainchild of Evelyn Hale and Angelette Aviles, a Democrat and Republican, respectively, making it truly bipartisan. Their mission: “Inclusion: To bridge the gap between the Hispanic community and the mainstream public. To provide a form of communication for Hispanics to express themselves freely so that others have a better understanding of what make us tick.”

From Pushing Rope:

 Hillsborough County commissioner Brian Blair has picked up Ronda Storm’s gay-bashing mantle. The The Former Bubble Bee is venting mock outrage that Tampa high school students will protest violence against LGBT.

The April 25th Day of Silence was started in tribute to Lawrence King, whom was gay and murdered at age 15. Students will not speak and hand out cards explaining their silence. All this sounds rather harmless and hardly a disruption to schools. Blair is running for re-election against Kevin Beckner. The latter is openly gay and heavily-backed by the Democratic establishment. Blair is also being investigation for a possible ethics violation. Time for Blair to play the religious card.

This tactic is no surprise. The leading candidate against him, Kevin Beckner, is openly gay and running a tough campaign about Blair’s poor stewardship of the Environmental Protection Commission.

The guys over at St. Petersblog continue to push the St. Pete curbside recycling issue in their own snarky way. Yesterday, they posted a link to a form letter you can use to write Mayor Rick Baker urging him to adopt curbside recycling. Today, they’ve added a scathing response to a form letter they received after e-mailing Mayor Baker.

Particularly galling to the bloggers is this paragraph written by Sanitation Coordinator Bill Sundstrom:

A curbside program would have an annual operating budget in excess of $3 million dollars; generate environmental detriments associated with additional fuel consumption (20,000 gallons per year), vehicle air emissions and potable water usage, with minimal impacts to extending the life span of the Pinellas County Landfill. The high cost of operating a curbside program must be compared to the low resource return, typically from a 2%-4% reduction of the waste stream. This imbalance represents a negative influence on resource conservation, which is the goal of recycling.

That’s my bold up there, because I’m calling bullshit on this one, too.

Last December, during a tour of Pinellas County’s Bridgeway Acres, I interviewed sanitation technician Rick Clarke, who told me recycling is crucial to the longevity of the county’s landfill.

“Seventy percent of this doesn’t need to be here,” he said as we stood on top of an 80-foot mound of trash (the highest point in Pinellas County, I might add). “If all we did was recycle paper, we’d chop a third of it right there.”

When I questioned him on his feelings about the lack of curbside in St. Pete, Clarke didn’t want to comment, though he did say, “Where cities have curbside, there is a lot less recyclables [at the landfill].”

The fact is, St. Pete adds a disproportionate amount of recyclable trash to the county’s landfill. Even the county has recognized this: they’re considering taking care of St. Pete’s recycling themselves.

I don’t blame St. Pete officials for not wanting to start an expensive program when the county might go ahead and pay for it. But tell citizens that and don’t spoon us bullshit like the letter above.

In the meantime, maybe environmental types should take a look at St. Pete Recycling Solutions.

(photo credit: Peter Kaminski on Flikr)

This was cross-posted with Blurbex.

“For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction,” said the wise Sir Isaac Newton.

In Tampa, we have always believed the laws of nature don’t necessarily apply. Unfortunately, by the time we realize the unintended consequences of policy decisions, we are already in a troubled situation. Once an unintended consequence arises, the last thing we want to endure is a massive government bureaucracy. There are two recent regulations that demonstrate this point, and both show how good intentions can go bad.

First is Tampa’s third rail of politics: trees. In this city, if you don’t take the position that you would throw yourself in front of a tree to protect it, you must be an evil builder, or worse, a Republican. So Tampa did what was politically popular and City Council passed a tree ordinance. This ordinance has led to lawsuits, mental breakdowns by homeowners, and surprise, surprise, fewer trees. That’s correct; a tree canopy study will be released in the next few weeks confirming this reality.

Now let us look at why. The reason is simple; City Council passed an ordinance that stated that if you plant certain species of trees, when they reach a certain height you need government approval to remove them, or even worse, you may need City Council’s approval. The desire was to protect the existing trees. The law, however, has discouraged anyone from planting more of these species of trees, typically shade oak trees. After all, by planting these new trees you are not just planting a tree, you are ceding control of your property to the government. We all know that there is nothing like having to deal with a government bureaucrat to accomplish a simple task. So people started planting non-protected trees; away went the oaks and in came more fruit trees and more invasive species that are not deemed “protected” under the guidelines. Why plants oaks when I can plant other species that have the same nice appearance as oaks and grow just as fast and provide shade? In addition, I know that somewhere down the line, when I go to expand my home or even tear it down to rebuild a new home, I won’t have to seek the approval or deal with the bureaucracy of the government.

