UF/IFAS
Okeechobee County Extension Service
458 Highway 98 North
Okeechobee, FL 34972-2578
Phone: (863) 763-6469
E- mail: indianco@ufl.edu
April 15, 2011
Feature Article - for release Earth Day, April 29, 2011
Quick Links: Buy Local Plant Trees Compost Recycle Florida Reading Garden References
Go Green!
With
all the discussion about Earth Day, it is easy to get lost
in what ought to be done by government and what groups can
do to help sustain the environment.
Several ideas come to mind from the hundreds of
people that contact our Extension office, who ask us for
information on how to grow a garden, how to create a
Florida-Friendly landscape or how to manage pests without
harming non-target critters.
But
this year, inspiration also comes from the US Postal
Service that just released some new postage stamps.
They are new “forever stamps” and are printed
with recycled ink and paper and are designed to remind us
to Go Green!
This fun product reminds me of many things that
individuals and families can go to help produce a greener
future, and is the subject of today’s article.
Here’s
a Go Green
tip that can help create a healthy diet, a healthy local
economy, and do much to save energy: choose products that
are grown locally.
When
choosing between different kinds of produce look at the
signage and find out where it comes from.
If it has been grown far, far away, remember that
it took a lot of energy (think trucks or ships and diesel
fuel) to get it from that distant field to the packing
house, then several shipping warehouses, and finally to
the local store. Buying
local can reduce the need for all that transportation
cost, saving energy and helping to keep fuel costs down.
Plus, local producers get to keep your greenbacks,
and use it locally to keep other businesses going.
And
when it gets bagged up, put it in a reusable bag, not that
plastic one. Plastic
comes from petroleum (think saving fuel again).
Often they are used once then go to the landfill or
becomes litter. Bring
you own reusable shopping bag to pack your trunk full of
local produce!
Most
everyone knows that green plants produce oxygen, but many
forget that they do this trapping sun energy in chemicals
found in nature, specifically carbon dioxide and water.
Almost all reliable scientific evidence points to
elevated CO2 in
our atmosphere, which often comes from burning fossil fuel
from plants grown long ago.
Higher carbon dioxide levels trap heat in our
atmosphere which is suspected of upsetting global climate
cycles.
One
of the most popular pastimes in our area is gardening.
Anyone that has put a shovel into our local soils
will notice that something is often missing: good black
organic matter. This
is essential to a healthy soil’s ability to hold water
and will make nutrients available to plants.
Can we reduce the amount of
trash we produce? Sure
- it’s easy – just use that plastic bin that the Solid
Waste Authority makes available to every homeowner in the
community. If
it doesn’t make it to your bin, all those bottles and
cans, newspapers and boxes, and a whole lot more will add
to that great big “Mount Trashmore,” and will stay
there for a long, long time,
taking up space.
There
are several more excellent Go
Green suggestions
found on this neat stamp pane.
Why not visit your local post office and buy them
for use on your next letter or greeting card.
And since they are “Forever” stamps” they
will always stay at the right price for mailing an
envelope - now and in our Green
future.
For more information on Going Green, contact the Okeechobee Extension office at 863-763-6469. I’ve placed more information on at the Okeechobee web page, http://okeechobee.ifas.ufl.edu. Local residents can stop by our office at 458 Hwy 98 North in Okeechobee. Go Green, and Go Gators!
-30-
Okeechobee's North Elementary School put these green principles to work as they dedicated their Florida Reading Teaching Garden. The program on April 21 featured poetry and song about taking care of the Earth, and recognized the many donors and sponsors of this new Greenspace on their campus.
Here are a few photos from the dedication ceremony (Click on the thumbnails to download the full side picture).
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Florida's Online Composting Center.
Sarasota: Florida Cooperative Extension Service,
April 2011. http://compost.ifas.ufl.edu/
Gilman,
Ed. “Florida
Trees for Urban and Suburban sites” (website) .
Gainesville: Florida Cooperative Extension Service, Sept.
2007. http://lyra.ifas.ufl.edu/FloridaTrees/
“Okeechobee
Landfill.” Houston: Waste Management, Inc., April 2011. http://www.wmsolutions.com/static/files/fact_sheets/Okeechobee_Landfill.pdf
“Solid Waste
& Recycling”. Okeechobee:
Solid Waste Department home page, April 2011. http://www.co.okeechobee.fl.us/solidwaste
Swisher, Mickie. “ Fresh Local Fruit and Vegetables from Florida”. Gainesville: Florida Cooperative Extension Service, 2009. http://fycs.ifas.ufl.edu/news/2006/11/fresh-local-fruit-and-vegetables-from.html
US Postal
Service. “These
are not just stamps — they’re 16 ways to help the
planet." Washington, D.C.
Webpage, 15
April 2011. http://www.usps.com/green/gogreenstamps.htm#
Trade names, where used, are given for the purpose of providing specific information. They do not constitute an endorsement or guarantee of products named, nor does it
imply criticism of products not named. The Florida Cooperative Extension Service - Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences is an equal opportunity/
affirmative action employer authorized to provide research, educational information, and other services to individuals and institutions that function
without regard to race, color, sex, age, handicap, or national origin.
Florida Cooperative Extension Service / IFAS / University of
Florida,
Millie Ferrer-Chancy, Interim Dean. Last update: 04/21/2011. This page is maintained by Dan Culbert