Shortages in Waste Plastic?

It seems waste plastic is becoming a valued commodity according to this UK article

Social Media for the construction industry Dirt Talk - Site Prep

A good blog on 6 good reasons that Construction Companies should be using Social Media and start the Lifecycle of Engagement Dirt Talk - Site Prep

A more than worthwhile workshop... Energy Efficient Home Series

I nearly passed going to an excellent workshop kicking off the series "Energy Efficient Home" in Sarasota (well hey, the wind was blowing and the minimal surf was building) I left armed with even more information to help reduce our home energy costs and it was also an affirmation of the work we've completed over the years. The kit we we're given to implement was pretty darn good too.
DwellGreen. It looks as though I'll have the opportunity too have a Circuit Specific E Monitor installed along with a thorough Energy test. Assuming this goes forward I'll relay on an ongoing basis just how effective this program has been and what I've tweaked in the process.


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Sierra Club... we need your help on nutrient impaired waters

Florida Water Quality Alert

HB 457– Fertilizer

Please call members of the House State Affairs Committee before 5 p.m. on Wednesday (4/6) and urge them to vote against this bad preemption bill. 

HB 457 will be heard in the House State Affairs Committee this Thursday at 8 a.m.

There will be a new amended bill (one was released today but was almost immediately pulled back) but it will not be released until 6 p.m. on Wednesday!  That means we will not have a chance to respond to it before the committee meeting on Thursday.  We expect some kind of grandfathering in the amended bill.

Here are some new talking points (more talking points at end of email):

1. A grandfather clause to protect existing ordinances:

1. Does not help Manatee, Martin, Brevard, Collier and other counties/municipalities, including Punta Gorda and Marco Island, that have nutrient impaired waters and are currently drafting ordnances that are in line with the other regional (stronger) ordinances;
2. Is contrary to the Consumer Fertilizer Task Force recommendations;
3. Is contrary to the Mote Marine Policy Institute recommendations (2007 Red Tide Assessment); and
4. Leaves the majority of the state, including those communities with nutrient impaired waters, with less than protective standards.
5. For Representative Trudi Williams:  Williams made it clear she is against preemption in her published guest editorial last weekend – the arguments she made in that opinion would also pertain to preemption for those communities that have yet to adopt an ordinance.

Remember to mention imperiled water bodies found in members’ districts (and how fertilizer management is the cheapest way to restore/protect them) – that would be very helpful.

Eat local week starts Friday April 15 - Saturday, April 23

Go to this siteGreater Sarasota's first annual EAT LOCAL! Week is a celebration of the farmers and gardeners, chefs and restaurateurs, artisans and grocers, educators and publishers, advocates and organizers that are creating a renaissance of local food here in Sarasota and beyond! 

"Fertilize like a Floridian"... Flock of Pink Flamingoes landing in St Pete

I hope these guys are bio degradable!

A flock of 50 plastic pink flamingos will land in front of St. Petersburg City Hall on Thursday morning to urge city residents to “Fertilize Like a Floridian” to protect our lakes, bays and the Gulf of Mexico – our major source of fun!

The flamingos are ambassadors for the “Be Floridian” fertilizer education campaign sponsored by the Tampa Bay Estuary Program, Pinellas County and the cities of St Petersburg and Clearwater. Be Floridian launches this week with billboards throughout the county; print and digital ads; materials in stores that sell fertilizer; a website (www.BeFloridian.org) and a Facebook page.

The flock will fly to City Hall on Thursday to support Pinellas County’s residential fertilizer ordinance. At its 8:30 a.m. meeting Thursday, the St. Petersburg City Council will consider a resolution opposing an effort in the Florida Legislature to prevent local governments from enacting fertilizer restrictions like those adopted by St. Petersburg, Pinellas County and 37 other communities in Florida. 

The plastic flock will remain at City Hall until noon Thursday. They will be at the Pinellas County Courthouse in Clearwater on April 12, and will fly to various locations throughout the county in the next few months to reinforce their message that True Floridians never fertilize in the summer.

Pinellas County’s fertilizer ordinance – which applies throughout the county -- bans use or sale of lawn and landscape fertilizers containing nitrogen and phosphorous from June-September. That’s because heavy summer rains can wash the fertilizer granules into lakes, Tampa Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, spoiling the very reasons people move to Florida in the first place.

Outside the summer months, the ordinance requires the use and sale of fertilizers containing at least 50% of the nitrogen in a slow-release form so it feeds lawn and plants gradually with less runoff.

The “Be Floridian” campaign urges residents to design a Florida Yard that needs less water, care and chemicals, and connects people with resources to help them achieve that goal.

Red Tide report. Sarasota and Charlotte County sample background of K. Brevis

East Coast

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

Northwest Coast

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

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 the Florida Keys (Monroe County). Five samples collected alongshore of Sarasota County (out of 25 total samples) contained background to very low concentrations of K. brevis and one sample collected inshore of Charlotte County contained background concentrations of K. brevis.