EFEST GREEN FESTIVAL

Congratulations Efest Volunteer Coordinators‏

2008-12-15T00:04:00.002-05:00

More than 50 people gathered last night at The Beach House on Siesta Key to honor the coordinators that helped support Efest 2008. Congratulations to the following individuals for winning special awards.

Randi Saba - (Spirit of Efest Award)
Roger Landry - (Most Valuable Player)
Catherine Seress - (Efest Champion Award)
Nikki Heil - (Efest Champion Award)
Kathy Keh - (Efest Champion Award)
Heidi Allwood - (Outstanding Newcomer)
Annette Gueli - (Above and Beyond Award)
Rebecca Madden - (Above and Beyond Award)
Cheryl and Tim Mooney - (Above and Beyond Award)
Gaye Hukel - (Heart Inspiration Award)
Michelle Atkinson - (Heart Inspiration Award)
Bryan Moore - (Bridge Builder Award)
Lee Randall - (Bridge Builder Award)

We hope that many of you will be back to help us develop and support Efest 2009. Thank you so much for all of your kind assistance this year. Efest is special because you care!

Happy Holidays. Randy

2008 Efest Photos

2008-11-28T12:58:00.003-05:00

Efest Photos has arrived. See if you can see yourself in these amazing photos of the 2008 Efest. Great festival with family, friends, food, music, art, pets and many more....
Enjoy.

Please let us know what you think about these photos by writing your comments in our Green Blog.

Efest Announces Winners of 2008 Eco-Art Contest

2008-11-28T12:46:00.006-05:00

Lindow, Rio, Wolfe, Cioffi, Gormley, Velikan, and Botschner Win Awards at Efest 2008 Eco-Art Contest

With 50 exquisite entries to choose from in Efest 2008’s Eco-Art Contest, the public – and the judges – were hard pressed to select just one. This year’s entrants ranged in age from five to 84 and were comprised of amateurs and professionals, students and art groups. Assemblage artist Richard Hinger provided the Eco-Art Contest with its “Trash to Treasure” young woman that graced the entrance to the exhibit.

The three main-prize winners are: for Individual Entry, Stig Lindow and “Oscar,” a fish made from metal parts from 1950s garage doors; for Group Entry, submitted by Harmony Rio, Kelly Wolfe, and Janet Wolfe, “Reconstructing a Sleeping Venus;” and for People’s Choice, “Discover Nature – Play Outside” by nature photographer Kelly Cioffi.

Honorable mentions this year go to: Michael Gormley with “35 Hours with a Downed Citrus Canker;” K a r e n a V e - likan’s “Goddess;” and last year’s People’s Choice winner, Carla Botschner with “Faerie Dress,” created with used dryer sheets and lint. Prize sponsors this year include: Pro-Motion Notions, Stephanie Heidemann, Catherine Seress, Whole Foods, Local Coffee + Tea, LolaBlueLiving, Sunny Day Soap, Juno & Jove, Frumples, and D. G. Dart.

Please let us know what you think about this article by writing your comments in our Green Blog.

VESPA WINNER

2008-11-27T12:24:00.000-05:00

Bernie Gottschalk of Sarasota won the LX50 Vespa at Efest. Bernie is an executive with Sarasota and Her Islands Convention & Visitors Bureau. Bernie is originally from Michigan and Massachusetts. She moved to Sarasota in 1973 after a vacation.

"Efest offers our community and all of Southwest Florida a wonderful opportunity to interact with professionals in the green living community," she said. "Kudos to everyone involved with Efest".

Efest 2008 Was a Success!

2008-11-23T18:49:00.004-05:00

THANK YOU EVERYONE

Thank you for attending Efest. We had more than 25,000 visitors of all ages from throughout the region and beyond. We met visitors from communities throughout Florida and other cities around the U.S. including Atlanta, Chicago, and Boston. We even met a gentleman from China who was in the area as part of a cultural arts visit. Another visitor from Hawaii told us that he plans to create a similar event in his home state. Efest touches thousands of lives with helpful information and inspiration.

A few of our accomplishments related to sustainability included removing more than 90 percent of our waste and recyclables within two hours of the event concluding. Efest was powered by biodiesel and most of our signs were made of recycled material. We want to thank all of the dedicated individuals and organizations that worked together to make Efest special. This includes our sponsors, exhibitors, entertainers, speakers, artists, volunteers, and vendors. A special thank you to our volunteer coordinators who honored our theme of "All Shades Green" with their can do spirit and goodwill.

Please complete our online survey to help us improve Efest. Details about Efest 2009 will be posted soon. You can also sign up for our Efest Eco-Newsletter to stay informed about other eco-friendly events and initiatives. Efest is a 501c3 non-profit organization that depends on financial and volunteer support. Please give generously and thank you for encouraging positive change in your community.

Sincerely,
Randy Moore
Executive Director

Please let us know what you think about efest by writing your comments in our Green Blog.

4 DAYS FOR EFEST

2008-11-11T00:37:00.002-05:00

We are almost there. Don't forget to bring your friends, family, kids, and pets. We have everything for a great family weekend. RAIN OR SHINE. We are open.

Raffles, food, music, etc. Check our poster and spread the word.

MIAMI ARTIST LEBO :: coming to EFEST

2008-11-11T00:35:00.002-05:00

Organic yet stylized, bold and louche. LEBO's art forms anew from eemingly random yet academically selected sources. LEBO's (David Lebatard) dive into art took place as a child raised in Broward County, Florida amidst a supportive Cuban-American Family.

Always allowing for improvisation to take place and have the pieces grow on their own LEBO weaves maraca-shaking muses, spontaneous be bop musicians, tranced dancers, blue bulls and gushing waves into his work. The end result is a layered pastiche of abstract and figurative forms juxtaposing movement and suspension.

Increasingly sought after, LeBatard has also worked with Gibson Guitars, Adidas, created CD covers for Phish, The Spam Allstars, and designed artwork for the Latin Grammy Awards. He has begun designing rugs, stained glass, upholstery, and a mosaic line among many other projects.

Learn more at www.lebostudios.com

EFEST is on MySpace and Facebook

2008-11-07T00:50:00.004-05:00

Find us and connect with us at:

MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/efest

Facebook: http://www.new.facebook.com/event.php?eid=17844864030

Efest :: NEWS - Sponsor Reception & Eco-Fashion Event

2008-11-07T00:38:00.003-05:00

::::NEWS::::

Efest to Showcase Diverse Eco-Friendly Organizations; Recent Sponsor Reception Attracts Nearly 400 Guest on October 15.

Plus, Whole Foods Market host fun Efest Eco-Fashion Event produced by Sarasota's Freaky Girl Production.

To learn more please download this article.

ONLY 8 DAYS LEFT FOR EFEST.

Keep checking our website. www.efest.us

Call For Volunteers

2008-10-11T22:48:00.001-05:00

We have posted an online sign up form for volunteers at www.efest.us

Please encourage your significant other, another close friend, or an associate to register to be an Efest volunteer. Think about some of the people you know who care about the environment, appreciate great music, and enjoy having fun. They would be ideal volunteers for Efest.

We will give every volunteer a tee shirt when they arrive. We have three shifts on both days - 8:30-11:30am, 11:30am-2:30pm, and 2:30-5:30pm. Inquiries about volunteering can be directed to Kim Hale at efestvolunteers@gmail.com.

Efest 2008 New Poster

2008-10-11T22:38:00.004-05:00

Efest Posters has arrived.
You can stop by the Efest office (1910 Robinhood Hood, Sarasota, FL) to pick up posters and start promoting Efest.

Efest Trash to Treasures Eco-Art Contest POSTER

2008-09-22T23:31:00.000-05:00

Want to participate in our Eco-Art Contest?

The Efest Trash to Treasures Eco–Art Contest is an exciting and unique opportunity to have fun while promoting environmental awareness. The Efest Eco–Art Contest is an opportunity for artists and art organizations to inspire people about the potential of recycling and conservation, said Catherine Seress, one of the Eco-Art Contest coordinators for Efest 2008. The other coordinators include Rick Hughes with AnythingArts.com and Jesse White with Sarasota Architectural Salvage.

Just visit us at Eco-Art Contest Link and download the FORM and get register NOW!

Bat Buddies Project

2008-09-22T22:29:00.002-05:00

A Sarasota County 4-H Club Aims to Help a Misunderstood Species

by Madison Chapman

Editor’s Note: Deborah Chapman is the leader of the Sarasota County environmental science 4-H club known as the Reef Rovers. Her daughters, Madison (age 14) and Raven (age 11), became interested in bats when a colony invaded a home in their neighborhood. This led them to research bats, and, when they learned of their plight, they convinced their fellow Reef Rover club members to implement the Bat Buddies project to help these native mammals. The Reef Rovers have also participated in other community service initiatives, such as storm drain markings, beach clean-ups, exotic remov-als, and native plantings. Madison and Raven were honored in 2007 with the Sarasota County Youth Conservation Award for their environ-mental efforts. And in the fall of ‘07, they were recipients of the Sarasota Coun-ty 4-H Citizenship Award. Following is an explanation of the program written by Madison.

Members of the Sarasota County 4-H Reef Rovers club have gone batty. Over the last year, they have donated bat houses to various public parks, preserves, schools, and community centers throughout Sarasota and Manatee counties. The objective of their Bat Buddies program is to provide an alternative habitat for bats as well as increase public awareness about the ecological value of these native mammals.

While the Reef Rovers have participated in a variety of marine biology and conservation programs, including beach cleanups, native plantings, and storm drain markings, “They were eager to get involved with something wildlife-oriented,” club leader Debo-rah Chapman explains.

Bats are the most important natural controller of night-flying insects, with the average bat consuming over 3,000 insects per night. However, bats are disappearing at alarming rates due to the destruction of their habitats, which primarily are dead trees. Wooden bat-house boxes mounted high on posts offer safe, alternative roosts.

