DwellGreen - eMonitor install round one

So OK it's the holidays, I was just in the right mood and had the motivation to attack prepping for the eMonitor install myself. The DwellGreen guys did recommend a professional install by an electrician, but I wanted to hard wire the unit (it's not WiFi enabled) taking advantage of the Cat5 I had run throughout the house years ago. All I had to run a new connection to the router... Simpler said than done.

If I were to do this again I'd just have their Ethernet Bridge instead, but I would think future eMonitors would be WiFi enabled, it just makes sense.

Next... On plug outlets, I was sadly lacking in the install vicinity so I took this up to four plug outlets instead of the one. Even that wasn't enough being that the power blocks are always oversized, go figure! So by the time I'd the irrigation timer, Verizon Fios and eMonitor blocks wedged in it looked like Mission Control.

OK, off with the Electrical Circuit Breaker Panel to see how I'm doing for space for the sensors. Why? I already have a Transfer Switch set up for my Generator so basically I already have two set of wires now I'm adding another set! Cont'd

DwellGreen survey "Save the Freon"

Cont'd... The Condenser was that rusted anyway it was about ready to spill it's freon contents into the atmosphere, not good! Considering I spend a whole bunch of time on the water in the sun the idea of adding to a bigger hole in the ozone would probably mean a bigger hole burnt into my head, neither far as I'm concerned probably is much good for my or anyone else's wellbeing. Anyway I digress...

Red Tide, why do we still have a background concentration of K. Brevis?

Anyone have some answers? Reviewing the weekly Red Tide reports we regularly seem to have at least one background concentration in Sarasota County. Is this in one particular locale?

DwellGreen... They come armed with IR (infrared)!

I was on a mission to take our place to the next level and the use of IR was part of the process. Oh yes that white roof REALLY does make a difference and those insulated low E Velux Skylights I installed work really well too although I still need to come up with a system to take the direct off them their temp was still way to high in that overhead sun.
I'm trying to get our KW down even further to reduce the need for extensive PV panels and I figure 5 200w panels would do it and if I can knock off at least one even better
Cont'd

The visit from DwellGreen

OK I'm on my flight to Cal so I got to thinking this would be a good time to relate my Energy Survey from the guys at DwellGreen.
I've already had several FPL energy audits to the point of being told "don't make the house any tighter" which of course I did anyway. Over quite a few years I've systematically upgraded starting with the low hanging fruit first like the simple foam inserts that go behind wall plates all the way to upgrading to a Carrier 19.2 twin scroll system reducing the tonnage and adding a heat exchanger to take care of most of the hot water pre-heating. The old builder installed A/C was on it's last legs anyway, the replaced condenser was rusted, along with the entire bottom of the unit which promptly fell apart when it was being removed!
To be continued..

Red Tide update and other micro algae

East CoastKarenia brevis, the Florida red tide organism, was not detected in water samples collected this week inshore of St. Johns County or in the Indian River Lagoon (Brevard County).

 

Discolored water reported in the Indian and Banana Rivers this week (Brevard County) are from a bloom of the prasinophyte Nephroselmis species. No impacts have been reported.

 

 

Northwest Coast

Karenia brevis, the Florida red tide organism, was not detected in water samples collected this week in St. Joseph Bay (Gulf County), alongshore of Franklin and Dixie counties or offshore of Wakulla, Taylor, Dixie and Levy counties.

 

Discolored water reported offshore of Wakulla County is a bloom of the macroalgae Hincksia mitchelliae. No impacts have been reported.

 

Southwest Coast

Karenia brevis, the Florida red tide organism, was not detected in water samples collected this week alongshore of Pinellas, Hillsborough, Manatee, Lee and Collier counties or offshore of Pinellas, Manatee and Lee counties or the Florida Keys (Monroe County). One sample collected in the Sarasota Bay System (Sarasota County) and one sample collected in Gasparilla Sound (Charlotte County) contained background concentrations of K. brevis.

