tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-43309378381962187652024-03-13T06:21:50.538-04:00Gene's Green SceneGreen Thoughts for the Day from the City of Fort LauderdaleGene Dempsey, City Foresterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15615304339344696908noreply@blogger.comBlogger885125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4330937838196218765.post-77392526222866851112016-01-15T13:42:00.001-05:002016-01-15T13:44:57.633-05:00The Energy Saving Trees www.arborday.org/FloridaTrees Site is up!<div class="WordSection1">
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<b><span style="font-size: 20pt;">Tree Give-Away Program Starts Today<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: 16pt;">Properly planted trees save energy, improve electric reliability<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;">Grow energy savings and reliability through strategic tree planting. Learn how and get a free tree with the Florida Forest Service’s Energy-Saving Trees program. We’re giving away 10,000 trees to Florida residents in partnership with the Arbor Day Foundation. The program, now in its fourth year, officially kicks off on January 15<sup>th</sup>, Florida’s Arbor Day.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;">The goal of the program is to educate homeowners on proper tree planting practices. By planting the right species in the right location, a tree won’t grow into power lines which can disrupt electric service. Strategic planting also has the benefit of reducing energy costs by as much as 30 percent, and providing shade during the summer.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;">Beginning today, homeowners can find the best planting locations on their property by using an online tool at </span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Light","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><a href="http://www.arborday.org/floridatrees"><span style="color: blue; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">www.arborday.org/floridatrees</span></a></span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> to reserve a tree. Enter your address to pull up an aerial view of your home and property. Select one of tree varieties available. Then, move the tree around the property to determine how the placement of that tree would impact your energy efficiency. The program calculates anticipated savings as the tree matures. It also reminds homeowners of the importance of planting the tree the proper distance from overhead power lines to avoid interference.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;">These trees are available on a first-come, first-served basis. The program will continue state-wide until all 10,000 trees are reserved.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><i><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Remember, this tool is not a replacement for the Digger’s Hotline.</span></i></b><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> Homeowners still must contact the hotline to locate underground utilities located before planting. They can do so by visiting <a href="http://www.sunshine811.com/"> Sunshine811</a> or by dialing <b>811</b>. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="layout-grid-mode: line;">State of Florida homeowners will be able to reserve one tree per address until supplies run out. </span><span style="layout-grid-mode: line;">After an order is placed, a tree measuring between two-feet and four-feet tall will be shipped right to their door at no charge.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;">The “Energy-Saving Trees” online tool was created by the Arbor Day Foundation and the Davey Institute, a division of Davey Tree Expert Co. It uses peer-reviewed scientific research from the USDA Forest Service’s i-Tree software to calculate estimated benefits from energy savings to environmental impacts.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><i><span style="color: black;">About the Arbor Day Foundation:<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
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<i><span style="color: black;">The Arbor Day Foundation is a nonprofit conservation and education organization of one million members, with the mission to inspire people to plant, nurture and celebrate trees. More information on the Foundation and its programs can be found at </span></i><a href="file://sepud09/AppData/Local/Microsoft/Windows/Temporary%20Internet%20Files/Content.Outlook/PPF5SLBH/arborday.org"><i><span style="color: blue;">arborday.org</span></i></a><i><span style="color: black;">, or by visiting us on </span></i><a href="http://www.facebook.com/arborday?ref=s"><i><span style="color: blue;">Facebook</span></i></a><i><span style="color: black;">, </span></i><a href="http://twitter.com/#!/arborday"><i><span style="color: blue;">Twitter</span></i></a><i><span style="color: black;"> or our </span></i><a href="http://blog.arborday.org/"><i><span style="color: blue;">blog</span></i></a><i><span style="color: black;">.<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></i></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.freshfromflorida.com/Divisions-Offices/Florida-Forest-Service">Florida Forest Service</a><o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<div class="blogger-post-footer">Please send comments and questions to GDempsey@fortlauderdale.gov.</div>Gene Dempsey, City Foresterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15615304339344696908noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4330937838196218765.post-7081098238628511932016-01-14T07:45:00.001-05:002016-01-14T07:46:50.876-05:00Repurposing Decommissioned Office Furniture & Equipment<div class="WordSection1">
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">'Green Standards' Finds Homes for Unwanted Assets<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="posted"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Wednesday, January 13, 2016<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #666666; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">By F. Alan Shirk Sustainability <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Some nine million tons of used or out-of-fashion office furniture and equipment are dumped into America’s landfills each year, according to the EPA.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Yet, much of that “waste” can be diverted and repurposed, according to Green Standards, a Toronto-based company that specializes in the responsible and cost-effective redistribution of surplus and obsolete office furniture, fixtures, supplies and IT equipment.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Since its inception in 2009, <a href="http://greenstandardsltd.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #457d9d;">Green Standards</span></a> has worked on more than 1,000 projects, resulting in nearly $20 million worth of in-kind donations to non-profit organizations, offsetting 60,000 tons of greenhouse gases and diverting 20,000 tons of material from landfills — nearly 99 percent of the surplus equipment it repurposed.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">On a turnkey basis, Green Standards, “efficiently channels surplus office assets according to its clients’ priorities for charitable donations, recycling and resale… simplifying the process by taking responsibility for vendor selection, third-party valuations, title transfers and IRS-compliant documentation,” said CEO and co-founder Richard Beaumont.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">“We challenge organizations to reimagine the value of their excess furniture and equipment. Every usable item is an opportunity to help nonprofits improve their workspaces, and in turn their work, and simultaneously protect the planet from the negative impact of landfill waste.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">“Every step towards a circular economy counts,” Beaumont continued. “To achieve zero waste, to extract full value out of our products at their end-of-life, we need to see waste as the economic opportunity it is.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">The private, for-profit Green Standards serves hundreds of clients including corporations, government agencies and large non-profits with an active sales force, remote project management and key partnerships including one with Herman Miller, one of the world’s largest furniture manufacturers.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">The company’s North America-wide networks of non-profits, office furniture resellers, specialized recyclers and commercial movers makes it possible for Green Standards to redistribute office furniture and equipment.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Sixty percent of its business is done in the U.S., 40 percent in Canada and among its largest clients are Marathon Oil, Frost Bank, Adobe, TELUS, Canada Bell, Suncor, Great West Life and Edwards Wildman. Although work is concentrated in major cities, Green Standards routinely works in small cities and with businesses of all sizes.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Green Standards works with registered non-profits of all types including charities, school boards, associations, cultural groups, food banks, museums, foundations and others. Any registered non-profit is eligible to join the Green Standards network and place requests.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Donation recipients are then chosen based on a number of factors — client preference, distance from the project site, size of the request and overall need for items. Green Standards notifies non-profit members when items become available.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Beaumont said Green Standards began by helping companies donate used office furniture to charities, a sliver of the current business model. “Beginning in 2010, we began to grow the concept, for example, adding services like project management. We demonstrated to companies how they could trust us to manage this process and go beyond simple donations.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Green Standards, according to Beaumont, offers a significant advantage over traditional ways to dispose of office furniture.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">“We are doing something radically different when it comes to dealing with this issue. People tend to always stick with the tried-and-true and that’s no different when it comes to disposing of office furniture. For example, most would call a well-known liquidator and most of the furniture would wind up in the dump.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">“Now, we are offering a cost-benefit to companies, especially Fortune 100 and multinational businesses through our North America-wide program that can not only serve a client in a single city, but also one with locations in many cities across the U.S. and Canada.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Jarrod Clabaugh, director of communications for the Office Furniture Dealers Alliance (<a href="http://www.ofdanet.org/?ABOUTOFDA" target="_blank"><span style="color: #457d9d;">OFDA</span></a>) based in Baltimore, said Green Standards has developed what he believes is a cutting-edge solution to recycling office furniture.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">The OFDA is one of the largest North American associations in the office furniture industry and evolved from the National Association of Stationers and Manufacturers started in 1904. That association has grown into the Independent Office Products & Furniture Dealers Association, of which the OFDA is a core division. Alongside its sister association, the National Office Products Alliance, OFDA represents more than 1,200 members, including dealers, manufacturers, wholesalers, and industry service providers.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Sustainability and green initiatives are a key focus of OFDA, said Clabaugh. “While we primarily support the manufacturing side by promoting best-in-class standards like LEED and ways to make production more efficient, we are just as concerned with what happens to our products at the end of their life cycle.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">“Environmental issues really impact our members, so we are committed to responsible behavior. Consumers are looking at our industry and want to know that we are doing what we need to do for sustainability,” Clabaugh said.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Beaumont said he knew Green Standards would succeed at the end of 2012. “We took a quantum leap forward in terms of stability by signing agreements with two major, multinational petroleum companies based in Houston. That told us that customers with millions of square feet of office space would trust us and have faith in our ability to manage their office furniture decommissioning.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">“We were able to scale up significantly and know that we could exist on that scale. Today we are a triple bottom line company with three important metrics: percentage diverted, tonnage diverted and the fair market value of donations,” Beaumont explained.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">A good example of Green Standards’ unique business model is its "rePurpose Program" partnership with <a href="http://www.hermanmiller.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #457d9d;">Herman Miller, Inc.</span></a>, a global provider of furnishings and related technologies and services. Headquartered in West Michigan, the company has been included in the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index for the past 12 years.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">According to its website, “As Herman Miller continues its 'Journey toward Sustainability,' designing our products with consideration for their environmental impact remains a central corporate strategy.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">The rePurpose program with Green Standards “helps you give new life to things your organization no longer needs. Your furniture — or whatever asset you need to dispose of — goes to deserving nonprofits in your backyard and around the world, which lets them focus scarce funds on their mission. You immediately transfer title, which frees you of any liability. You might also be eligible for a tax credit for the fair market value of the items donated. Most important, the earth benefits from what it doesn't get — waste that would otherwise clog its landfills.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Green Standards Marketing and Communications Manager Nick Buccheri said Frost Bank, one of the 50 largest U.S. banks, headquartered in San Antonio, commissioned the rePurpose Program to sell, recycle and donate more than 2,500 items when Frost vacated the downtown Rand Building last April to move to a new 450,000-square-foot complex in western San Antonio.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Buccheri said as part of its ongoing community initiatives, Frost donated items valued at nearly $118,000 to the San Antonio Food Bank, Habitat for Humanity of San Antonio, Haven for Hope and the Westside Development Corporation.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">“Frost was able to divert 239 tons of durable goods from the landfill and offset 770 metric tons of CO2e (greenhouse gases) — equal to the carbon-carrying capacity of 19,744 tree seedlings grown over 10 years,” said Buccheri. “Through Green Standards’ managed program of resale, recycling and donation, 67,000 square feet of furniture and non-computer equipment was redistributed over two weeks with 99 percent of Frost’s surplus inventory diverted away from landfill.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="http://www.sustainablecitynetwork.com/topic_channels/public_works/article_da75c420-ba3d-11e5-8d0d-070fed3798bf.html?utm_source=SCN+InBox+e-Newsletter&utm_campaign=4de5d9f707-Newsletter_1-13-2016_Muni&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_11e7ac761c-4de5d9f707-188571221&mc_cid=4de5d9f707&mc_eid=a2be269d55">http://www.sustainablecitynetwork.com/topic_channels/public_works/article_da75c420-ba3d-11e5-8d0d-070fed3798bf.html?utm_source=SCN+InBox+e-Newsletter&utm_campaign=4de5d9f707-Newsletter_1-13-2016_Muni&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_11e7ac761c-4de5d9f707-188571221&mc_cid=4de5d9f707&mc_eid=a2be269d55</a> <o:p></o:p></div>
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<div class="blogger-post-footer">Please send comments and questions to GDempsey@fortlauderdale.gov.</div>Gene Dempsey, City Foresterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15615304339344696908noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4330937838196218765.post-72613785741158343102016-01-08T08:03:00.001-05:002016-01-08T08:04:49.754-05:00Friday Funny -- Ask Umbra: Got any good green jokes?<div class="WordSection1">
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<span lang="EN">By <a href="http://grist.org/author/ask-umbra/" title="Posts by Ask Umbra"> Ask Umbra</a></span> <span lang="EN">on 16 Jan 2012<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN">Q. <b>Dear Umbra,</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span lang="EN">Generally speaking, sustainability advocates seem to be a serious crowd. Have you got any jokes or one-liners that can bring some levity to our work? Especially ones related to recycling?</span></b><span lang="EN"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span lang="EN">Robert D.<br /> Jefferson City, Mo.</span></b><span lang="EN"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN">A. Dearest Robert,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN">Have you heard the one about the aluminum recycling plant? It smelt.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN">Have you heard the one about the recycling bin with a sign that said, “Empty water bottles here”? Pretty soon the bin was full of water.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN">Know why environmentalists are bad at playing poker? They avoid the flush.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN">Chortle, chortle, chortle. Robert, you have touched upon a serious gap in our cultural lives, and I’m hoping your fellow readers will weigh in with some good jokes to keep our spirits up. To be honest, we at Grist have struggled with this since our founder got the oh-so-brilliant idea to launch an environmental news site infused with humor in 1999. Because it turns out “<a href="http://grist.org/article/knock-knock">environmental humor</a>” is not that funny, at least in the form of the classic jokes and one-liners. Please do not tell our auditors.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN">Others have found this a tricky topic, too. Bill Maher, for instance, <a href="http://moreintelligentlife.com/story/a-climatologist-walks-into-a-bar">once said</a> the environment is “one of the hardest subjects to do in comedy.” British comedian Marcus Brigstocke <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2008/may/08/climatechange.comedy"> has called</a> climate change “far and away the most difficult comedy subject I’ve ever dealt with.” Some will be eager to blame this on the perceived earnestness of the movement and its members — but shouldn’t that make it all the funnier?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN">Back to our quest for one-liners. A few chestnuts from stand-up comedians might elicit a titter, depending how free you are with your titters: George Carlin remarked of national-park camping reservations that “when you have to wait a year to sleep next to a tree, something is wrong.” Robin Williams compared clean coal to “wearing a porous condom — at least the intention was there.” Stephen Wright eschewed cars with his typically profound observation that “everything is within walking distance if you have the time.” And Sam Levenson offered this take on overpopulation: “Somewhere on this globe, every 10 seconds, there is a woman giving birth to a child. She must be found and stopped.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN">If late-night TV is your thing, you will find plenty of lukewarm climate gags in the collected works of Jay Leno, David Letterman, Conan O’Brien, and Jimmy Fallon. Here is <a href="http://politicalhumor.about.com/od/environment/a/globalwarming.htm">a compendium</a> of somewhat dated examples. My favorite (and I use the term loosely): “According to a new U.N. report, the global warming outlook is much worse than originally predicted. Which is pretty bad when they originally predicted it would destroy the planet.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN">If you lean more toward literature, you might like this Mark Twain musing: “Learn to ride a bicycle. You will not regret it if you live.” Or how about some Ogden Nash? There’s this classic: “I think that I shall never see/A billboard lovely as a tree./Indeed, unless the billboards fall,/I’ll never see a tree at all.” And the produce-averse “Further Reflections on Parsley”: “Parsley/Is gharsely” (yes, that’s the entire poem). And “<a href="http://www.westegg.com/nash/purist.html">The Purist</a>,” which unintentionally offers a wee bit of insight into why <a href="http://grist.org/climate-change/2011-11-22-the-art-of-talking-climate-science"> scientists have a hard time speaking passionately about climate change</a>:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN">I give you now Professor Twist,<br /> A conscientious scientist …<br /> Camped on a tropic riverside,<br /> One day he missed his loving bride.<br /> She had, the guide informed him later,<br /> Been eaten by an alligator.<br /> Professor Twist could not but smile.<br /> “You mean,” he said, “a crocodile.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN">I would also point you to <a href="http://www.theonion.com/"> The Onion</a>, which offers some of the most <a href="http://greenopolis.com/goblog/litegreen/top-10-green-stories-onion"> incisive environmental humor</a> around. (A couple of classics: <a href="http://www.theonion.com/articles/consumerproduct-diversity-now-exceeds-biodiversity,1535/"> Consumer product diversity now exceeds biodiversity</a> and <a href="http://www.theonion.com/articles/suburban-recycling-program-now-accepting-broken-an,1071/"> Suburban recycling program now accepting broken and discarded dreams </a>.)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN">And needless to say, our very own <a href="http://grist.org/list"> Grist List is an insanely wonderful source of good guffaws</a>, each and every day.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN">I encourage you to keep your quest alive, with the warning that your average “environmental joke” search on the interweb will give you scintillating results such as this: “Your so hot you must’ve started all of globle warming.” Sic.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN">Finally, because I care, Robert, I have come up with an Umbra Original: A recycling joke just for you. Are you ready?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN">“What’s the worst way for glass to get around town? By <a href="http://tlc.howstuffworks.com/home/green-glossary-downcycling.htm">downcycling</a>.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN">You may now toss rotten tomatoes in my general direction. Or leave a better joke below in comments.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN">Yukkily,<br /> Umbra<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="blogger-post-footer">Please send comments and questions to GDempsey@fortlauderdale.gov.</div>Gene Dempsey, City Foresterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15615304339344696908noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4330937838196218765.post-66850762819643619512016-01-07T07:49:00.001-05:002016-01-07T07:51:32.062-05:00Electronics Donation and Recycling<div class="WordSection1">
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<span lang="EN">Electronic products are made from valuable resources and materials, including metals, plastics, and glass, all of which require energy to mine and manufacture. Donating or recycling consumer electronics conserves our natural resources and avoids air and water pollution, as well as greenhouse gas emissions that are caused by manufacturing virgin materials.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1;"><span lang="EN">Recycling one million laptops saves the energy equivalent to the electricity used by more than 3,500 US homes in a year.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1;"><span lang="EN">For every million cell phones we recycle, 35 thousand pounds of copper, 772 pounds of silver, 75 pounds of gold and 33 pounds of palladium can be recovered.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
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<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l2 level1 lfo2; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"> <span lang="EN">For your computer or laptop, consider upgrading the hardware or software instead of buying a brand new product.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l2 level1 lfo2; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"> <span lang="EN">Delete all personal information from your electronics.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l2 level1 lfo2; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"> <span lang="EN">Remove any batteries from your electronics, they may need to be recycled separately.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l2 level1 lfo2; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"> <span lang="EN">Check to see what requirements <a href="http://www.ncsl.org/research/environment-and-natural-resources/e-waste-recycling-legislation.aspx"> exist in your state</a> <a href="http://www.epa.gov/home/exit-epa" title="EPA's External Link Disclaimer">Exit</a> or community. <o:p></o:p></span></li>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">Manufacturers and retailers offer several options to donate or recycle electronics. Search below to find programs developed by Sustainable Materials Management (SMM) Electronics Challenge participants. If you are an original equipment manufacturer or retailer, learn how to join the SMM Electronics Challenge. Participation in the SMM Electronics Challenge is voluntary. EPA does not endorse any of the participants or their products and services.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">Search by Electronic Device or Company<o:p></o:p></span></h3>
<span class="disclaimer1"><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">The following links exit the site <a href="http://www.epa.gov/home/exit-epa" title="EPA's External Link Disclaimer"> Exit</a></span></span><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<div class="blogger-post-footer">Please send comments and questions to GDempsey@fortlauderdale.gov.</div>Gene Dempsey, City Foresterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15615304339344696908noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4330937838196218765.post-87787607640628170442016-01-06T13:06:00.001-05:002016-01-06T13:10:31.013-05:004 Ways to Recycle Your Christmas Tree for Wildlife<div class="WordSection1">