The Bat Buddies project is funded by a grant from the Sara-sota Bay Estuary Program (sarasotabay.org). While some of the bat houses were purchased from conservation groups, the students built, stained, and calked many of the bat houses themselves. And, with the help of a few dads, they mounted them on posts at 10 different locations: Pocono Trail in Nokomis, Curry Creek Preserve in Venice, Crowley Museum and the Cortez Schoolhouse in Manatee County, Twin Lakes Park & Longwood Run Park in Sarasota, the Sarasota Community Garden, and the Girl Scout Regional Headquarters. Pine View School in Osprey also received a bat house from the Reef Rovers. “We’ve had a bat infestation in several of our buildings, and this will provide a wonderful alternative to keep them on campus but away from our school buildings and our students,” environmental science teacher Wallace “Spike” Black explains.

The Reef Rovers are particularly excited about their bat house donation to the Humane Society of Sarasota County. Why? If bats decide to colonize the bat house there, it will be great for both the bats and the dogs, because bats eat mosquitoes and mosquitoes can transfer heartworm, a dangerous disease, to dogs. Also, the Education Department of the humane society has incorporated bat conservation into the curriculum of their summer camps and youth programs.

Though the Reef Rovers do not plan to put up any more bat houses, they continue to give educational presentations about bats at elementary schools, and they monitor their 10 bat houses for colonization. And they are proud to confirm a colony already at Twin Lakes Park. To learn more about bats or to get your own bat house, visit www.batcon.org or www.floridabats.org.

Coastal Erosion

2008-09-22T21:45:00.004-05:00

by Gary Appelson

Florida is defined by its beaches. They are arguably our most important natu-ral resource. But Florida’s beaches are in trouble – from sand loss due to inlets and jetties, poorly sited coastal development, inadequate coastal construction setback policies, sea wall construction, stronger and more frequent erosion-causing storms, and slow-rising sea levels. As private prop-erties along the coast are threatened by erosion, panicked residents and resource managers look for relief through costly beach nourishment and other engineering solutions such as construction of unsightly and harmful sea walls and piles of rock. Defying long-term planning in the face of climate change, Florida continues to allow, encourage, and subsidize high-risk coastal development on the frontal dunes of even the most critically eroding shore-lines. This very real set of factors combines to create a sort of “perfect storm” that threatens the future of Florida’s sandy beaches and coastal habitats.

Most of the non-storm-related coastal erosion in Florida is attributable to the state’s system of navigation inlets and the jetties used to stabilize those inlets. These engineered inlets interrupt the natural flow of sand along beaches by causing it to accumulate in inlet channels or against the jetties. Coastal engineers estimate that up to 70 percent of coastal erosion may be attributed to inlets. And although a 1986 law required the Florida Depart-ment of Environmental Protection (FDEP) to develop an inlet management plan for all of the state’s 57 inlets and to bypass all sand captured by inlets to adjacent sand starved beaches, today only 17 plans have been adopted, and many of these have been implemented only partially.

Shoreline development on eroding beaches establishes a line in the sand that property owners try to defend with sea walls and other armoring structures as the surf gets closer. Sea wall construction reduces a beach’s natural resiliency to respond to storms by preventing the beach/dune sys-tem from retreating, by increasing erosion in front of and around the walls, and by locking up sand that would normally feed down-drift beaches.The FDEP estimates that nearly half of Florida’s 825 miles of sandy beaches are currently “critically eroded,” and both the beach and adjacent upland proper-ties are in need of protection. The state’s costly beach renourishment program is the primary strategy to combat coastal ero-sion, followed by coastal armoring. Given budget shortfalls, limited sand supplies, and environmental impacts, especially from armoring, some question the long-term sustainability of this strategy.It has been 30 years since the Florida Legislature adopted the current policies designed to manage shoreline construc-tion and protect the state’s beaches. The Coastal Construction Control Line (CCCL) program established a jurisdictional zone, within which homes are supposed to be built away from eroding shorelines in or-der to protect the beaches and dunes. Unfortunately, the program is fraught with inconsistencies and loopholes that allow homes to be built too far seaward, necessitating the need for future seawalls and beach nourishment. According to a recent study, about 50 percent of all the homes and condos built since the CCCL program was established now sit on critically eroding beaches and need protection. This is what the program was intended to prevent.

People often ask how it is that homes can be built so close to the ocean. While the CCCL program generally prohibits construction seaward of a line equal to where waves are projected to reach in 30 years, loopholes often render this sensible setback ineffective. Exemptions for building seaward of the 30-year ero-sion line are mandated for single-family homes on lots plated before 1986 and are routinely granted if there is an existing “line of construction” or a pending beach nourishment project. The 30-year erosion line is waved or moved seaward once a funding commitment for continual beach re-nourishment is secured. Structures are then allowed to be built on land known o be washing away. Such permits are based on the anticipation of long-term funding for re-nourishment and not on the expected life of any previous sand placement. Structures also are allowed to be built up to the existing line of con-struction. If a line of construction was established 30 years ago when there was 200 feet of beach between homes and high tide, and if today the beach is only 30 feet wide and the erosion rate is several feet per year, developers and homeowners still are permitted to build up to that line.

Complicating the problem is the fact that the state-financed Citizens Property Insurance Corporation (CPIC) subsidizes development in coastal high-hazard areas fronting vulnerable and eroding beaches. CPIC builder’s risk and wind insurance is provided to developers and homeowners along the shoreline, regardless of historical erosion rates, storm history, or frequency of repeat claims.

Solutions for long-term protection of Florida’s beaches are illusive. What is needed is a combination of strong lead-ership and creative strategies that con-sider all stakeholders. Citizens can help by learning about the issues, contacting elected officials and requesting creative solutions, and by supporting organizations that address these issues. People buying along the shore should inquire about local erosion rates and avoid structures located too close to critically eroding beaches. Citizens must encourage local and state officials to commit to long-term protection of our beaches. Ask them to support strategies that allow for a “strategic relocation” away from the shore wherever feasible. Such strategies will include tax incentives, conservation easements, transfer of devel-opment rights, and other mechanisms that create incentives for building or relocating landward. Florida also will need to commit more resources to coastal land acquisi-tion, better inlet management practices, and an overall reassessment of the CCCL program.

The fate of Florida’s beaches is in our hands, but time is running out on our ability to make the sort of policy changes needed to save Florida’s beaches. You can start by learning more about the issues. Watch the Caribbean Conservation Corporation’s new video, Higher Ground: The Battle to Save Florida’s Beaches, which can be seen online at www.cccturtle.org.

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Saving the Sea Turtle

The Caribbean Con-servation Corporation is the world’s oldest sea turtle conservation organi-zation. Established almost 50 years ago, its mission is to protect sea turtles and their habitats throughout the Caribbean and the Atlantic. CCC developed and sponsored the Sea Turtle Specialty License Plate, which now funds Florida’s Marine Turtle Protection Program. Ninety percent of all sea turtle nesting in North America occurs on Florida’s beaches. In an effort to educate the public about pressing coastal development and beach protection issues, CCC recently produced the educational video, Higher Ground: The Battle to Save Florida’s Beaches. The video is also intended to be a spring-board for discussion to help bring about creative leadership in addressing these issues. Higher Ground can be viewed on CCC’s website at www.cccturtle.org.

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Gary Appelson is the Policy Coordinator with the Gainesville-based Caribbean Conservation Corporation (CCC) and its Sea Turtle Survival League, through which he monitors the laws and regulations impact-ing coastal policies, the coastal environ-ment, and sea turtles, including the state’s regulatory program for coastal construction, beach nourishment, and coastal armoring. He also serves on the steering committee of the newly formed Oceans and Coastal Alliance, a group of national and Florida-based conservation organizations focus-ing on coastal and marine resource protection issues, and was just appointed to the Technical Working Group to the Governor’s Climate Action Team. Find out more about CCC at www.cccturtle.org

EFEST joined Social Networking

2008-09-17T23:31:00.014-05:00

Efest has joined the social networking revolution with listings on MySpace and FaceBook. We welcome friends of Efest to register on both sites.

September Updates - Sponsors & Exhibitors

2008-09-17T23:31:00.008-05:00

Efest is proud to introduce you our newest list of Exhibitors for the month of September. For a complete list visit us at www.efest.us

New Exhibitors:

FlexFuelProgrammers.com
Bossy Baby
Lite for Life
Blue Pagoda & Evolution Orchids
Hurricane Juice Co.
Birthways Family Birth Center
Grasshopper Dream Productions
Everglades University
Massage Heights
Manatee Chamber of Commerce
Center for Education Parent Association
Eco-Quest Nature Tours
Natural Balance Pet Foods
OBLI Organics
Live Green
SanRe Organic Skinfood
Jake’s Downtown
Kadampa Meditation Center
Florida State Massage Therapy Association- Sarasota Chapter
Sarasota Family YMCA
Sarasota Bay Watch
pHionH2O
Merrill Lynch
Center of Spiritual Awareness

New Sponsors:
For more information of new Sponsors joining Efest.us please visit us at Sponsors at Efest.us

Sarasota Magazine
WMNF 88.5-FM
FPL
Kiwi Magazine
The Comfort Suites
Gold Coast Eagle Distributing
Manatee County Government
The Education Channel
Macy's
WSLR 96.5-FM
ezbreathe

Plus, soon we will have a new page in where you can volunteer for www.efest.us.

Every day we are adding more exhibitors, sponsors, Artists, keep checking on Efest.us for more.

Plus, every month we will be adding articles for you to get information about the green community and Sarasota. Just click on Green Articles

Thank you!!!!

EFEST 2008 FOOD VENDORS : UPDATE

2008-09-01T15:50:00.003-05:00

Efest 2008 will feature more than 20 top restaurants offering a wide variety of food options including healthy cuisine. Most entries will be in the range of $4 and $7. Efest also features a beer garden with traditional and organic beer, coffee and tea, and other refreshments.

2008 Efest Food Vendors:

First Watch Restaurant (SPONSOR)
Sugar Shakers Restaurant
Sandbar Restaurant
Veggie Magic
Front Door Organics
Honey Baked Ham
The Broken Egg Restaurant
Mermaids Ice Cream
Sweet Smiles Snowie

Please email Cheryl Mooney, the food coordinator, at efestfood@yahoo.com if you are interested in being a food vendor at Efest 2008.