I am certain some will argue that we lost trees because our laws are too lax and if we take a tougher approach through additional regulation, we can save the remaining trees. It is my opinion that if City Council were to remove all the current laws, such an action would actively encourage the planting of these shade oak trees or other non-invasive species and we will see an explosion of new canopy growth.

Second, let’s look at the sign ordinance. Tampa has some of the ugliest streetscapes. It is important for everyone to realize the importance of signage to a commercial business. Signage is the key to attracting business and serving as a landmark for where a particular business is located. It is extremely important for drivers to be able to locate a business prior to approaching the structure as to allow for ample time to yield and turn into the parking lot.

Unfortunately, City Council proceeded to do with the signs what they did with trees. They said that if you have an ugly large sign, you can keep it until it falls down. They cannot require you to remove a current sign (unless it is a safety concern), otherwise it would be deemed a government taking and they would have to pay you, the property owner. If you want to put up a nice, pretty sign to replace the old ugly one, however, it must be smaller than your old sign. So if you currently have a 10×15 foot sign (150 square feet), you can replace it with a ground-based marker that is a 5×5 foot sign, or a 25 square foot sign. (It is not quite this simple, because signage is now measured by lettering and not the full sign size, but regardless, it is less space.)

The result is that everyone keeps the crappy old signs no matter how bad they look because the large signage is now a commodity. City Council has made the old signs more valuable because you can’t put them up anymore. A more effective policy would have been to say that these old signs look bad, we want pretty signs, and we want to encourage you to put them up as soon as possible. The logic should have continued, so if you spend the money to replace your old sign with a new sign, you can have at least the same amount of square footage of signage. This type of policy would entice landowners and business owners to replace their old signs in a timely manner.

The reason for both of these stories is because in Tampa, we have become a society of mob rule. Policy is determined by which way the wind is blowing at any particular time. Our leaders need to start managing from a macro level instead of a micro level. It appears that the administration has stopped doing critical analysis, and if we want to be a leader into the next century, we need to think through all of our choices, prior to making policy decisions that may end up with unintended consequences. It is with simple thought and analysis that Tampa can regain its competitive edge and fix it now, if not for us then for our children.

(photo by Ben Ostrowsky)

Ever since opponents of the Green Swath of Death [plans by local expressway officials to build a four-county beltway road through eastern Hillsborough County] thought we had at least mortally wounded if not killed the beast, many of us still worried what TBARTA might be capable of doing. Considering that TBARTA was born of the the Tampa Bay Partnership, which has been pushing this bypass for years, we suspected at first chance the Green Swath might indeed be resurrected.

Our worst fears were realized when several citizens attended a recent TBARTA workshop in Hillsborough. On Map 8 Hillsborough Connections there she was. This version is two separate pieces but appears to plow through the very same preservation and rural lands as the last ill-conceived “corridor” did but it is hard to tell since the map is vague and outdated.

Another interesting note is a red dot that appears as the Swath makes a sharp easterly turn, a dot that is listed as a “major employer.” Who is employed there, I wonder … a park ranger? The best I can tell that dot is in the middle of nature preserve. You can see how similar TBARTA’s path is to the much maligned South County Transportation Plan’s route was last year.

Could TBARTA really have been dumb enough not to have know the opposition to this road late last year? Many people doubt it. They had to have known. From last October to this past January, opponents had the Green Swath removed from every map it ever thought about making it’s home on including the transportation element of the EAR amendments, the South County Transportation Plan (which was pulled completely due to the massive opposition and public deception regarding the Swath) and the MPO Needs Assessment Map. That tells me that TBARTA either did not do its homework or just didn’t care.

Shouldn’t our elected officials and representatives on TBARTA have conveyed the message about the Swath? I think so. So is this just another case of poor leadership in Hillsborough or is this something even more sinister considering the tricks citizens have endured before regarding this Swath. Ken Hagan is the representative from the county commission and the staff representative is Ned Baier, who has been the target of civic complaints about the Green Swath.

You can contact Commissioner Hagan at hagank@hillsbouroughcounty.org and Mr. Baier at baiere@hillsboroughcounty.org. I did. I never heard from Commissioner Hagan but I did hear back from Mr. Baier. I also heard back from an e-mail to Commissioner Mark Sharpe through his aide, and he told me that he had spoken to Mr. Baier and was told TBARTA was aware of past concerns and they were not using an “old” plan. They were looking at transit possibilities to include rail, expressways, BRT, etc and they were working with FDOT. He also suggested I contact Elba Lopez of FDOT which I did … and I am still dizzy from the circles she talked in truly avoiding a solid answer to almost all of my questions … for example:

What year and make was the map you used?
Answer: Well, it was a modeling process.
Question: So you didn’t use a current map?
Answer: It was a modeling process for transit.