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<span style="color: #515151; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 9pt;"><a href="http://www.nwf.org/How-to-Help/Garden-for-Wildlife/Gardening-Tips/Wildlife-Brush-Shelters.aspx?campaignid=WH14X2DSCXX&s_src=CWH_Blog_ChristmasTrees"><img alt="christmas tree" class="wp-image-89872 alignright" height="173" src="http://b50ym1n8ryw31pmkr4671ui1c64.wpengine.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/11/files/2014/01/tree-620x337.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="color: #515151; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 9pt;">1/2/2014 // By <a href="http://blog.nwf.org/blog/author/danielle.brigida/"><span style="color: #00573d;">Danielle Brigida</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #252525; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Each year, about <a href="http://www.realchristmastrees.org/dnn/Education/QuickTreeFacts.aspx" target="_blank"> <span style="color: #00573d;">25-30 million</span></a> real Christmas trees are sold in the United States, mostly from a selection of about <a href="http://www.realchristmastrees.org/dnn/Education/TreeVarieties.aspx" target="_blank"> <span style="color: #00573d;">16 species of tree</span></a> that we commonly call a “Christmas Tree.” They are decorated with lights and ornaments, become backdrops for annual family photos, and serve as a traditional umbrella for gifts to loved ones. Ultimately, the day comes when they need to be disposed of. What’s often overlooked though, is that these trees can benefit your local wildlife, the soil in your yard, or even nearby restoration projects.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #252525; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Here are some easy ways for you to help wildlife or enrich your local area with your trees after you’ve enjoyed them (and removed all the ornaments) this holiday season.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #f68120; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 18pt;">1. Create a brush pile with your tree as the base<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #252525; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">A <a href="http://www.nwf.org/How-to-Help/Garden-for-Wildlife/Gardening-Tips/Wildlife-Brush-Shelters.aspx?campaignid=WH14X2DSCXX&s_src=CWH_Blog_ChristmasTrees"> <span style="color: #00573d;">brush pile</span></a> often consists of leaves, logs, and twigs so an old Christmas tree can make a great base. This is the easiest thing you can do with your tree if you have a yard. It directly benefits the wildlife in your backyard during winter months because brush piles and <a href="http://www.nwf.org/How-to-Help/Garden-for-Wildlife/Gardening-Tips/Attracting-Wildlife-With-Dead-Trees.aspx"> <span style="color: #00573d;">dead trees</span></a> offer food and needed protection from the chill. We have suggestions for how to make a <a href="http://www.nwf.org/How-to-Help/Garden-for-Wildlife/Gardening-Tips/Wildlife-Brush-Shelters.aspx?campaignid=WH14X2DSCXX&s_src=CWH_Blog_ChristmasTrees"> <span style="color: #00573d;">brush pile</span></a> and we understand that not all communities allow for them.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #f68120; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 18pt;">2. Use it in the garden<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #252525; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">There are a <a href="http://www.homesessive.com/view/10-unusual-things-do-your-christmas-tree-after-christmas"> <span style="color: #00573d;">number of ways</span></a> you can use your recycled Christmas tree to <a href="http://www.topsailadvertiser.com/master-gardener-keep-christmas-trees-in-use-after-the-holidays-1.255396"> <span style="color: #00573d;">enrich your soil</span></a> by composting it or using the pine needles and boughs to cover your <a href="http://organicgardening.about.com/od/organicgardenmaintenance/a/How-To-Use-Your-Christmas-Tree-In-Your-Garden.htm"> <span style="color: #00573d;">garden bed</span></a>. Chop the trunk and branches and break your tree down, this will allow you to add some nice insulation to your garden.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #252525; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-joPt-FcbmyY/Vo1XwHSVXzI/AAAAAAAALe8/FZZwkfy1NdY/s1600/image001-715536.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_6236737543079288626" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-joPt-FcbmyY/Vo1XwHSVXzI/AAAAAAAALe8/FZZwkfy1NdY/s320/image001-715536.jpg" /></a></span><span style="color: #252525; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #252525; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">NWF Staffer Mollie Simon insulated her garden and made a decorative wreath with her family’s tree.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #f68120; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 18pt;">3. Decorate your tree for wildlife<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #252525; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">If you love to watch birds or want a fun project, you can decorate your tree with edible ornaments or popcorn strings so that you feed wildlife like birds and squirrels. This is a enjoyable activity to do with kids or the young at heart (me) and can help wildlife at a time when food is scarce. Most of the recipes call for peanut butter, fresh fruit (like grapes, berries, or apples), suet and bird seed.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #252525; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">These crafts all make edible ornaments for wildlife:</span></b><span style="color: #252525; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #252525; font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="color: #252525; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;"><a href="http://www.nwf.org/news-and-magazines/national-wildlife/outdoors/archives/2011/valentines-nature-crafts.aspx#birds?s_src=Blog_ChristmasTrees"><span style="color: #00573d;">Heart-shaped ornaments for the birds</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #252525; font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="color: #252525; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;"><a href="http://www.nwf.org/kids/family-fun/crafts/pine-cone-bird-feeder.aspx?s_src=Blog_ChristmasTrees"><span style="color: #00573d;">Pine cone bird feeder</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #252525; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">For more on decorating trees for wildlife:</span></b><span style="color: #252525; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #252525; font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="color: #252525; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;"><a href="http://www.fws.gov/southeast/ea/images/pubbck4.pdf" target="_blank"><span style="color: #00573d;">Edible Wildlife Tree</span></a> – USFWS<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #252525; font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="color: #252525; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;"><a href="http://www.metroparent.com/Metro-Parent/December-2011/Edible-Christmas-Tree-for-Wildlife-in-Your-Backyard/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #00573d;">Edible Christmas Tree for Wildlife</span></a> – NWTF and metroparent<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #f68120; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 18pt;">4. Donate your tree to a local restoration project<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="http://blog.nwf.org/2011/01/louisiana-uses-discarded-christmas-trees-to-fight-wetland-loss/?s_src=Blog_ChristmasTrees"><span style="color: #00573d; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; text-decoration: none;"></span></a><span style="color: #00573d; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; text-decoration: none;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dJMmWsOr7t8/Vo1Xw6O68KI/AAAAAAAALfI/K_phE91fJMA/s1600/image002-717986.png"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_6236737556755181730" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dJMmWsOr7t8/Vo1Xw6O68KI/AAAAAAAALfI/K_phE91fJMA/s320/image002-717986.png" /></a></span><span style="color: #252525; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #252525; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Watch this video about how Christmas trees are used in Louisiana to rebuild wetlands.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #252525; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">There are all sorts of great local projects that take in Christmas trees and use them for restoration projects. At National Wildlife Federation, we have talked about using Christmas trees to <a href="http://blog.nwf.org/2011/01/louisiana-uses-discarded-christmas-trees-to-fight-wetland-loss?s_src=Blog_ChristmasTrees"> <span style="color: #00573d;">help prevent wetland loss in Louisiana</span></a>. Other projects have helped provide <a href="http://www.news-leader.com/article/20131226/LIFE06/312260048/Recycling-Christmas-trees-Table-Rock-Lake-fish-and-wildlife-habitat"> <span style="color: #00573d;">fish habitat</span></a>, <a href="http://www.mnn.com/your-home/at-home/blogs/christmas-trees-reborn-as-dune-re-builders-in-sandy-ravaged-communities"> <span style="color: #00573d;">restore dunes</span></a>, and even provide electricity or mulch for cities. If your county does have a tree disposal program, do a little digging to make sure you like where your tree ends up! You can also check out these <a href="http://www.mnn.com/lifestyle/recycling/stories/ultimate-guide-to-christmas-tree-recycling"> <span style="color: #00573d;">additional ideas</span></a> on how to <a href="http://www.realchristmastrees.org/dnn/AllAboutTrees/HowtoRecycle.aspx"> <span style="color: #00573d;">recycle your tree</span></a>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #f68120; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 18pt;">What plans do you have for your Christmas tree?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #252525; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">If you used a real tree this year, let us know what you’re doing with it in the comment section below, or share a link to any places you know of that use Christmas tree donations to help wildlife or the environment. If you have a living or artificial tree, don’t miss out on the fun—ask a friend who has a real tree what plans they have.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="http://blog.nwf.org/2014/01/recycleyourtreeforwildlife/">http://blog.nwf.org/2014/01/recycleyourtreeforwildlife/</a> <o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="http://www.google.com/url?sa=i&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&docid=Uq9HDv0lEuv7bM&tbnid=ojN7D9sBZ6ZkmM:&ved=0CAgQjRwwAA&url=http://www.fortlauderdale.gov/recycle/back2school.htm&ei=LirtUcmyK_K54APd24DQCQ&psig=AFQjCNGOT3ung7c3UGf1Y6sV7mcP93Ulxg&ust=1374583726749494"><span style="color: #1f497d; text-decoration: none;"></span></a><span style="color: #1f497d; text-decoration: none;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-aFUcHSFlOn4/Vo1XyEiwQyI/AAAAAAAALfc/f9S59w2-rN0/s1600/image004-723572.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_6236737576702591778" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-aFUcHSFlOn4/Vo1XyEiwQyI/AAAAAAAALfc/f9S59w2-rN0/s320/image004-723572.jpg" /></a></span><a href="http://fortlauderdale.gov/saveatree/"><span style="color: #1f497d; text-decoration: none;"></span></a><span style="color: #1f497d; text-decoration: none;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-FKdw_uKEBZc/Vo1Xygpsc3I/AAAAAAAALfo/i1qpRZQ7nZQ/s1600/image005-725836.png"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_6236737584247894898" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-FKdw_uKEBZc/Vo1Xygpsc3I/AAAAAAAALfo/i1qpRZQ7nZQ/s320/image005-725836.png" /></a></span><span style="color: #1f497d;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-m-bBhqibeGw/Vo1XzKW73oI/AAAAAAAALf0/RimcF2duwM4/s1600/image006-727968.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_6236737595443502722" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-m-bBhqibeGw/Vo1XzKW73oI/AAAAAAAALf0/RimcF2duwM4/s320/image006-727968.jpg" /></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="blogger-post-footer">Please send comments and questions to GDempsey@fortlauderdale.gov.</div>Gene Dempsey, City Foresterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15615304339344696908noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4330937838196218765.post-30726331924214751182016-01-06T12:53:00.001-05:002016-01-06T12:59:48.258-05:00Why cities need trees: The science behind a 30 percent canopy<div class="WordSection1">
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<a href="http://www.google.com/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&frm=1&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwicssLo35XKAhUCKCYKHdusDQkQjRwIBw&url=http://www.giganticmoving.com/tacoma-movers/&psig=AFQjCNHw9i9LCazUy_f6Csx_Eozt9d4sRA&ust=1452189017177985"><span style="color: blue; text-decoration: none;"></span></a><span style="color: blue; text-decoration: none;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-VUxBjVznDhQ/Vo1UjD8rf-I/AAAAAAAALd0/X7xmA_OiM7o/s1600/image006-794773.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_6236734020309975010" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-VUxBjVznDhQ/Vo1UjD8rf-I/AAAAAAAALd0/X7xmA_OiM7o/s320/image006-794773.jpg" /></a></span><o:p></o:p></div>
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THE NEWS TRIBUNE<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span lang="EN">January 2, 2016<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 14pt;">Highlights:<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 14pt;">One tree can produce the same cooling effect as 10 room-size air conditioners<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 14pt;">Studies show that tree-lined streets increase shoppers’ willingness to pay for goods by 12 percent<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 14pt;">Trees slow traffic and shade sidewalks, making walking safer and more pleasant<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span lang="EN">By Rosemary Ponnekanti<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN"><a href="mailto:rponnekanti@thenewstribune.com" title="">rponnekanti@thenewstribune.com</a></span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<span lang="EN">When Tacoma took on the goal of creating a 30 percent tree canopy in the city by 2030, officials relied on a study by the conservation organization American Forests to answer the question: How do you quantify a city’s need for trees?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span lang="EN">WATER AND AIR <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span lang="EN">Trees are vital in keeping a city’s air and water healthy for people.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN">The American Forests study, called “Calculating the Value of Nature,” analyzed the Tacoma-Everett-Redmond triangle using images from 1972 to 1996.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN">Dollar values were placed on the ability of trees to control stormwater flooding ($2.4 billion annually) and filter air pollution ($95 million annually.) <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN">The loss, over that period, of 600,000 acres of highly canopied land meant a 35 percent increase in stormwater runoff, which affects salmon populations, pollution in Puget Sound, flooding on city streets, soil erosion and more. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN">“Each tree absorbs hundreds of gallons of water, filtering it through the root system so clean water goes back to the ground,” said Pierce Conservation District’s Melissa Buckingham.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN">And by filtering greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere, trees contribute over time to cooling the air, as well as cooling it in real time with shade during summer. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN">According to California nonprofit Canopy.org, evaporation from one tree can produce the same cooling effect as 10 room-size air conditioners. That lowers the average summer temperature in highly canopied cities such as Palo Alto, California (which has 37.6 percent canopy), by up to 8 degrees compared with neighboring areas. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN">This effect will be increasingly important, officials say, during the hotter, drier summers forecast for Western Washington in climate change models.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span lang="EN">MONEY <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span lang="EN">As the city of Tacoma points out in its Urban Forestry Policy, numerous studies have shown that trees — the higher the number, the greater the benefit — raise property values by up to 15 percent.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN">Trees also increase profitability of business districts: Studies by University of Washington professor Kathleen Wolf show that tree-lined shopping streets increase shoppers willingness to pay for goods by 12 percent.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN">Properties rent more quickly, tenants are happier, and workers report higher productivity, Buckingham said. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN">That benefit is especially important in business districts such as McKinley, on Tacoma’s East Side, where a recent “depave” project replaced 7,000 square feet of sidewalk concrete with trees, shrubs and ground covers.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN">Because the trees are in the right-of-way, and thus the responsibility of property owners, the project was a partnership, lining up the city and Conservation District with business owners committed to caring for the young trees. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN">Now, even in winter, the shopping block in one of Tacoma’s low-income areas has gone from gray and bleak to more inviting, the pinks and reds of the sedums contrasting with the evergreen of pine and hemlock.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN">“It’s a good start to changing the feel of our neighborhood to warm and caring,” said resident and neighborhood council member José Chavez.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span lang="EN">SAFETY, HEALTH, COMMUNITY <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span lang="EN">Canopy advocates such as Chavez and Buckingham also point out social advantages of trees: they slow traffic and shade sidewalks, making walking safer and more pleasant. They reduce noise and encourage folks to congregate.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN">“Adding trees gives a more welcome feeling,” Chavez said. “It shows that there are hardworking, caring people no matter what kind of neighborhood it is. … It means pride, too. That’s a good investment.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN">Recent studies by the Pacific Northwest Research Station of the U.S. Forest Service go deeper into the social benefits of trees. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN">A 2011 Portland study showed greater tree canopy had positive effects on babies’ birth weights and thus lifelong health: Greater canopy cover within 50 meters of a mother’s house and the proximity to open space were associated with a reduced risk of having an underweight baby.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN">“It may be that trees improve birth outcomes through stress reduction,” said study author Geoffrey Donovan in the November 2011 issue of “Science Findings.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN">His findings were backed up by a subsequent Spanish study showing that proximity to green space made positive birth weight differences in poor or low-educated socioeconomic groups.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN">Donovan’s study also found more tall street trees correlated with lower residential crime rates. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN">One explanation, he said, might be that mature trees create a pleasant setting for folks to congregate while not blocking views of houses, thus increasing the risk of exposure for criminals. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN">In addition, Donovan agrees with Chavez that trees indicate a cared-for neighborhood, which can be a disincentive for criminals.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN">Past studies have shown that views of trees speed healing in hospitals and reduce stress rates for residents. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN">In a 1984 study in the journal Science, R.S. Ulrich showed that surgery patients with views of trees spent fewer days in the hospital, used fewer narcotic drugs, had fewer complications and registered fewer complaints with nurses than patients with views of concrete walls. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN">Later studies also showed that patients responded better to brighter green trees and those shaped with a broad, spreading crown. One theory suggests this comes from our evolutionary ancestry on the African savanna, where trees are shaped like this. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN">Studies also have shown that views of nature can reduce stress in workers and university students.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN">As environmental scientist, author and academic Nalini Nadkarni points out, trees are also used to heal from loss, such as in the Living Memorials Project after the 9/11 attacks. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN">“For centuries, humans have looked to the symbolic resonance of nature ... to heal our sense of loss from death,” she said.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN">For Harvard biologist E.O. Wilson, the reason trees can heal goes far deeper. His “biophilia hypothesis” argues that humans have an innate emotional affiliation to other living organisms and that the health of the planet, trees included, is inextricably intertwined with our own.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN">“Trees aren’t just trees,” Chavez points out. “They’re many things.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span lang="EN">EMOTIONAL HEALTH <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span lang="EN">Trees don’t just contribute in just practical ways, says Nadkarni.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN">In her 2008 book “Between Earth and Sky,” Nadkarni, a former environmental studies professor at Olympia’s The Evergreen State College and founder of the International Canopy Network, also explores their spiritual benefits.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN">Citing her own personal and scientific experiences and those of other scientists and writers, she asserts that trees teach us about stillness, mindfulness, the interconnectedness of all life and what lies beyond the mundane.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN">“Trees at once enrich and instruct our lives in ways at once simple and complex,” Nadkarni writes. “Opening up to something as simple and pleasurable as climbing a tree — or sitting silently beneath it — can make humans feel at home with the world and with themselves.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN"><br /> Read more here: <a href="http://www.thenewstribune.com/news/local/article52357620.html#storylink=cpy"> http://www.thenewstribune.com/news/local/article52357620.html#storylink=cpy</a> <o:p> </o:p></span></div>
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<div class="blogger-post-footer">Please send comments and questions to GDempsey@fortlauderdale.gov.</div>Gene Dempsey, City Foresterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15615304339344696908noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4330937838196218765.post-77580750043226486872016-01-05T08:50:00.001-05:002016-01-05T08:53:02.541-05:00Seabin: Floating invention filters plastic pollution out of marine waters <div class="WordSection1">
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<b><a href="http://www.treehugger.com/author/kimberley-mok/">Kimberley Mok</a></b> (<a href="https://twitter.com/kimberleymok"><b>@kimberleymok)</b></a><br /> <b><a href="http://www.treehugger.com/design/">Design</a> / <a href="http://www.treehugger.com/sustainable-product-design/"> Sustainable Product Design</a></b><br /> December 31, 2015<o:p></o:p></div>
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<i><span style="color: grey; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;">© Seabin Project</span></i><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Plastic pollution in our oceans is a serious issue -- it affects marine wildlife like <a href="http://www.treehugger.com/ocean-conservation/plastic-pollution-oceans-causing-problems-whales-too.html"> <b><span style="color: #b6541e; text-decoration: none;">whales</span></b></a> and <a href="http://www.treehugger.com/natural-sciences/lobster-dieoffs-linked-to-plastic-pollution-including-bisphenol-a.html"> <b><span style="color: #b6541e; text-decoration: none;">lobsters</span></b></a>, and is so persistent that some of these 'gyres' have <a href="http://www.treehugger.com/natural-sciences/meet-plastisphere-ocean-plastic-pollution-bad-now-own-ecosystem.html"> <b><span style="color: #b6541e; text-decoration: none;">formed their own ecosystems</span></b></a>. Yikes!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">But these bits of plastic contaminating the oceans have to come in from somewhere, and often it comes from human activities along the shoreline. To tackle the problem at these entry points, two Australians have invented something similar to an automated pool cleaner -- but for marinas, harbours, ports and even inland waters like rivers and lakes -- that sucks up garbage, while filtering out the water. They're calling it the <a href="http://www.seabinproject.com/"><b><span style="color: #b6541e; text-decoration: none;">Seabin</span></b></a>, and it recently was successfully crowdfunded on <a href="https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/cleaning-the-oceans-one-marina-at-a-time#/"> <b><span style="color: #b6541e; text-decoration: none;">Indiegogo</span></b></a>. <o:p> </o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Check out how it works: </span><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=s3tjOEtoArg">https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=s3tjOEtoArg</a> <o:p></o:p></div>
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<i><span style="color: grey; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">© Seabin Project</span></i><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Inventors and surfers Andrew Turton and Pete Ceglinski both spent their younger years around the water, and were compelled to quit their jobs to design a solution they believe will help address the urgent problem of plastic pollution. The Seabin is designed as an 24/7 alternative to more costly alternatives like dedicated trash boats or humans trawling harbours for garbage. It's also small and unobtrusive enough that it can be placed in "problem areas" in marinas. Say the designers:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">The Seabin is more efficient than a marine worker walking around with a scoop net. By working with these marinas, ports and yacht clubs we can locate the seabin in the perfect place and mother nature brings us the rubbish to catch it. Sure we can't catch everything right now but its a really positive start.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-nA_PZ9G32aQ/VovKQBCwOlI/AAAAAAAALcc/thviX7N5jiw/s1600/image003-754778.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_6236300485531286098" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-nA_PZ9G32aQ/VovKQBCwOlI/AAAAAAAALcc/thviX7N5jiw/s320/image003-754778.jpg" /></a></span><i><span style="color: grey; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">© Seabin Project</span></i><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><br /> <a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-cDXRz-mVDtE/VovKRJfYOCI/AAAAAAAALco/DXWvvhfEUHQ/s1600/image004-758124.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_6236300504978700322" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-cDXRz-mVDtE/VovKRJfYOCI/AAAAAAAALco/DXWvvhfEUHQ/s320/image004-758124.jpg" /></a></span><i><span style="color: grey; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">© Seabin Project</span></i><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">The Seabin is a floating trash bin made from 70 to 100 percent recycled polyethylene plastic. It's attached to a dock, and uses a water pump to suck water and trash into its interior, where garbage and other nasty fluids can be filtered out of the water via a natural fiber bag. Clean(er) water is then pumped out.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-w_0ioJNnBlI/VovKR7-CL9I/AAAAAAAALc0/GvCxcd4NYmA/s1600/image005-761814.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_6236300518529052626" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-w_0ioJNnBlI/VovKR7-CL9I/AAAAAAAALc0/GvCxcd4NYmA/s320/image005-761814.jpg" /></a></span><i><span style="color: grey; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">© Seabin Project</span></i><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">So far, the Seabin team has tested the prototype out in Mallorca, Spain, and it seems to have been a success. (No fish were harmed). Despite the hefty price tag of USD $3,825 per bin, the crowdfunding campaign did achieve its goal, raising more than $240,000 to push the project to the next level. So, we may see more of these unassuming floating marine filters in the future, ridding the waters of garbage, one marina at a time. In the meantime, we can all do our personal part by <a href="http://www.treehugger.com/green-home/11-easy-ways-reduce-your-plastic-waste-today.html"> <b><span style="color: #b6541e; text-decoration: none;">reducing our plastic waste</span></b></a> or going <a href="http://www.treehugger.com/green-home/10-steps-zero-waste-shopping-routine.html"> <b><span style="color: #b6541e; text-decoration: none;">zero-waste</span></b></a> all together. For more information, visit <a href="https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/cleaning-the-oceans-one-marina-at-a-time#/"> <b><span style="color: #b6541e; text-decoration: none;">Indiegogo</span></b></a> and <a href="http://www.seabinproject.com/"> <b><span style="color: #b6541e; text-decoration: none;">Seabin Project</span></b></a>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="blogger-post-footer">Please send comments and questions to GDempsey@fortlauderdale.gov.</div>Gene Dempsey, City Foresterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15615304339344696908noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4330937838196218765.post-79588896261339005822016-01-04T09:59:00.001-05:002016-01-04T10:00:28.494-05:00Cloning to give 2,000-year-old Lady Liberty new life<div class="WordSection1">
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<b><a href="http://www.digitaltrends.com/cool-tech/lady-liberty-cypress-tree-cloned/">http://www.digitaltrends.com/cool-tech/lady-liberty-cypress-tree-cloned/</a> <o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.orlandosentinel.com/os-kevin-spear-bio-20140717-staff.html#nt=byline">Kevin Spear</a></b> <a href="mailto:kspear@tribune.com?subject=Regarding:%20%22Cloning%20to%20give%202,000-year-old%20Lady%20Liberty%20new%20life%22"> <b>Contact Reporter</b></a> By Orlando Sentinel<o:p></o:p></div>
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A trio of climbers ascended the towering Lady Liberty on Monday with hopes of giving the 2,000-year-old cypress new life through cloning.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The tree's larger, older and better-known sibling, the Senator, at Big Tree Park in <a href="http://www.orlandosentinel.com/topic/metro-orlando/seminole-county-ORLS0034-topic.html" title="Seminole County"> Seminole County</a> was destroyed by arson nearly four years ago.<o:p></o:p></div>
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With a trunk 10 feet thick and height of nearly 90 feet, the surviving Lady Liberty is a skyscraper next to mature hickory, sweet gum and cabbage palm trees.<o:p></o:p></div>
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But its immense size and an 8-foot-tall security fence may not ensure the tree's continued longevity.<o:p></o:p></div>
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"I'm thinking it won't be here in another five years," said David Milarch, who runs the nonprofit Archangel Ancient Tree Archive, a Michigan group pursuing reforestation with clones from the biggest and oldest trees.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Local climber Andy Kittsley, city of Orlando's forestry manager, responded: "All the more important we get a culture for a clone."<o:p></o:p></div>
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The tree's custodian, Seminole County, doesn't suspect the tree is in immediate jeopardy, but the charred hulk of the nearby Senator was a reminder that even celebrated trees don't last forever.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Starting from a forest floor in deep shadow and carpeted with leaves, climber Jim Clark fired a weighted bag skyward from an oversize slingshot. After missed attempts, the bag dragged a thin line over a top limb.<o:p></o:p></div>
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That thin line was used to hoist a thicker rope that the three climbers latched onto with rigging. They ascended vertically, looking as if they were climbing a ladder.<o:p></o:p></div>
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They made the journey look easy but some difficulty soon arose. Clark howled several times with irritation and pain over bee stings. "I'm good," he shouted after each of many stings.<o:p></o:p></div>
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From below, the trio of climbers appeared to have the intimate company of puffy clouds, jetliners and vultures.<o:p></o:p></div>
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From above, as seen in video from a drone piloted by Archangel coordinator Steve Hamblin, the climbers appeared amid cypress needles as if birds in a nest.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The Senator was cloned years ago with a technique that grafted its tissue to roots of another cypress. At nearly 50 feet tall, that tree now stands at the entrance of Big Tree Park.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Archangel Ancient Tree Archive specializes in a cloning technique that coaxes tree tissue to grow its own roots, Milarch said.<o:p></o:p></div>
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He said the technique has been applied to 150 tree species, and 90 percent of those have been successfully replanted in the wild.<o:p></o:p></div>
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His son, Jake, was one of the climbers who snipped thin branches from the tree's top and let them flutter to the ground. Those cuttings would be the raw ingredients for cloning.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Back on the ground, the younger Milarch said Lady Liberty didn't have a lot of new growth in its crown. "There might not be a lot of years left," he said.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The fresh tissue was packed in ice for overnight shipping to a cloning laboratory in Michigan.<o:p></o:p></div>
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John Alleyne, a retired research horticulturist at the University of Florida, trimmed the branches carefully, looking for prime samples and for any sign of disease or other distress. "Cloning is very, very possible," he said.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<i><a href="mailto:kspear@tribpub.com">kspear@tribpub.com</a></i><o:p></o:p></div>