For more information please check our website at www.efest.us

Eco-Preview Preview

2008-09-01T12:11:00.006-05:00

Eco-Fashion Preview Friday,
October 10, 2008.

Come join us for a great afternoon starting at 6pm at Whole Foods Market, Sarasota.
This show it is produced by our friends Monica Eshkoli and Laura Gale (Freaky Girl Productions).

This will be a fun event and some of the proceeds benefit Efest which is a 501c3 organization.

Sponsored by Whole Foods and Positive Change.

Green Reads

2008-08-30T22:33:00.000-05:00

Note to Readers: Submit your own brief review about a book that has the potential to help people live healthier, more balanced lives to editor@pcmflorida.com. We will feature select reviews in future editions. The following is provided by the Earth Policy Institute (www.earthpolicy.org).

Plan B 3.0:Mobilizing to Save Civilization

“In late summer 2007, reports of ice melting were coming at a frenetic pace. Experts were ‘stunned’ when an area of Arctic sea ice almost twice the size of Britain disap-peared in a single week,” writes Lester R. Brown in his new book, Plan B 3.0: Mobilizing to Save Civilization.

“Nearby, the Greenland ice sheet was melting so fast that huge chunks of ice weighing several billion tons were break-ing off and sliding into the sea, triggering minor earthquakes,” notes Brown, President and Founder of the Earth Policy Institute, a Washington, D.C.-based independent environmental research organization.

“We need not go beyond ice melting to see that civilization is in trouble. Business-as-usual is no longer a viable option. It is time for Plan B,” Brown says in Plan B 3.0, which was produced with major funding from the Farview, Lannan, Summit, and Wallace Genetic foundations, the U.N. Population Fund, Fred and Alice Stanback, and An-drew Stevenson.

“Plan B 3.0 is a comprehensive plan for reversing the trends that are fast undermin-ing our future. Its four overriding goals are to stabilize climate, stabilize population, eradicate poverty, and restore the earth’s damaged ecosystems,” says Brown. “Fail-ure to reach any one of these goals will likely mean failure to reach the others as well.”

“Even as the accumulating backlog of unresolved problems is leading to a break-down of governments in weaker states, new stresses are emerging. Among these are rising oil prices as the world approaches peak oil, rising food prices as an ever-larger share of the U.S. grain harvest is converted into fuel for cars, and the spreading fallout from climate change.

“At the heart of the climate-stabilizing ini-tiative cited above is a detailed plan to cut carbon dioxide emissions 80 percent by 2020 in order to hold the future temperature rise to a minimum. This initiative has three major components: raising energy efficiency, de-veloping renewable sources of energy, and expanding the earth’s tree cover. Reaching these goals will mean the world can phase out all coal-fired power plants.”

In setting the carbon reduction goals for Plan B, we did not ask, “What do politicians think is politically feasible?” but rather, “What do we think is needed to prevent irreversible climate change?” This is not Plan A: business as usual. This is Plan B: an all-out response at wartime speed proportionate to the magnitude of the threats facing civilization.

“We are in a race between tipping points in natural and political systems,” says Brown. “Which will come first? Can we mobilize the political will to phase out coal-fired power plants before the melt-ing of the Greenland ice sheet becomes irreversible? Can we halt deforestation in the Amazon basin before it so weakens the forest that it becomes vulnerable to fire and is destroyed? Can we cut carbon emissions fast enough to save the Himalayan glaciers that feed the major rivers of Asia?”

Although efforts have been made in recent decades to raise the efficiency of energy use, the potential is still largely untapped. For example, one easy and profitable way to cut carbon emissions worldwide is simply to replace incandes-cent bulbs with compact fluorescent bulbs that use only a fourth as much electric-ity. Turning to more efficient lighting can reduce world electricity use by 12 per-cent—enough to close 705 of the world’s 2,370 coal-fired power plants.

In the United States, buildings—commer-cial and residential—account for close to 40 percent of carbon emissions. Retrofitting an existing building typically can cut en-ergy use by 20 to 50 percent. The next step, shifting to carbon-free electricity to heat, cool, and light the building completes the transformation to a zero-carbon emissions building.

We can also reduce carbon emissions by moving down the food chain. The energy used to provide the typical American diet and that used for personal transportation are roughly equal. A plant-based diet re-quires about one fourth as much energy as a diet rich in red meat. The reduction in carbon emissions in shifting from a red meat-rich diet to a plant-based diet is about the same as that in shifting from a Chevrolet Suburban SUV to a Toyota Prius hybrid car.

In the Plan B energy economy, wind is the centerpiece. It is abundant, low cost, and widely distributed; it scales easily and can be developed quickly. The goal is to devel-op at wartime speed 3 million megawatts of wind-generating capacity by 2020, enough to meet 40 percent of the world’s electricity needs. This would require 1.5 million wind turbines of 2 megawatts each. These tur-bines could be produced on assembly lines by reopening closed automobile plants, much as bombers were assembled in auto plants during World War II.

In the development of renewable energy resources, Brown notes, we are seeing the emergence of some big-time think-ing—thinking that recognizes the urgency of moving away from fossil fuels. Nowhere is this more evident than in Texas, where the state government is coordinating an effort to build 23,000 megawatts of wind-generating capacity (the equivalent of 23 coal-fired power plants). This will supply enough electricity to satisfy the residential needs of over 11 million Texans—half the state’s population. Oil wells go dry and coal seams run out, but the earth’s wind resources cannot be depleted.

Solar technologies also provide exciting opportunities for getting us off the carbon treadmill. Sales of solar-electric panels are doubling every two years. Rooftop solar water heaters are spreading fast in Europe and China. In China, some 40 million homes now get their hot water from rooftop solar heaters. The plan is to nearly triple this to 110 million homes by 2020, supplying hot water to 380 million Chinese.

Large-scale solar thermal power plants are under construction or planned in California, Florida, Spain, and Algeria. Algeria, a leading world oil exporter, is planning to develop 6,000 megawatts of solar-thermal electric-generating capacity, which it will feed into the European grid via an under-sea cable. The electricity generated from this single project is enough to supply the residential needs of a country the size of Switzerland.

Investment in geothermal energy for both heating and power generation is also growing fast, notes Brown. Iceland now heats nearly 90 percent of its homes with geothermal energy, virtually eliminating the use of coal for home heating. The Philippines gets 25 percent of its electricity from geothermal power plants. The United States has 61 geothermal projects under way in the geothermally rich western states.

The combination of gas-electric hybrid cars and advanced-design wind turbines has set the stage for the evolution of an en-tirely new automotive fuel economy. If the battery storage of the typical hybrid car is doubled and a plug-in capacity is added so that batteries can be recharged at night, we could do our short-distance driving—commuting to work, grocery shopping, and so on—almost entirely with cheap, wind-generated electricity.

This would permit us to run our cars largely on renewable electricity—and at the gasoline-equivalent cost of less than $1 per gallon. Several major automakers are coming to market with plug-in hybrids or electric cars.

With business as usual (Plan A), the environmental trends that are undermining our future will continue. More and more states will fail until civilization itself begins to unravel. “Time is our scarcest resource. We are crossing natural thresholds that we cannot see and violating deadlines that we do not recognize,” says Brown. “These deadlines are set by nature. Nature is the timekeeper, but we cannot see the clock.”

The key to restructuring the world energy economy is to get the market to tell the environmental truth by incorporating into prices the indi-rect costs of burning fossil fuels, such as climate disruption and air pollu-tion. To do this, we propose adopt-ing a carbon tax that will reflect these indirect costs and offsetting it by lowering income taxes. We pro-pose a worldwide carbon tax to be phased in at $20 per ton each year between 2008 and 2020, stabilizing at $240 per ton. This initiative, which would be offset at every step with a reduction in income taxes, would simultaneously discourage fossil fuel use and encourage investment in renewable sources of energy.

“Saving civilization is not a spec-tator sport,” says Brown. “We have reached a point in the deteriorat-ing relationship between us and the earth’s natural systems where we all have to become political activists. Every day counts. We all have a stake in civilization’s survival.”

“We can all make lifestyle chang-es, but unless we restructure the economy and do it quickly, we will almost certainly fail. We need to persuade our elected representa-tives and national leaders to support the environmental tax restructuring and other changes outlined in Plan B. Beyond this, each of us can pick an issue that is important to us at the local level, such as phasing out coal-fired power plants, shifting to more-efficient light bulbs, or developing a comprehensive local recycling program, and get to work on it.”

We all need to educate ourselves on environmental issues. For its part, the Earth Policy Institute is making Plan B 3.0 available for down-loading free of charge from its website, www.earthpolicy.org.“It is decision time,” says Brown. “Like earlier civilizations that got into environmental trouble, we have to make a choice. We can stay with business as usual and watch our economy decline and our civilization unravel, or we can adopt Plan B and be the generation that mobilizes to save civilization. Our generation will make the decision, but it will affect life on earth for all genera-tions to come.”

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After earning a degree in agricultural science from Rutgers Uni-versity in 1955, author Lester Brown spent six months living in rural India, where he became intimately familiar with the food/population issue. In 1959, he joined the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Foreign Agricultural Service as an international agricultural analyst. He then earned master’s degrees in agricultural economics and public administration. He was an adviser to Secretary of Agriculture Orville Freeman on foreign agricultural policy but then left government to help establish the Overseas Development Council. In 1974, with support of the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, Lester founded the Worldwatch Institute, devoted to the analysis of global envi-ronmental issues.

Brown has authored or coauthored over 50 books. In May 2001, he founded the Earth Policy Institute to provide a vision and a road map for achieving an environmentally sustainable economy. His most recent book is Plan B 3.0: Mobilizing to Save Civilization, which is available for free downloading at www.earthpolicy.org/books/pb3/index.htm.

Green Reads

2008-08-22T22:08:00.000-05:00

To celebrate Earth Day this month, take the time to read a good book about green living, sustainability, or eco-friendly eating. Here are two titles for you to consider. Both were published in 2007, and they each have a timely connection to our community.

