Let’s get the New Year off to a fresh start by tackling this sickening situation. In public spaces across the country, including offices, stores, restaurants, airports, and schools, air "freshener" is being forced upon us. Daily we are subjected to known carcinogens, endocrine disruptors, and other toxic substances. Sounds like a horror film, but it is our scentsational reality.We’ve talked before about the hazards inherent in air fresheners. The EPA puts it quite poetically: "Air fresheners are usually highly flammable and also strong irritants to eyes, skin, and throat. Additionally, the solid fresheners usually cause death if eaten by people or pets."Yes, these household helpers — which became popular in the 1950s, along with perky smiles and perfect apple pies — contain all manner of harmful ingredients, including formaldehyde, a powerful pesticide called paradichlorobenzene, and phthalates. In short, air "fresheners" actually make our air quality much worse, polluting our space and our bodies. To quote the EPA again, "air fresheners … release pollutants more or less continuously."

via Ask Umbra: Can air fresheners make you sick? | Grist.

A new 1,600-square-foot split-level on Voluntown Road, it is the Builders Association of Eastern Connecticut’s answer to a market in which new construction faces stiff competition from the surplus of houses for resale. The prototype is meant to showcase assets rarely found in older homes: ultra-greenness and affordability.

The problem, said Paul Stone of Lombardi Realty in Oakdale, the listing agent, is that many buyers don’t yet appreciate green technology. “The hardest thing is trying to educate people about what it is,” Mr. Stone explained. Despite years of green hype, “people really don’t understand the energy thing — it’s a foreign language.”

As reported in the New York Times

via Teach green to sell green.

Tour of a productive no-till (weedless) garden ; short documentary about positive adjustments in a post peak oil wolrd; discussion group(s). Light lunch provided.

Saturday, October 15 · 12:00pm – 2:00pm
Gaia Grove
21255 NW CR 237
Brooker, FL

DIRECTIONS/MAP: http://www.bing.com/maps/default.aspx?v=2&pc=FACEBK&mid=8100&rtp=adr.%7Epos.29.8873596_-82.3848724_Gaia+Grove+Eco-Camp+%26+Learning+Center_21255+SW+CR+237%252

ABOUT ALACHUA TRANSITION INITIATIVE: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Alachua-Transition-Iniative/122998017805941?sk=info (Remember to “LIKE” the page!)

ABOUT TRANSITION INITIATIVE http://www.transitionnetwork.org/support/what-transition-initiative

via http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=240227692693887&ref=notif&notif_t=event_invite’>Alachua Transition Initiative – Meet Up.

With wire-rimmed glasses and a neatly trimmed salt-and-pepper beard, Stan Cox doesn’t stand out in a crowd. But with his book arguing that our climate-controlled lifestyle in modern America is unsustainable, Cox has drawn quite a bit of attention. He lives in a modest two-story house in an older neighborhood in Salina, Kan. Built in the 1930s, the house has a screened-in porch — and, on a recent visit, lots of open windows.

“It does have central air,” Cox says. “And we run it one day each summer, to make sure it’s still working okay. And so far, for 10 years now, it works fine on that day.”

Green Drinks Gainesville is pleased to coordinate with Linda and Ken McGurn of the Sun Center and Innovation Gainesville to host the September meeting of Green Drinks. Join us September 7, 6 – 8 p.m. at the Sun Center, 101 SE 2nd Place in downtown Gainesville. Food and drink will be available from Maude’s and the new BF Diner in the Sun Center.

Come together to celebrate the culture of innovation in downtown Gainesville. Learn how the historic Sun Center generates 150,000 watts of solar-generated electricity from its rooftop array of solar photovoltaic panels, thanks to Cinema Verde sponsor Solar Impact.

This meeting is co-sponsored by Innovation Gainesville, a community initiative to harness innovation to create jobs in health and green technologies and to raise the standard of living in our community. Come learn how you can be part of this creative cultural movement toward a sustainable future!

Green Drinks is a non-profit international organization that meets informally each month in more than 700 cities worldwide to bring together sustainable businesses, organizations and government leaders who are working to create an environmentally healthy and sustainable future. We meet in Gainesville the first Wednesday each month at different locations to provide the opportunity to showcase sustainable businesses and to connect those who are engaged in creating a healthy future for our community and the planet.

Green Drinks Gainesville is sponsored by www.GoGreenNation.org, an environmental news and resource site to help build green communities, and www.CinemaVerde.org, Gainesville’s Environmental Film and Arts Festival, both of which are dedicated to educating the public about environmental issues and fostering sustainable solutions.

Please let us know how we can help you develop and promote your own sustainable solutions by contacting founder Trish Riley at Trish@GoGreenNation.org or 352-327-3560.

