The 4 Coolest Things Happening Right Now in Green

By Vicki Zambito

1. Facebook is taking green to the social level. The social networking giant’s executives are working with designers, city planners, and local residents of Menlo Park, California to come up with ideas on how to connect their new campus to the community while reducing fossil fuel emissions and benefiting employees and local residents. Read more about the outcomes of their recent design charrette: http://greensource.construction.com/news/2011/03/110323-facebook-campus.asp

2. The “G” in Google stands for green. The Internet Search Company just installed its first wireless electric car charger at its Mountain View, California headquarters. The Plugless Power charging station is based on technology similar to that of the electric toothbrush. The system streamlines the charging of electric vehicles and extended-range hybrids by eliminating the nuisance of the cord and the plug. Check out the product at: http://www.pluglesspower.com/

3. Need to save the world from energy waste? Technology to the rescue! Retroficiency, a startup software company out of Boston, has developed a software as a service (SaaS) application that can analyze the efficiency of commercial office buildings and determine the most cost-effective repairs and retrofits. As the company’s website boasts, “It’s time consuming and expensive to analyze energy savings opportunities and there are thousands of possibilities to consider. Retroficiency helps you accurately identify more, actionable opportunities in less time.” You can’t argue with that. Check it out at: http://www.retroficiency.com/

4. Household name Procter & Gamble just made an impressive commitment to earth. One of the world’s largest manufacturers of personal products has committed to pursuing LEED certification for all new facilities worldwide. According to P&G, its commitment to pursuing LEED will include all new office buildings, research facilities, and manufacturing and distribution centers. To learn more about P&G’s promise, visit: http://www.buildinggreen.com/auth/article.cfm/2011/3/3/Procter-Gamble-Breaks-New-Ground-with-LEED-Commitment/

ACT TODAY - Voice Your Opposition to HB 5005

ATTENTION LAND SURVEYORS, LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTS AND INTERIOR DESIGNERS: Your voice is needed right now. The Florida Legislature is considering a bill that would dismantle regulation for land surveyors, landscape architects, interior designers and nearly 30 other professions in the state.

Time is critical. Your representatives need to hear from you.

This bill will be heard in the House Economic Affairs Committee beginning at 8:00am tomorrow, Thursday March 24th. It already cleared its first house committee stop last week. Click here to read a summary of the bill.

How Can You Help?
There are a variety of ways you can join in the battle against HB 5005:

1. Attend the House Economics Affairs Committee meeting on Thursday the 24th at 8:00 am in Tallahassee. The Committee will be meeting in Reed Hall (Plaza Level) of the House Building at the Capitol (400 South Monroe).

2. Contact your legislators TODAY and let them know you oppose the bill.
a. Find Your House Representative Here.
b. Find Your State Senator Here.

3. Contact the Economic Affairs & Appropriations Committee Members TODAY and let them know you oppose the bill. Their emails are listed below.

4. Use the legislative talking points provided by the Florida Surveying and Mapping Society, the Florida Chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects, and the American Society of Interior Designers to argue against the bill. You can read those by visiting the following web pages:

http://www.fsms.org/legislation.cfm
http://www.flasla.org/
http://www.asid.org/legislation/resources/talkingpts/default.htm

5. Spread the word to your colleagues, friends and family. The more voices the better to help save your profession!

The Team here at RedVector will also be doing what we can to add our voices to the opposition on this bill.

Good luck!
The RedVector Team

Economic Affairs & Appropriations Committee Members Email List:
dorothy.hukill@myfloridahouse.gov; doug.holder@myfloridahouse.gov; frank.artiles@myfloridahouse.gov; esteban.bovo@myfloridahouse.gov; jim.boyd@myfloridahouse.gov; chris.dorworth@myfloridahouse.gov; brad.drake@myfloridahouse.gov; peter.nehr@myfloridahouse.gov; bryan.nelson@myfloridahouse.gov; jeanette.nunez@myfloridahouse.gov; ken.roberson@myfloridahouse.gov; ritch.workman@myfloridahouse.gov; geraldine.thompson@myfloridahouse.gov; joseph.abruzzo@myfloridahouse.gov; evan.jenne@myfloridahouse.gov; steve.perman@myfloridahouse.gov; irving.slosberg@myfloridahouse.gov; jim.waldman@myfloridahouse.gov; denise.grimsley@myfloridahouse.gov; bill.proctor@myfloridahouse.gov; steve.precourt@myfloridahouse.gov; robert.schenck@myfloridahouse.gov; william.snyder@myfloridahouse.gov; will.weatherford@myfloridahouse.gov; gary.aubuchon@myfloridahouse.gov; john.legg@myfloridahouse.gov; seth.mckeel@myfloridahouse.gov

Reducing Your Ecological Footprint

by Rumanda Young

This semester I asked my class to complete an ecological footprint assessment. An ecological footprint gives a person a measure of his or her lifestyle demand on Earth's ecosystems. The assessment outcome is an estimate of how many Earths it would take to support humanity if everybody lived a given lifestyle. Out of the entire class, I had the highest numbers of Earths.