I could fill the entire page with these types of not-so-useful answers. I encourage you to call her and see if you can do better. FDOT’s number is 813-975-6000 ask for Elba Lopez. Good Luck.

While TBARTA might be crying poor when it comes to rail and maybe even asking you to vote on financing it, when it comes to toll roads I suspect they will have plenty of developers … errr … I mean investors willing to pony up the cash. Here would be where the public-private partnerships would come in handy. The reason informed citizens are so opposed to this Swath is because it is clearly not about transportation; it is about opening up land outside the Urban Service boundary to sprawl.

Finally, could they really have been dumb enough to have left it GREEN? Yep! Opponents had Planning Commissioners, MPO members and the papers alike calling the route the GREEN SWATH of DEATH last year and Wayne Garcia even used it for the title of his article Green Swath of Death.

So you might think, well, go out and be activists and let your voice be heard (AGAIN) and yes, that is a great idea except it doesn’t appear that they are listening. Many people attending the meetings say the usual suspects of big $$$ developer interests are there stuffing the comment boxes. How does the average citizen compete with that and how would most people even know what TBARTA is? Citizens feel they are losing what little voice they have in the county and question how local voices be heard on a regional level? See Mariella Smith’s post as well as the comments on Sticks of Fire.

TBARTA ,to many of its proponents, seems to be the Great Rail Hope, and many seem more than willing to overlook its obvious shortcomings if they deliver that dream of rail. If our county does not toe the line (the urban service line that is) and maximize densities within the urban service area, that little rail dream will most likely become a financial nightmare. Is TBARTA truly about delivering rail or is this about development? Read Mr. Jones (who is on the “citizens” advisory committee to TBARTA) recent commentary in the Tribune’s Bay Area Must Move On Its Transit Future. Note that this “citizen” is also the Vice President of Operations at Newland Communities, which you might recognize as Fishhawk and other massive developments around the area. Do you think he represents “citizens?” Common sense tells you we need transit solutions where people ALREADY live, not out in rural areas and through preserved lands.

Handing our transportation planning over to a regional authority to create allows local politicians to evade the heat on unpopular decisions such as toll roads and that goes for our land use decisions as well. The county has proposed to have ONE BAY (also spawned by The Partnership) take the lead in a Visioning Project, which would combine land use and transportation. Combining land use with transportation sounds good on the surface, but letting a public private partnership drive this diminishes what little role citizens have and puts this into the very hands of those who would profit from it.

I think a more objective route would be to have our land use and transportation planned by our Planning Commission and MPO (because that is what they are set up and trained to do) and hold our elected officials accountable for our growth plan. We can then use agencies like TBARTA to implement rather than create our plan.

What can you do? Make noise and a lot of it. TBARTA just held one round of workshops and they are promising more. This isn’t just about the psuedo-Green Swath of Death; they will have maps of all of their ideas throughout the region. Take a look at what might be planned in your neighborhood and tell them if you agree with it or not and give them your ideas. Will your voice carry equal weight with a developer’s voice? You might want to bring along 10 neighbors with you just in case. Or ask TBARTA to have a meeting in your neighborhood to discuss your concerns and leave them your comments online. You can access their website at www.tbarta.com

Interesting to note that on TBARTA’s home page had a map without the new and improved 2 headed green/purple swath of death on it. It says click here for the latest map so I did and again NO SWATH. I got very excited and put the word out that they must have just removed it. My fellow NIMBYS informed me that I had to go to the top of the website and click on Master Plan to see the Swath. Nice game of hide and seek.

(Since this was written, the green swath map has been removed entirely. TBARTA says it is updating all its proposed master plan maps.)

It’s April. And, anybody who is anybody knows Earth Day is coming. This is a time to embrace your inner environmentalist by learning how to go green — or greener. Throughout the month, there are plenty of lectures, workshops, events, nature walks and family activities to engage in. Take your kids or check them out with a friend.

FAMILY NATURALISTS – 12 WEEKS OF DISCOVERING NATURE, APRIL 5-JUNE 28: Camp Bayou is hosting a family-oriented series of free workshops that explore ecological concepts. Children must be accompanied by an adult for the hands-on activities and group discussions. April 5-June 28, 2008, Saturday mornings from 9- 10 a.m., Camp Bayou, 315 S. Tamiami Trail, Ruskin, Fl 33570, Contact info at my.calendars.net/campbayou or famnat@campbayou.org or call 813-363-5438.