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For complete article with videos - <a href="http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/environment/os-giant-tree-cloning-20151228-story.html"> http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/environment/os-giant-tree-cloning-20151228-story.html</a> <o:p></o:p></div>
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Also see - <a href="http://wlrn.org/post/arborists-scale-2000-year-old-bald-cypress-reforestation-effort"> http://wlrn.org/post/arborists-scale-2000-year-old-bald-cypress-reforestation-effort</a> <o:p></o:p></div>
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<div class="blogger-post-footer">Please send comments and questions to GDempsey@fortlauderdale.gov.</div>Gene Dempsey, City Foresterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15615304339344696908noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4330937838196218765.post-64094802950365940902015-12-24T08:20:00.001-05:002015-12-24T08:37:40.799-05:00City of Fort Lauderdale's Christmas Tree Disposal<div class="WordSection1">
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Fort Lauderdale residents may place holiday trees curbside for pickup on scheduled yard waste collection days. The free service begins the week of December 28 and concludes on January 9, 2016.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">The convenient service provides a more environmentally responsible method for holiday tree disposal. The curbside pickup is expected to reduce the volume of trees in the bulk waste stream. In addition, trees that are placed curbside will be specially collected by Republic Services and targeted for reuse. Removal of tree stands, tinsel, lights and ornaments from trees is required. Tree bags must also be removed.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Other traditional options for tree disposal are still available, including cutting and disposing of trees in green yard waste carts, placement in bulk pickup piles or transporting trees to a <b>Broward County designated site</b>. However, neighbors are encouraged to take advantage of the more eco-friendly curbside collection. Recycling trees reduces garbage disposal costs and the amount of waste going to landfills.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">For more information about holiday tree disposal in the City of Fort Lauderdale, please contact the City of Fort Lauderdale's 24-Hour Customer Service Center at 954-828-8000 or</span><span style="color: #111388; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;"> <a href="http://www.fortlauderdale.gov/lauderserv" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">www.fortlauderdale.gov/lauderserv</span></a>. </span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<div class="blogger-post-footer">Please send comments and questions to GDempsey@fortlauderdale.gov.</div>Gene Dempsey, City Foresterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15615304339344696908noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4330937838196218765.post-77324415432746837382015-12-24T07:55:00.001-05:002015-12-24T07:56:28.471-05:00'GIF't A Tree': Help NBCUniversal and Arbor Day Foundation to Plant Trees During the Holidays<div class="WordSection1">
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<span lang="EN" style="font-size: 14pt;">"It's been exciting, rewarding and has made a difference." Dan Lambe, president of the Arbor Day Foundation<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN">NBCUniversal and the Arbor Day Foundation once again team up during the holidays to spread awareness and draw attention to the importance of planting trees.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN">NBCUniversals' donation of $25,000 to the Arbor Day Foundation, a nonprofit conservation organization, will go to planting more trees. Since 2009, the two have partnered in a large social media campaign to spread a message of holiday cheer for the environment.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN">Green is Universal, NBCUniversal's initiative to raising environmental awareness, and the foundation are asking participants to use the hashtag <b>#GIFtATree</b> and create or share GIF's, the popular animated photo files, on social media. For each post, or GIF created, the foundation will plant a tree in a state or federal forest until they have planted 25,000, which amounts to $1 a tree.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span lang="EN">This year, #GIFtATree to the environment by:</span></b><span lang="EN"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN">Green is Universal has provided a variety of <a href="http://www.greenisuniversal.com/" target="_blank">templates to create a GIF on their website</a>. A Douglas Fir, Garry Oak, Red Maple and Longleaf Pine are available to decorate with holiday trinkets and create wintery scenes. Participants can also share pictures of their holiday trees as part of the campaign.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN">“It's a unique way to draw attention to the importance of trees,” Dan Lambe, president of the Arbor Day Foundation said. "It's been exciting, rewarding and has made a difference."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN">James Kolstad, the director of social innovation at NBCUniversal’s corporate social responsibility, said the foundation works with trees in the U.S.’s state and national parks that are in need of replanting due to natural forces such as fires or droughts, making Arbor Day the perfect partners for the environmental initiative.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN">Kolstad said giving back is a central theme to the holidays and by participating in the social media campaign, anyone can have fun while giving back to the environment.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN">“The beauty of the GIF’t A Tree campaign is that there are so many ways to participate,” he said. “For each of those actions, you’re helping to plant real trees for the holidays.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN">“GIF’t A Tree” will last the whole month of December and kicks-off Wednesday Dec. 2, the same day as the “2015 Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree Lighting,” a tradition practiced in New York City since 1933. A Norway Spruce currently sits on Fifth Ave., and between 49th and 50th Street ready to dazzle the Big Apple.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN">Published at 6:41 AM EST on Dec 9, 2015<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="blogger-post-footer">Please send comments and questions to GDempsey@fortlauderdale.gov.</div>Gene Dempsey, City Foresterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15615304339344696908noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4330937838196218765.post-47285662114634230352015-12-21T08:20:00.000-05:002015-12-21T08:29:38.949-05:00How to reduce food waste this holiday season<div class="WordSection1">
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<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l2 level1 lfo1; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"> <b><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Date: </span></b><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">December 15, 2015 </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l2 level1 lfo1; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"> <b><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Author: </span></b><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Pete Pearson </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></li>
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<i><span lang="EN" style="font-family: ""serif"","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Pete Pearson works on food waste prevention and the intersection of agriculture and wildlife. Follow him on Twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/petedpearson"><span style="color: blue;">@petedpearson</span></a>.</span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: ""serif"","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">The holiday season is upon us, which means spending time with friends and family. And it almost certainly means enjoying holiday parties where food is front and center during the celebration. As the “food waste guy” at WWF, I always attract comments at the buffet line. Without doubt, I will hear calls to “clean my plate” and “we’d better not waste food with Pete around.”</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: ""serif"","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">While the attention can be repetitive, we might all need a “food waste guy” around to remind us how our attitude about food needs to change.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"> <span lang="EN" style="font-family: ""serif"","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Agriculture accounts for 70% of the fresh water used by people and nearly 30% of global greenhouse gas emissions.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"> <span lang="EN" style="font-family: ""serif"","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">About 29% of global fish stocks are over-exploited and 61% are fully-exploited.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"> <span lang="EN" style="font-family: ""serif"","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Agriculture is the largest driver of tropical deforestation.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"> <span lang="EN" style="font-family: ""serif"","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">The EPA estimates that during the holidays our household waste increases by about 25%.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></li>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: ""serif"","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">My job at WWF was created to promote a more efficient food system that reduces waste. When we throw away food, we’re also throwing away the land, water, and energy used to produce that food.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 13.5pt;">“When we throw away food, we’re also throwing away the land, water, and energy used to produce that food. ” -- Pete Pearson Director of Food Waste, WWF <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">A</span><span lang="EN" style="font-family: ""serif"","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">griculture is vital for human survival, but its expansion is the leading cause of stress on the last remaining biodiverse regions around the globe—this at a time when we grow enough food to feed everyone and between 30-40% of what we grow never makes it to a dinner plate.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: ""serif"","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">If we can make more food available from what’s already produced—by minimizing waste—we might slow deforestation in the Amazon or preserve the grasslands in the Northern Great Plains.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: ""serif"","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">If you’re passionate about conservation, consider this: preventing and reducing food waste is one of the best things you can do to conserve natural resources and wildlife.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span lang="EN" style="font-family: ""serif"","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">This holiday season, avoid tossing food in the trash by taking these steps:</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo3; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"> <span lang="EN" style="font-family: ""serif"","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Encourage friends and family to take leftovers home.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo3; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"> <span lang="EN" style="font-family: ""serif"","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Store leftovers in the freezer to enjoy after you’ve had a break from them for a little while.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo3; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"> <span lang="EN" style="font-family: ""serif"","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Search “holiday leftover recipes” online for new ideas.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></li>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: ""serif"","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">The key is to get creative and prevent waste from even occurring. Make preventing food waste your personal act of conservation.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><a href="http://www.worldwildlife.org/stories/how-to-reduce-food-waste-this-holiday-season?utm_campaign=food&utm_medium=email&utm_source=enews-wwf&utm_content=1512c-ed"><span style="color: blue;">http://www.worldwildlife.org/stories/how-to-reduce-food-waste-this-holiday-season?utm_campaign=food&utm_medium=email&utm_source=enews-wwf&utm_content=1512c-ed</span></a> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="blogger-post-footer">Please send comments and questions to GDempsey@fortlauderdale.gov.</div>Gene Dempsey, City Foresterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15615304339344696908noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4330937838196218765.post-55030084450766952932015-12-18T07:50:00.001-05:002015-12-18T07:56:03.341-05:00In The Maine Woods, A Towering Giant Could Help Save Chestnuts<div class="WordSection1">
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<span lang="EN">December 17, 2015<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN">Susan Sharon</span><br />
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<span lang="EN"><a href="http://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2015/12/17/459203467/in-the-maine-woods-a-towering-giant-could-help-save-chesnuts?utm_source=facebook.com&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=npr&utm_term=nprnews&utm_content=2044" target="_blank">Click here to listen to the story<o:p></o:p></a></span></div>
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<span lang="EN">This is the tallest known American chestnut tree in North America, clocking in at precisely 115 feet. It's an exciting find for those seeking to eventually restore the tree to its previous habitat. <b>Susan Sharon/MPBN <o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: "georgia" , "serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;">Thanks to Nat King Cole, it's hard not think of chestnuts without conjuring an image of them "roasting on an open fire, Jack Frost nipping at your nose." But these days, you'll be hard-pressed to find anyone roasting American chestnuts over an open fire. The trees and the nuts have all but disappeared.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: "georgia" , "serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;">But now, scientists are excited about the discovery of an American chestnut tree in the woods of western Maine, a record-breaking tree that's giving them hope for the future.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-gHlOqb_00YU/VnQBEAlf8cI/AAAAAAAALUo/-c83ezG1Qag/s1600/image003-723344.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_6229605352948625858" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-gHlOqb_00YU/VnQBEAlf8cI/AAAAAAAALUo/-c83ezG1Qag/s320/image003-723344.jpg" /></a></span><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "georgia" , "serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;"><a href="http://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2015/12/17/459203467/in-the-maine-woods-a-towering-giant-could-help-save-chesnuts?utm_source=facebook.com&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=npr&utm_term=nprnews&utm_content=2044" title="Enlarge"><span style="color: #6d8ac4; text-decoration: none;">i</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: "georgia" , "serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;">Shane Duigan of the Maine Forest Service takes measurements of the chestnut as media look on. <b>Susan Sharon/MPBN <o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: "georgia" , "serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;">Growing straight and tall, chestnut trees were once prized for timber. Vendors still roast and sell European chestnuts on the streets of Manhattan, fragrant aroma and all. But the American chestnut which once dominated the Eastern woodlands, from Maine to Georgia, was virtually wiped out by a blight that was accidentally introduced from Asia.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: "georgia" , "serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;">That's why on a recent, rainy December day, a gaggle of reporters, photographers and members of the <a href="http://www.acf.org/"><span style="color: #6d8ac4; text-decoration: none;">American Chestnut Foundation</span></a> trudged into the woods of Lovell, Maine, to confirm some crucial measurements of a chestnut tree growing in the wild.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: "georgia" , "serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;">As girth goes, this chestnut tree is not impressive: At 16.1 inches, it's on the skinny side. Except for its long, slender leaves, and spiny, urchin-like burs, most people wouldn't pick it out as distinctive in a forest lineup, especially this time of year, when both the leaves and the burs are littering the ground.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: "georgia" , "serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;">But Brian Roth, a forest scientist with the University of Maine, says when it comes to height, this American chestnut reigns supreme.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="http://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2015/06/19/413183808/once-and-future-nut-how-genetic-engineering-may-bring-back-chestnuts"><span style="color: #6d8ac4; font-family: "georgia" , "serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; text-decoration: none;"></span></a><span style="color: #6d8ac4; font-family: "georgia" , "serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; text-decoration: none;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-p1F6doi5ibA/VnQBEwxM-PI/AAAAAAAALU0/GWmqxtUOnEs/s1600/image004-726578.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_6229605365882616050" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-p1F6doi5ibA/VnQBEwxM-PI/AAAAAAAALU0/GWmqxtUOnEs/s320/image004-726578.jpg" /></a></span><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "georgia" , "serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "georgia" , "serif"; font-size: 13.5pt;"><a href="http://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/"><span style="color: #6d8ac4; font-size: x-small; text-decoration: none;">The Salt </span></a><span style="font-size: x-small;">-- </span><a href="http://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2015/06/19/413183808/once-and-future-nut-how-genetic-engineering-may-bring-back-chestnuts"><span style="font-size: x-small;"> <span style="color: #6d8ac4; text-decoration: none;">Once And Future Nut: How Genetic Engineering May Bring Back Chestnuts</span></span></a><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<a href="http://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2012/12/13/167142393/sowing-the-seeds-for-a-great-american-chestnut-comeback"><span style="color: #6d8ac4; font-family: "georgia" , "serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; text-decoration: none;"></span></a><span style="color: #6d8ac4; font-family: "georgia" , "serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; text-decoration: none;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-T94FABzcPTs/VnQBFojiQDI/AAAAAAAALVA/qcojWNh9DFU/s1600/image005-728812.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_6229605380857675826" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-T94FABzcPTs/VnQBFojiQDI/AAAAAAAALVA/qcojWNh9DFU/s320/image005-728812.jpg" /></a></span><b><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "georgia" , "serif"; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "georgia" , "serif"; font-size: 13.5pt;"><a href="http://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/"><span style="color: #6d8ac4; font-size: x-small; text-decoration: none;">The Salt </span></a><span style="font-size: x-small;">-- </span><a href="http://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2012/12/13/167142393/sowing-the-seeds-for-a-great-american-chestnut-comeback"><span style="font-size: x-small;"> <span style="color: #6d8ac4; text-decoration: none;">Sowing The Seeds For A Great American Chestnut Comeback</span></span></a><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: "georgia" , "serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;">"We think it's around 100 years old," Roth says. "It's over 100 feet tall, which makes it the tallest tree that we know of in North America."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: "georgia" , "serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;">That's 115 feet tall, to be precise. But beyond its exceptional height, Roth and members of the American Chestnut Foundation are interested in this chestnut because of its ability to survive. Surrounded by a cluster of equally tall pine trees, it was discovered in July from the air, distinguished by the large white flowers in its crown.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: "georgia" , "serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;">Bucky Owen of the Maine Chapter of the American Chestnut Foundation holds two American chestnut leaves. <b>Susan Sharon/MPBN <o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: "georgia" , "serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;">"Old-timers talk about the hillsides in the Appalachian Mountains being covered in flowers as if it was snow, and so we were able to key in on the particular week that these were blooming and ... find this tree," Roth says.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: "georgia" , "serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;">Roth says DNA from the tree will be preserved in a living gene bank. It's all part of a larger effort by the North-Carolina based American Chestnut Foundation to restore the chestnut to its historic range.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: "georgia" , "serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;">With the help of 6,000 devoted volunteers, the foundation has developed a complex breeding program to raise a hearty American chestnut that is resistant to the fungus and that can someday be reintroduced to the wild. (As The Salt has reported, separate efforts are also underway to create a <a href="http://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2015/06/19/413183808/once-and-future-nut-how-genetic-engineering-may-bring-back-chestnuts"> <span style="color: #6d8ac4; text-decoration: none;">genetically engineered American chestnu</span></a>t that's resistant to blight.)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: "georgia" , "serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;">Foundation president Lisa Thomson says the American chestnut is "an underdog. You know, everybody loves an underdog. And they see hope in the future, real promise of the future to bring this species back."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: "georgia" , "serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;">Thomson says she and her volunteers won't see a cathedral of chestnuts in the forest in their lifetimes, but their grandchildren will. And that's enough of a vision to keep them singing the chestnut's song.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: "georgia" , "serif"; font-size: xx-small;"><a href="http://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2015/12/17/459203467/in-the-maine-woods-a-towering-giant-could-help-save-chesnuts?utm_source=facebook.com&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=npr&utm_term=nprnews&utm_content=2044">http://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2015/12/17/459203467/in-the-maine-woods-a-towering-giant-could-help-save-chesnuts?utm_source=facebook.com&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=npr&utm_term=nprnews&utm_content=2044</a></span></div>
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<div class="blogger-post-footer">Please send comments and questions to GDempsey@fortlauderdale.gov.</div>Gene Dempsey, City Foresterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15615304339344696908noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4330937838196218765.post-19881810385236221972015-12-17T08:32:00.001-05:002015-12-17T08:35:07.736-05:00Why manicured lawns should become a thing of the past<div class="WordSection1">
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<span lang="EN">By <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/people/adrian-higgins"> Adrian Higgins</a></span> <span lang="EN">December 2, 2015<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: "georgia" , "serif"; font-size: 13.5pt;">Many folks, not to mention homeowners associations, cling to that model of the American yard as one of clipped foundation shrubs, groomed lawns and trees with mulch circles. Naked soil must be blanketed spring and fall with shredded mulch. Fallen leaves are treated as trash.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: "georgia" , "serif"; font-size: 13.5pt;">The real gardening world left this fusty model years ago, embracing soft groupings of perennials, grasses and specimen trees and shrubs in a celebration of plants and a closer communion with nature. <o:p> </o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: "georgia" , "serif"; font-size: 13.5pt;">Thomas Rainer and Claudia West are two young plant designers — he’s 39, she’s 32 — who cut their teeth on this aesthetic and are among a new wave of influential practitioners who are pushing this naturalism to the next level.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: "georgia" , "serif"; font-size: 13.5pt;">They reject the popular approach of using indigenous plants exclusively to redeem a wilderness because such a place no longer exists: We’ve spent four centuries on this continent erasing it. Instead, we can bring a natural idiom to all the green places that we live with. Because more than 80 percent of the U.S. population lives in urban areas, that means rooftops, city gardens, old suburban yards, parking lots, utility easements, highway medians and the rest.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "georgia" , "serif"; font-size: 13.5pt;">[<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/home/fall-blooming-camellias-bring-down-the-curtain-on-the-growing-season/2015/11/17/3e61f87c-88b7-11e5-9a07-453018f9a0ec_story.html"><span style="color: #2e6d9d; text-decoration: none;">Fall-blooming camellias bring down the curtain on the growing season</span></a>]</span></i><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "georgia" , "serif"; font-size: 13.5pt;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: "georgia" , "serif"; font-size: 13.5pt;">If we accept that nature as we imagined it resides in the past, they argue, we are free to turn all these immediate spaces, including our gardens, into naturalistic landscapes that will be more satisfying and less work than the lawn and manicured-shrubbery approach.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: "georgia" , "serif"; font-size: 13.5pt;">This premise is not entirely new: A generation ago, top designers were espousing “the New American Garden” with many of the same principles, of replacing lawns and shrubbery with perennials and ornamental grasses.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: "georgia" , "serif"; font-size: 13.5pt;">What has changed at the vanguard of garden design? Many more varieties of perennials are widely available now than in the 1990s and, moreover, the approach to planting design is changing fundamentally.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: "georgia" , "serif"; font-size: 13.5pt;">Rainer, West and others are promoting a shift from clumping and grouping plant varieties to mixing them in a way that occurs in nature. Discrete clumps are replaced with interplanted varieties equipped by nature to live cheek by jowl. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: "georgia" , "serif"; font-size: 13.5pt;">“The key is to pay attention to how plants fit together,” Rainer said. “To pay attention to their shape and behavior.” This involves not only their growth patterns aboveground, but their root types, which permit plants that are surface-rooted, such as many ground covers, to coexist with deep-rooted meadow flowers and grasses.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: "georgia" , "serif"; font-size: 13.5pt;">Such landscapes can look unexpectedly decorative in fall and winter, as the grasses become burnished by the cold and the remnant stalks and seed heads of perennials capture frost and snow.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "franklinitcprolight"; font-size: 10.5pt;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-pXNPNDvtrOA/VnK5i4aw_aI/AAAAAAAALS0/9ImSY6UNczo/s1600/image019-777261.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_6229245243518156194" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-pXNPNDvtrOA/VnK5i4aw_aI/AAAAAAAALS0/9ImSY6UNczo/s320/image019-777261.jpg" /></a></span><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "franklinitcprolight"; font-size: 10.5pt;"><br /> </span><span lang="EN" style="color: #6e6e6e; font-family: "franklinitcprolight"; font-size: 11.5pt;">The design concept allows plant layering that carries ornament beyond the growing season. (Mark Baldwin/Timber Press)</span><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "franklinitcprolight"; font-size: 10.5pt;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: "georgia" , "serif"; font-size: 13.5pt;">Significantly, the designers reject the broadly held notion that naturalistic planting has to be of native plants, arguing that a plant’s performance and adaptability are more important than its lineage. “The question is not what grew there in the past but what will grow there in the future,” Rainer and West write in their new book, “<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1604695536?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creativeASIN=1604695536&linkCode=xm2&tag=thewaspos09-20" title="www.amazon.com"><span style="color: #2e6d9d; text-decoration: none;">Planting in a Post-Wild World</span></a>.” Aimed at design professionals — though of appeal to anyone who loves the process of gardening — the book is both a design manual and a manifesto.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: "georgia" , "serif"; font-size: 13.5pt;">They see the garden as no longer a collection of plants but rather a designed plant community. This is distilled into three layers. In a sunny, meadow-like garden, the uppermost layer takes the form of beefier structural perennials such as Joe-Pye weed, cup plant or Indian grass. The middle layer is the showiest and provides seasonal peaks with such things as daisies, daylilies, butterfly weeds or bee balms. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: "georgia" , "serif"; font-size: 13.5pt;">The most important layer, the ground cover, is the least showy. Forget tired spreads of English ivy or pachysandra; Rainer and West are thinking of sedges, small grasses, rushes. In shade gardens, the floor layer would consist of such woodland beauties as foamflower, trilliums, gingers and Allegheny spurge.