Venice FL warning. Latest Red Tide status

Venice Beach FL swimming warning Good grief... no swimming at Venice, FL this weekend.

Northwest Coast

Karenia brevis, the Florida red tide organism, was not detected in water samples collected this week inshore or offshore of Okaloosa County.

Widespread discoloration and bioluminescence in waters stretching across Okaloosa County and western Walton County as far as 60 miles offshore is due to a bloom of the non-toxic dinoflagellate Noctiluca scintillans. No adverse effects have been reported as a result of this bloom.
 

Southwest Coast

Karenia brevis, the Florida red tide organism, was not detected in water samples collected this week alongshore between Pinellas and Collier counties or offshore of the Florida Keys (Monroe County).

Obama on the economy: U.S. can't 'sacrifice investments in our future' - latimes.com

Obama on the economy: U.S. can't 'sacrifice investments in our future' - latimes.com

Plastics News - Laird Plastics focusing on green goals

Plastics News - Laird Plastics focusing on green goals

EuPC nets agreement to clean up European coastal waters. By Antony Clark

The European Plastics Converters Association (EuPC) has signed an agreement with the inventor of a trawling net to help retrieve plastics marine litter. This is part of EuPC's programme to address an escalating issue that in recent years has secured prime time television coverage and extensive articles in the popular press.

Alexandre Dangis, the EuPC’s managing director, and inventor Thierry Thomazeau reached an agreement on how to promote the use of the Thomsea trawling net for use by the EU’s fishermen. “The net had originally been developed for oil spills but it can be adapted to clean up floating marine debris without harming the marine life,” said Dangis.

“Moreover, the net is totally made out of plastics. It doesn’t catch fish and is 100% recyclable, which is what we need if we want to act in a sustainable way to restore our seas. EuPC has researched the market for this equipment for more than a year and found this to be the optimal system.”

EUPC, together with its National Plastics Association members, is leading a pilot project entitled European Waste Free Oceans (EWFO) to collect floating plastics marine debris and to recycle this waste in regions where the problem is the biggest.

“Whilst marine litter is a broad societal problem with irresponsible behaviour at its root, the European plastics converting industry has decided to come forward with a practical and constructive solution at a time when few have positive ideas, only hand-wringing criticism,” said Dangis.

For his part Thierry Thomazeau, a former French fisherman, is very keen to use his invention for collecting litter and to promote the use of it in the EU for all fishermen. All sizes of fishing boats can use the net and return between 2-8 tonnes of marine debris, said Thomazeau.

Dangis hopes to secure the support of the EU Commission and the European Parliament for this project and is keen on working with any potential partner wanting to contribute to the project. The three-year pilot project, called EWFO (European Waste Free Oceans), will launch later this year.

Plastics News - US reports big increase in recycling non-bottle rigid plastics

Plastics News - US reports big increase in recycling non-bottle rigid plastics

This weeks Red Tide status

Present Status; East Coast: Karenia brevis, the Florida red tide organism, was not detected in water samples collected this week offshore of Broward County.

 

Present Status; Northwest Coast: Karenia brevis, the Florida red ride organism, was not detected in water samples collected this week inshore of Bay County or offshore of Taylor County.

 

Present Status; Southwest Coast:   Karenia brevis, the Florida red tide organism, was not detected in water samples collected this week alongshore between Pinellas and Monroe counties or offshore of Pinellas, Lee and Monroe counties.

Please note: The FWRI's Harmful Algae Bloom (HAB) group recently began using Google Earth maps. Each page on the Red Tide Current Status Web site will have a link to an interactive map where the user can zoom in and zoom out on different sections of the state, and click on a sample location for specific information including latitude and longitude, sample date, and cell concentration ranges.

 

In order to view this map, you must have Google Earth installed on your computer. The Google Earth software can be downloaded from the Google Earth Web site through the following link: (http://earth.google.com).