The Carbon Buster’s Home Energy Handbook
By Godo Stoyke
New Society Publishers
www.newsociety.com

Godo Stoyke was the keynote speaker at the recent Summit for Environmental Action sponsored by SCOPE held February 29 at Selby Gardens in Sarasota. More than 150 leaders, activists, and concerned residents participated. Learn more about this event by reading the news brief on page 47.

The Carbon Buster’s Home Energy Handbook is a practical out-line of what to do and what the costs and benefits are for specific efforts to reduce carbon emissions. The 152-page book is easy to read with lots of helpful tables, diagrams, and illustrations.

Godo makes a persuasive case that buying green products and using more efficient technologies can save you money over the long term. He offers comparative charts that detail which carbon busting measures yield the highest returns for the environment and the pocketbook.

The book is full of insightful tidbits about American energy consumption, including details about the amount of carbon used annually by a typical family and the trends related to more efficient forms of transportation and alternative energy.

While government savings bonds may yield a financial return of around five percent per year and pension funds yield more than 10 percent, the carbon-buster strategies described by Godo have an average annual return of 32 percent. At the same time, according to Godo, they allow a typical family to reduce its carbon emissions far below the levels targeted under the Kyoto Protocol.

Godo Stoyke is president of Carbon Busters, Inc., an energy efficiency consulting firm with clients in the U.S. and Europe. He has been living in an off-grid solar-powered home for the last 16 years with his wife and son.

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A Contract with the Earth
By Newt Gingrich and Terry Maple
The John Hopkins University Press
www.press.jhu.edu

Dr. Terry Maple will be visiting Sarasota Thursday, April 10 to speak at Selby Public Library’s Geldbart Auditorium at 1331 First Street. His talk starts at 6pm, and everyone is welcome. Terry will sign copies of his book following his presentation.

A Contract with the Earth promotes the idea of bipartisan environmentalism. While acknowledging that liberals and con-servatives do not agree on many issues, Gingrich and Maple argue that environmental stewardship is a mainstream value that transcends partisan politics.

The authors advance three main premises: environmental leader-ship is integral to American’s role in the world, technologically savvy environmental entrepreneurs can and should be the cornerstone of environmental solutions, and cooperation and incentives must be dramatically increased to achieve workable and broadly supported environmental solutions. Most of the book offers commentary and ideas for advancing these principles in the U.S. A lot of examples cited in A Contract with the Earth come from Florida.

Newt Gingrich was Speaker of the U.S. House of Repre-sentatives from 1994 to 1998. Many people may be surprised to learn that Newt was an en-vironmental studies professor who championed a number of conservation projects in the U.S. and abroad. Terry Maple is CEO of the Palm Beach Zoo and professor of conservation and behavior at the Georgia Institute of Technology.

Dr. Maple is a former president of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums and a coeditor of Ethics on the Ark. He was CEO of Zoo Atlanta from 1985 to 2003.

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Note to Our Readers: Write your own brief review about a book that has the potential to help people live a healthier, happier, and more balanced life. We will feature select reviews in future editions. Contact editor@pcmflorida.com.

Efest Trash to Treasures Eco-Art Contest

2008-08-14T22:13:00.007-05:00

NEWS :: August Update

2008-08-14T21:56:00.006-05:00

Efest is proud to introduce you our newest list of Exhibitors for the month of August. For a complete list visit us at www.efest.us

New Exhibitors:

Personal Electric Transportation
KB Home
Smart Earth LED
NBI SunControl
Isha Yoga- Project Greenhands
Genewize Life Sciences
Wildtree
Manasota Beach Club
Starbucks Coffee Company at Lakewood Ranch

New Sponsors:
We are proud to present our new Media Sponsors from Clear Channel. For more information of new Sponsors joining Efest.us please visit us at Sponsors at Efest.us

106.5-FM WCTQ (Gold)
WLTQ 92.1 Lite-FM (Gold)
WSRZ 107.9-FM (Gold)
WTZB 105.9-FM The Buzz (Gold)
WDDV/WSDV 1320/1450-AM “The Dove" (Gold)

Plus, Women's Outlook (Bronze) got a new logo.

New Music Artists:

For more information of new Music Artists joining Efest.us please visit us at Music & Dance at Efest.us

DubConscious
The Bluegrass Parlor Band

Want to know how to participate? Contact us at randy@efest.us

Every day we are adding more exhibitors, sponsors, Artists, keep checking on Efest.us for more.

Plus, every month we will be adding articles for you to get information about the green community and Sarasota. Just click on Green Articles

Efest NEWS July Update

2008-08-05T22:50:00.009-05:00

Efest is proud to introduce you our newest list of Exhibitors. For a complete list visit us at www.efest.us

New Exhibitors:

Junior League of Sarasota
Scooter City of Sarasota
Family Healing Center
Great Burial Reef
ArtisTree Landscape Maintenance & Design
East West College of Natural Medicine
GoPet Personal Electronic Transportation
Juno & Jove
My Green Buildings
Global Organics Specialty Source
Local Coffee and Tea
Oceana
Florida Voices for Animals
AWH School of Ecology
Kinslow Counseling Services
Front Door Organics

New Sponsor:
For more information of new Sponsors joining Efest.us please visit us at Sponsors at Efest.us

Pro-Motion Notions (Bronze)
Mommy Magazine (Bronze) - MEDIA SPONSOR

New Music Artist:
For more information of new Music Artists joining Efest.us please visit us at Music & Dance at Efest.us

The Spam Allstars
My Friend Scott

Efest Networking at Hotel Indigo

2008-07-27T15:25:00.003-05:00

More than 40 volunteer coordinators with Efest 2008 met recently for a networking event at Hotel Indigo in Sarasota. The Efest coordinators meets monthly to build team cohesion and brainstorm ideas. Additional coordinators are needed to help distribute posters, organize a healing arts tent, help with volunteer recruitment, and support Efest sponsors and exhibitors.

Please email Randy Moore at randy@efest.us. Individuals, couples or families interested in volunteering at the event itself should email Kim Hale at efestvolunteers@gmail.com. Efest will need hundreds of volunteers.

News :: Music & Dance Update

2008-07-08T00:44:00.004-05:00

Efest is happy to announce our first 2008 Line-Up.
For more information of new bands joining Efest.us please visit us at Music & Dance at Efest.us

Boneshakers
Kettle of Fish
Shak Nasti

Want to know how to participate? Contact us at randy@efest.us

Keep checking our website or this blog to see new bands.

Have a great day.

New Exhibitors : June Update

2008-06-25T23:45:00.002-05:00

Efest is proud to introduce you our newest list of Exhibitors. For a complete list visit us at www.efest.us

Kook Wear
Sarasota Architectural Salvage
Blue Sky Energy Solutions
Bloom Organics
East West Health Center
Sarasota Healing Arts
Kennedy Chiropractic Clinic
Nikken
The Chameleon Boutique
Florida FarmLink
DreazEnergy Unlimited

Efest Green Team : WELCOME

2008-06-15T14:54:00.008-05:00

Thank you to the exceptional individuals helping to produce Efest 2008.

Efest is a volunteer-inspired 501c3 non-profit organization.
Members of the Efest Green Team include (presented in random order): Amara Cocilovo (South Florida Museum), Heidi Allwood (Little Bookworms Bookstore), Bryan Moore (Positive Change Media), Paige Long (Safescapes Landcare), Nikki Heil (Whole Foods Market), Lee Randall (Positive Change Media), Catherine Seress (Author), Jesse White (Sarasota Architectural Salvage), Rick Hughes (AnythingArts.com), Laura Gale (Everything But The Girl), Monica Eshkoli (Freaky Tiki Surf Shack), Randy Moore (Positive Change Media), Thierry Rouillard (Local Coffee & Tea), Cheryl Mooney, Mark Zampella (MNX Ventures and Positive Change Media), Jake Keiser (Keiser & Company), (PurpledCreative), Craig Hancock (Balance Fitness), Elise Lipoff, Mike Sales (Professional DJ), Michael Henshaw (LexJet), Carissa Warfield (Silver Studio), Holli Schleicher (Professional Photographer and Michael Saunders Real Estate), Ellie Parnes (Positive Change Media), Karen Reynolds (Unicare Systems), Sheryl Rosen (Comcast), Sandy Ritchie (Tax Consultant), Kathy Keh (Professional Consultant), Gaye Hukel (Carlson Studio Architecture), Roger Landry (Building Energy Solutions), Jacque Rene Marion (Real Estate Professional), Kim Hale (Sporting Good Sales), Anya Nadal (Professional Artist), Kim Miele (Professional Events Coordinator), and Debbie Moran (BodyTalk Practitioner).

OPENING AVAILABLE:

Efest has additional needs for volunteer coordinators.
This is a great way to make new friends while supporting a fun and meaningful community event. Please email Randy Moore at randy@efest.us.

Alternative Vehicles - Present a display of new and modified alternative vehicles.

Exhibitor Support - Manage a team of volunteers supporting Efest exhibitors.

Horticulture Tent - Recruit organizations focused on native plants and sustainable landscaping.

Non-Profit Outreach - Build bridges with select non-profits focused on the environment and personal wellness.

Poster Distribution - Manage a team of volunteers distributing Efest posters throughout the region.

Private School Outreach - Build bridges and recruit volunteers.

Public School Outreach - Build bridges and recruit volunteers.

Raffles & Donations - Manage a team of volunteers selling tickets for donated gift items.

Signage Support - Liaison with the Efest sign sponsor.

New Exhibitors : June Update

2008-06-15T13:57:00.002-05:00

Efest is proud to thanks the following exhibitors for their participation. For a complete list of our exhibitors or to become one, please visit us at www.efest.us

Southwest Florida Water Management District
Lucuma Designs
Green Home Building Pro
Flanders Gas
The Granary
Laurel Park Ventures
Vitalife Fitness
Simply Pawesome
Rainforest Carpentry
City of Sarasota
GEM Travel Consultants
EcoQuest International
Mary Arndt Corporation

Thanks.

