On April 19th, Fort Lauderdale’s 93 Rock caught up with Richard Evans, CEO of the Community Greenhouse Foundation, for an Earth Week interview. Richard spoke to South Florida, highlighting Ways people can be more water, waste and energy efficient in their homes and businesses. Input included how Communities can start to move to be more sustainable and how the “Green America Business Challenge” was developed. They concluded with turning the foreclosure crisis into opportunity to address our country’s need for energy independence and a plug for the Green Expo 2009 in Fort Lauderdale. Click here to hear

Join in the fun activities as you learn the easy way about Going Green at the City of Fort Lauderdale and the Utility Advisory Committee‘s Green Expo 2009, an amazing celebration combining education, green gardening, cutting edge products, giveaways, and family fun on Saturday, April 25th from 9am -3pm in Stranahan Park, Broward Blvd. & Andrews Avenue in downtown Fort Lauderdale.

How does a municipality help its community Go Green? With an outdoor get together featuring environmental booths and displays, plus various foods, educational materials and interactive activities for the whole family. This year’s Green Expo will highlight “energy efficient” and “water reduction” products and practices to help homeowners reduce their electric and water use at home, and introduce businesses to innovative and new products.

I take no offense (for who am I to be offended) with politicians, critics and laymen alike expressing their concerns over the national debt we will be leaving for future generations. That idea makes me uneasy to say the least, and while this unprecedented economic situation certainly begs the question over what the right solution is, I certainly cannot claim to know.

I do know there is a level of suffering for everyone in this mess: My dad, edging closer to retirement, now sees a sorry excuse for a 401k; Myself, a recent college graduate, struggling to gain footing in an ever-deteriorating job market; The children, who may be oblivious to the widespread hardship many are now facing, but will one day come to realize the full extent of their inheritance.

On Saturday, March 28 you can VOTE EARTH by switching off your lights for one hour. Or you can vote global warming by leaving your lights on. Save a little energy and be part of real democracy, speak up, and help us make a point.

The results of the election are being presented at the Global Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen 2009. We want one billion votes for Earth, to tell world leaders that we have to take action against global warming.

The Foundation receives inquires almost daily from governmental organizations, private sector companies and the general public related to funding, programs, resources and general guidance. The approval of the Recovery Act/Stimulus package is loaded with incentives which should move sustainable development and “green building” more into the mainstream.

Unfortunately, a majority of governmental agencies and private sector companies who can tap into resources from the Recovery Act/Stimulus package don’t understand that one of the key methods that projects should be utilizing is an “integrated design” process.

An interview with Will Paul, creater of PlanetShifter.com, a green focused, “innovation network”.

I started PlanetShifter.com with developer Cheth Rowe and graphic artist Andrea Fuenzalida over six months ago because we need everybody’s ideas and vision to re-build a healthier, sustainable and just world. We need to take risks. I want us to reach past our self-interest and fears to risk and share in new sustainable solutions.

Somebody just asked me if I would have started this project if I had known where the world economy would be on 03/03/09. I told her,” Yes!” We need to come together now!

Last May, I found a new American flag, still folded in its box, in a pile of trash on the curb. The instructions for flag etiquette in the box say, “The flag should never touch anything beneath it, such as the ground, the floor, or water.” Does that include trash?

I rescued it, of course. We’ve debated for years whether desecrating the flag should be a crime or is protected speech. But I doubt many would argue that it wasn’t disrespectful and wrong to put the flag on the trash pile.

We often talk about air quality, but not so often is it focused on your living and work space. Green building, with an eye on energy conservation also, when done right, improves the interior space of your home, office or retail business. From natural light to better air handling, the ergonomics of a building impact every person who walks in. And on the of the simplest things you can do to clean up your inner spaces, involves a new coat of paint. But not just any paint.

It turn out, most indoor paint gives off toxins. Mythic Paint, offering newer cleaner paint, has just landed in Fort Lauderdale.

Every day we take for granted the gas we put in our cars to get us where we’re going. For over 30 years, we’ve ignored crisis. And yet, pretending it’s not a problem hasn’t made it go away. Current financial times are gloomy. And the rapid rise of the cost of oil, and the scarcity of it, have driven us to the brink.

