For those thinking about vacations…

5 Ways to Green Your Disney World Trip

Read these tips for planning an eco-friendly Disney vacation.

By Sara NovakColumbia, SC, USA | Wed May 13  2009

Are you tired of your kids incessantly begging you for a Disney vacation? For many children, a trip to Disney World or Disney Land is a right of passage. I definitely have some fond memories of the Magic Kingdom. So if you have a trip to visit Mickey and Minnie in the works, here are my tips for making it a little more eco-friendly.

1. Take the train to Orlando.Trains can move more people while emitting less carbon than any other form of transportation. So while it's likely not the simplest way to get a gaggle of kids from A to B, it is often way less expensive. If you're coming from a distance you can easily get a "roomette" on the train with beds for the night. Also, all meals are included when you get a room on the train. Amtrak has stations located in both Orlando and Kissimmee.
2. Pick a green hotel close to the park.The Green Hotels Association lists a number of eco-friendly hotels, motels, and resorts near Disney. The Hilton at Disney World has instituted a recycling program that includes paper, plastics, and aluminum. They also use water efficient devices, including low-flow bathroom fixtures, energy-efficient lighting, and Energy Star equipment. Stay in the park to take advantage of Disney's excellent public transportation system, which includes the Magic Express bus service, and eliminate the need for a rental car. The Walt Disney World Resort even relies on 1,500 alternative-fuel vehicles, including electric golf carts, hybrid trucks, Segways, and the electric monorails.
3. Bring your own green snacks.
   While this works for almost any trip, it's especially true of a place like Disney World where food can be pricey. If you're paying for the whole family, food costs can really kill your budget. Think about bringing organic rolled oats or oatmeal to which you can just add hot water. Also consider bringing some organic trail mix, nuts, and granola for snacks.
4. Check out Disney's exceptional green attractions.
   Zero-emission electrical vehicles are prevalent both within Disney's Magic Kingdom Park and within Disney's Epcot Center. Also check out the Animal Kingdom, which, at over 500 acres, is the largest of Disney's parks. It emphasizes environmentalism and conservation. Also plan on visiting the Kilimanjaro Safari to view antelopes and zebras, as well as a host of other species. Kilimanjaro Safari vehicles use propane, which emits less greenhouse gases, instead of gas or diesel. Also check out the Mahrajah Jungle Trek and Pangani Forest Exploration Trail to see Asian and African animals like gorillas, meerkats, hippos, giant bats, and tapirs. Rafiki's Planet Watch is awesome for teaching the kids about conservation.
5. Buy green Disney gear.
   These new, greener merchandise collection items are made out of recycled materials, organic cotton, and earth-friendly inks. T-shirts are one of Walt Disney World's biggest sellers. Other items include purses made from re-purposed candy wrappers, plush Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse toys made out of organic cotton, and jewelry made from coconut and bamboo.

Source: The Green Parent

http://planetgreen.discovery.com/travel-outdoors/green-disney-vacation.html 

Gene Dempsey, City Forester

Environmental Services

Office - (954) 828-7704 Fax - (954) 828-7897

GDempsey@fortlauderdale.gov

Think before you print!

Friday Funny

Safe Havens

By Bill Holbrook, dist. by King Features Syndicate

Read more: http://www.thedailygreen.com/living-green/earth-day-cartoons-47042126#ixzz1vso3z0S6

Gene Dempsey, City Forester

Environmental Services

Office - (954) 828-7704 Fax - (954) 828-7897

GDempsey@fortlauderdale.gov

Think before you print!

Tree Thursday - Spanish Stopper

Spanish Stopper

Eugenia foetida

 
 The Spanish Stopper is a wonderful native small tree or large shrub.   Spanish Stopper typically grows to 15 feet high. The growth habit is columnar and it has small leaves in that grow in a tight formation.  The flowers are fragrant and the tree is salt-tolerance.  Spanish Stopper will grow in  part-shade to full-sun.  (http://www.plantcreations.com/stoppers.htm ).  In Fort Lauderdale, you will find them planted in the medians of the Gateway intersection (Sunrise Blvd and North Federal). 

Traditional remedy or use: Wood of this genus was used for bows and various items. Used to treat colds, and diarrhea (hence the name ‘stopper’).  Mixed with Bourreria ovata as an energy booster. Commonly used as an aphrodisiac and to enhance virility and as a tonic for bathing.   Modern remedy or use: Used in Caribbean countries as roof rafters and animal traps. Being studied for its antioxidant properties.    (http://medgarden.org/plantfiles/eugenia_foetida.html )

Growth Rate – Medium

Salt Tolerance – High

Drought Tolerance – High

Great for birds and butterflies

Gene Dempsey, City Forester

Environmental Services

Office - (954) 828-7704 Fax - (954) 828-7897

GDempsey@fortlauderdale.gov

Think before you print!

Refilling one plastic bottle

I thought this was an excellent way to look at "being green."