Sarasota’s Ordinance Promotes Sustainable Fertilizers

2008-06-09T22:21:00.003-05:00

by Jessica Benoit

Sarasota County’s new fertilizer ordinance is promoting sustainable landscaping practices by limiting the amount, time, and placement of fertilizers. At least eight other Florida cities have also adopted local ordinances in an attempt to protect the state’s water from overfertilization. In Florida, fertilizer use has risen from less than 16,000 tons in 2003 to more than two million tons in 2007. When nutrient levels increase, red tide outbreaks become more frequent and the size of the Dead Zone in the Gulf can become even larger. Our water’s condition largely depends on water quality standards that the Federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and State of Florida have been slow to implement. Fertilization misuse has cost millions in tax dollars and poses to diminish commercial and recreational fisheries and tourism which brings in an estimated 60 billion a year. Nicknamed the “chemical time bomb” in Europe, over-fertilization is a global problem as evidence has shown its devastating affects on the environment. Red tide blooms are increasing, and areas lacking oxygen called dead zones are becoming more common. Presently, states in the U.S. rely on Better Management Practices to regulate fertilizer use, but this is usually a voluntary system and therefore unenforceable. Mandatory BMPs exist in some highly sensitive areas like the Everglades in Wellington and St. John’s County Guana Marsh Basin but are criticized for being too lenient. Sarasota’s ordinance combines BMPs with other well-drafted considerations from horticultural experts.

While advocates are fighting for stronger laws in Florida, the dead zone located below the Mississippi River depends on what the states bordering the river do. These states, including Iowa, Ohio, and Illinois, receive some of the highest nitrogen rates, and as crop productions increase, mass amounts of fertilizer will wash down the Mississippi River, increasing the size of the dead zone. According to the Gulf Restoration Network (GRN), “In a 2007 report on Mississippi River water quality, the Nation Research Council (NRC) was highly critical of the lack of action by the EPA to reduce nitrogen and phosphorous pollution.” According to the NRC, “In order to meet water quality objectives in the Mississippi River and reduce the dead zone, the EPA and states must establish standards for nitrogen and phosphorous pollution.” Currently, Hawaii is the only state where all rivers and lakes have these standards. GRN quotes Illinois as “creating science that says nitrogen and phosphorous pollution aren’t the cause of algal blooms – it’s too much sunlight.” Most experts agree fertilizer nutrients are largely to blame for increasing red tide outbreaks, and poor agriculture policies have contributed to the damage. The Environmental Working Group (EWG) states, “Failed federal farm policies are leading to 1.7 billion tons of topsoil eroding from agricultural fields nationwide, polluting America’s waters and fisheries with sediment and millions of pounds of fertilizer and pesticides.”

While protection laws are slow to be implemented, supporters of them are continuing to develop and use sustainable landscaping practices. Ed Rosenthal, CEO of Florikan E.S.A. (Environmentally Sustainable Agriculture) who supports the new local ordinance, says, “Sarasota County Commissioners deserve a lot of credit for understanding the issue of reducing nutrient runoff by passing a law which drives the consumer to use less input of nitrogen and phosphate. Applying fertilizer correctly is the major focus, and as people become more educated in sustainability, they will want to do the right thing by using products that preserve and protect our natural resources.” Rosenthal, who has been pursuing the issue for 35 years, helped develop the “Sustainable Landscape Council with other like-minded companies as a continuing outreach program to educate the community to use more sustainable means of landscaping.” Rosenthal sponsors education symposiums and has created an Endowment Fund aimed at developing BMPs for improved environmental stewardship through the Horticultural Research Institute.

Using slow-release fertilizer is a major component of sustainable landscaping and a part of Sarasota’s new ordinance. Florikan won awards for its Staged Nutrient Release (Dynamite Plant food). Rosenthal explains that “the patented Florikan technology provides the nutrients that the plants need in controlled-release form at the exact time of plants’ growth when the plants can utilize and absorb the nutrients.” He also notes that “Improved efficiency of nutrient uptake is the proven result of this Staged Nutrient-release technology.”

Sarasota Ordinance Guidelines are as follows: (Sarasota Our Sarasota™ Website & Florikan)

Do not apply fertilizer with nitrogen and phosphorus to your lawns during the summer rainy months of June through September unless deemed necessary through soil and tissue testing.
Do not apply any fertilizer within 10 feet of any body of water. If you live on the bay or the gulf, use a larger setback of 25 to 50 feet. Mitigation zones of 10 feet between edge of turf and water runoff areas, surface water, rivers, creeks, etc. should be planted with xeriscape plants and mulched or planted with Zoysia grass or seashore perspallum (low-N and salt-tolerant plant).
When you do apply fertilizer in the spring or fall, use a blend that has at least 50 percent timed or slow release and apply no more than two pounds nitrogen and a quarter-pound of phosphorus (if needed) per 1000 square feet per application. Four pounds of nitrogen and a half pound of phosphorus are the maximum allowed per year.

Sustainable Landscaping Recommendations:

During the summer rainy season, add fertilizer with controlled-release potassium and controlled-release magnesium. This is found in Dynamite Plant Food or Florikan Landscape Fertilizer, available from Wholesale Landscape Supply in Sarasota. This will keep the plants and turf green and healthy in the summer rainy season. The zero-nitrogen, zero-phosphate fertilizer is called Summer Safe.
Remove as much sod as possible in favor of beds of Florida Native plants or Perennial Peanut or Sunshine Mimosa (they need no fertilizer or watering once established), mulched with Melaluca (an invasive plant) mulch. (Do not use Cypress mulch, as wetland trees are cut down and ground up to make it.)
If you live near a pond or other water element, plant aquatic plants at the edges. Some decorative types are: Pickerelweed, Duck Potato, Canna Lily, and Water Lily. Grants are available from Sarasota County, Sarasota Bay Estuary Program, and Southwest Florida Water Management District.
St. Augustine grass should be removed. Zoysia grass seems to be a much more ecofriendly turf. It does not require as much nitrogen as St. Augustine and is more pest resistant, allowing less harmful pesticides to be applied. It has a higher drought tolerance as well.
Use compost fertilizer.

Jessica Benoit received her bachelor’s degree in Professional and Technical Writing at USF in Sarasota, where she was born and raised. She is an advocate in the pursuit of a healthy, progressive lifestyle. Contact her at benwasp@ hotmail.com.

Please let us know what you think about this article by writing your comments in our Green Blog.

Green Building University

2008-04-19T22:17:00.004-05:00

by Troy Larkin

Location, location, location! That’s what sells real estate according to the experts, right? Well, when it comes to being informed and knowledgeable concerning innovative movements, there are three other words that apply. Education, education, education! Everywhere you turn these days, it seems someone is talking about “green building” or “going green.” Everyone’s talking about it, but do they really know what they’re talking about? Of course no one wants to appear ignorant or uninformed, so they give that nod and the obligatory, “Um, yeah, I’ve heard of that, and it sounds great” response, which actually means, “I have no real clue but all of my friends do, so I don’t want to look stupid!” They know they risk being excommunicated from their circle of highly sophisticated acquaintances if they are not up to snuff when it comes to the latest and greatest and do not want to commit the proverbial faux pas of appearing behind the power curve of knowledge.

That’s exactly what’s happening these days when the topic of “green building” pops up. Everyone knows, or at least thinks they know, that it’s good for the environment because, after all, it is “green” building we’re talking about, and the environment is green – or at least it should be! Well, not everyone who wears an apron is a chef! Likewise, not everyone who talks about “green building” is a chef, either… or contains a plethora of environmentally friendly information.

Alas, poor Yoric, something needed to be done to educate the masses – the result, Green Building University (GBU), a place where those with questions could go to find answers and, upon visiting, could speak intelligently evermore.

GBU is the brainchild of Drew and Debbie Smith, both green building certifying agents. Drew knows what he’s talking about when it comes to green building. He was the first president of the Florida Green Building Coalition. The FGBC is the only certifying body recognized by the Florida Home Builders Association, which sets the green standards for builders statewide. Not only was Drew the first president; he was also the driving force behind the first set of standards adopted by the FGBC. Out of the creation of a statewide standard has come the ever-increasing need to educate builders, trades people, sales associates and the general public in the ways of green building. GBU is a place where the novice and expert alike can go to quench their thirst for the knowledge of green.

GBU offers online classes and onsite seminars that enable the student to choose which level of green they want to attain. The sales professional can achieve the certified designation of Green Building Sales Professional (GBSP), which is recognized by professional organizations throughout the country as qualified continuing education. The technical expert can choose the Green Building Technical Professional (GBTP), which is also recognized by industry leaders nationwide for continuing education credit. All of the classes can be taken à la carte for those wishing to increase their level of green awareness one step at a time as well.

The staff of GBU is a veritable fortress of knowledge employing individuals who have been involved in the green building movement since its inception. GBU’s instructors are available to corporations, municipalities, and community organizations that are looking to increase their “green-telligence” and appear regularly at functions geared to increase public awareness of the green building movement. In a nutshell, green building is an environmentally friendly, energy-conserving, healthier way of building whose time has come. Knowledge is the key to success in any endeavor we choose to undertake. If you’re looking for green building knowledge, you’ll find Green Building University is the location, location, location to receive your education, education, education!

Troy Larkin is a Green Education Specialist with Green Building University. He also hosts a weekly “Green Building” TV show, which can be seen in the Sarasota area on BLAB TV channel 21 weekly at 8:30pm on Wednesdays. He can be reached at tlarkin@ twotrails.net. To find out more about Green Building University, go to www.greenbuildinguniversity.com.

Please let us know what you think about this article by writing your comments in our Green Blog.

Florida House Update: Revitalization Underway

2008-04-19T22:02:00.005-05:00

by Michael J. Holsinger

The Florida House Learning Center, Sarasota’s premiere demonstration education facility for resource-conserving sustainable living, is undergoing a transformation. Late last year, the entire model home was relocated to a new location on Beneva Road at the Sarasota County Technical Institute to make room for construction of a new technical high school. Before a planned reopening later this year, the learning center will be upgraded with new technology and a new landscape to demonstrate what can be done to retrofit and remodel existing homes to make them more efficient in use of energy, water, and other resources.