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "georgia" , "serif"; font-size: 13.5pt;">[<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/home/a-walk-in-the-woods/2015/05/05/85243a16-ed05-11e4-8abc-d6aa3bad79dd_story.html"><span style="color: #2e6d9d; text-decoration: none;">What you can learn from a walk through the woods</span></a>]</span></i><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "georgia" , "serif"; font-size: 13.5pt;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: "georgia" , "serif"; font-size: 13.5pt;">“The approach to ground cover is, for us, the single most important concept of creating a functioning plant community,” they write. “Think about seeing plants in the wild; there is almost never bare soil.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: "georgia" , "serif"; font-size: 13.5pt;">The ground cover not only knits together the whole plant community physically and emotionally, but also performs an important horticultural function. Soil left bare will invite weeds, so we smother it in mulch, which has its value, but we keep piling it on for aesthetic rather than horticultural reasons. This is inherently unsustainable and expensive, and keeps lonely plantings in a perpetual state of establishment. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: "georgia" , "serif"; font-size: 13.5pt;">Rainer, who lives in Arlington, is a landscape architect at <a href="http://rhodeside-harwell.com/"><span style="color: #2e6d9d; text-decoration: none;">Rhodeside & Harwell</span></a> in Alexandria. West is a horticulturist and designer with <a href="http://www.northcreeknurseries.com/"><span style="color: #2e6d9d; text-decoration: none;">North Creek Nurseries</span></a> in Landenberg, Pa. Both are popular speakers at symposiums and conventions across the country, where they reach leading landscape designers and horticulturists receptive to this ecological approach.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: "georgia" , "serif"; font-size: 13.5pt;">“It’s going to be the future of landscape design,” said <a href="http://wgarysmith.com/"><span style="color: #2e6d9d; text-decoration: none;">W. Gary Smith</span></a>, a Toronto- and New York-based landscape architect and a member of the American Society of Landscape Architects’ education advisory committee. “What these guys are doing is showing how to plant landscapes from the soil up. It’s not just about plant combinations, textures, colors; it’s about looking at plant communities in the wild as an inspiration for design. It’s a hybrid of horticulture and ecology, and it’s been a long time coming.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: "georgia" , "serif"; font-size: 13.5pt;">“It’s a great concept to be presenting, and hopefully landscape architects and designers will move forward with this,” said <a href="http://www.adamwoodruff.com/about"><span style="color: #2e6d9d; text-decoration: none;">Adam Woodruff</span></a>, a garden designer from Clayton, Mo., who has embraced this approach with elan. “It’s not a style for everyone and it’s not something everyone can do; you have to have an understanding of the plants you’re working with for it to be effective.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "franklinitcprolight"; font-size: 10.5pt;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-juRca5H6YWk/VnK5jQb7bnI/AAAAAAAALTE/hrOMcjhVXLc/s1600/image020-780362.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_6229245249965485682" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-juRca5H6YWk/VnK5jQb7bnI/AAAAAAAALTE/hrOMcjhVXLc/s320/image020-780362.jpg" /></a></span><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "franklinitcprolight"; font-size: 10.5pt;"><br /> </span><span lang="EN" style="color: #6e6e6e; font-family: "franklinitcprolight"; font-size: 11.5pt;">A stylized dry meadow garden designed by Adam Woodruff. (Adam Woodruff/Timber Press)</span><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "franklinitcprolight"; font-size: 10.5pt;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: "georgia" , "serif"; font-size: 13.5pt;">This form of gardening is very exciting, promising to introduce many more underused plants into our gardens and, moreover, to create herbaceously dominant landscapes that are dynamic, ecologically kind and most of all, profoundly beautiful when executed with skill. The potential for it to go wrong is pretty great, though, especially if it is done on a half-baked basis. It takes fortitude and a large budget to plant perennials and ground covers by the hundreds, and I can envision stabs at this that are too timid. One hopes that retail nurseries will make affordable plug plants available to consumers who are willing to maintain a young garden and wait for it to fill in. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: "georgia" , "serif"; font-size: 13.5pt;">The concept faces other obstacles. How do you get people who aren’t gardeners to understand that an assembly of hairy plants is not a weed patch? Rainer told me that it is incumbent on designers to create gardens that can be read as such — by adding more floriferous varieties to the mix, by selecting lower-growing varieties and by setting these plant communities in strong architectural frames with clear edges. “It puts the burden on designers to design in a way that it doesn’t look wild,” he said. “The best design interprets nature; it doesn’t imitate it.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "franklinitcprolight"; font-size: 10.5pt;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6ltjq8CFwcU/VnK5kAooB9I/AAAAAAAALTQ/hu198wgdypE/s1600/image021-783296.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_6229245262903642066" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6ltjq8CFwcU/VnK5kAooB9I/AAAAAAAALTQ/hu198wgdypE/s320/image021-783296.jpg" /></a></span><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "franklinitcprolight"; font-size: 10.5pt;"><br /> </span><span lang="EN" style="color: #6e6e6e; font-family: "franklinitcprolight"; font-size: 11.5pt;">The rooftop garden at the David Lawrence Convention Center in Pittsburgh. The massed planting of sedum and the path temper the wildness of the mixed meadow planting. (Sarah Thompson/Timber Press)</span><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "franklinitcprolight"; font-size: 10.5pt;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: "georgia" , "serif"; font-size: 13.5pt;">What about landscape crews programmed to mow, blow, chop back dead top growth and apply pesticides and fertilizers on a schedule rather than nurture a naturalistic design through its establishment stages and through four seasons? “I feel strongly that these mixes can be much lower maintenance,” he said. In the book, he and West talk about a move away from landscape maintenance to a lower pitch of management. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: "georgia" , "serif"; font-size: 13.5pt;">“This is a system based on knowledge rather than labor, and that’s self-limiting in its own way,” he said. “But we feel there is a paradigm shift in how plants are read, and as that knowledge catches up, there can be great benefits to landscape crews and home gardeners alike.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="blogger-post-footer">Please send comments and questions to GDempsey@fortlauderdale.gov.</div>Gene Dempsey, City Foresterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15615304339344696908noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4330937838196218765.post-78515555131108278672015-12-16T08:18:00.001-05:002015-12-16T08:20:33.883-05:0012 Wins for Wildlife YOU Made Possible in 2015<div class="WordSection1">
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<span style="color: #515151; font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt;">12/11/2015 // By <a href="http://blog.nwf.org/blog/author/collin/"><span style="color: #00573d;">Collin O'Mara</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #252525; font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Looking back at 2015, I’m incredibly proud of wins we achieved together for America’s wildlife.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #252525; font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">With friends of wildlife like you by our side, we helped restore more wild bison to the Great Plains, launched rescue efforts for our dwindling monarch butterflies, and certified thousands of new acres of wildlife habitat in cities, schools and places of worship throughout the country.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #252525; font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">The truth is, none of this is easy. The challenges facing wildlife are many. Water pollution and droughts, massive habitat loss and fragmentation, and climate change are driving record numbers of species toward extinction.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #252525; font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">But you and I don’t protect wildlife because it’s <i>easy</i>. Together we stand up for our cherished wildlife and wild landscapes because it’s <i>right</i>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #252525; font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">All you do for wildlife is making a difference. Feel proud of these wins for wildlife. You made them happen.</span></b><span style="color: #252525; font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #f68120; font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 22.5pt;">Win #1<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #252525; font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">WILD BISON: A Prairie Homecoming Decades in the Making</span></b><span style="color: #252525; font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #252525; font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-jCmiaam20-8/VnFkvmj6RaI/AAAAAAAALPo/wvpKG2HU9bY/s1600/image001-732917.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_6228870528597902754" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-jCmiaam20-8/VnFkvmj6RaI/AAAAAAAALPo/wvpKG2HU9bY/s320/image001-732917.jpg" /></a></span><span style="color: #252525; font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #252525; font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Photo by <i><a href="http://www.nwf.org/photocontest.aspx"><span style="color: #00573d;">National Wildlife Photo Contest</span></a></i> entrant Panagiotis Laskararkis.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #252525; font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Thanks to supporters like you, 2015 was another great year for work with partners and affiliates in restoring wild bison to their historic native habitat on western lands.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #252525; font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Earlier this year, over 60 genetically pure Yellowstone bison were restored to open lands in Nebraska. These restorations add to the 195 wild bison transferred over the past few years in Montana to Fort Peck Indian Reservation, and 34 more bison brought to Fort Belknap Reservation.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #252525; font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">More wild bison<br /> <a href="http://www.nwf.org/Wildlife/Wildlife-Library/Mammals/Bison.aspx"><span style="color: #00573d;">Wildlife Library: Bison</span></a><a href="http://blog.nwf.org/2015/11/wild-bison-return-to-the-colorado-prairie/"><span style="color: #00573d;"><br /> </span></a><a href="http://blog.nwf.org/2015/01/crane-trust-welcomes-bison-home/"><span style="color: #00573d;">Crane Trust Welcomes Bison Home</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #f68120; font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 22.5pt;">WIN #2<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #252525; font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">DOLPHINS: Winning the Gulf Restoration Funding They Need and Deserve</span></b><span style="color: #252525; font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #252525; font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-81Ewz31F5ME/VnFkwmt2ObI/AAAAAAAALP0/smj4CIyZxrI/s1600/image002-736484.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_6228870545819449778" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-81Ewz31F5ME/VnFkwmt2ObI/AAAAAAAALP0/smj4CIyZxrI/s320/image002-736484.jpg" /></a></span><span style="color: #252525; font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #252525; font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Photo by Alison Henry, NEFSC/NOAA.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #252525; font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Five years and two months after the devastating Deepwater Horizon oil spill disaster, the Justice Department and the five Gulf states announced the ground-shaking news that they had reached an $18.7 billion settlement with BP to help restore the Gulf.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #252525; font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">And habitat restoration can’t come fast enough for some bottlenose dolphins in the Gulf, a species severely stressed by and still struggling with the effects of the spill.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #252525; font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">This would have NEVER happened without relentless pressure from friends of wildlife like you.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #252525; font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">As you read this, scientists and advocates are working on the ground in all the Gulf states to ensure BP’s fines are spent on projects that will benefit Gulf wildlife.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #252525; font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">More dolphins:<br /> <a href="http://blog.nwf.org/2015/07/bp-settlement-reached/"><span style="color: #00573d;">BP Settlement Reached</span></a><a href="http://blog.nwf.org/2015/07/bp-settlement-reached/"><span style="color: #00573d;"><br /> </span></a><a href="http://blog.nwf.org/2015/05/deepwater-horizon-oil-caused-gulf-dolphin-deaths-study/"><span style="color: #00573d;">Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill Caused Dolphin Deaths</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #252525; font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #f68120; font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 22.5pt;">WIN #3<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #252525; font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">MOOSE: New Hope for Wildlife with New Energy Plan</span></b><span style="color: #252525; font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #252525; font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-uKZl4IakU0w/VnFkxR7c6uI/AAAAAAAALQA/J9-NnuQP0Vc/s1600/image003-739971.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_6228870557419236066" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-uKZl4IakU0w/VnFkxR7c6uI/AAAAAAAALQA/J9-NnuQP0Vc/s320/image003-739971.jpg" /></a></span><span style="color: #252525; font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #252525; font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Photo by National Wildlife Photo Contest entrant Richard Seeley.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #252525; font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Massive and majestic, moose require cool climates to thrive, and are being devastated by the warmer temperatures and exploding pest populations caused by global climate change, such as winter ticks.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #252525; font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">In August, President Obama released the final Clean Power Plan, the first ever rules designed to reduce harmful greenhouse gas emissions from power plants, which emit 40 percent of the nation’s carbon emissions.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #252525; font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">It’s a game-changing step secured after years of advocacy by wildlife and environmental advocates.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #252525; font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">More Moose<br /> <a href="https://www.nwf.org/Wildlife/Wildlife-Library/Mammals/Moose.aspx"><span style="color: #00573d;">Wildlife Library: Moose</span></a><br /> <a href="http://blog.nwf.org/2013/02/climate-crisis-deepens-for-americas-moose/"><span style="color: #00573d;">Climate Crisis Deepens for America’s Moose</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #252525; font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #f68120; font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 22.5pt;">WIN #4<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #252525; font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">MONARCH BUTTERFLIES: Habitat Restoration Efforts Move Gains Steam</span></b><span style="color: #252525; font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #252525; font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-R4va-NcJGjE/VnFkyJQSVLI/AAAAAAAALQM/TGPm7LKB1bc/s1600/image004-743004.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_6228870572270572722" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-R4va-NcJGjE/VnFkyJQSVLI/AAAAAAAALQM/TGPm7LKB1bc/s320/image004-743004.jpg" /></a></span><span style="color: #252525; font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #252525; font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Photo by Laura Tangley/NWF.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #252525; font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Working to reverse the dramatic decline of monarch butterflies, your support helped us partner with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and our affiliates to plant and help protect milkweed in areas along the monarch’s migratory route.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #252525; font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Even mayors are getting in on the action with the National Wildlife Federation’s Mayor’s Monarch Pledge. St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay launched the Mayors’ Monarch Pledge, a national campaign to engage mayors and local leaders to take specific actions in their communities to help save monarchs.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #252525; font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Great job from our entire community of friends who care about the beautiful monarch butterfly.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #252525; font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">More Monarch Butterfly<br /> <a href="http://blog.nwf.org/2015/02/saving-monarchs/"><span style="color: #00573d;">Saving Monarchs<br /> </span></a><a href="http://www.nwf.org/Wildlife/Wildlife-Library/Invertebrates/Monarch-Butterfly.aspx"><span style="color: #00573d;">Wildlife Library: Monarch Butterfly</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #252525; font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #f68120; font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 22.5pt;">WIN #5<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #252525; font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">MOUNTAIN LION: Plans for World’s Largest Wildlife Bridge Moves Forward</span></b><span style="color: #252525; font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #252525; font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-yG8Ep1sj2Vs/VnFkyx0iF2I/AAAAAAAALQY/l3a7-i8Naxw/s1600/image005-746093.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_6228870583160018786" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-yG8Ep1sj2Vs/VnFkyx0iF2I/AAAAAAAALQY/l3a7-i8Naxw/s320/image005-746093.jpg" /></a></span><span style="color: #252525; font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #252525; font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Photo by National Park Service.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #252525; font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">In August, another California mountain lion died trying to cross a busy freeway. P32’s tragic end, and the untimely deaths of 12 other mountain lions like him are why the National Wildlife Federation is leading the charge for a safe wildlife crossing in the hills outside Los Angeles.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #252525; font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">More than 44,000 National Wildlife Federation friends of wildlife spoke out in support of the project and in September, the state of California unveiled plans for a 165-foot wide bridge that would span all ten lanes of Highway 101 in Agoura Hills.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #252525; font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">When built, it will be the biggest wildlife crossing in the world!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #252525; font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">More Mountain Lion<br /> <a href="http://www.nwf.org/Wildlife/Wildlife-Library/Mammals/Mountain-Lion.aspx"><span style="color: #00573d;">Wildlife Library: Mountain Lions<br /> </span></a><a href="http://www.nwf.org/News-and-Magazines/Media-Center/News-by-Topic/Wildlife/2015/09-03-15-Proposed-101-Freeway-Crossing-is-Progress-for-Californias-Cougars.aspx"><span style="color: #00573d;">Proposed Crossing is Progress for California’s Cougars</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #252525; font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #f68120; font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 22.5pt;">WIN #6<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #252525; font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">RIVER OTTER: Historic Day for Protecting Wetland and Stream Habitat</span></b><span style="color: #252525; font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #252525; font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-4Q-_bQSC1vI/VnFkz14H3vI/AAAAAAAALQk/hdhBeMYxzrw/s1600/image006-749223.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_6228870601428688626" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-4Q-_bQSC1vI/VnFkz14H3vI/AAAAAAAALQk/hdhBeMYxzrw/s320/image006-749223.jpg" /></a></span><span style="color: #252525; font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #252525; font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Photo by Kenny Bahr, USFWS Midwest.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #252525; font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">River otters make their homes near waterways and are extremely sensitive to water pollution.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #252525; font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">So, after many years of advocacy work to get policies needed to protect these waters, we were thrilled to stand with U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Gina McCarthy as she signed the new Clean Water Rule, which restored protections for more than two million miles of streams and millions of acres of wetlands.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #252525; font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Steadfast support for clean water from friends of wildlife made the difference in the long, uphill battle to get these protections over the finish line!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #252525; font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">More River Otter<br /> <a href="http://www.nwf.org/Wildlife/Wildlife-Library/Mammals/North-American-River-Otter.aspx"><span style="color: #00573d;">Wildlife Library: North American River Otter<br /> </span></a><a href="http://www.nwf.org/News-and-Magazines/National-Wildlife/News-and-Views/Archives/2015/NWF-Presidents-View-Working-for-Clean-Water.aspx"><span style="color: #00573d;">Presidents View: Working Hard for Clean Water</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #252525; font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #f68120; font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 22.5pt;">WIN #7<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #252525; font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">BLUE CRAB: Plan Approved to Take Pollutants Out of Chesapeake Bay Waters</span></b><span style="color: #252525; font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #252525; font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-rf4-e9RXIIM/VnFk0o2n7lI/AAAAAAAALQw/YTT-wWTg7po/s1600/image007-752300.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_6228870615112609362" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-rf4-e9RXIIM/VnFk0o2n7lI/AAAAAAAALQw/YTT-wWTg7po/s320/image007-752300.jpg" /></a></span><span style="color: #252525; font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #252525; font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Photo by <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/stinkenroboter/7634796910"><span style="color: #00573d;">Brian Henderson/Flickr</span></a>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #252525; font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Cleaner water is coming for blue crabs. In July, a federal court of appeals upheld the historic cleanup plan for the Chesapeake Bay. The National Wildlife Federation, with the backing of people like you, has supported the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in this lawsuit since it was filed in 2011.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #252525; font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">The plan aims to cut nutrient and sediment pollution entering our waters by 2025. These forms of pollution cause dead zones and algal blooms that are toxic to wildlife.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #252525; font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">More Blue Crab<br /> <a href="http://www.nwf.org/Wildlife/Wildlife-Library/Invertebrates/Blue-Crab.aspx"><span style="color: #00573d;">Wildlife Library: Blue Crab<br /> </span></a><a href="http://blog.nwf.org/2015/07/healthier-waters-for-the-chesapeake-blue-crab/"><span style="color: #00573d;">Healthier Waters for Chesapeake Blue Crab</span></a><a href="http://blog.nwf.org/2015/07/healthier-waters-for-the-chesapeake-blue-crab/"><span style="color: #00573d;"><br /> </span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #252525; font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #f68120; font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 22.5pt;">WIN #8<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #252525; font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">MOUNTAIN GOAT: Wilderness Areas Receive Federal Protection</span></b><span style="color: #252525; font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #252525; font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-__AmtPrXeyA/VnFk1TCA9DI/AAAAAAAALQ8/boKK58hSNus/s1600/image008-755443.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_6228870626434675762" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-__AmtPrXeyA/VnFk1TCA9DI/AAAAAAAALQ8/boKK58hSNus/s320/image008-755443.jpg" /></a></span><span style="color: #252525; font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #252525; font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Photo by National Wildlife Photo Contest entrant Jesse Lee Varnado.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #252525; font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Three cheers for safeguarding habitat for wildlife like mountain goats and bobcats…thousands of acres of their wilderness habitat is protected!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #252525; font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">In February, President Obama named Colorado’s stunning 22,000 acres of Browns Canyon America’s newest national monument, a designation that affords forever protection.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #252525; font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">And in August, the president signed “The Sawtooth National Recreation Area and Jerry Peak Wilderness Additions Act,” permanently safeguarding 275,665 acres of wildlife-rich areas in central Idaho.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #252525; font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">The designations were the result of decades of advocacy by wildlife, recreation and conservation advocates.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #252525; font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">More Mountain Goat<br /> <a href="http://www.nwf.org/News-and-Magazines/National-Wildlife/Animals/Archives/1991/Life-on-the-Edge.aspx?s_src=APL_WildlifePromise_NorthAmericaPost"><span style="color: #00573d;">Life on the Edge</span></a><br /> <a href="http://blog.nwf.org/2015/08/275000-more-acres-safeguarded-for-wildlife-and-our-outdoor-heritage/"><span style="color: #00573d;">275,000 More Acres Safeguarded for Wildlife and Our Outdoor Heritage</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #252525; font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #f68120; font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 22.5pt;">WIN #9<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #252525; font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">HUMMINGBIRDS: Thousands of Acres of NEW Wildlife Habitat</span></b><span style="color: #252525; font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #252525; font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-6HmXfuOr0xE/VnFk2EJUvPI/AAAAAAAALRE/m_dSXzXmgUs/s1600/image009-758496.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_6228870639618669810" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-6HmXfuOr0xE/VnFk2EJUvPI/AAAAAAAALRE/m_dSXzXmgUs/s320/image009-758496.jpg" /></a></span><span style="color: #252525; font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #252525; font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Photo by National Wildlife Photo Contest entrant Leah Serna.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #252525; font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Backyard birds, along with our native bees, need some serious habitat help. This year, cities, schools, families and businesses stepped up in a big way to help by gardening for wildlife, restoring and adding thousands of new acres of healthy habitat for birds and many more species of wildlife.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #252525; font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Certified Wildlife Habitats</span></b><span style="color: #252525; font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;"> grew by by almost 10,000 this year! When families and businesses become certified, they restore habitat by providing food, water, cover and a place for wildlife – like hummingbirds – to raise their young.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #252525; font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">318 more schools – from preschools to universities – joined our <b>Schoolyard Habitat</b> program this year. That means thousands of kids gained a connection to nature and wildlife. Schools in the program do everything from creating planter boxes and gardens, to restoring native prairie, to creating wetlands!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #252525; font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">And nearly 20 cities and communities, including Houston, TX, and Missoula, MT, joined our <b>Community Wildlife Habitat</b> Program — municipalities that are committed to greening in a way that’s wildlife friendly.