EARTH DAY 2008 SERIES – WATER FOR WILDLIFE, APRIL 12: Head out to Weedon Island Preserve Cultural & Natural History Center to celebrate Earth Day and learn about fresh water habitats for animals. April 12, 2 p.m., Weedon Island Preserve Cultural & Natural History Center, 1800 Weedon Dr NE, St. Petersburg, FL, 33702, For more information, contact Laura Averill at 727-453-6500 or laverill@pinellascounty.org

AIA TAMPA BAY, APRIL 11, 12 AND 13: Renew Tampa, a three-day expo exploring the intersection of green building and historic preservation, will take place April 11, 12, and 13 at the newly-restored Berriman-Morgan Cigar factory in historic West
Tampa. April 11, 12, 13, Berriman-Morgan Cigar factor, 1403 N. Howard Ave., Tampa, 813-229-3411, $10 per family, www.RenewTampa.org.

FLORIDA-FRIENDLY LANDSCAPING 101: “THE RIGHT PLANT FOR THE RIGHT PLACE”, APRIL 19: Florida-Friendly Landscaping 101:The Right Plant for the Right Place is an educational conference based on the University of Florida’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences Florida Yards & Neighborhoods Program’s nine environmental principles. Sat., April 19, 2008, 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., Hillsborough County Extension, 5339 County Rd 579, Seffner, FL 33584, $30 per person (non-refundable), Registration fee covers cost of educational materials, meals and refreshments. FloridaYards.org or  hillsborough_fyn.ifas.ufl.edu

2008 GREAT AMERICAN CLEANUP: CAMPAIGN FOR A CLEANER, GREENER AMERICA, APRIL 19: Volunteers will rally to fight dirty streets by removing litter and illegal dump sites, greening up parks, schoolyards and other public spaces, holding recycling drives, hosting educational events and more as part of the nation’s largest annual community improvement program through Keep America Beautiful. Across 32 locations throughout Hillsborough County. For more information, contact Christine Commerce, 813-960-5121, www.khcbonline.org

ISLAND EARTHDAYS 2008, APRIL 19-20: Come to Honeymoon Island State Park in Dunedin for eco-friendly family activities including an art show, guided nature walks, kayak races and the 5^th annual Sharkbite Challenge. April 19-20, 10 a.m. – 6 p.m., Honeymoon Island State Park, 1 Causeway Blvd.Dunedin, Florida 34698
Phone: 727-469-5942, Entry to the event is FREE, however Park entry is $5.00 per car (up to eight people). 727-738-2903, www.celebratewithfriends.com

SUNCOAST SIERRA CLUB, THIRD THURS. OF EVERY MONTH:
Conservation speakers and environmental experts talk at Pinellas County’s Moccasin Lake Park. Third Thurs. of every month at 7 p.m., Moccasin Lake Park off Drew St. and Hwy. 19, For more information, call Joyce at 727-526-5065.

TRASHY FASHION: RECYCLED FASHION SHOW, APRIL 22: Tuesday, April 22 is Earth Day and Trashy Fashion is asking Tampa Bay students and adults to participate by making their own recycled fashion (made out of 75% recyclable materials) to model at the show. They will be competing for the title of Trashiest Designer and prizes will be awarded. Reception: 6:00 pm Show: 7:00 pm, For additional information and to enter, please call 727-586-7424. Visit www.largorecycles.com.

SPRING WEEKEND TURTLE WORKSHOPS, APRIL 26, 27: Field biologist and environmental educator, George Heinrich is teaching a series of “Turtle Workshops” at Weedon Island Preserve. April 26, 27,Weedon Island Preserve Cultural & Natural History Center, 1800 Weedon Dr NE, St. Petersburg, FL, 33702, For more information, contact Laura Averill at 727-453-6500 or laverill@pinellascounty.org.

PINELLAS LIVING GREEN EXPO, MAY 3-4: The PLGE is a collaboration of govt. agencies, non-profit groups and businesses seeking to promote sustainability-oriented products and behaviors for Pinellas County in a time of particularly scarce natural resources. Harborview Center, 300 Cleveland St, Clearwater, FL 33755, 727-462-6778,^rd from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., & Sunday, May 4^th from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. For more information on the Pinellas Living Green Expo visit www.pinellaslivinggreenexpo.

Creative Loafing is gearing up for its upcoming Green  Issue  by assembling a list of “100 Ways to Go Green Right Now.”  Got a surefire suggestion? A hint for saving energy, saving trees, saving the planet? Post your idea as a comment below, and we’ll include it in our Green Issue Apr. 16.