Since the Florida House first opened in 1994, significant strides have been made in implementing resource-conserving standards for new development. But existing homes have lagged far behind. The renewed Florida House will fill this void. Project leaders estimate that more than five million homes in Florida alone need energy and resource efficiency improvements, and if this were to take place, it would represent a potential $250 billion economic opportunity for the green building renovation industry in the state.

Support of the community is needed to finish upgrading the Florida House so it can help stimulate such positive economic activity. This includes partnerships and alliances with businesses and organizations, donations of funds, materials, and labor, as well as additional volunteers to help the effort.

The Florida House was established and operated as a joint educational venture. Key partners included Sarasota County Government, the non-profit Florida House Institute for Sustainable Development, University of Florida Extension, Sarasota County School District, and the Southwest Florida Water Management District. Now the intention is to broaden this base and transform the Learning Center through greater community collaboration and participation by the private sector.

If the past track record of the Florida House is any indication, this project is destined for success. Besides being the first residential demonstration education facility in the nation to portray “green” technology, it helped foster like projects in locations such as Salt Lake City, Utah; Charleston, SC; Baton Rouge, LA; and even Cairo, Egypt. It hosted 150,000 visitors in the past 13 years with a 98 percent satisfaction rate. Annual surveys showed that 63 percent implemented resource-conserving measures in their homes and landscapes.

A new 20-year lease has been negotiated with the School District for the new location, and Sarasota County Government paid for the actual move of the house. The County and the Florida House Institute for Sustainable Development have retained Kathy Keh, Principal of Fortified Consulting, LLC, to conduct interviews in the community and prepare a feasibility study for a capital campaign to secure funds to construct a state-of-the art design and display center adjacent to the Florida House, provide for periodic renovations and upgrades of the facility to stay up to date, and create an endowment for future operations. When this is completed, the Florida House will be in position to more fully engage the community in sustainability, create educational curricula for both youth and adults, and develop and deliver distance learning by satellite and internet regionally, nationally, and worldwide.

It is all a very ambitious new undertaking. But, with the support of the community, the new Florida House will become a reality. Those interested in helping are invited to call the Florida House at 941-316-1200.

Michael Holsinger is retired director of the Sarasota County Extension and chairman of the Florida House Advisory Committee. He was a leader in the creation of the original Florida House Learning Center.

Please let us know what you think about this article by writing your comments in our Green Blog.

Walking Your Talk

2008-04-06T15:40:00.007-05:00

Our Natural Beauty columnist, Carmen McManus, has arranged to replace her column this month with this eco-sensitive piece. The authors are local children who are passionate advocates of the environment. For more information, contact Carmen at Bloom Organics, 2065 Siesta Drive, 941-362-4194.

Do you stop and think about the effect plastic and paper bags have on the environment? It is estimated that more than 500 billion plastic bags are used globally every year… more than one million a minute! About one percent of that, or five billion plastic bags, end up as windblown litter. According to the Wall Street Journal, in the United States alone, approximately 100 billion plastic bags are used annually. Paper bags are less common, but the numbers are just as startling; Americans use approximately one million paper grocery bags every hour. Neither choice of bags is a good or a green choice in the end, and here’s why…

Introduced about 25 years ago;, plastic bags rapidly became the norm. We use them everyday – at the grocery store, the shopping mall, the bookstore, the list goes on and on. However, did you know that these bags take approximately 1,000 years to biodegrade? Did you know that only one percent are recycled every year? All the rest are thrown away and taken to landfills or become scattered throughout landscapes and waterways, where they eventually break down into toxic little pieces that poison the soil and water. Windblown plastic bags are so prevalent along the coast of Africa that the locals have begun weaving the bags into hats and other apparel.

Do you know what it feels like to get strangled by a plastic bag? The Environmental
Protection Agency, Environmental Literacy Council, the Ocean Conservancy, along with other organizations, state that plastic bags (plastic, metal, or anything that wasn’t originally part of the oceans, for that matter) pose a huge threat to all marine life. Hundreds of thousands of marine animals and countless land animals die each year. Their deaths are caused by suffocation or starvation from eating or getting tangled in plastic bags.

Did you know that there are masses of plastic bags and debris in our oceans? According to oceanographer Curtis Ebbesmeyer, there is an area roughly the size of Texas made up of plastic bags and debris in the Pacific Ocean. Google “plastic mass in Pacific Ocean,” and see for yourself what happens to ocean creatures when they injest our plastic waste!

The manufacturing and disposal of plastic bags uses large quantities of non-renewable resources, especially petroleum. According to the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency), 11 barrels of oil are saved when one ton of plastic bags are reused or recycled. One ton is equivalent to around 132,000 plastic bags. The petroleum used in 14 plastic bags can drive a car a mile. Can you imagine how many barrels of oil can be saved?

Now, let’s talk about paper bags. Yes, they are biodegradable and, yes, they are from a renewable resource. However, they are most certainly not better for the environment. Compared to plastic, making paper bags emits 70 percent more global warming gases, creates 50 times more water pollution, uses four times more raw materials, and consumes 3.5 times the energy! And about 80 percent of paper bags end up in landfills, which means that 20 percent is either recycled or ends up as litter. In landfills, paper bags do not biodegrade like they would naturally because of a lack of oxygen, water, and sunlight. According to the EPA, the United States in 1997 alone used 10 billion paper bags. That means around 14.8 million trees that could have provided oxygen for humans were cut down.

So, what are people doing with this information? Numerous governments are installing
taxes on bag usage or banning them altogether. Ireland’s PlasTax decreased consumption by 90 percent and raised over $9 million for environmental management projects. A number of countries in Africa have banned plastic bags completely (because of ocean currents, African coastlines are choked with our plastic waste). In our own country, San Francisco has banned both plastic bags and bottles. Some other cites, including Boston are considering the same bans. Some retailers are rewarding people who bring their own bags or they are introducing charges for using plastic or paper bags.

What can you do? You can recycle the plastic and paper bags you use, or better yet, you could use cloth bags instead of plastic and paper. And if you do choose to use plastic,think of ways to reduce the amount you use. For example, do you really need your laundry detergent bagged when it already has a handle? And do you ever really need to be “doublebagged”? In fact, do you even need a bag? Reduce consumption, become educated, encourage restrictions, and spread the word. Write letters to your local government or retailers asking them to consider a ban on bags or to introduce a charge or tax on them. They might even give credit to people who bring their own bags! Go green!

Help the planet for future generations by being eco-sensitive and personally responsible for your ecological footprint. Becoming educated and limiting consumption are the first steps in reducing waste. Ask yourself, “Is this purchase a want or a need?” If it is a need, select products with minimum or no packaging which are grown or produced in an environmentally sensitive manner. Be responsible. Our future is at stake!

Here are some great sites to visit for more info: www.enviroliteracy.org,
www.epa.gov, www.reusablebags.com, www.slate.com/id/2169287/?GT1=10135, www.reusablebags.com/facts.php, and www.chrisjordan.com.

Alexandra, 13, Colter, 11, and Carson, 9, became interested in this subject through a homeschooling assignment designed by their mother Leigh. As they researched the impacts, they were astounded and disgusted and wanted to take action. The family has stopped using plastic shopping bags as much as possible and encourages you to do the same.

Please let us know what you think about this article by writing your comments in our Green Blog.

SMR Headquarters Building Certified Green; Crist Sees

2008-03-05T00:03:00.007-05:00

SMR’s Building Certified Green – Schroeder-Manatee Ranch, the parent company of the developer of Lakewood Ranch, announces that its corporate headquarters is the first commercial building to be certified Green by the Florida Green Building Coalition. The two-story, 32,000-square-foot building is located on Covenant Way, just north of University Parkway on the east side of Lorraine Road. SMR has a history of practicing wise stewardship of their land and resources, and building Green is an extension of their commitment to quality building practices. The Green building features for the SMR corporate headquarters includes energy-efficient and healthful building construction, environmental responsibility, sustainability, and economic viability. Features include the use of drought-tolerant plants in the outdoor landscaping, the use of recycled building materials, the recycling of more than 75 percent of the construction waste, the use of efficient systems for heating, cooling and water resources, solar powered sprinkler systems, the use of iSynergy software from iDaix to reduce the use of paper, friction track flooring to eliminate the use of toxic glues, energy-efficient windows, low VOC (Volatile Organic Compound) paints, low flow faucets and dual flush toilets, and a daily recycling program at individual desks. Lakewood Ranch recently received the Green Homes Marketing of the Year award at the National Association of Home Builders’ eighth annual National Green Building Conference.

Crist Sees Florida as Green Leader – Governor
Charlie Crist wants to follow California’s lead and turn Florida into a green state by
capping greenhouse gas emissions, requiring environmentally friendly building codes, and turning state government into a model of energy efficiency. He is pushing to require dirty power plants to dramatically reduce emissions while converting 20 percent of their production to renewable energy. Greenhouse gas emissions from vehicles would also be cut.

Many of his proposals were presented at the recent Summit on Global Change in Miami July 12–13, 2007. The summit featured scientists, alternative energy experts, policy makers, academics, media, and environmental officials from around the globe. More than 600 people participated at the Summit.

Crist is pushing to set caps on emissions by electric utilities. The caps will come in stages, with the first reduction goals coming in 2017 when power plant emissions would be capped at 2000 levels. By 2050, emissions couldn’t exceed 20 percent of the 1990 levels. Utilities could also be asked to produce 20 percent of their power with renewable sources, such as solar and wind energy.

“Florida is providing the moral leadership needed to preserve our state’s beautiful natural environment, and state government is leading by example by taking immediate action to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions,” Governor Crist said. “However, our actions do not stop here. During the next few months, Florida’s Action Team on Energy and Climate Change will develop further recommendations for our state’s long-term climate-friendly efforts.

“Global climate change is one of the most important issues we face this century, and we must take action. We must make every effort to boldly do our best to do what is right – for our environment, for our economy, and for future generations. We have a responsibility to be good stewards of Florida’s natural resources and beautiful surroundings.”