And as we prepare to elect a new President, neither of the candidates are offering anything new. Empty campaign promises won’t carry us into a brave new world. Dealing with America’s energy deficiencies require a plan. And I think the Pickens Plan is a giant step in the right direction.

Many small businesses contact us, and ask what they can do to ‘green up’ their business. Community Greenhouse Foundation has developed a program to help you reduce electric and water usage, to encourage recycling and use of recycled materials, and to reduce the amount of solid waste your organization produces. And to launch their efforts, they announce the Greening America Business Challenge.

More than just green-washing, they’ve partnered with Energy Star (the US Department of Energy) and WasteWise (US Environmental Protection Agency) programs. Using nationally recognized third party tools and criteria, CGF helps you understand what your organization is doing, individually, and then prescribes a variety of efforts you can undertake to reduce your impact.

Program takes undersold homes, renovates them to be energy efficient, and works with municipalities for workforce housing.

The Community Greenhouse Foundation has been working for months on a program which is targeted to assist in the rehabilitation and sale of the “glut” of houses being dumped into the market resulting from foreclosures. The “Greening of America’s House Stock” program is a pro-active economic stimulus program that has been developed due to the current economic position of America. Never in our countries history has energy, housing and the environment been seen as critical issues at the same time.

The Community Greenhouse Foundation is proud to announce a new Strategic Partner serving the South Florida communities to delivery it’s “Greening Residential America” program. The program helps to provides communities with the resources to bring “green attainable housing” to their communities. New and renovated energy efficient green homes can be offered to City, County, governmental employees and the public through the program along with the opportunity for local “community” builders to tap into products and training to build greener and more energy efficient.

With Memorial Day and the summer travel season approaching, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) encourages Florida residents and guests to travel close, clean and green with the launch of a new green travel Web site and Florida Green Lodging Program locator map. The newly launched green travel Web site offers resources for families and travelers looking to get away without depleting their wallets, gas tanks or the environment.

Florida Governor Charlie Crist today announced the 2008 Serve to Preserve Florida Summit on Global Climate Change. The conference will be held June 25-26, 2008, at the Intercontinental Miami. Building on the foundation for Florida’s energy future began at last year’s summit, the 2008 summit will focus on stimulating economic development in clean technologies as well as “greening” Florida’s business community.

“Florida’s businesses continue to demonstrate that there is gold in green, and climate-friendly energy sources – like ethanol and solar energy – are bringing new prospects for our state,” said Governor Charlie Crist. “Encouraging companies to do business the green way as well as building a strong market in renewable energy technologies in the Sunshine State will strengthen our energy and economic future and protect our natural environment for generations to come.”

City of Fort Lauderdale Mayor, Jim Naugle, pushed “it” by displaying his wife’s neighborhood electric vehicle. City Departments showed that they know about “it” and how they are doing “it” daily. A majority of the people who attended knew that “it” was more than just recycling your cans and bottles. “It”, of course, is living, conserving, and putting into daily practice Going Green.

When Bunney Brenneman, Chair of the Utility Advisory Committee, contacted the Community Greenhouse Foundation some four weeks ago, asking if we would like to help to put together the first “GREEN Living Expo” in Fort Lauderdale, our answer was a resounding: “Yes.”

One of the main reasons the Community Greenhouse Foundation sponsored the Green Communities program was the idea of communities sharing good news and stories about the way people and organizations are doing positive things as they related to green sustainable living in their communities. The web sites are geared to act as a conduit to all sectors of the community and other communities around the state. This is a PERFECT example of what this program is supposed to promote and share.

Wow! We use a lot of Water! I was on the City of Fort Lauderdale’s Public Works web site the other day searching for how to get new water service and stumbled onto a Conservation Checklist. The check list is set up like a quiz to see how someone is doing in their home related to water conservation.

First it is a great little check list and I think it is great that the City has that kind of information and tool available for residents. Second–and more interesting to me–was how much water we waste and in ways that I never even thought of which I am guilty off doing. I thought I would pass the Quiz along hoping more people will get a little wake up call.