"There are approximately 300 million people in the US. Let's lop the youngest and oldest 10% off just to avoid people complaining that I am asking infants and great-grandparents to compost or something. That leaves us with 240 million. Now let's eliminate the richest and poorest 10%, because one group can't afford bottled water and the other has their water brought to them in crystal glasses by hired help. So we're down to 190 million people who, in this day and age, we can safely assume have bought one bottle of water this year.

Now I am not even asking us all to stop buying water. It'd be great, but let's use realistic baby steps, OK? If every person who bought one bottle of water at some point this year, filled it up at the sink once before throwing it out, that's 190 million plastic bottles we keep out of the waste stream. Current stats show that around 80% of plastic bottles are not recycled, so in one tap-water refill we have kept 152 million plastic water bottles out of dumps and landfills.

That's the point I am trying to make here; if we acknowledge that we are all someone's child, that many of us are someone's parent, that we are all part of the human chain, then even a tiny single walk to the sink can make a huge difference.

So that's my pitch. Look around you, inside and out. Look at the planet we walk through and appreciate it, and look at everyone around you every day and realize that we are all in this together, and that we have, as our greatest strength, our numbers. Buy a reusable bottle, walk to lunch and skip the elevator, tell the guy at the deli you don't need the plastic bag, and, when you get a rare opportunity like this one tonight, spend your hard-earned cash on worthy causes like the WAVE Foundation, ..."

From Holter Graham's Speech at the Wave Foundation Nauti Nite, the fundraising gala for the WAVE Foundation at the Newport Aquarium in Newport Kentucky.

http://planetgreen.discovery.com/tv/wasted/holter-graham-speech.html

Gene Dempsey, City Forester

Environmental Services

Office - (954) 828-7704 Fax - (954) 828-7897

GDempsey@fortlauderdale.gov

Think before you print!

Tap Water

Trust Your Tap Water

by Josh Peterson
Los Angeles, CA, USA | Mon Sep 22 2008

 

Remember that day years ago, when your father or grandfather spied bottled water in the supermarket? I bet he laughed. "Who would buy that?" he asked. "What a scam." Now, it's like twenty years later, and bottled water has become an environmental scourge. It was a bad idea taken to an extreme. It almost seems like it should be a plot from a really bad science fiction novel that stars a character named Dirk Dashing.
Tap water gets a bad rap. Maybe it's all the fluoride that they put in tap water that makes our wills weak enough to pay a premium for something that is plentiful and cheap, but that's a theory for a different blog in the nether recesses of the internet.
Ninety percent of all tap water in the United States is safe to drink. If there are problems with your tap water, then your local water supplier is bound by law to inform you of it.
The EPA has a higher standard for tap water than the FDA has for bottled water. Tap water is screened more often for chemical and viral contamination. City water is tested hundreds of times a month, but bottled water is tested only once a week. Carbonated water is never tested.
One fourth of all bottled water is repackaged tap water. The bottled water companies have lied to you, but you trust them over the city water company. Why is this? What has the water company done to you?
Our water is still safe. So drink it. Don’t drink bottled water. Trust your tap water.

Gene Dempsey, City Forester

Environmental Services

Office - (954) 828-7704 Fax - (954) 828-7897

GDempsey@fortlauderdale.gov

Think before you print!

Mulch with Newspapers

One man's trash is one plant's treasure.

By Josh PetersonLos Angeles, CA, USA | Fri Apr 10 2009

Reuse, in most cases, is a fair bit greener than recycling. That's not to say recycling isn't green. It's green and it is awesome. But reusing an item significantly reduces the overall footprint of the item. It takes energy to recycle but much less than the energy it takes to create anew.

One of the most common day-to-day items that quickly turns to trash are newspapers. Once the day is over, the news is old. (and probably still bad.) The good news about newspapers is that it is an organic material (wood) and not toxic. Old newspapers had some crazy chemicals in their inks, but today’s black-and-white gazettes are usually made from soy-based inks. That means you can mulch the old news.

Green Benefits

You'll essentially be recycling the old newspaper yourself and turning it into new plants. You'll keep the old picayunes from a landfill fate. It's a chemical-free form of herbicide and a way to conserve water. Gardens are a great way to cut down on food miles, too. Hey, this is some ultra-green stuff right here.
Here's how to do make mulch from newspaper:

• Lay down 2-5 sheets of newspaper.
• Leave three-inch diameter holes for the plants.
• Throw a two or three-inch layer of mulch on top of the newspaper: Grass clippings, straw, leaves, etc.
• Harvest food.

The newspapers decompose before next season.

Gene Dempsey,  City Forester
GDempsey@FortLauderdale.gov

Promoting the optimum health of our land through the use of earth-friendly materials, recycling and conservation practices.

THINK BEFORE YOU PRINT!

Friday Funny

Family Circus By Bil & Jeff Keane, dist. by King Features Syndicate

Read more: http://www.thedailygreen.com/living-green/earth-day-cartoons-47042122#ixzz1vsldCiVB

Have a great weekend!

Gene Dempsey, City Forester

Environmental Services

Office - (954) 828-7704 Fax - (954) 828-7897

GDempsey@fortlauderdale.gov

Think before you print!