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #252525; font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">More Hummingbird<br /> <a href="http://blog.nwf.org/2015/04/video-diary-one-tiny-hummingbird-family/"><span style="color: #00573d;">Video Diary: One Tiny Hummingbird Family<br /> </span></a><a href="http://www.nwf.org/Wildlife/Wildlife-Library/Birds/Ruby-Throated-Hummingbird.aspx"><span style="color: #00573d;">Wildlife Library: Ruby-Throated Hummingbird</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #252525; font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #f68120; font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 22.5pt;">WIN #10<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #252525; font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">GRIZZLY BEAR: Surpassing 1 Million Acres of Safe Habitat near Yellowstone</span></b><span style="color: #252525; font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #252525; font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-usEeXTZ9cs4/VnFk292U69I/AAAAAAAALRQ/JVxMbhAXtj4/s1600/image010-761813.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_6228870655108246482" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-usEeXTZ9cs4/VnFk292U69I/AAAAAAAALRQ/JVxMbhAXtj4/s320/image010-761813.jpg" /></a></span><span style="color: #252525; font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #252525; font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Photo by National Wildlife Photo Contest entrant Sandy Sisti.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #252525; font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">As Yellowstone National Park grizzly bears wander outside park boundaries to adjoining public lands where livestock graze, they are at increased risk due to conflicts and disease from domestic livestock. But a new high-water mark was set this past year in providing conflict-free habitat for wildlife like grizzlies that are part of the amazing Yellowstone ecosystem.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #252525; font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">In January, through our Adopt-a-Wildlife Acre program supported by people like you, the 22,000-acre Upper Gros Ventre cattle allotment, located south of Yellowstone near Jackson, Wyoming, was turned into a safe haven for grizzlies and gray wolves. This was done by compensating ranchers for removing their livestock from leased federal lands like Gros Ventre.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #252525; font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">In a little over a decade, this wildly successful program has secured over 1 million acres of safe habitat for wildlife on public lands.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #252525; font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">More Grizzly Bear<br /> <a href="http://www.nwf.org/Wildlife/Wildlife-Library/Mammals/Grizzly-Bear.aspx"><span style="color: #00573d;">Wildlife Library: Grizzly Bear</span></a><a href="http://www.nwf.org/Wildlife/Wildlife-Library/Mammals/Grizzly-Bear.aspx"><span style="color: #00573d;"><br /> </span></a><a href="http://www.nwf-wcr.org/program.htm"><span style="color: #00573d;">National Wildlife Federation’s Wildlife Conflict Resolution Program</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #f68120; font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 22.5pt;">WIN #11<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #252525; font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">TREES FOR WILDLIFE: Native Trees Planted, Longleaf Pine Forests Get a Boost</span></b><span style="color: #252525; font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #252525; font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0Nh4atLsDzQ/VnFk3swHHEI/AAAAAAAALRc/8Senb_Uhm_s/s1600/image011-764973.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_6228870667698641986" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0Nh4atLsDzQ/VnFk3swHHEI/AAAAAAAALRc/8Senb_Uhm_s/s320/image011-764973.jpg" /></a></span><span style="color: #252525; font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #252525; font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Photo by National Wildlife Photo Contest entrant Lisa Culp.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #252525; font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Trees are essential habitat for many wildlife species ranging from birds, insects, mammals, reptiles and amphibians. They provide food, water, cover and places to raise young.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #252525; font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Thanks to friends of wildlife, the National Wildlife Federation supports community and education groups to plant thousands of native trees each year to help restore habitat for wildlife. <i>In 2015, almost 30,000 native trees were planted!</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #252525; font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">And good news for our efforts to restore the incredibly beautiful longleaf pine forests which at one time widely ranged across the Southeast: the USDA allocated Farm Bill funds in January to protect and restore dwindling forests and wildlife habitats throughout the region.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #252525; font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">More Native Trees<br /> <a href="http://blog.nwf.org/2015/04/ten-favorite-trees-for-wildlife/"><span style="color: #00573d;">Ten Favorite Trees for Wildlife</span></a><a href="http://blog.nwf.org/2015/04/ten-favorite-trees-for-wildlife/"><span style="color: #00573d;"><br /> </span></a><a href="http://blog.nwf.org/topics/wildlife/trees/"><span style="color: #00573d;">Trees and Wildlife</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #252525; font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #f68120; font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 22.5pt;">WIN #12<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #252525; font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">CARIBOU: Keystone XL Pipeline Denied! Huge Threat Removed From Boreal Forest Habitat</span></b><span style="color: #252525; font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #252525; font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-QMJkBw0OAhw/VnFk4c_28dI/AAAAAAAALRo/zJaSGcPgXV0/s1600/image012-768036.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_6228870680649593298" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-QMJkBw0OAhw/VnFk4c_28dI/AAAAAAAALRo/zJaSGcPgXV0/s320/image012-768036.jpg" /></a></span><span style="color: #252525; font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #252525; font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Photo by National Wildlife Photo Contest entrant Tony Attanasio.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #252525; font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Millions spoke up against long odds to demand a better future for wildlife, and on November 6th, President Obama rejected the ill-conceived Keystone XL pipeline.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #252525; font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">It was a monumental victory for wildlife like caribou, a species that has suffered immensely from the devastating extraction of tar sands oil. By stopping the pipeline, wildlife advocates like you prevented the accelerated destruction of caribou’s ancient and irreplaceable boreal forest habitat.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #252525; font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">More Caribou<br /> <a href="http://blog.nwf.org/2014/12/10-festive-facts-about-reindeer/"><span style="color: #00573d;">Reindeer or Caribou?</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="http://blog.nwf.org/2015/12/12-wins-for-wildlife-you-made-possible-in-2015/">http://blog.nwf.org/2015/12/12-wins-for-wildlife-you-made-possible-in-2015/</a> <o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1f497d;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
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<a href="http://www.google.com/url?sa=i&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&docid=Uq9HDv0lEuv7bM&tbnid=ojN7D9sBZ6ZkmM:&ved=0CAgQjRwwAA&url=http://www.fortlauderdale.gov/recycle/back2school.htm&ei=LirtUcmyK_K54APd24DQCQ&psig=AFQjCNGOT3ung7c3UGf1Y6sV7mcP93Ulxg&ust=1374583726749494"><span style="color: #1f497d; text-decoration: none;"></span></a><span style="color: #1f497d; text-decoration: none;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-UB3dmJy04JA/VnFk6MgxWKI/AAAAAAAALSA/7u4GQCoc4NY/s1600/image014-774494.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_6228870710583974050" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-UB3dmJy04JA/VnFk6MgxWKI/AAAAAAAALSA/7u4GQCoc4NY/s320/image014-774494.jpg" /></a></span><a href="http://fortlauderdale.gov/saveatree/"><span style="color: #1f497d; text-decoration: none;"></span></a><span style="color: #1f497d; text-decoration: none;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WciPa7MKRNI/VnFk69BONKI/AAAAAAAALSM/H555vC8_ZAA/s1600/image015-778020.png"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_6228870723604984994" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WciPa7MKRNI/VnFk69BONKI/AAAAAAAALSM/H555vC8_ZAA/s320/image015-778020.png" /></a></span><span style="color: #1f497d;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Fw-DcQa0DWM/VnFk982LnVI/AAAAAAAALSY/Yo2f7GCMdVU/s1600/image016-789807.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_6228870775098285394" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Fw-DcQa0DWM/VnFk982LnVI/AAAAAAAALSY/Yo2f7GCMdVU/s320/image016-789807.jpg" /></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="blogger-post-footer">Please send comments and questions to GDempsey@fortlauderdale.gov.</div>Gene Dempsey, City Foresterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15615304339344696908noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4330937838196218765.post-56817978584287597002015-12-15T08:17:00.001-05:002015-12-15T08:18:56.988-05:00Green Thoughts for the Holidays<div class="WordSection1">
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<a href="https://www.pinesandneedles.com/sustainable-christmas-trees"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; text-decoration: none;"></span></a><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; text-decoration: none;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-66zwvsvTk8g/VnAS6roy7EI/AAAAAAAALOo/ZtnG_JbEutQ/s1600/image006-749110.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_6228499084008942658" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-66zwvsvTk8g/VnAS6roy7EI/AAAAAAAALOo/ZtnG_JbEutQ/s320/image006-749110.jpg" /></a></span><o:p></o:p></div>
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Here’s a collect of green thoughts from a website that no long exists – Green is Sexy and a few of my own:<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">lighten up.<o:p></o:p></span></h2>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Friends have been telling us about the new LED lights they have purchased for their holiday decorating this year. The biggest question we had? “Do they <em><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">look</span></em> like LED lights?” You know, a little more “bright white” than “chestnuts-by-the-fire romantic.” Like cars with the somewhat-blinding purple LED headlamps or the penlight on your keychain. Good news, ladies and gents, they don’t! And what better word to spread, because LED lights use 90 percent less energy than conventional holiday lights and last up to 200,000 hours. And if you like to really light up during the season, you’ll be happy to know you can even save up to $50 on your energy bills during the holiday season. LED lights seem to be available everywhere, including drug stores and major retailers. (LED lights have come a long way since this was written in 2010)<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 18.0pt;">avoid anaphylaxis.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">If you find yourself sending gifts to loved ones in the mail, you’ve inevitably found yourself staring into the cold, dead eyes of the poly-styrene packing peanut. If you’re allergic to peanuts like we are, why not try making your own packing material? Remove the paper from your recycling bin and throw it through a shredder (one of uses the shredder at her office, ahem!). The shredded paper can be stored in a bag and saved for stuffing packages for extra cushion. This free alternative to plastic packing products covers two of the three’s (reduce and reuse). Aren’t you sexy?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 18.0pt;">trip out.</span></b><b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 18.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">This holiday, if you’re hosting guests or cooking a big meal, plan your shopping trips ahead of time. Try making a list, checking it twice, and figuring out where to go with the least impacting route in your car (think less miles/kilometers!) before you even leave the house. Want to double your fun? Bring another hosting friend along and split the gas cost! You might even be able to swap some recipe tips. If you forget an item, ask an arriving guest to do a quick stop to pick it up on the way.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 18.0pt;">shop with reusable bags.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Remember to carry reusable bags everywhere you shop. I've gotten good about carrying them to the grocery store but often forget when I go to other places. Many stores have started giving credit when you use a reusable bag. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 18.0pt;">seasons greenings.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Has your first holiday card arrived in the mail? It’s great that friends and family are thinking of you, but it’s not so great that they aren’t thinking of those poor trees! Turn your loved ones into unknowing environmentalists by reusing the season’s greetings. Most people write on the inner right of a card, so cut at the fold and voila! You have a seasonal postcard.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 18.0pt;">burn beeswax candles.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Burning candles during the holidays is a beautiful way to celebrate. Instead of traditional petroleum-based candles, purchase candles made of biodegradable and renewable materials such as soy or beeswax. </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="blogger-post-footer">Please send comments and questions to GDempsey@fortlauderdale.gov.</div>Gene Dempsey, City Foresterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15615304339344696908noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4330937838196218765.post-77129733567878241082015-12-14T07:48:00.001-05:002015-12-14T08:58:43.536-05:00Volusia County Schools in Deland, Fla. Awarded $225,000 in EPA Rebates to Fund Cleaner School Buses<div class="WordSection1">
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Dec. 11, 2015<br /> <br /> <strong><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Volusia County Schools in Deland, Fla. Awarded $225,000 in EPA Rebates to Fund Cleaner School Buses</span></strong><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Contact Information: Dawn Harris Young, (404) 562-8421 (Direct), (404) 562-8400 (Main), <a href="mailto:harris-young.dawn@epa.gov">harris-young.dawn@epa.gov</a></span><br />
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<strong><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">ATLANTA</span></strong><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;"> --- The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced today that Volusia County Schools<strong><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";"> in Deland, Fla. is one of </span></strong>85 school bus fleets in 35 states to receive rebates through EPA's Diesel Emissions Reduction Act (DERA) funding. Nationally, EPA announced the award of more than $7 million in rebates to replace or retrofit 400 older diesel school buses. The new and retrofitted buses will reduce pollutants such as nitrogen oxides and particulate matter that are linked to numerous health problems, including asthma and lung damage. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">"Schools and other organizations that install clean diesel technology are doing more than just saving money --- they're creating cleaner, healthier air for children and all community residents," said Christopher Grundler, director of EPA's Office of Transportation and Air Quality. "This program continues to help thousands of children breathe easier and lead safer lives year after year."<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">This was EPA's third round of the rebate program aimed at replacing older diesel school buses. Applicants replacing buses with engine model years of 2006 and older will receive rebates between $15,000 and $25,000, depending on the size of the bus. This year, applicants also had the option of retrofitting school buses with engine model years between 1994 to 2006 with a Diesel Oxidation Catalyst plus Closed Crankcase Ventilation system (DOC plus CCV) to reduce toxic emissions. EPA will fully fund the cost of these devices up to $3,000. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">EPA has implemented standards to make newer diesel engines more than 90 percent cleaner, but many older diesel school buses remain in operation and pre-date these standards. Older diesel engines emit large amounts of pollutants such as nitrogen oxides and particulate matter, which are linked to instances of aggravated asthma, lung damage, and other serious health problems. Nearly 17,000 of our country's schools are located within steps of a heavily-traveled road, potentially exposing more than six million children to traffic-related pollution at a time when their developing lungs are particularly vulnerable to the harmful effects of air pollution. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Since 2008, the DERA program has funded more than 650 clean diesel projects across the country, reducing emissions in more than 60,000 engines.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">For more information about this rebate program, visit <a href="http://www2.epa.gov/cleandiesel/clean-diesel-rebates#2015sb">www2.epa.gov/cleandiesel/clean-diesel-rebates#2015sb</a><o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Connect with EPA Region 4 on Facebook: <a href="http://www.facebook.com/eparegion4">www.facebook.com/eparegion4</a><br /> <br /> And on Twitter: @EPASoutheast<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<div class="blogger-post-footer">Please send comments and questions to GDempsey@fortlauderdale.gov.</div>Gene Dempsey, City Foresterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15615304339344696908noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4330937838196218765.post-37054519728694007312015-12-11T08:43:00.001-05:002015-12-11T08:44:42.686-05:00An Eco-White Holiday<div class="WordSection1">
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<span style="font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;">posted by <span style="color: #1f497d;"><a href="http://www.care2.com/greenliving/author/ronnie">Ronnie Citron-Fink</a></span> Dec 7, 2008 <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;">Has global warming put the kibosh on the predictability of a blanket of white fluff where you live? It’s easy to bring home that snowy feeling this holiday. Start a new tradition and design an enchanted winter white eco-holiday theme this year. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;">I get nostalgic each year when I unpack the boxes of holiday decorations and linens. It’s kind of like flipping through scrapbooks of my family. There’s the old ornaments from my husband’s Christmases past that have been passed down from generation to generation. There are all the new traditions we created together as a family, like the homemade candles my children made and decorated when they were young. Even pets long gone are represented in photos and ornaments. Each year we add to these rich traditions. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;">This year I’m pulling out of the boxes everything white. Why white? Beyond the snowy obvious, white decorating is an eco-alternative color to all that red and green. Buying or creating white decorations are cheaper because of the generic qualities of being able to use and reuse the decorations throughout the winter. Organic undyed table linens tend to be less toxic and less processed because the organic fibers are free of chemical dyes and pesticides, making them a much healthier alternative.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;">In my home, I tend to keep the overload of holiday decorating to a minimum, but I love a festive table that uses sustainable products without sacrificing style. I approach interior design projects like home fashion. You “dress up” for holiday parties and you “dress up” your home to in a similar festive manner. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;">Consider giving red and green a rest this year. Here’s some ideas to play “dress up” with and create a rustic, eco-chic white holiday table:<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;">1. <a href="http://www.rawganique.com/Hemp-Home-Collection/organic-french-linen-table-cloths.htm" target="_blank"> Try a white organic hemp tablecloth, napkins, placemats or table runner.</a><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;">2. With a table full of kids (or children at heart), you might want to ditch the fancy white linen and cover your table with white recyclable craft paper. Let your artists decorate a winter white theme with <a href="http://naturalbaby.stores.yahoo.net/mercuriousarts.html" target="_blank"> beeswax crayons.</a><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;">3. I like to use real silverware, but <a href="http://bambuhome.com/products/" target="_blank">bamboo flatware</a> is renewable, reusable and it has a nice natural look.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;">4. White LED tealights in white glass candle holders, <a href="http://www.flamelesscandles.net/" target="_blank">flameless candles</a> and solar lights illuminate a holiday table nicely, as do white beeswax candles.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;">5. <a href="http://www.organicbouquet.com/c_64/eco-friendly/holiday-christmas-gift-ideas.html" target="_blank"> Organic white flowers</a> are beautiful. The even greener alternative would be to get <a href="http://www.whiteflowerfarm.com/84330-product.html" target="_blank">paperwhite narcissus bulbs</a> and plant them if the ground isn’t frozen. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;">6. The greenest of all decorations, and the perfect holiday table accents can come from nature. Embellish fallen branches by decorating them with glistening glass droplets rescued from old chandeliers found in second-hand stores. This adds elegance to a rustic look table. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;">7. <a href="http://www.overstock.com/Worldstock/Handcrafted-Recycled-Glass-Icicle-Ornaments-20-pack-India/550216/product.html?cid=123620&fp=F&ci_src=14110944&ci_sku=935998" target="_blank"> Recycled glass icicle</a> ornaments hung from your dining room light bring winter to your table.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;">8. Try natural balsam garlands draped with tiny LED white lights or <span style="color: #1f497d;"><a href="http://www.target.com/s/solar+christmas+lights?ref=tgt_adv_XS000000&AFID=google&CPNG=Patio%2BGarden_Outdoor+Lights&adgroup=Solar+Light_EXACT&LID=700000001170758p8633596842&LNM=solar+christmas+lights&MT=e&network=g&device=c&location=1015027&gclid=CNOzw9X208kCFUYWHwodq-ADQw&gclsrc=aw.ds">solar Christmas tree lights</a></span>.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;">9. Shopping for a new table and recycling the old one? Going all out eco-white? Here’s a white contemporary dining table constructed of renewable and sustainable grass and wheat boards made with non-toxic adhesives and wood finishes.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;">10. The holidays are about peace on Earth. Pure <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fOE5-HQ9QwI" target="_blank">white origami peace doves</a> make beautiful table decorations and are easy to create.<span style="color: #1f497d;"> </span>You can find <span style="color: #1f497d;"><a href="http://www.serrv.org/category/ornaments">Peace dove ornaments from fair trade sources</a>.</span> <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;">The holidays! They’re here! I’m dreaming of a white …<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="color: #1f497d; font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt;"><a href="http://www.care2.com/greenliving/an-eco-white-holiday.html">http://www.care2.com/greenliving/an-eco-white-holiday.html</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="blogger-post-footer">Please send comments and questions to GDempsey@fortlauderdale.gov.</div>Gene Dempsey, City Foresterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15615304339344696908noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4330937838196218765.post-13977796739164470642015-12-10T08:14:00.001-05:002015-12-11T07:39:13.038-05:00‘No Christmas Tree in the White House’<div class="WordSection1">
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<span class="wsj-article-caption-content"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: "whitney ssm"; font-size: 10.0pt;">A Teddy Roosevelt Christmas-tree ornament at the White House in 2008. </span></span><span class="wsj-article-credit-tag1"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: "whitney ssm"; font-size: 8.5pt;">Photo: </span></span><span class="wsj-article-credit1"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: "whitney ssm"; font-size: 8.5pt;">AFP/Getty Images<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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Theodore Roosevelt's commitment to conservation is well known. Less well known was the 26th president's ill-fated attempt to ban Christmas trees at the White House. Why? So many trees were cut down for the holidays, he believed, that it was contributing to deforestation—and he wanted to set an example for the country. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Franklin Pierce decorated the first Christmas tree on the White House lawn in 1853; Benjamin Harrison brought a tree inside the White House in 1889, lighted by candles, to the marvel of his grandchildren. Six years later Grover Cleveland, who had two young daughters, decorated the tree with electric lights.<o:p></o:p></div>
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TR's Grinch-like practice began in 1902. As the Sun newspaper in New York City <a href="http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83030272/1902-12-25/ed-1/seq-1/" target="_blank"> reported</a>, the president and family would celebrate the holiday by exchanging gifts, "but there will be no Christmas tree in the White House." <o:p></o:p></div>
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Yet the two youngest of the Roosevelts' six children, Archibald, age 8, and Quentin, age 5, were not to be denied. With the covert help of White House staff, they cut a small fir tree from the grounds, hid it away and wired it with lights.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Roosevelt recounted what happened on Christmas morning in <a href="http://www.bartleby.com/53/14.html" target="_blank"> a letter</a> to a friend the next day. There "was a surprise for me, also for their good mother, for Archie had a little Christmas tree of his own which he had rigged up with the help of one of the carpenters in a big closet; and we all had to look at the tree and each of us got a present off of it. There was also one present each for Jack the dog, Tom Quartz the kitten, and Algonquin the pony, whom Archie would no more think of neglecting than I would neglect his brothers and sisters. Then all the children came into our bed and there they opened their stockings." <o:p></o:p></div>
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The president was in for another surprise. He asked noted conservationist Gifford Pinchot, who would later serve as his first chief of the U.S. Forest Service, to lecture the children on the necessity of banning Christmas trees. But Pinchot admitted it was good to cut down trees periodically to get more sunlight for other trees to grow.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Well, you know how this story had to end. While there was still no White House Christmas tree in 1905, the Sun <a href="http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83030272/1905-12-25/ed-1/seq-2/" target="_blank"> noted </a>that the president's younger children would be permitted, as in the previous few years, to visit the tree-bedecked home of their cousin, Sheffield Cowles, on N Street on Christmas afternoon.<o:p></o:p></div>
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And by 1906, the ban was gone. "The children made the White House ring with merriment last night," the Washington Herald <a href="http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83045433/1906-12-25/ed-1/seq-2/" target="_blank"> recounted</a> on Christmas Day. "There is to be a large tree." <o:p></o:p></div>
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<i>Mr. DiBacco is professor emeritus at American University in Washington, D.C.</i> <o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="http://www.wsj.com/articles/no-christmas-tree-in-the-white-house-1449705242">http://www.wsj.com/articles/no-christmas-tree-in-the-white-house-1449705242</a> <o:p></o:p></div>
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<div class="blogger-post-footer">Please send comments and questions to GDempsey@fortlauderdale.gov.</div>Gene Dempsey, City Foresterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15615304339344696908noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4330937838196218765.post-72263395528381445882015-12-09T07:55:00.001-05:002015-12-09T07:57:31.802-05:00Saving butterflies: Caterpillars are lowly no longer <div class="WordSection1">