Like every other day last week, I walked into the office and started to review my task and meetings for the day to make sure I was up to speed on everything. When I looked at my two o’clock appointment, I paused for a few seconds and yelled out to Sandy my assistant, “Who and what the heck is Carbon reduction at 2:00?�”

“Your meeting is with Paul from the Environmental Services Department, I am not sure what the Carbon Reduction relates too, he said you were aware of the meeting,�”Sandy replied.

The Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) today welcomed both the Hampton Inn and Courtyard by Marriott into the Florida Green Lodging Program. The designations are the first for Brevard County and the 37th and 38th for the program, a voluntary state initiative that provides the lodging industry with technical assistance and encouragement to adopt cost-saving “green”� practices that reduce waste and conserve natural resources.

“With a commitment to adopting innovative green practices and protecting Florida’s environment, facilities in the Green Lodging Program are leading the industry by example,”� said DEP Central District Director Vivian Garfein. “Their dedication serves as an example and a challenge to other hotels to adopt innovative green practices, conserve resources and save money.”

John and Pam Pare weren’t home when Hurricane Charlie buried their Orlando home under a massive oak, but reality sank in quickly. The family had gone away for the weekend, and never spent another night in the home they had owned since 1996. As they considered whether to move or replace their home, Pare, at that time Senior Vice President and General Counsel of Hughes Supply, Inc., thought his connections to the construction materials supplier could help.

Florida Solar Energy Center helps an Orlando home achieve LEED� Certification. An Orlando home rebuilt after it was destroyed in a 2004 hurricane has become the first house in the state to achieve the silver certification under the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED�) for Homes standard.

The Florida Solar Energy Center completed several inspections and performance tests on John and Pamela Pare’s new home, which features solar water heating, high-efficiency windows and doors and many other environmentally friendly features. The home, built by Classic Construction, is only the second home in the state to earn a LEED certification from the U.S. Green Building Coalition (USGBC).

The U.S. Department of Energy recently named the Florida Solar Energy Center at the University of Central Florida as one of only two sites nationwide that will share a multi-million dollar grant to accelerate the adoption of new and developing energy-efficient technologies.

The Florida Solar Energy Center (FSEC) received $2 million from the Department of Energy (DOE) grant to be home to a regional building technology application center. The center, to be located at FSEC’s facility in Cocoa, will serve 12 states and produce projects that will substantially increase the deployment of high-performance “beyond-code” buildings across the Southeast. Washington State University is the site of the other center.

Home builders are starting to see the light. The green light that is. Mercedes Homes revealed their commitment to helping the environment with the unveiling of the company’s second greener home in Brevard County. The Green for Life� program, was rolled out in Brevard County by showcasing a green-built home and introducing the company’s commitment to green building.

Scott Buescher, President of Operations for Mercedes Homes, kicked off the program by mentioning, Mercedes Homes Green for Life initiative combines earth-friendly technologies with reduced energy consumption and water conservation, translating into savings on utility bills and big benefits for generations to come.

Connected to both the green building industry and the health & wellness world, Get Green Today Expo helped us see the need to create a place where consumers can find and connect with businesses and people who make a difference. We call this new place on the web, Get Green Directory.

Why do we want you to get green? As Florida grows and develops, we’re going to see more and more need to conserve water, electricity and resources. There’s so much you can do to better position yourself and your home, by becoming more efficient, more green. Our site directs you to people who are leading the way.

Florida Solar Energy Center releases EnergyGauge� Summit Premier 3.13, easy-to-use, state-of-the-art software that saves time while completing required energy modeling calculations for LEED� projects. This tool is for construction-industry professionals.

The Florida Solar Energy Center (FSEC), a research institute of the University of Central Florida, today released EnergyGauge Summit Premier 3.13 at the Greenbuild conference in Chicago. This state-of-the-art software provides construction-industry professionals with the opportunity to substantially reduce the time required to complete energy modeling for the commercial construction LEED� rating system.