Governor Crist called for Florida to become a leader in renewable and alternative energies such as ethanol and biofuels, solar and wind energy. Florida has the greatest capacity in the nation to produce ethanol because of a year-long growing season and robust agricultural lands. Florida’s sugar cane and citrus industries have great potential to become a statewide asset when converted to ethanol. In this way, energy diversification can be vital to Florida’s economic development and security.

Governor Crist also signed agreements with the governments of Germany and the United Kingdom calling for a post- Kyoto Protocol that protects the planet’s climate systems by reducing emissions of greenhouse gasses beyond 2012.

Moore Attends Builders Conference – Bryan Moore, a partner with Positive Change Media and the site coordinator for Efest 2007, recently attended the Southeast Builders Conference in Orlando. The event featured more than 800 exhibitors. Moore visited all the companies offering green products and services to build relationships and to make owners aware of the opportunity to exhibit at Efest. He also connected with some of the Efest 2007 sponsors and registered exhibitors such as Two Trails Green Consulting, Solar Direct, and Tankless Water Heater Systems.

Efest 2008 will expand to two days to accommodate as many as 200 exhibitors. It will be the largest green living music and arts festival in the history of Florida. Efest 2009 is expected to attract innovative green businesses from throughout the U.S. and other nations.

Submit suggested Regional Green News listings to randy@efest.us.

Please let us know what you think about this article by writing your comments in our Green Blog.

Energy Obesity and Cutting Calories

2008-03-04T23:46:00.009-05:00

They are as sick that surfeit with too much, as they that starve with nothing. – William Shakespeare (The Merchant of Venice)

In an interview he gave in 1973, Ivan Illich compared human energy overconsumption, particularly that of oil, with overeating. Both, he said, could lead to a kind of obesity, which could threaten the health of the organism. “High quanta of energy,” he claimed, “degrade social relations just as inevitably as they destroy the physical milieu.” What does that mean? It means that we can’t keep consuming huge amounts of energy (or overeating meal after meal) and not pay a high price, as individuals and as a society. When we continually overeat, we can become obese. When we continually overindulge in the earth’s energy resources, society can become obese, with all the attendant social-health challenges one might expect: fear of scarcity as demand outstrips supply, hoarding of resources by those who can do so, and a rising cost of living that threatens the stability of society as a whole. Illich said, “A people can be just as dangerously overpowered by the wattage of its tools as by the caloric content of its foods,” noting that, whether they realize it or not, both the under-consumer and over-consumer alike suffer. Calories are only healthy, Illich reminds us, “as long as they stay within the range that separates enough from too much.”

And I guess, for many of us, this is where it gets tricky. What is enough, and how much is too much? That’s not always easy to discern, especially in a society that presents over-consumption as the norm (and even a patriotic ideal). Given that, it’s up to each of us to begin to question our own energy consumption patterns within a much broader context: How healthy do we want our society and world to be? What is the real cost to each of us as individuals, beyond our monthly budget, of our energy consumption choices? And how can we begin to make healthier choices? For most of us, the first step is usually becoming aware: Noticing the tighter belt in the case of undesired weight gain; recognizing the symptoms of, say, global warming, in the case of energy consumption. The second step is doing something about it: reducing consumption. Whether we’re talking about food or energy, too many calories are too many calories, and we all know what to do about it. But knowing same. Doing is hard. Or so we think. The fact is even small changes in our energy “diet” can make a big difference when we all make a concerted effort to reduce consumption.

For instance, switching to compact fluorescent bulbs, which use up to 75 percent less energy than conventional incandescent bulbs (and last 10 times longer), is an easy, simple change we all can make. Other energy reduction choices include upgrading home insulation and appliances to be more energy efficient, switching to solar hot water heating, driving less and walking and biking more, and using public transportation when possible. Food, it turns out, plays an important role not only in our regular diet but also our energy diet. Because food can travel between 1500 and 2500 miles, farm to plate, transportation energy can be greatly reduced by growing our own food or buying it from local (preferably organic) sources. (This has the added benefit of helping the local economy.) There are, of course, many other changes that can be made to reduce energy consumption – some easy, some not so easy. In the end, greater measures may need to be taken to reduce our energy diet and overcome “social obesity.” But as anyone who cares for their physical health knows, positive change often has a way of creating more positive change, and what seemed like a daunting task turns out to be not so difficult after all.

Linda Maree is a freelance writer with a passion for the environment.
Please write to etainwrites@aol.com.

Please let us know what you think about this article by writing your comments in our Green Blog.

Welcome to efest 2008

2008-01-30T01:25:00.000-05:00

The fourth annual Efest is expanding to two days to enable more people to attend from throughout Florida. We expect 25-30,000 visitors this year.

The three E's in Efest are education, eco-commerce, and entertainment. Efest 2008 will feature the Green-N-Healthy Expo under the super tents, live music featuring top area bands, eight panel discussions with leading experts, the children's eco-village, the Trash to Treasures Eco-Art Contest, and diverse food and refreshments. New this year is an expanded emphasis on green building products/trends, and a special area celebrating Florida's cultural diversity.

Thank you for helping us spread the word about Efest 2008 with your family, friends, and professional colleagues. We welcome inquiries from prospective sponsors and exhibitors at accounting@efest.us. Working together, we can all be part of the positive change that supports our environment and our economy.

Efest Announces Winners of 2007 Eco-Art Contest

2008-01-30T01:09:00.001-05:00

Efest 2007’s Eco-Art Contest, “Trash to Treasure,”
yielded 20 outstanding entries for judging, both by the Efest
team and by the public. The youngest entrant of the contest was only six
years old. Two local schools, Bay Haven and New
Gate, also produced some wonderful entries.

And “wonderful,” “outstanding,” “striking,”
“amazing” were all expressions used by everyone
who visited the displays. “It’s important to say
thank you to all the entrants, for their boldness in stepping
forward with their entries,” said Catherine Seress,
Efest’s Eco-Art coordinator.

Prizes were donated by Del Harley (“Change,
A Starter Kit”), Mister Landscaper, (micro-sprinkler system),
and Pro-Motion Notions of Sarasota (crystal Efest 2007 illuminated cubes).
A special thanks goes to D. A. Gordon Dart, whose “recyclable
reptile receptacles” proved so popular with visitors
that they were taken during the day.

The winner for the People’s Choice Award was
“Poo,” an ostrich crotcheted of plastic shopping
bags by Carla Botshnor. It delighted both because
of its whimsy, but also the obvious time and skill it
took to compose the piece.

The Individual Entry Winner was for “Rebirth,”
the silhouette of a pregnant woman, impregnated
with seed on clay, by Aaron Cratty. The
structure of the silhouette was created using
labels from a variety of otherwise discarded
baby products.

The Group Entry Winner was “Window into the
Past” by the Old Braden River Historical Society.
The group regularly cleans up the Braden River
and this year composed a piece – a doorway
(which had also been found) covered in various
artifacts, discarded items, empty snail shells, and
one alligator skull.

An Honorable Mention was given to Cheryl
Murphy for her whimsical crab, which especially
got the attention of the children coming into
the tent.

“All of the entries were truly wonderful, and we
appreciate the time, thought, and creativity that
was required for each entry,” said John Poundstone,
Deputy Art Coordinator for Efest.

Already several of the artists were talking about
next year’s entries, with others who did not enter
this year saying they would for 2008. Of course,
the most important aspect is that everyone
had fun!

Photos by PM Exposure and Holli Bonito

Please let us know what you think about this article
by writing your comments in our Green Blog.

Eslinger Homes: Evolution in Building Green

2008-01-29T01:38:00.012-05:00

Editor’s Note: Jim Eslinger discussed Eslinger Homes’ evolution to building green with us. For more information, visit www.eslingerhomes.com or call the corporate office at 941-371-3920.

Please give our readers a brief history of Eslinger Homes.

In 1976 my father, Jim, Sr., sold his business, a small chain of convenient stores called Breeze In Markets. My father’s entrepreneur spirit guided him in the direction to start a single family home business, and thus Eslinger Homes was born. The home-building business gave my father an opportunity that was twofold: grow the business while at the same time involve and grow his children into the business. The initial structure of Eslinger Homes consisted of my mother, Dorothy, handling the accounting along with the interior design aspects of the business. My father handled the financials and physical labor side. My father has always been a hands-on individual and enjoyed the physical aspects. This is where my brother Jeff and I come in. Jeff and I worked alongside my father in framing, shingle roofing, painting, foundation work, etc. Jeff and I learned, literally from the ground up, what the home building business was all about. My Grandpa Eslinger had a saying, one that the company still lives by today: “There is only one way to do things, and that’s the right way.” My grandfather instilled that philosophy into my father, and my father into us.

Today, 30 plus years later, Eslinger Homes has grown into a company that builds approximately 40 homes a year throughout Manatee and Sarasota Counties. The structure of the company has evolved into myself as President and CEO handling all aspects of construction, Jeff as Director of Sales and Marketing as well as land research and opportunities, our sister Julie, joining the family business in 1995 utilizing her degree in accounting to relieve Mom of her accounting duties, working her way up to Vice President and Comptroller, and our sister Jenny assuming the role as interior designer, helping our clients in the color selection process. Although my father semi retired from the business in 1997, he still handles all our drafting and design needs. He learned his drafting and design skills from my Grandpa Daniel, who taught engineering and design at the University of Notre Dame for over 35 years.

When and how did Eslinger Homes decide to go green?

We have always been of the mindset of how can we improve the process of building a home, and we wanted to take the company to another level. In August of 2006, we were preparing to break ground on our new model called the Bimini 3267 in our new subdivision called Old Tampa Estates, which is located off Old Tampa Rd. in Parrish. The Bimini was a new two story plan we had designed for Old Tampa Estates, and it became our test subject. We starting researching different products we could use and building practices we could utilize that would increase the energy efficiency and sustainability of the home. It was through our research that we came across a company by the name of Two Trails, owned by Drew and Debbie Smith. Two Trails is a third-party inspection company that handles the certification process to insure the home qualifies as green built. The certifying organization is the Florida Green Builders Coalition (FGBC), of which we became a member in September 2006. At the time, the FGBC required a minimum of 200 points to be certified, and through our research and the features we put in the Bimini model, the home qualified at 253 points.