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<i><span lang="EN" style="color: black; font-family: "mcclatchy sans"; font-size: 10.5pt;">In between laying eggs, the black swallowtail goes for the nectar-rich pentas blossoms. Handout TNS<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="color: black; font-family: "mcclatchy sans"; font-size: 10.5pt;">By Norman Winter<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="color: black; font-family: "mcclatchy sans"; font-size: 10.5pt;">At almost every seminar I give, I ask the audience by a show of hands if they are caterpillar friendly. I am delighted to say I sense a real change within the gardening public. The caterpillar, once perhaps considered the enemy of the garden, has now become the recognized reward, and woe to the lizard or bird that picks one off.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="color: black; font-family: "mcclatchy sans"; font-size: 10.5pt;">Last year I started to realize how important caterpillars had become to the public. I received a phone call from a lady who was in tears. She had Monarch caterpillars, but all of her milkweed had been devoured. She asked almost hysterically if she could bring the caterpillars to us since we had so many milkweeds. At least I thought we had many. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span lang="EN" style="color: black; font-family: "mcclatchy sans"; font-size: 10.5pt;">The Giant Swallowtail emerges from the chrysalis. Handout TNS <o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="color: black; font-family: "mcclatchy sans"; font-size: 10.5pt;">She showed up with a box containing 100 caterpillars. I slowly walked through the garden. A little milkweed plant got one caterpillar while larger plants were gifted with two or three. It took no time before I had few leaves as well.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="color: black; font-family: "mcclatchy sans"; font-size: 10.5pt;">This year we had our own similar episode. Despite having several large fennel and a few parsley plants, it seems the “Fertile Myrtle” of Black Swallowtails produced enough eggs and caterpillars to create panic among the staff. The stress led to them to buy more plants in an effort to try to feed all of the hungry mouths.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="color: black; font-family: "mcclatchy sans"; font-size: 10.5pt;">Our own real test of being caterpillar friendly caught us all by surprise. It involved Improved Meyer Lemon trees in glazed containers outside our new Andrews Visitor and Education Center. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="caption-text2"><i><span lang="EN" style="color: black; font-family: "mcclatchy sans"; font-size: 10.5pt;">Black swallowtail caterpillars devour fennel. </span></i></span><span class="photographer5"><i><span lang="EN" style="color: black; font-family: "mcclatchy sans"; font-size: 10.5pt;">Handout</span></i></span><i><span lang="EN" style="color: black; font-family: "mcclatchy sans"; font-size: 10.5pt;"> <span class="credits">TNS</span></span></i><i><span lang="EN" style="color: black; font-family: "mcclatchy sans"; font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="color: black; font-family: "mcclatchy sans"; font-size: 10.5pt;">A couple of things make this caterpillar-friendly test a little more of a challenge.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="color: black; font-family: "mcclatchy sans"; font-size: 10.5pt;">We got our start as a USDA Plant Introduction Station in 1919. All over the garden are trees, shrubs and bamboo that Frank Meyer, the hero of plant exploration, found and brought back to the country. He is the one who discovered the aforementioned lemon named in his honor. That was just one issue in our true test of being caterpillar friendly.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="color: black; font-family: "mcclatchy sans"; font-size: 10.5pt;">The second test: These two containers are right at the entrance where every visitor enters the garden. What would they think to see missing leaves or caterpillars, which would no doubt just be worms to many of them?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="color: black; font-family: "mcclatchy sans"; font-size: 10.5pt;">Our test began beautifully as a giant swallowtail made her visit to the lemons. She would lay an egg or two then drop down to get nectar from some red pentas. Then she would return for a little more egg laying. We saw the eggs, the resulting caterpillars and, in what seemed like such a short amount of time, chrysalis. Every day we would look. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="color: black; font-family: "mcclatchy sans"; font-size: 10.5pt;">Then the call came over the radio: Norman, you better get over here. As you might have-guessed, a beautiful swallowtail had emerged, a process called enclosure in the lepidoptera world.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="color: black; font-family: "mcclatchy sans"; font-size: 10.5pt;">All the staff and a few visitors stood in awe as we experienced nature at one of its finest moments. While we were watching, I couldn’t help but think we too had just passed the caterpillar test. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="color: black; font-family: "mcclatchy sans"; font-size: 10.5pt;">Are you caterpillar friendly? You will have many more butterflies if you are.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span lang="EN" style="color: black; font-family: "mcclatchy sans"; font-size: 10.5pt;">Norman Winter is director of the <a href="http://www.coastalgeorgiabg.org/">Coastal Georgia Botanical Gardens</a> at the Historic Bamboo Farm, <a href="http://extension.uga.edu/">University of Georgia Cooperative Extension</a>, and author of “Tough-as-Nails Flowers for the South.”<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<div class="blogger-post-footer">Please send comments and questions to GDempsey@fortlauderdale.gov.</div>Gene Dempsey, City Foresterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15615304339344696908noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4330937838196218765.post-5286111732069507722015-12-08T08:21:00.001-05:002015-12-08T10:36:42.963-05:00Landscaping to Attract Birds in South Florida<div class="WordSection1">
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<em><span style="background-color: white; color: blue;">While we have a large population of native birds that always need food, fall and spring are critical times to provide food for migrating birds. Adding a few native shrubs and trees to your landscape can be very beneficial to our wildlife population. -- Gene</span></em><br />
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">FLORIDA HORTICULTURE DEPARTMENT OF ORNAMENTAL HORTICULTURE FACT SHEET<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Florida Cooperative Extension Service Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences University of Florida, Gainesville John T. Woeste, Dean for Extension<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<o:p> </o:p></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 16.0pt;">Landscaping to Attract Birds in South Florida<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">By Timothy K. Broschat and Stephen D. Verkade<br /> </span><br />
Associate Professor - Tropical Ornamentals, and Associate Professor - Ornamental Horticulture, Fort Lauderdale Research and Education Center, IFAS, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<o:p> </o:p></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">One benefit of Florida living is the enjoyment of plants and wildlife in the landscape through most of the year. By proper plant selection, you can enhance your landscape to attract, feed, and shelter birds for year-round enjoyment. When selecting plants to incorporate into the landscape, keep in mind the need for birds to obtain shelter from inclement weather and from predators. A number of plant species can also attract birds by providing fruits as a source of food. Flowers of some species attract insects, which are in turn eaten by other types of birds. Migratory birds are particularly abundant along the coastal ridges in southern Florida. These birds can be attracted to landscapes by use of plants that provide seeds, fruits or insects during the fall and spring migrations. These food sources can be complemented by one or more bird feeders which must provide high quality seed with regularity. A good bird feeder should be conveniently located for viewing and large enough to hold food for at least 2-3 days, protect the seed from rain, and minimize seed spillage. Many bird guidebooks provide information on the bird species attracted by various seed types. Keep in mind that many of south Florida’s songbirds are migrants or winter residents, and will thus require food or cover during the fall, winter, and spring months only.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Landscape Principles to Attract Birds<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Solid design concepts are important in any landscape project, and references on design principles are listed in this fact sheet under the heading of ‘Recommended References’. The following are additional considerations to remember when landscaping to attract birds.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">· Provide shelter to entice birds into your yard and to protect them from the elements or predators.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">· Select a variety of plants which offer a consistent supply of food over an extended period of time.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">· Select plants that flower or fruit during the spring migrations and attract insects. Insects, in turn, attract insectivorous birds. In some areas in southern Florida, the flowering gumbo-limbo <i>(Bursera simaruba) </i>attracts large numbers of warblers in their spring breeding plumage as they migrate northward.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">· Design plantings which offer enough food to meet the needs of the birds.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">· Provide a source of water for drinking and bathing. Moving water in a gently sloping basin or trough is particularly attractive to birds.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">These criteria can be met by careful planning during the design phase of the landscape project. Select a variety of plants to extend the fruiting period for a year-round supply of food. Group plants together to create habitats attractive to birds. Be sure to include enough plants of each species to provide food in a volume great enough for the dietary needs of the birds attracted to your yard. The following listing is designed to assist you in selecting plants which have attributes particularly attractive to birds.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<o:p> </o:p></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Table 1.</span></b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> Listing of plants for south Florida which attract birds; noting origin, plant type, plant part of value, season, and birds attracted.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<table border="1" cellpadding="0" class="MsoNormalTable" style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt;"> <tbody>
<tr> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 123.0pt;" width="164"><div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Scientific Name</span></b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Common Name</span></b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Origin</span></b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 51.75pt;" width="69"><div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Plant Type</span></b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Value</span></b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 70.5pt;" width="94"><div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Season</span></b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 95.25pt;" width="127"><div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Birds Attracted</span></b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 123.0pt;" width="164"><div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Ardisia escallonioides</span></i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 89.25pt;" width="119"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Marlberry<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 34.5pt;" width="46"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">native<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 51.75pt;" width="69"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">shrub<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 50.25pt;" width="67"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">fruit<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 70.5pt;" width="94"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">fall;<br /> winter<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 95.25pt;" width="127"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Fruit-eating birds<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 123.0pt;" width="164"><div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Asclepias curassavica</span></i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 89.25pt;" width="119"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Scarlet Milkweed<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 34.5pt;" width="46"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">exotic <o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 51.75pt;" width="69"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">shrubby perennial<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 50.25pt;" width="67"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">flowers<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 70.5pt;" width="94"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">year-round<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 95.25pt;" width="127"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Hummingbirds<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 123.0pt;" width="164"><div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Bauhinia</span></i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> <i>blakeana</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 89.25pt;" width="119"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Hong Kong Orchid <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">exotic<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 51.75pt;" width="69"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">tree<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 50.25pt;" width="67"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">flowers<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 70.5pt;" width="94"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">winter; <br /> spring<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 95.25pt;" width="127"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Hummingbirds, Orioles, Warblers<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 123.0pt;" width="164"><div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Bursera simaruba</span></i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 89.25pt;" width="119"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Gumbo Limbo<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 34.5pt;" width="46"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">native<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 51.75pt;" width="69"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">tree<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 50.25pt;" width="67"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">fruit<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 70.5pt;" width="94"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">summer<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 95.25pt;" width="127"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Mockingbirds, Vireos<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> </tr>
<tr> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 123.0pt;" width="164"><div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Calliandra haematacephala</span></i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 89.25pt;" width="119"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Powderpuff<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 34.5pt;" width="46"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">exotic<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 51.75pt;" width="69"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">shrub<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 50.25pt;" width="67"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">flowers<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 70.5pt;" width="94"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">winter<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 95.25pt;" width="127"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Hummingbirds<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> </tr>
<tr> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 123.0pt;" width="164"><div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Callicarpa americana</span></i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 89.25pt;" width="119"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Beautyberry<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 34.5pt;" width="46"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">native<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 51.75pt;" width="69"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">shrub<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 50.25pt;" width="67"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">fruit<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 70.5pt;" width="94"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">fall; winter<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 95.25pt;" width="127"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Mockingbirds, Cardinals, Catbirds, Thrashers<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> </tr>
<tr> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 123.0pt;" width="164"><div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Calyptranthes pallens</span></i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 89.25pt;" width="119"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Spicewood<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 34.5pt;" width="46"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">native<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 51.75pt;" width="69"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">shrub<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 50.25pt;" width="67"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">fruit<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 70.5pt;" width="94"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">fall<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 95.25pt;" width="127"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Fruit-eating birds<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> </tr>
<tr> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 123.0pt;" width="164"><div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Cestrum spp.</span></i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 89.25pt;" width="119"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Day and night-flowering jasmine<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 34.5pt;" width="46"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">exotic<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 51.75pt;" width="69"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">shrub<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 50.25pt;" width="67"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">fruit<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 70.5pt;" width="94"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">spring; fall<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 95.25pt;" width="127"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Mockingbirds, Blue Jays, Cardinals, Woodpeckers<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> </tr>
<tr> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 123.0pt;" width="164"><div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Chrysobalanus icaco</span></i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 89.25pt;" width="119"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Cocoplum<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 34.5pt;" width="46"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">native<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 51.75pt;" width="69"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">shrub<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 50.25pt;" width="67"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">fruit<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 70.5pt;" width="94"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">summer<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 95.25pt;" width="127"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Fruit-eating birds<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> </tr>
<tr> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 123.0pt;" width="164"><div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Coccoloba diversifolia</span></i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 89.25pt;" width="119"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Pigeon Plum<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 34.5pt;" width="46"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">native<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 51.75pt;" width="69"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">tree<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 50.25pt;" width="67"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">fruit<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 70.5pt;" width="94"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">fall; winter<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 95.25pt;" width="127"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Mockingbirds, Catbirds, Robins, Woodpeckers<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> </tr>
<tr> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 123.0pt;" width="164"><div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Coccoloba uvifera</span></i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 89.25pt;" width="119"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Seagrape<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 34.5pt;" width="46"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">native<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 51.75pt;" width="69"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">shrub; tree<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 50.25pt;" width="67"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">fruit<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 70.5pt;" width="94"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">year-round<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 95.25pt;" width="127"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Fruit-eating birds<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> </tr>
<tr> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 123.0pt;" width="164"><div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Coccothrinax spp.</span></i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 89.25pt;" width="119"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Silver palms<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 34.5pt;" width="46"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">native<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 51.75pt;" width="69"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">tree<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 50.25pt;" width="67"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">fruit<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 70.5pt;" width="94"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">summer<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 95.25pt;" width="127"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Mockingbirds, Blue Jays<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> </tr>
<tr> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 123.0pt;" width="164"><div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Colubrina arborescens</span></i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 89.25pt;" width="119"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Coffee colubrina<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 34.5pt;" width="46"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">native<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 51.75pt;" width="69"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">tree<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 50.25pt;" width="67"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">flowers<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 70.5pt;" width="94"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">spring<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 95.25pt;" width="127"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Warblers, Gnatcatchers, Vireos, Flycatchers<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> </tr>
<tr> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 123.0pt;" width="164"><div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Dipholis salicifolia</span></i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 89.25pt;" width="119"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Willow bustic<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 34.5pt;" width="46"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">native<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 51.75pt;" width="69"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">tree<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 50.25pt;" width="67"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">fruit<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 70.5pt;" width="94"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">summer<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 95.25pt;" width="127"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Fruit-eating birds<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> </tr>
<tr> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 123.0pt;" width="164"><div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Eriobotrya japonica</span></i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 89.25pt;" width="119"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Loquat<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 34.5pt;" width="46"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">exotic<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 51.75pt;" width="69"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">tree<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 50.25pt;" width="67"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">fruit<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 70.5pt;" width="94"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">winter<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 95.25pt;" width="127"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Mockingbirds, Cardinals, Woodpeckers<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> </tr>
<tr> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 123.0pt;" width="164"><div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Eugenia uniflora</span></i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 89.25pt;" width="119"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Surinam Cherry<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 34.5pt;" width="46"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">exotic <o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 51.75pt;" width="69"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">shrub<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 50.25pt;" width="67"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">fruit<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 70.5pt;" width="94"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">spring <o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 95.25pt;" width="127"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Mockingbirds, Waxwings, Orioles<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> </tr>
<tr> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 123.0pt;" width="164"><div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Ficus spp.</span></i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 89.25pt;" width="119"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Figs<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 34.5pt;" width="46"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">native;<br /> exotic<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 51.75pt;" width="69"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">tree<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 50.25pt;" width="67"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">fruit;<br /> cover<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 70.5pt;" width="94"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">year-round<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 95.25pt;" width="127"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Mockingbirds, Catbirds, BlueJays, Waxwings, Woodpeckers, Parrots<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> </tr>
<tr> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 123.0pt;" width="164"><div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Forestiera segregata</span></i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 89.25pt;" width="119"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Florida Privet<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 34.5pt;" width="46"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">native<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 51.75pt;" width="69"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">shrub<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 50.25pt;" width="67"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">flowers<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 70.5pt;" width="94"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">spring<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 95.25pt;" width="127"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Warblers, Vireos<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> </tr>
<tr> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 123.0pt;" width="164"><div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Guapira discolor</span></i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 89.25pt;" width="119"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Blolly<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 34.5pt;" width="46"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">native<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 51.75pt;" width="69"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">shrub;<br /> tree<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 50.25pt;" width="67"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">fruit<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 70.5pt;" width="94"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">summer<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 95.25pt;" width="127"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Fruit-eating birds<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> </tr>
<tr> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 123.0pt;" width="164"><div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Hamelia patens</span></i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 89.25pt;" width="119"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Firebush<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 34.5pt;" width="46"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">native<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 51.75pt;" width="69"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">shrub<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 50.25pt;" width="67"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">flowers<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 70.5pt;" width="94"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">year-round<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 95.25pt;" width="127"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Hummingbirds<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> </tr>