 

A large patch of discolored water has been reported ranging from approximately 5 to 15 miles offshore of Egmont Key (Manatee County).  Water samples and satellite imagery confirm a bloom of the cyanobacterium Trichodesmium erythraeum. No impacts have been reported.

Air Boats for Coastal Restoration

Marsh Rider Magazine had some of the Air Boats at the Coastal Restoration Event, they're used extensively for this type of work. A couple of shots for the up-and-coming Memorial Day

Restore Americas Estuaries event in St Pete

I'm looking forward to attending the 'Restore Americas Estuaries' event in St Pete at the Tampa Bay Watch facilities which is a precursor to the 2012 '6th National Conference on Coastal and Estuarine Habitat Restoration' in Tampa at the Convention Center. The theme will be "Restoring Ecosystems, Strengthening Communities" which very neatly ties into my passions and business
The Coastal Leadership breakfast took place this morning at the Florida Aquarium which was attend by one of my colleagues, so I'm heading up for the evening event which will give me the chance to meet face-to-face many of helpful individuals I've spoken to over several years. Fun!

Red Tide report. "All Clear" I guess..

FWC latest update...

East CoastNo samples were collected this week on the east coast of Florida.

 

Northwest Coast

Karenia brevis, the Florida red tide organism, was not detected in water samples collected this week alongshore of Dixie and Levy counties or offshore of Dixie and Hernando counties.
 

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 the Florida Keys and northern Monroe County. 
 

You can access this week’s interactive Google Map in the attached file.

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).

endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs)

I recently was at a local knowledgeable presentation of this very same subject and it was a pretty scary one at that. Mounting evidence of exposure and the results were very sobering.


By Anthony Clark... Environment lobby group ChemSec, based in Goteborg, Sweden, has called on the European Union to add 22 substances to the Reach Regulation, which it claims are endocrine-disruptors. The substances, many of them commonly found in toys, food packaging and cosmetics, are listed in the organisation's SIN List 2.0.
"The EU has the ambition to tackle the threat of endocrine-disrupting chemicals, but has so far not properly regulated their use," said ChemSec director Per Rosander. "It is time to overcome this deadlock in European regulation and start acting."
According to ChemSec, these endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) can interfere with human hormone system and have been increasingly linked to a range of health problems including cancer, diabetes, behavioural and attention deficit disorders, as well as impaired fertility.
“Endocrine disrupting chemicals are commonly used in many consumer products, and companies closest to the end-user and consumer knows that things have to change. We are convinced that the 2.0 update of the SIN List will further facilitate companies' efforts to substitute high concern chemicals,” said Rosander.
The 22 substances are:
3-benzylidene camphor, CAS 15087-24-8
4-methylbenzylidene camphor, CAS 36861-47-9
4-nitrophenol, CAS 100-02-7
Synonyms: p-nitrophenol
Benzophenone-1, CAS 131-56-6
Benzophenone-2, CAS 131-55-5
Benzophenone-3, CAS 131-57-7
Butylparaben, CAS 94-26-8
Dicyclohexyl phthalate (DCHP), CAS 84-61-7
Diethyl phthalate (DEP), CAS 84-66-2
Dihexyl phthalate (DHP), CAS 84-75-3
Ethylhexyl methoxycinnamate, CAS 5466-77-3
Metam natrium, CAS 137-42-8
Methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE), CAS 1634-04-4
Pentachlorophenol, CAS 87-86-5
Perchloroethylene, CAS 127-18-4
Propylparaben, CAS 94-13-3
Quadrosilan, CAS 33204-76-1
Resorcinol, CAS 108-46-3
Tert-butylhydroxyanisole (BHA), CAS 25013-16-5
Thiram, CAS 137-26-8
Zineb, CAS 12122-67-7

The Big Catch. Maybe the biggest haul of all... fishing for plastic

From the PRW.com staff article "EU plans to offer plastic cash for fish alternative"
The EU commissioner for fisheries, Maria Damanaki, is set to unveil plans that will offer an alternative source of income to Europe's fishing fleets -- they will be offered cash for 'catching' plastic, rather than fish, in an attempt to tackle seaborne waste.