 

You can access this week’s Google Map through the following link:

(http://research.myfwc.com/images/articles/9670/Red_Tide_Status_02.04.11.kmz)

Stand Up 4 Seafood event

According to Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch, growing global demand for seafood is depleting fish populations around the world and threatening the health of our oceans. Come to the Stand Up 4 Seafood event and talk to the celebrity servers, meet the local Seafood Savvy Coalition members and pick up a sustainable seafood Southeastern Pocket Guide, seafood choices for today and beyond that will support our local economy and Gulf.

This Feb. 9^th Stand Up 4 Seafood event at the Polo Grill and Bar is a great networking opportunity, Green Drinks Lakewood Ranch debuts at the same time !

Come out from 5:30- 8:30, support the Seafood Savvy fundraiser and enjoy the evening catching up with people you know and making new contacts.

Plastics News - Calabas, Calif., approves plastic bag ban

Plastics News - Calabas, Calif., approves plastic bag ban

Plastics News - Sustainablility experts say 'green' construction needs to be affordable

Plastics News - Sustainablility experts say 'green' construction needs to be affordable

What Obstacles Are Preventing Greater Digital Investments?

 Advertising agencies report that clients are still turning first to TV and other traditional channels, but interest in digital and interactive is on the rise. Agencies must overcome barriers to expand this type of advertising by using a mix of tactics and leveraging new channels such as the iPad.

And I love my iPad!!

U.S. Economy Grew 3.2% In Q4

Spurred by consumer spending and strong exports, the U.S. gross domestic product (GDP) rose 3.2% in the fourth quarter of 2010 and would have expanded further if not for lagging business inventories, the Commerce Department said. In total last year, the GDP rose 2.9%, marking the biggest gain since 2005. By comparison, in 2009, the U.S. economy shrunk by 2.6%. Separately, ASI announced last week that the ad specialty market grew by 9.1% in 2010, with a distributor revenue increase of 9.3% for the fourth quarter. In total, distributor sales reached $17.4 billion last year.
Consumer spending, which accounts for more than two-thirds of U.S. economic activity, increased by 4.4% in the fourth quarter, adding three percentage points to GDP growth. A rise in exports narrowed the trade deficit and also added nearly 3.5 percentage points to the GDP, the largest boost since 1980. Business inventories however, which had driven an economic rebound since the middle of 2009, actually subtracted from the GDP. Inventories increased by only $7.2 billion in the fourth quarter after a $121.4 billion rise in the third quarter.
Despite the gains in GDP, the Federal Reserve has reiterated its commitment to a $600 billion stimulus effort through the purchase of government bonds, hoping to lower the 9.4% unemployment rate. Federal officials are now also concerned about a rise in the personal consumption expenditures price index, which jumped nearly 2% in the fourth quarter of 2010. The rise in the index reflects an increase in food and gas prices.
Separate from the Commerce Department report, a new Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan survey shows consumer sentiment improved at the close of January, after initially dipping at the start of 2011. The survey's gauge of consumer expectations rose to 69.3, reaching its highest level since June of last year.

Power Marketing! "Tooting our own Horn" ROI and a Testimonial

We had a terrific testimonial today from one of our clients on a campaign we created, and no we didn't make this up! Normally you are VERY lucky if you get a 1.69% return rate... and ours was (per our clients analytics)...

 I can’t thank you enough for your ingenious marketing idea…our calendar~! 

Once again, it has been the second top lead source from our tracking numbers (and I have many!) consistently since the beginning of the year.
You can see in this pie chart that it is 18.71% of the calls we have received from 1/26 – 2/1.
Last month it was up to 40%+…amazing!
One customer actually cut off one of the coupons on the power pack and mailed it in with his invoice

Where are Social Media Marketers seeing the MOST success?

More than ever, Inc. 500 companies see social media as important to their business and marketing strategy. While some industries are still behind, most are using a mix of tactics to support their business