<tr> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 123.0pt;" width="164"><div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Ilex cassine</span></i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 89.25pt;" width="119"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Dahoon Holly<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 34.5pt;" width="46"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">native<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 51.75pt;" width="69"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">tree<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 50.25pt;" width="67"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">fruit<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 70.5pt;" width="94"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">fall; winter<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 95.25pt;" width="127"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Cardinals, Mockingbirds, Waxwings<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> </tr>
<tr> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 123.0pt;" width="164"><div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Juniperus silicicola</span></i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 89.25pt;" width="119"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Southern Red Cedar<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 34.5pt;" width="46"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">native<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 51.75pt;" width="69"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">shrub; tree<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 50.25pt;" width="67"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">fruit; cover<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 70.5pt;" width="94"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">fall; winter<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 95.25pt;" width="127"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Tree Swallows, Waxwings, Mockingbirds, Flickers, Sapsuckers<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> </tr>
<tr> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 123.0pt;" width="164"><div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Justicia brandegeana</span></i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 89.25pt;" width="119"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Shrimp Plant<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 34.5pt;" width="46"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">exotic<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 51.75pt;" width="69"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">shrub<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 50.25pt;" width="67"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">flowers<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 70.5pt;" width="94"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">year-round<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 95.25pt;" width="127"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Hummingbirds, Orioles, Buntings<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> </tr>
<tr> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 123.0pt;" width="164"><div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Lysiloma spp.</span></i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 89.25pt;" width="119"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Wild Tamarind<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 34.5pt;" width="46"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">native<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 51.75pt;" width="69"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">tree<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 50.25pt;" width="67"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">flowers<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 70.5pt;" width="94"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">spring; summer <o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 95.25pt;" width="127"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Warblers, Flycatchers, Gnatcatchers<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> </tr>
<tr> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 123.0pt;" width="164"><div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Malpighia glabra</span></i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 89.25pt;" width="119"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Barbados Cherry<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 34.5pt;" width="46"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">exotic<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 51.75pt;" width="69"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">shrub<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 50.25pt;" width="67"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">fruit<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 70.5pt;" width="94"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">year-round<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 95.25pt;" width="127"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Fruit-eating birds<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> </tr>
<tr> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 123.0pt;" width="164"><div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Malaviscus arboreus</span></i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 89.25pt;" width="119"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Turk's Cap<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 34.5pt;" width="46"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">exotic<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 51.75pt;" width="69"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">shrub<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 50.25pt;" width="67"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">flowers<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 70.5pt;" width="94"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">year-round<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 95.25pt;" width="127"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Hummingbirds, Painted Buntings<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> </tr>
<tr> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 123.0pt;" width="164"><div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Morus rubra</span></i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 89.25pt;" width="119"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Red Mulberry<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 34.5pt;" width="46"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">native<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 51.75pt;" width="69"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">tree<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 50.25pt;" width="67"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">fruit<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 70.5pt;" width="94"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">spring<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 95.25pt;" width="127"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Woodpeckers, Kingbirds, Blue Jays, Mockingbirds, and other Fruit-eating birds<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> </tr>
<tr> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 123.0pt;" width="164"><div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Murraya paniculata</span></i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 89.25pt;" width="119"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Orange-jasmine<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 34.5pt;" width="46"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">exotic<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 51.75pt;" width="69"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">shrub<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 50.25pt;" width="67"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">fruit<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 70.5pt;" width="94"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">summer;<br /> fall<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 95.25pt;" width="127"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Mockingbirds, Cardinals<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> </tr>
<tr> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 123.0pt;" width="164"><div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Myrica cerifera</span></i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 89.25pt;" width="119"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Wax myrtle<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 34.5pt;" width="46"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">native<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 51.75pt;" width="69"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">shrub<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 50.25pt;" width="67"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">fruit<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 70.5pt;" width="94"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">fall;<br /> winter<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 95.25pt;" width="127"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Warblers, Vireos, Tree Swallows, Cardinals, Mockingbirds, Catbirds<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> </tr>
<tr> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 123.0pt;" width="164"><div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Myrsine guianensis</span></i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 89.25pt;" width="119"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Florida Myrsine<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 34.5pt;" width="46"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">native<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 51.75pt;" width="69"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">shrub<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 50.25pt;" width="67"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">fruit<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 70.5pt;" width="94"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">fall;<br /> winter<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 95.25pt;" width="127"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Fruit-eating birds<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> </tr>
<tr> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 123.0pt;" width="164"><div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Parthenocissus cinquefolia</span></i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 89.25pt;" width="119"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Virginia Creeper<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 34.5pt;" width="46"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">native<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 51.75pt;" width="69"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">vine<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 50.25pt;" width="67"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">fruit<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 70.5pt;" width="94"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">summer;<br /> fall<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 95.25pt;" width="127"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Mockingbirds, Robins, Thrashers, Woodpeckers, Greta-crested Flycatchers<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> </tr>
<tr> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 123.0pt;" width="164"><div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Persea americana</span></i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 89.25pt;" width="119"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Avocado<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 34.5pt;" width="46"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">exotic<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 51.75pt;" width="69"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">tree<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 50.25pt;" width="67"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">fruit<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 70.5pt;" width="94"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">summer;<br /> fall<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 95.25pt;" width="127"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Woodpeckers, Blue Jays, Orioles<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> </tr>
<tr> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 123.0pt;" width="164"><div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Psychotria nervosa</span></i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 89.25pt;" width="119"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Wild Coffee<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 34.5pt;" width="46"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">native<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 51.75pt;" width="69"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">shrub<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 50.25pt;" width="67"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">fruit<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 70.5pt;" width="94"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">summer;<br /> fall<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 95.25pt;" width="127"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Cardinals, BlueJays<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> </tr>
<tr> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 123.0pt;" width="164"><div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Ptychosperma elegans</span></i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 89.25pt;" width="119"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Solitaire Palm<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 34.5pt;" width="46"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">exotic<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 51.75pt;" width="69"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">tree<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 50.25pt;" width="67"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">fruit<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 70.5pt;" width="94"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">year-round<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 95.25pt;" width="127"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Mockingbirds, Blue Jays<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> </tr>
<tr> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 123.0pt;" width="164"><div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Pyracantha coccinea</span></i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 89.25pt;" width="119"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Firethorn<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 34.5pt;" width="46"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">exotic<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 51.75pt;" width="69"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">shrub<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 50.25pt;" width="67"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">fruit<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 70.5pt;" width="94"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">winter<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 95.25pt;" width="127"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Mockingbirds, Catbirds, Blue Jays, Waxwings, Woodpeckers<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> </tr>
<tr> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 123.0pt;" width="164"><div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Quercus laurifolia</span></i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 89.25pt;" width="119"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Laurel Oak<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 34.5pt;" width="46"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">native<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 51.75pt;" width="69"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">tree<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 50.25pt;" width="67"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">fruit<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 70.5pt;" width="94"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">fall; winter<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 95.25pt;" width="127"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Woodpeckers, Blue Jays, Warblers, Vireos<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> </tr>
<tr> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 123.0pt;" width="164"><div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Quercus virginiana</span></i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 89.25pt;" width="119"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Live Oak<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 34.5pt;" width="46"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">native<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 51.75pt;" width="69"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">tree<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 50.25pt;" width="67"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">fruit<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 70.5pt;" width="94"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">fall; winter<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 95.25pt;" width="127"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Woodpeckers, Blue Jays, Warblers, Vireos<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> </tr>
<tr> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 123.0pt;" width="164"><div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Roystonea regia</span></i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 89.25pt;" width="119"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Royal Palm<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 34.5pt;" width="46"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">native<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 51.75pt;" width="69"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">tree<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 50.25pt;" width="67"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">fruit<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 70.5pt;" width="94"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">fall; winter<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 95.25pt;" width="127"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Mockingbirds, Robins, Blue Jays<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> </tr>
<tr> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 123.0pt;" width="164"><div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Sabal palmetto</span></i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 89.25pt;" width="119"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Cabbage Palm<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 34.5pt;" width="46"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">native<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 51.75pt;" width="69"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">tree<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 50.25pt;" width="67"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">fruit<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 70.5pt;" width="94"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">fall; winter<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 95.25pt;" width="127"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Blackbirds, Blue Jays, Mockingbirds, Robins<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> </tr>
<tr> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 123.0pt;" width="164"><div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Sambucus canadensis</span></i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 89.25pt;" width="119"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Elderberry<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 34.5pt;" width="46"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">native<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 51.75pt;" width="69"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">shrub<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 50.25pt;" width="67"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">fruit<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 70.5pt;" width="94"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">summer;<br /> fall<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 95.25pt;" width="127"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Fruit-eating birds<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> </tr>
<tr> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 123.0pt;" width="164"><div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Simarouba glauca</span></i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 89.25pt;" width="119"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Paradise Tree<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 34.5pt;" width="46"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">native<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 51.75pt;" width="69"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">tree<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 50.25pt;" width="67"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">fruit<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 70.5pt;" width="94"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">spring<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 95.25pt;" width="127"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Fruit-eating birds<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> </tr>
<tr> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 123.0pt;" width="164"><div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Sophora tomentosa</span></i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 89.25pt;" width="119"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Necklace Pod<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 34.5pt;" width="46"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">native<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 51.75pt;" width="69"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">shrub<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 50.25pt;" width="67"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">flowers<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 70.5pt;" width="94"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">winter;<br /> spring<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 95.25pt;" width="127"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Hummingbirds, Warblers, Vireos<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> </tr>
<tr> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 123.0pt;" width="164"><div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Tecomaria capensis</span></i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 89.25pt;" width="119"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Cape Honeysuckle<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 34.5pt;" width="46"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">exotic<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 51.75pt;" width="69"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">vine<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 50.25pt;" width="67"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">flowers<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 70.5pt;" width="94"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">year-round<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 95.25pt;" width="127"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Hummingbirds, Catbirds, Orioles<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> </tr>
<tr> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 123.0pt;" width="164"><div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Tetrazygia bicolor</span></i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 89.25pt;" width="119"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Florida Tetrazygia<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 34.5pt;" width="46"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">native<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 51.75pt;" width="69"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">shrub<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 50.25pt;" width="67"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">fruit<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 70.5pt;" width="94"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">spring<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 95.25pt;" width="127"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Mockingbirds and other Fruit-eating birds<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> </tr>
<tr> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 123.0pt;" width="164"><div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Thrinax spp.</span></i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 89.25pt;" width="119"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Thatch Palms<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 34.5pt;" width="46"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">native<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 51.75pt;" width="69"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">tree<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 50.25pt;" width="67"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">fruit<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 70.5pt;" width="94"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">fall<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 95.25pt;" width="127"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Mockingbirds, Jays, and other Fruit-eating birds<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> </tr>
<tr> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 123.0pt;" width="164"><div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Trema micrantha</span></i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 89.25pt;" width="119"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Florida Trema<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 34.5pt;" width="46"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">native<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 51.75pt;" width="69"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">shrub<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 50.25pt;" width="67"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">fruit<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 70.5pt;" width="94"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">summer<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> <td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; padding: .75pt .75pt .75pt .75pt; width: 95.25pt;" width="127"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Fruit-eating birds<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td> </tr>
</tbody> </table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://www.floridaplants.com/landscape/birds.htm">http://www.floridaplants.com/landscape/birds.htm</a> <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-1onS_XOAqU4/VmbZbJFq3gI/AAAAAAAALJc/wOkLgYjoL5I/s1600/image009-707362.png"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_6225902595205684738" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-1onS_XOAqU4/VmbZbJFq3gI/AAAAAAAALJc/wOkLgYjoL5I/s320/image009-707362.png" /></a><span style="color: #1f497d; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #1f497d;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://www.google.com/url?sa=i&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&docid=Uq9HDv0lEuv7bM&tbnid=ojN7D9sBZ6ZkmM:&ved=0CAgQjRwwAA&url=http://www.fortlauderdale.gov/recycle/back2school.htm&ei=LirtUcmyK_K54APd24DQCQ&psig=AFQjCNGOT3ung7c3UGf1Y6sV7mcP93Ulxg&ust=1374583726749494"><span style="color: #1f497d; text-decoration: none;"></span></a><span style="color: #1f497d; text-decoration: none;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-XWzhWjf__50/VmbZb2AtDQI/AAAAAAAALJo/qrU5WQ4nnnk/s1600/image003-710061.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_6225902607264451842" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-XWzhWjf__50/VmbZb2AtDQI/AAAAAAAALJo/qrU5WQ4nnnk/s320/image003-710061.jpg" /></a></span><a href="http://fortlauderdale.gov/saveatree/"><span style="color: #1f497d; text-decoration: none;"></span></a><span style="color: #1f497d; text-decoration: none;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-MS9TAqyjJLk/VmbZcr2krrI/AAAAAAAALJ0/v3AWCoPxDvQ/s1600/image004-712934.png"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_6225902621717474994" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-MS9TAqyjJLk/VmbZcr2krrI/AAAAAAAALJ0/v3AWCoPxDvQ/s320/image004-712934.png" /></a></span><span style="color: #1f497d;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-uGMX2kSJz20/VmbZddbULhI/AAAAAAAALKA/23aPMyzKH50/s1600/image005-715677.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_6225902635024920082" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-uGMX2kSJz20/VmbZddbULhI/AAAAAAAALKA/23aPMyzKH50/s320/image005-715677.jpg" /></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p> </o:p></div>