The more research we did, the more excited and passionate we became that we were on to something big, something that was such a benefit to our future homeowners, that it became evident that building every home green certified was the right thing to do, and making it an option to our future homeowners made no sense at all. How could we as a company sit across the table of a future homeowner and say to them, “We can make your home more energy efficient and sustainable, but it’s going to cost you x number of dollars more,” when in fact we should be providing this to them anyway? We adopted cost-effective methods and products into our building process that insured our ability to provide green-built certified homes to our homeowners. We provide our homeowners with a green-certified starting platform, and if they want to be greener, we can guide them to be as green as they want to be. So we made the commitment to build all of our homes green certified in all the current neighborhoods we build. We are also committed to build green for clients with their own lot. We have plethora of information about our communities and green information on our website.

What have been some of the specific challenges and rewards from becoming a green builder?

I would say the rewards far outweigh the challenges, rewards such as the good feeling we get that Eslinger Homes is doing something now that in the long run will benefit not only the homeowners we build for today, but the future environment as a whole. We look at it this way: it’s not about us and the present generation, it’s about what we can do now in our generation that will help and improve the environment for the generations to come. Between myself, my brother, and our two sisters, we have 12 children, whom we see as benefactors to the steps we take today.

The number one challenge we face is educating the general public. Although green has been around for a while and people are starting to learn more about what it is, there is still an enormous amount of people out there that don’t know what it means. In our quest to educate, we’ve developed a short educational PowerPoint seminar that we’ve been presenting to groups around the Manatee and Sarasota areas. We recently started our own TV show called “Eslinger Homes Presents Building Green” that airs every Wednesday night at 8:30pm on Comcast cable BLAB TV channel 21. If someone is interested in becoming a sponsor or perhaps a guest, they can call our corporate office at 941-371-3920. The TV show came from outside-the-box thinking and from someone saying, “Why don’t we start our own TV show to help educate and spread the word?” The owner of BLAB TV was thinking the same thing we were. We are trying to do our part to drive this train and get others on board. Green is here to stay.

What constitutes a green-built home, and how difficult is it to be approved?

The FGBC has a checklist that is broken down into categories. Each category has a point rating system in which you must attain a certain number of points in order for the home to be deemed certified green. The checklist is not a one-size-fits-all, dictating only one way to be green certified. You do have minimum points you must get in your category; however, there are several methods and products you can choose from to get you to the necessary points. The checklist has a definitions section that defines what each line item category point means. So, for builders who are going through the certification process for the first time, the definitions bring clarity to the category. Having said that, because of our method of construction and our mindset to constantly improve the process, the difficulty to go green was not there for us. As for the difficulty for others, it depends how far behind the green curve they are.

Where are your current housing developments located, and what are some of your building plans for 2008 and 2009?

We are building currently in five communities, three of which have models that are open 10am to 5pm, Monday through Saturday, and noon to 5pm on Sunday. The Bradenton ones include: the Rye Wilderness model, 941-896-5005, off of Rye Road, the Twin Rivers model, 941-776-9909, off Golf Course Road, the Old Tampa Estates model, 941-776-2390, off Old Tampa Road, and Gamble Creek Estates, 941-776-2390, model coming soon, off Golf Course Road. We also build in Hunters Creek, located off Fruitville Road in Sarasota, as well as on privately owned lots.

Our plans for 2008 and 2009 are stay the course, build more green-certified homes, and educate, educate, educate!

Eslinger Homes was an early sponsor of Efest 2007. Why did your company decide to get involved with this community event?

Efest 2007 was in line with our recent commitment to go green. They say timing is everything, and there is a reason and a purpose in all we do. Eslinger Homes made a decision to close a door and climb the stairs to a higher level. It was at that higher level that the Efest door of opportunity opened, and it made perfect sense for us as a company to get involved. We are extremely excited about it and look forward to it. Another way to spread the word.

What major trends are impacting on the building industry in our region and around the country?

Recently, the Homebuilders Association of Sarasota County (HBASC) established a Green Council of which I am on the executive green council committee. Our purpose is to educate our members here locally and to work in conjunction with the principal of our states Florida Homebuilders Association (FHBA). Being a part of an organization like the FHBA and HBASC helps me stay informed to the issues that affect our industry as a whole, such as property taxes and insurance.

Eslinger Homes has been building locally more than 30 years. How do you handle the down cycles when the economy slows down? What is the key to your longevity as a family business?

We as a company have always kept a fairly steady pace throughout our years in business. Granted, the years of 2003 to 2005 were very unusual in regards to the pace at which we traveled, feeling a little like Superman traveling at the speed of light. With that said, it did make it difficult to stop and smell the roses. We basically reacted to what the market was doing, which was crazy at times; even though we maintained control, it was at the same time difficult to make process improvements. The slow down that started in 2006 gave us an opportunity to take a step back and look at where we are and plan for where we want to go as a company. I believe in order to
be successful, you must stop every once and a while and look at the business from
30,000 feet to look at the big picture. When an artist paints a portrait, he starts with a vision of what the portrait will look like, and then he starts to paint. With each day, he paints a little more, until one day the portrait is finished and the vision that was once in his mind can now be seen clearly on the canvas. We are still painting our portrait.

And finally, who’s on your team at Eslinger Homes?

Our team includes Ken Lapierre, Field Operations Manager; Jennifer Daniels, Office Assistant; our sister Jenny, Interior Designer; our sister Julie, VP and Comptroller; my brother Jeff, Director of Sales; our sales professionals Troy Larkin and Nate Ditchfield; Dad (Jim, Sr.), designer and drafting extraordinaire; and Mom (Dorothy). PC

Please let us know what you think about this article by writing your comments in our Green Blog.

Thank You Everyone :: EFEST was amazing.

2007-12-01T15:15:00.000-05:00

More than 17,000 people attended Efest 2007 on November 17 at the Sarasota Polo Grounds in Lakewood Ranch. We are grateful to our sponsors, exhibitors, vendors, volunteers, expert speakers, musicians, and all of the visitors who attended. Efest is about education, entertainment and eco-commerce. Working together, we are all part of the postive change that supports our environment while strengthening our economy.

Efest 2008 is set for November 15-16 in Lakewood Ranch. We are expanding to two-days and we will enhance our activities and programs to make Efest even more appealing to residents and visitors of all ages. We will also promote Efest throughout Florida and beyond. Please visit our website in late January to learn about the sponsor and exhibitor opportunities for Efest 2008. We encourage sponsors and exhibitors to register early.

Congratulations to everyone who helped make Efest 2007 an important and fun community event for our growing region.

Sincerely,
Randy Moore
Executive Director

Efest was a SUCCESS

2007-11-21T00:33:00.000-05:00

Thank you so much for everyone that participate at the 2007 Efest. Thanks to all the sponsors, exhibitors, volunteers and everyone who help make this events a total success.

Please check us out on TV and on the net.

HERALD TRIBUNE

ABC 7

Again, thank you and pretty soon we will have more photos and videos on our website.

WIN A E-BIKE

2007-10-22T23:23:00.000-05:00

One lucky visitor to Efest will win an electric bike from Forever E-Bikes as part of a special raffle. The E-Bike uses no gasolene and creates zero pollution. The rechargeable electric battery enables you to travel 20 miles with a maximum speed of 18 miles per hour.

Come to Efest on Nov. 17, 2007 at The Polo Grounds in Lakewood Ranch.

For more information please visit our website www.efest.us

Find our Poster :: Come and join us at EFEST

2007-10-15T22:47:00.000-05:00

Efest is proud to show you our new poster to promote our amazing event that take place on Nov. 17, 2007 at Lakewood Ranch Sarasota Polo Ground from 9:30am-6pm. Come Early & Spend the Day.

Efest as a Non-Profit

2007-09-17T08:36:00.000-05:00

Efest Florida recently received it's 501c3, and is officially a not for profit organization dedicated to environmental awareness and education. Through government and sponsor support, Efest continues to remain a free event open to the public.

Global Warming Warning...

2007-08-10T13:08:00.000-05:00

Gov. Schwarzenegger of California and Gov. Crist of Florida team up in a potential battle against the EPA to reduce greenhouse emissions.

Check out the following clip posted on YouTube and consider:

1) Do you believe Florida's Coastline is in danger?
2) Is this a Republican/Democratic issue or a People issue?
3) IS there Gold in Green?
4) How do you feel about Gov. Schwarzeneggar suing the Federal Government if a partnership cannot be reached?

Take the Green Quiz !

2007-08-10T12:52:00.000-05:00

Visit Greenopia and see how you score in this 5-question quiz!

http://www.greenopia.com/quiz

I don't mean to brag (Okay, maybe a little), but the Efest Team scored a 5/5.

~Danielle

Live Earth

2007-07-24T10:50:00.000-05:00

Were you there?
Did you listen?
What did you think?

2007-06-25T21:26:00.000-05:00

Efest Florida welcomes three new Coordinators: Kim Hale, Cheryl Mooney, and Craig Hancock. Kim will be responsible for overseeing over one hundred expected volunteers for the November festival as our Volunteer Coordinator. Cheryl will be bringing in an ethnic variety of healthy cuisine as our Food Coordinator, and Craig will be selecting an eclectic mix of top local bands as the new Entertainment Coordinator.

More info. on our new coordinators can be learned by picking up the July edition of Positive Change Magazine.

If you are interested in becoming a volunteer or coordinator, please email Danielle Hier at Danielle@efest.us .

Helping Hands - Join Us

2007-05-10T14:08:00.000-05:00

We are still seeking more coordinators to help us with entertainment planning, volunteer support, food planning, and other areas. We will have hundreds of volunteers at Efest itself on November 17, but it will take a core group of about 10 people to provide the basic leadership over the next six months. You would be joining a fabulous team. Contact us if you are interested in getting involved.

Thank You!

~The Efest Team

Eco Foot Print - DISCUSS

2007-05-09T11:29:00.000-05:00

What specific action would you like to see state legislature take to reduce the Eco footprint in Florida?