The plan is also aimed at mollifying the anger amongst Europe’s fishing industry, which is up in arms over plans that will see a ban of the wasteful practice of discarding edible but low-value fish at sea.

Fishing vessels that clear plastic will initially be subsidised by the EU but the hope is that the practise will become self-sustaining as the value of recycled plastics increases

Anglers help need for Tarpon tagging

Biologists with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission’s (FWC) Fish and Wildlife Research Institute and Mote Marine Laboratory ask anglers to gather valuable information for the Tarpon Genetic Recapture Study. Participating anglers collect DNA samples from any tarpon of any size. These samples help biologists gain insight into tarpon movement and distribution.

Biologists use DNA samples to identify the tarpon’s genetic “fingerprint.” The fingerprints provide a unique and natural tag for each individual fish. Scientists compare new tarpon DNA samples with cataloged samples to determine if someone else caught and sampled that tarpon previously. Biologists refer to these fish as “recaptured” tarpon.

In 2010, anglers provided biologists with more than 3,100 tarpon DNA samples. With more samples to be processed, biologists have documented 71 recaptured tarpon since the study began in 2005. Current data indicates that approximately one out of every 100 sampled tarpon is a recaptured fish.

Angler involvement has increased significantly each year of the study. Biologists hope that more anglers will join the effort, providing even more data for the study. So far in 2011, anglers have provided hundreds of samples, bringing the total number to just over 9,000. Anglers throughout Florida submitted samples from tarpon ranging in length from 5 to 96 inches.

Anglers who would like to assist the study may obtain a free, easy-to-use tarpon DNA sampling kit by emailing TarponGenetics@MyFWC.com or by calling 800-367-4461.

Participating anglers receive an annual newsletter with updates on the study. As it becomes available, anglers also receive additional information about recaptured tarpon. Anglers who submit a tarpon DNA sample to this study in 2011 will be entered into random, bi-monthly drawings for various prizes.

For more information on the Tarpon Genetic Recapture Study, visit MyFWC.com/Research, click on “Saltwater,” scroll down to “Saltwater Fish” and click on “Tarpon.

Red Tide report

The latest... No samples have been collected so far this week on the east coast of Florida.
In northwest Florida, Karenia brevis, the Florida red tide organism, was not detected in water samples collected this week along or offshore of Dixie County.
In southwest Florida, Karenia brevis was not detected in water samples collected this week in Charlotte Harbor (Charlotte and Lee counties), in Old Tampa Bay (Pinellas and Hillsborough counties), alongshore of Sarasota and Collier counties or offshore of the Florida Keys (Monroe County).
Sampling will continue this week, and complete results will be available in the next scheduled status report on Friday, May 6.

Start of a really neat Philanthropy Market Program

We've been working quite sometime on a benchmark marketing program that incorporates the elements of Social Media and Analytics that benefits all the parties inclusive of Corporate Sponsors and Non Profits without all the associated headaches as we'll handle the "heavy lift" management making the program seamless and even better feel good fun!
Educational: Even better we anticipate having artistic interns involved in the graphic design elements testing out the ability to remotely coordinate which will very important once the first three geo pilot projects roll and metrics are reviewed in detail.

Blast out to Carlton

Java & "Crack of dawn" Bike blast out to Carlton Reserve before the Easties crank up

Eat local.... TransitionSarasota

Check this link out for local eating in Sarasota.

Talk of local food is everywhere. People are interested in edible landscaping, many going from mowing their yard to eating their yard. Practically speaking, local food production starts with growing food at home and local foods that are produced as close to home as possible. Buying local supports a more sustainable food system because true sustainability goes beyond the methods used in food production to include every step that brings food from farm to plate.