</div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer">Please send comments and questions to GDempsey@fortlauderdale.gov.</div>Gene Dempsey, City Foresterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15615304339344696908noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4330937838196218765.post-21710685953746394202015-12-07T08:10:00.001-05:002015-12-07T08:12:34.960-05:00California Becomes Latest State to Ban Plastic Microbeads<div class="WordSection1">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://www.google.com/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&frm=1&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwiU0LHf6MnJAhWDOT4KHUTyAKIQjRwIBw&url=http://ecowatch.com/2015/09/08/california-senate-microbeads/&psig=AFQjCNFzdrOY6KW1ENIHpjDdU_EOeKQfhg&ust=1449580071549970"><span style="color: blue; text-decoration: none;"></span></a><span style="color: blue; text-decoration: none;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-HRZJgmVRXmo/VmWFO6wZSqI/AAAAAAAALIE/m1W51oxrsv4/s1600/image001-718004.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_6225528551246482082" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-HRZJgmVRXmo/VmWFO6wZSqI/AAAAAAAALIE/m1W51oxrsv4/s320/image001-718004.jpg" /></a></span><span class="byline"><span lang="EN"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="byline"><span lang="EN">By <a href="http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/a/rachel_abrams/index.html" title="More Articles by RACHEL ABRAMS"> <span class="byline-author"><span style="color: blue;">RACHEL ABRAMS</span></span></a> </span></span><span lang="EN">OCT. 8, 2015<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Gov. Jerry Brown of California signed legislation on Thursday that bans plastic microbeads, giving his state one of the country’s strongest laws against the tiny abrasives used in exfoliators and other products.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">“We’re obviously incredibly excited,” said Stiv Wilson, director of campaigns at the nonprofit group the <a href="http://storyofstuff.org/" title="The site."><span style="color: blue;">Story of Stuff Project</span></a>. “We just passed a very simple ban on plastic microbeads without any loopholes.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">The consumer products industry had objected to certain aspects of the bill, arguing that it was overly restrictive and did not allow companies to come up with environmentally friendly alternatives. The California rules include a prohibition against biodegradable microbeads, which other states with similar legislation allow.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">At least six other states have passed laws restricting microbeads, including Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Maine, Maryland and New Jersey.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Lisa Powers, a spokeswoman for the <a href="http://www.personalcarecouncil.org/" title="The site."><span style="color: blue;">Personal Care Products Council</span></a>, said in an email that the industry trade group had taken a neutral position on the bill.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Microbeads look like tiny dots suspended in cleansers and other toiletries. Manufacturers including <a href="http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/business/companies/johnson_and_johnson/index.html?inline=nyt-org" title="More information about Johnson & Johnson"> <span style="color: blue;">Johnson & Johnson</span></a> and <a href="http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/business/companies/procter_and_gamble/index.html?inline=nyt-org" title="More information about Procter & Gamble Company"> <span style="color: blue;">Procter & Gamble</span></a> advertise their exfoliating power, particularly in face and body scrubs.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">But when consumers rinse these products off, the microbeads flow from sinks and showers into the water. Billions of microbeads have the same effect as grinding up plastic water bottles and dumping them into the ocean, environmentalists say.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/09/business/california-bans-plastic-microbeads.html">http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/09/business/california-bans-plastic-microbeads.html</a> <o:p></o:p></div>
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<div class="blogger-post-footer">Please send comments and questions to GDempsey@fortlauderdale.gov.</div>Gene Dempsey, City Foresterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15615304339344696908noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4330937838196218765.post-71946007467195051802015-12-04T07:50:00.001-05:002015-12-04T07:53:23.419-05:00How to Turn Thrift Store Finds into Christmas Gifts: Thrift Store Christmas Gift Ideas<div class="WordSection1">
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<span style="color: #404040; font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;">Thrift shopping is a great way to save money year-round. You can get children’s clothing cheaply, housewares, and even furniture. Just about anything you need for your home (besides food of course) can be bought at the thrift store. Did you ever consider doing your Christmas shopping there, though? For most people, giving used gifts is a social no-no; however, if you are crafty or just know where to look, you can get incredible thrift store gifts! Here is your guide to turning thrift store finds into Christmas Gifts<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: black; font-family: "julius sans one"; font-size: 18.0pt; font-variant: small-caps;">Thrift Store Christmas Gift Ideas<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #404040; font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;">Mason Jars</span></b><span style="color: #404040; font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;">- There really are so many things you can do with these thrift shop staples. You can make cookie and brownie mix in jars and tie them with a pretty ribbon and label. You could make some homemade sugar scrubs and place them in the jars as well. Here are <a href="http://premeditatedleftovers.com/naturally-frugal-living/15-gift-in-jar-ideas/" target="_blank"> <b><span style="color: #bf4e4e;">15 Gift in Jar Ideas</span></b></a>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #404040; font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;">Old Sweaters-</span></b><span style="color: #404040; font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;"> I have seen so many tutorials on how to use old sweaters and turn them into anything from mittens to hats. Many of these projects require very little sewing skill and they are so unique and fun! Teens might enjoy getting a new <a href="http://www.scissortailsilk.com/2013/10/18/diy-boot-socks/" target="_blank"> <span style="color: #bf4e4e;">pair of boot liners</span></a> like these from Scissortail Silk. Old sweaters can also be stuffed and sewn into pet beds for a great gift for our furry friends. Here are more <a href="http://premeditatedleftovers.com/naturally-frugal-living/naturally-frugal-tip-upcycle-old-sweaters/" target="_blank"> <span style="color: #bf4e4e;">ways to reuse old sweaters</span></a>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #404040; font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;">Clay pots</span></b><span style="color: #404040; font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;">- Many thrift stores have clay or plastic pots from other people’s gardening time. Clean these up, paint them and plant a houseplant in them for a truly wonderful and long living gift.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #404040; font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;">Tea cups and sugar bowls</span></b><span style="color: #404040; font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;">- One great use for old tea cups, especially the elegant vintage kind, is to make candles out of them. These make awesome gifts that are truly unique. Check out my tutorial on making <a href="http://premeditatedleftovers.com/naturally-frugal-living/how-to-make-a-sugar-bowl-candle-or-tea-cup-candle/" target="_blank"> <span style="color: #bf4e4e;">Tea Cup Candles</span></a> for inspiration. Here are directions for <b><a href="http://premeditatedleftovers.com/naturally-frugal-living/how-to-make-a-sugar-bowl-candle-or-tea-cup-candle/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #bf4e4e;">making Sugar Bowl Candle</span></a>.</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #404040; font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;">Old Vintage T-shirts</span></b><span style="color: #404040; font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;">- Make a quilt with them. One of my good friends has a quilt made from old T-shirts from her collage days and still loves it. You can also use them to make infinity scarves.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #404040; font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;">Old Jeans</span></b><span style="color: #404040; font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;">- High-waisted jeans are coming back into style and luckily the thrift store usually has plenty of them. You can create an awesome gift for a teen by covering the pockets with a fabric scrap with a cool design (think leopard print or something similar). Old jeans are also useful for making many other crafts such as purses, wallets and so on.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #404040; font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;">Framed prints</span></b><span style="color: #404040; font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;">- These are a thrift store lover’s favorite find. You never know what you will get when you hunt through the frames and paintings section. You can turn these into framed chalkboards, paint them white and decoupage family photos onto one.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #404040; font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;">Trays</span></b><span style="color: #404040; font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;">- Thrift stores are full of all kinds of trays and platters. These can be made into great things such as chalkboards, jewelry plates for rings and bangles and even bird feeders. Just about anyone on your list can be made something from a tray or platter.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #404040; font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;">What are some of your favorite ways to use thrift store finds and create new things with them? Have you ever given a re-purposed thrift store find as a gift? I would love to hear your creative ideas!</span></b><span style="color: #404040; font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="http://premeditatedleftovers.com/naturally-frugal-living/thrift-store-christmas-gift-ideas/">http://premeditatedleftovers.com/naturally-frugal-living/thrift-store-christmas-gift-ideas/</a> <o:p></o:p></div>
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<div class="blogger-post-footer">Please send comments and questions to GDempsey@fortlauderdale.gov.</div>Gene Dempsey, City Foresterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15615304339344696908noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4330937838196218765.post-8170272184421973952015-12-04T07:48:00.001-05:002015-12-04T07:52:47.083-05:00Friday Funny <div class="WordSection1">
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<div class="blogger-post-footer">Please send comments and questions to GDempsey@fortlauderdale.gov.</div>Gene Dempsey, City Foresterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15615304339344696908noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4330937838196218765.post-49054475151877893062015-12-03T07:46:00.001-05:002015-12-03T07:49:40.586-05:00If Trees Could Sing - Preserving Our Trees<div class="WordSection1">
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<a href="http://www.nature.org/ourinitiatives/regions/northamerica/unitedstates/tennessee/if-trees-could-sing/index.htm"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "open sans"; text-decoration: none;"></span></a><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "open sans"; text-decoration: none;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-goma_ajirUI/VmA5tpVvTdI/AAAAAAAALEM/1pFQeN0-9LQ/s1600/image007-704818.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_6224038141379956178" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-goma_ajirUI/VmA5tpVvTdI/AAAAAAAALEM/1pFQeN0-9LQ/s320/image007-704818.jpg" /></a></span><o:p></o:p></div>
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Learn about trees from some well-known artists <a href="http://www.nature.org/ourinitiatives/regions/northamerica/unitedstates/tennessee/if-trees-could-sing/index.htm"> - If trees could sing </a> <o:p></o:p></div>
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My favorites:<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="http://www.nature.org/ourinitiatives/regions/northamerica/unitedstates/tennessee/explore/if-trees-could-sing-annie-sellick-the-tulip-poplar.xml"><span style="color: #c85c19; font-family: "open sans"; text-decoration: none;"></span></a><span style="color: #c85c19; font-family: "open sans"; text-decoration: none;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-IZrtpPdU2qc/VmA5uCiTopI/AAAAAAAALEU/fI4kCqxQEX8/s1600/image008-707001.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_6224038148143555218" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-IZrtpPdU2qc/VmA5uCiTopI/AAAAAAAALEU/fI4kCqxQEX8/s320/image008-707001.jpg" /></a></span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<span lang="EN"><a href="http://www.nature.org/photos-and-video/video/if-trees-could-sing-annie-sellick-the-tulip-poplar">Annie Sellick & the Tulip Poplar</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="http://www.nature.org/ourinitiatives/regions/northamerica/unitedstates/tennessee/explore/if-trees-could-sing-victor-wooten-the-black-walnut.xml"><span style="color: #c85c19; font-family: "open sans"; text-decoration: none;"></span></a><span style="color: #c85c19; font-family: "open sans"; text-decoration: none;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-EK_H_FZUtWE/VmA5ulisWZI/AAAAAAAALEk/746-akud-Nk/s1600/image019-709239.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_6224038157540415890" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-EK_H_FZUtWE/VmA5ulisWZI/AAAAAAAALEk/746-akud-Nk/s320/image019-709239.jpg" /></a></span><span lang="EN"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN"><a href="http://www.nature.org/photos-and-video/video/if-trees-could-sing-victor-wooten-the-black-walnut">Victor Wooten & the Black Walnut</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="http://www.nature.org/ourinitiatives/regions/northamerica/unitedstates/tennessee/explore/amy-grant-the-pecan-tree.xml"><span style="color: #c85c19; font-family: "open sans"; text-decoration: none;"></span></a><span style="color: #c85c19; font-family: "open sans"; text-decoration: none;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-4GK13wJ12CM/VmA5vCCzKdI/AAAAAAAALEs/ntKGNGsJWcE/s1600/image020-711850.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_6224038165191272914" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-4GK13wJ12CM/VmA5vCCzKdI/AAAAAAAALEs/ntKGNGsJWcE/s320/image020-711850.jpg" /></a></span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="http://www.nature.org/photos-and-video/video/if-trees-could-sing-amy-grant-the-pecan">Amy Grant and Pecan Trees</a><o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="http://www.nature.org/ourinitiatives/regions/northamerica/unitedstates/tennessee/explore/if-trees-could-sing-kathy-mattea-the-southern-magnolia.xml"><span style="color: #c85c19; font-family: "open sans"; text-decoration: none;"></span></a><span style="color: #c85c19; font-family: "open sans"; text-decoration: none;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-TGRu4O-Qt1Y/VmA5vznG4dI/AAAAAAAALE4/R1t8u5KIsBk/s1600/image021-713870.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_6224038178496897490" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-TGRu4O-Qt1Y/VmA5vznG4dI/AAAAAAAALE4/R1t8u5KIsBk/s320/image021-713870.jpg" /></a></span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<span lang="EN"><a href="http://www.nature.org/photos-and-video/video/if-trees-could-sing-kathy-mattea-the-southern-magnolia">Kathy Mattea & the Southern Magnolia</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="http://www.nature.org/ourinitiatives/regions/northamerica/unitedstates/tennessee/if-trees-could-sing/index.htm">http://www.nature.org/ourinitiatives/regions/northamerica/unitedstates/tennessee/if-trees-could-sing/index.htm</a> <o:p></o:p></div>
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<div class="blogger-post-footer">Please send comments and questions to GDempsey@fortlauderdale.gov.</div>Gene Dempsey, City Foresterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15615304339344696908noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4330937838196218765.post-30301369002431258392015-12-01T08:02:00.001-05:002015-12-01T08:18:04.136-05:0010 Things To Know About The U.N. Climate Talks In Paris<div class="WordSection1">
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<span lang="EN">Updated December 1, 2015<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN"><o:p></o:p></span><span lang="EN">To listen to this story click >>>>> <a href="http://www.npr.org/2015/11/30/457364450/10-things-to-know-about-the-u-n-climate-talks-in-paris?utm_source=facebook.com&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=npr&utm_term=nprnews&utm_content=2056">10 Things To Know About The U.N. Climate Talks In Paris</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN"><a href="http://www.npr.org/people/4494969/nell-greenfieldboyce"><o:p></o:p></a></span><br /></div>
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<span class="MsoHyperlink"><span lang="EN"><a href="http://www.npr.org/people/4494969/nell-greenfieldboyce">Nell Greenfieldboyce <span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></a></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN"><em>A view of the opening of the 21st session of the conference COP21 on climate change on Monday in Paris, France. More than 150 world leaders are meeting for the 21st Session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. </em><b><em>Patrick Aventurier/Getty Images</em> <o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: "georgia" , "serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;">Leaders from around the world are converging on Paris for the 2015 U.N. Climate Change Conference. The two-week event is designed to allow countries the chance to come to an agreement on stifling climate change.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: "georgia" , "serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;">Below are 10 questions and answers that should better prepare you for the conference and what to expect during and after its completion.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: "georgia" , "serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;">Click the audio link at the top of this page to listen to "Heating Up," NPR's special on climate change, hosted by Ari Shapiro. Share it, download it, take it with you.</span><br />
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<b><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "georgia" , "serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;">1. What's at stake and why should I care?</span></b><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "georgia" , "serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: "georgia" , "serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;">It's no exaggeration to say that what happens in Paris will affect the future of the planet. Greenhouse gas emissions <a href="http://www.ipcc.ch/publications_and_data/ar4/wg3/en/spmsspm-b.html"><span style="color: #6d8ac4; text-decoration: none;">keep going up</span></a>, and scientists say that continuing with business as usual will produce rapid and devastating warming. This won't just be bad news for polar bears and beachfront homeowners. Unchecked warming means that dependable food and water supplies could be disrupted, dangerous pathogens could spread to new areas, and rising seas could remake maps. What's more, extreme weather, plus worse droughts and more fierce wildfires, could become increasingly common. <a href="http://www.state.gov/secretary/remarks/2015/11/249393.htm"><span style="color: #6d8ac4; text-decoration: none;">Security experts even worry</span></a> that scarce and shifting resources could lead to violence.</span><br />
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<b><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "georgia" , "serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;">2. What needs to happen to stop climate change?</span></b><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "georgia" , "serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: "georgia" , "serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;">Many nations want a Paris agreement that will signal a long-term goal of net <i>zero</i> emissions in the second half of this century. That doesn't mean actually producing zero greenhouse gas emissions. But it does mean producing no more than the planet can absorb without raising temperatures. Doing this would mean a dramatic transformation of the world's entire energy system, turning away from fossil fuels to other options like wind, solar and nuclear power. The task is absolutely staggering — but scientists say it <a href="http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2014/04/13/302541260/climate-change-adjustments-must-be-fast-and-large-u-n-panel-says"> <span style="color: #6d8ac4; text-decoration: none;">can</span></a> be done, if the political will is there.</span><br />
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<b><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "georgia" , "serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;">3. Well, is there really the political will to do all this?</span></b><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "georgia" , "serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: "georgia" , "serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;">U.N. watchers say the stars are aligned like never before. Before the summit, all countries — rich and poor — were asked to come forward with their own voluntary pledges for how they would aid the global fight against climate change. Over 150 countries have <a href="http://www4.unfccc.int/submissions/indc/Submission%20Pages/submissions.aspx"> <span style="color: #6d8ac4; text-decoration: none;">submitted</span></a> national plans to the U.N., and that in and of itself is a huge deal. Some nations say how they'll cut emissions, while others pledge to do things like preserve forest cover or use more clean energy. Independent <a href="http://climateactiontracker.org/"><span style="color: #6d8ac4; text-decoration: none;">experts</span></a> have calculated that if the world is currently on track for warming of about 4.5 degrees Celsius, these pledges would reduce that to about 2.7 to 3.7 degrees — which is real progress, before the Paris summit even starts.</span><br />
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: "georgia" , "serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;"><em>(Left to right) World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim, Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, OECD president Angel Gurria, Chilean President Michelle Bachelet and Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn attend the Heads of State media event on carbon pricing, as part of the COP21 United Nations conference on Monday. </em><b><em>Eric Feferberg/AFP/Getty Images</em> </b></span><br />
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<b><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "georgia" , "serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;">4. What does the Paris agreement really need to have in it?</span></b><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "georgia" , "serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: "georgia" , "serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;">The goal of Paris is to produce a <a href="http://www.npr.org/2015/06/01/410425716/editing-the-climate-talkers-punctuations-effect-on-earths-fate"> <span style="color: #6d8ac4; text-decoration: none;">short, simple agreement</span></a> — maybe a dozen pages — that will satisfy nearly 200 nations. Here's what some observers think are key elements for a credible, ambitious plan forward:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<li class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"> <span lang="EN" style="font-family: "georgia" , "serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;">Countries need to agree to come back every few years to increase their pledges and keep doing more and more to reduce greenhouse gas emissions <o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"> <span lang="EN" style="font-family: "georgia" , "serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;">The U.N. must have a rigorous system of accountability and transparency to make sure nations will actually keep their promises<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"> <span lang="EN" style="font-family: "georgia" , "serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;">The poorest countries of the world need support to both adapt to a warming world and to adopt new, low-carbon energy technologies<o:p></o:p></span></li>
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<b><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "georgia" , "serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;">5. There's talk of a 2 degree Celsius warming limit. Will this agreement hit that target?</span></b><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "georgia" , "serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: "georgia" , "serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;"><a href="http://unfccc.int/meetings/cancun_nov_2010/meeting/6266.php"><span style="color: #6d8ac4; text-decoration: none;">That target</span></a> comes from an international consensus five years ago, when nations agreed to limit warming to just about 2 degrees Celsius (about 3.5 degrees Fahrenheit) over pre-industrial times. The thinking was that this would avert the worst effects of climate change. But no one thinks Paris will get the world that far.<b> </b>Instead, the aim of Paris is to come up with an agreement that requires countries to make increasingly ambitious efforts to combat global warming over time, to put the world on track to meet that target in the future.</span><br />
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: "georgia" , "serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;"><em>A piece of ice floats in Los Glaciares National Park in Santa Cruz province, Argentina. </em><b><em>Mario Tama/Getty Images</em> </b></span></div>
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<b><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "georgia" , "serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;">6. Rich and poor countries are all part of this thing, but will rich countries have to do more?</span></b><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "georgia" , "serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: "georgia" , "serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;">There's a lot of tension between the developed world and the developing world when it comes to climate change. Some developing countries <a href="http://www.npr.org/2015/10/02/445216719/india-makes-a-climate-pledge-but-insists-it-has-a-right-to-grow"> <span style="color: #6d8ac4; text-decoration: none;">such as India</span></a> say they're in no position to commit to an absolute reduction in greenhouse gases when they're trying to bring economic advancement to millions of people who currently live in poverty. They need a supply of energy, and lots of it. What's more, poorer nations want financial compensation if they're going to agree to do things like preserve rain forests that will suck up carbon dioxide. They note that developed nations chopped down their own trees long ago and have burned enormous amounts of fossil fuels, but now they're being told they can't do the same — so they think the developed world should pay up. So-called "financing" issues will be a major hurdle that negotiators will have to clear in Paris.</span><br />
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<b><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "georgia" , "serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;">7. How is the U.N. trying to make this deal happen?</span></b><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "georgia" , "serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: "georgia" , "serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;">Basically, for two weeks, they're going to<b> </b>sequester a bunch of diplomats in a conference center outside Paris. There's been years of preparation leading up to this conference, and organizers expect tens of thousands of people to gather. Besides the delegates and diplomats there to do the actual wrangling, tons of businesses, activist organizations and scientists will be there as well. While some outside events may be curtailed because of the recent terrorist attacks, the negotiations should go on as scheduled.</span><br />
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<b><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "georgia" , "serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;">8. But, hey, hasn't the U.N. been trying to rein in greenhouse gas emissions for two decades?</span></b><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "georgia" , "serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: "georgia" , "serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;">It's certainly true that past efforts have had serious shortcomings. Top emitters like the United States refused to join the landmark 1997 Kyoto Protocol, and it didn't include any developing countries, like China. Then the 2009 Copenhagen summit ended in a shambles, with a weak agreement thrown together at the last minute by politicians who didn't want to leave the talks with nothing. But things are different this time. The fact that almost all countries have submitted voluntary pledges shows that governments feel pressure to participate. Both the United States and China have taken a leadership role. And major public figures like Pope Francis <a href="http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2015/06/18/415429852/pope-francis-climate-change-a-principal-challenge-for-humanity"> <span style="color: #6d8ac4; text-decoration: none;">have been urging action</span></a>, saying there's a moral duty.</span><br />
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<b><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "georgia" , "serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;">9. What are the big fights going on in the negotiations?</span></b><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "georgia" , "serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: "georgia" , "serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;">Besides arguing over how much rich nations should pay the poor, there are some nations that simply are not excited about a zero carbon future. Oil- and gas-producing countries, for example, aren't so keen to leave their valuable assets in the ground. Another hot-button issue is "loss and damage." That's the idea that there should be some mechanism to compensate the citizens of places that simply cannot adapt to climate change — for example, small island states that could disappear under rising seas.</span><br />
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<b><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "georgia" , "serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;">10. What if Paris ends with a whimper?</span></b><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "georgia" , "serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: "georgia" , "serif"; font-size: 10.5pt;">Scientists say that delaying action is just going to make changes harder and more expensive in the future, and that really the world should have started this transformation decades ago. If reliance on fossil fuels continues and produces unrestrained climate change, experts predict dramatic shifts in our familiar maps and weather patterns. Computer simulations show that New York would have the climate of Miami, and melting ice would flood major cities around the world. Poor countries would be the hardest hit by a changing world, as they have the fewest resources to adapt.</span></div>
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<a href="http://www.npr.org/2015/11/30/457364450/10-things-to-know-about-the-u-n-climate-talks-in-paris?utm_source=facebook.com&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=npr&utm_term=nprnews&utm_content=2056">http://www.npr.org/2015/11/30/457364450/10-things-to-know-about-the-u-n-climate-talks-in-paris?utm_source=facebook.com&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=npr&utm_term=nprnews&utm_content=2056</a> <o:p></o:p></div>
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<div class="blogger-post-footer">Please send comments and questions to GDempsey@fortlauderdale.gov.</div>Gene Dempsey, City Foresterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15615304339344696908noreply@blogger.com