FILM NEWS: We’re reprising our Cinema Verde award-winning films at Payne’s Prairie Visitor Center the third Saturday of each month. VOTE on your favorite films from our Environmental Film and Arts Festival so we’ll know which to schedule! Join us Sept. 17, 7 – 9:30 p.m.
–
Trish Riley
Director: Cinema Verde Environmental Film & Arts Festival
352.327.3560
www.CinemaVerde.org
Cinema Verde is a Florida not-for-profit corporation designated as a 501(c)(3) public charity by the IRS: Contributions are tax deductible. Thank you for your support!
Publisher: www.GoGreenNation.org

Wanda Tiger and her husband needed a new home after a long-term house-sitting arrangement came to an end. But for members of their American Indian tribe in rural Oklahoma, affordable housing options were few.

Then tribal leaders learned of an impossibly attractive offer: Mobile homes that had never been occupied were available from the government almost for free. They had stood vacant for years after being rejected as temporary housing following Hurricane Katrina.

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( Sue Ogrocki / Associated Press ) – Charles Tiger is pictured during an interview in his FEMA trailer home in Little Axe, Okla., Thursday, June 16, 2011. Nearly six years after the hurricane, the mobile homes that became a symbol of the government’s failed response are finally being put to good use. FEMA has quietly given many of them away to American Indian tribes that are in desperate need of affordable housing.

( Sue Ogrocki / Associated Press ) – Wanda Tiger gestures as she talks outside her FEMA trailer home in Little Axe, Okla., Thursday, June 16, 2011. Nearly six years after the hurricane, the mobile homes that became a symbol of the government’s failed response are finally being put to good use. FEMA has quietly given many of them away to American Indian tribes that are in desperate need of affordable housing.

( Sue Ogrocki / Associated Press ) – Wanda and Charles Tiger are pictured during an interview in their FEMA trailer home in Little Axe, Okla., Thursday, June 16, 2011.

( Sue Ogrocki / Associated Press ) – Wanda Tiger gestures as she answers a question during an interview in her FEMA trailer home in Little Axe, Okla., Thursday, June 16, 2011.

( Sue Ogrocki / Associated Press ) – Charles Tiger is pictured during an interview in his FEMA trailer home in Little Axe, Okla., Thursday, June 16, 2011. Nearly six years after the hurricane, the mobile homes that became a symbol of the government’s failed response are finally being put to good use. FEMA has quietly given many of them away to American Indian tribes that are in desperate need of affordable housing.

To Tiger and members of other tribes, the homes seemed perfect, even luxurious.

via AP Enterprise: Indian tribes welcome much-maligned FEMA homes that were rejected after Katrina – The Washington Post.

*Rain Barrels
*Compost Bins
*Solar Dehyrdrator
*No-Till Gardening
Bat Houses
*Worm Bins
*Homemade Greenhouses
**Solar Oven
*Outdoor Shower
*Compost Toilet
*Green Low-Cost Cleaning Products

WHEN? Saturday, July 16, 9:30 – 11:30 am for ages 5 and up
12:30-4:30 pm for ages 15 & up. Optional Potluck Dinner to Follow

WHERE? Gaia Grove Educational Riverfront Eco-Camp & Ecovillage Community

21255 SW CR 237, Brooker, FL 32622

Suggested Donation: $10-$15. bring your own folding chair & bathing suit.

Please RSVP to Joanna at 352-562-3508 or Bob at 352-262-5068
Or email: GaiaGroveFL@yaoo.com. Website: GaiaGrove.webs.com

The cost of solar photovoltaic systems could become cheaper than even fossil fuels over within the next ten years, according to technology advancement association IEEE.But IEEE said that to achieve this cost parity, the solar industry must continue to improve the efficiency of photovoltaic cell technologies and create economies of scale“Solar PV will be a game changer,” said executive director James Prendergast. “No other alternative source has the same potential.

via Solar PV Could Cost Less than Fossil Fuels in 10 Years · Environmental Management & Energy News · Environmental Leader.

The Course Synopsis: Green buildings can cost less than conventional ones, but depending on a number of factors it’s not a guarantee. However, research on the costs and benefits of green buildings provides evidence suggesting that they yield a convincing return on investment in addition to other forms of value. In this session USGBC and three leading experts will give you the understanding you need to present the business case for green buildings, including addressing questions about return on investment, project financing, cost planning, and value beyond cost savings. Real estate owners, investors, and other building professionals will leave this training with the knowledge they need to shape initial project planning and financing.

Date: 6/16/2011 Time: 5:30 – 7:30

Location: Perry Construction Institute, Santa Fe College. Turn on NW 91st Street going south off NW 39th Ave, near the I-75 exit.
We’d love to see you all there. We’ll share plans and get your feedback on what you want for lots more continuing education and networking events throughout the Summer and Fall. If you have time please register at our website, www.USGBCHeartFl.org.

You may also want to attend our 6/18 session at the Library for another 4.5 continuing education credits.

Best Regards, Carol Goodwin, USGBC Heart of Florida Programs Committee Chair, 352-745-2822 with questions or RSVP