The outcome of the assignment concerns me, as I teach courses on sustainability and feel that I do things daily (garden, recycle, compost, eat little meat) to help lower my footprint. Upon reflection, I realized travel was the culprit in my oversized ecological footprint. I admit I don’t drive the smallest, most fuel-efficient car, but I am convinced it is the travel associated with my jobs that takes up more than my fair share of Earth’s resources. My weekly commute to the university logs more than 240 miles. Also, I travel every other week for the government either by car or plane.

I dread traveling half a day and fighting airport crowds to attend a one-hour meeting that I could have attended easily via teleconference. I think it is a waste of time that could be spent with my children, but now I am realizing it is also an incredible waste of resources (both monetary and environmental). I know the time has come to adopt more sustainable ways to travel. As an important first step, I will learn how to say “no” to travel that does not necessitate face-to-face interaction. After a bit of Googling, I’ve also found a few tips (source: www.factoidz.com) on how to become a more conscious traveler:

Stay in locally-owned accommodations as opposed to hotel chains. Local owners benefit greatly from tourist support, and as a traveler you are able to eat local food and given an opportunity to take in local culture in a more intimate environment.

Visit national parks or conservation areas as part of your travel. The money you pay for such attractions is put back into protecting wildlife, habitat, and the environment.
Nature deserves our respect, so when you are done enjoying its splendor, it should be left as you found it. Leaving little evidence you were there ensures it will be enjoyed by other travelers for years to come.

Be mindful of your consumption of water, energy and the amount of waste you create. Practice the same recycling habits you would at home by using travel mugs and other reusable products.

When you shop local markets, remember this is one of the ways (and possibly the only way) local people support themselves. They work hard at their craft, and this small-scale fair trade exchange has a greater impact on their lives than on yours.

When it comes to transportation, flying imposes the biggest burden on the environment because of the fuel consumed and the emissions created. However, there is a way to offset your carbon footprint as a result of flying. By buying carbon credits that are used toward environmental efforts, you reduce your travel impact on the planet. This is a new and innovative way to promote responsible travel and is more and more widely promoted.

Finally, volunteer travel is one of the most sustainable travel practices that make a difference. There are always environmental efforts going on in various parts of the world that would welcome your time and energy, and these opportunities are a great way to learn about the culture, people and areas in most need of help.

Form a Green Team

By: Jeff Nippes

If you are in the construction business at some level you are most likely involved in Green Building, Sustainable Design or LEED. It is one of the bright shining spots of the construction business these days. We all want to be green, and, more specifically, we all want to do business in the green building market. But are we actually being green? Not in the building or training sense of the word, but in the everyday office function sense of the word. Are we practicing what we preach? Do we recycle properly? Do we conserve electricity where possible? Do we conserve paper?

In our office, like many offices, the answer is “Well, we’re kinda green.” Or maybe the answer is, “We’re not really green at all.” Or maybe, “ I have no idea how green we are.” In any case, odds are there is some room for improvement and in some cases room for dramatic improvement. So what's a great way you can find out how green you are and how much room for improvement there is? Form a Green Team! Here are some tips on forming a Green Team so your company can practice what it preaches:

Look around your Workplace

What kinds of unnecessary waste do you see? Chances are, you can find at least one co-worker with a paper take-out cup or bottled water, or an empty office with the lights on inside. Look a little closer and you’ll probably see wasted paper – copies printed on only one side, or recyclable items in with the trash. If you keep your eyes peeled for the rest of the day, you can probably find numerous opportunities for your company to become more eco-friendly. And if you ask around, there are probably others in your company who feel the same way and would like to help.

Get Management Support
If your Green Team will be meeting during business hours, it’s best to get the support and approval of management. Be prepared to give an overview of the types of projects the team might work on and how much time will be spent. Don’t forget to talk about the possible benefits to the company. Many of your activities (especially energy and waste-reduction steps) have the potential to save substantial amounts of money!

Build the Team
Schedule a kickoff meeting! Invite attendees by email, at staff meetings, or by posting notices in common areas. Alternately, you could ask each department to nominate a representative - the best teams are made up of diverse members who are from different departments and work at different levels in the company.

Establish Objectives and Goals
When it’s time to choose a first project for the Green Team, start by looking for “low-hanging fruit” (the easiest tasks to accomplish). A recycling program can be fairly simple to start, as can a campaign to reduce energy by turning off lights and computers when not in use. This will help the team achieve results quickly and start to build momentum. There will be plenty of time for more ambitious activities once you get rolling! The team should come up with clear goals and timelines for each project, and each member should have a specific role. This will allow you to measure success and give you a reason to celebrate when goals have been met.

Launch your Project
Ask each department for a coordinator or representative. This person can help explain goals to their staff and train the department on new guidelines or procedures. They can also help you measure the success of their department in meeting objectives. Publish regular reports to let everyone know how the project is going. Offering incentives or prizes to groups who contributed the most toward reaching a goal is a good way to keep everyone involved and motivated.

Once your Green Team has reached its first goal, have another project ready! Capitalize on the momentum of your success to gain new members and take on bigger challenges.