Here are 3 mini-stories on food with news this week:
“WHOLE FOODS” TAKING YOUR “WHOLE PAYCHECK” FOR NON-ORGANIC FOOD?
Not everything in Whole Foods is organic. In fact, the Organic Consumers Association has found that this natural food store carries only about 1/3 organic products. The remaining 2/3 is “regular” food disguised as natural. Whole Foods claims [...]
Trees Get Hitched in Fort Lauderdale
A new matchmaking service has just been started in Fort Lauderdale. It isn’t for animals, human’s or birds: it is for trees. Yes trees. Now how can trees be married? Well, these trees are not married to each other they are married to a new partner, a new location a new place to live and [...]
Go Used, Go Green, Go Yelp
We love Yelp. If you aren’t familiar, this is THE site (and iPhone app is killer) for restaurant and business reviews. It’s a growing community of really great people that want to share their recommendations with you. In fact, we originally joined in order to share our own reviews of local green businesses. Of course, [...]
Don’t forget that the MiaGreen Expo & Conference is happening February 25 & 26, 2010 at the Miami Beach Convention Center.
This event is targeted at businesses; your day pass gets you into the exhibit hall to check out all of the vendors, as well as the opening sessions. Or, if you’d like to attend the conference, upgrade your ticket and get educated! Buy your tix in advance for a discount (thru Feb 22). Full details available at MiaGreen.com.
greenerMiami.com is a media sponsor for this event.
We receive information - a lot of information - about green things going on in South Florida. Sometimes they don’t merit a whole article on the topic, so we post a quick link on Facebook and / or Twitter for our followers there. Are you a Fan of greenerMiami.com on Facebook? Do you Follow Us on Twitter? Please do! And let us know the best way to get information to you quickly in the comments below.
Educational Field Trip in Haiti 2007, Operation Green Leaves
Miami-based non-profit Operation Green Leaves has been focusing on reforesting Haiti since 1991. When the earthquake struck, Operation Green Leaves sprung into action. OGL Haiti was recently featured on Treehugger.com as a green organization that will need continuing support to help the communities in Haiti, and we were glad to see such global exposure for the organization.
In listening to the special EcoAlert on the Earthquake, Operation Green Leaves radio show on Blog Talk Radio (see player below), she mentions that though it’s great to give donations to large organizations such as Red Cross, however we can’t forget the small organizations who all have their roles to play, and are also in great need of funding.
The following is a message from OGL Haiti’s Executive Director, Nadine Patrice:
Working Around the Clock on Relief Efforts for the People of Haiti
The situation is expected to get worse before we can hope to turn the tide and see major improvement.
We are implementing a model creative plan to get help to where it is desperately needed, and to overcome the obstacles that exist.
We are arranging to get emergency teams into isolated communities such as Jacmel, Archaie and Carrefour in order to establish field centers for communication, operations and delivery of supplies, as soon as that is possible.
Operation Green Leaves is proud to be part of an alliance of people and organizations with a truly outstanding record of service, and very importantly, success in helping Haiti.
Honorable Paul Novack, former mayor of Surfside, attorney at law and leader of past disaster relief and democracy support projects in Haiti;
Yves Lafontant, president of the Haitian American Law Enforcement Officers Association
Max Massac of the Haitian American Engineers and Scientists
more than 30 partner organizations
OGL appreciates all of the contacts and inquiries coming in about people in the community wanting to help support our efforts, and encourage you to visit our web site at www.oglhaiti.com where you can donate to help support the urgent efforts.
Our toll free phone number is 1-877-85TREES (1-877-858-7337).
Operation Green Leaves is a non-profit 501 (c ) 3 organization since 1991, all donations are tax-deductible to the full extent of the law. Mail your tax-deductible donation to: Operation Green Leaves Inc., P.O. Box 5254, Coral Gables, Florida 33114
Sincerely,
Nadine C. Patrice
Executive Director
Operation Green Leaves Inc.
We’re pleased to be a media sponsor for the upcoming 2nd Annual MiaGreen Expo & Conference to be held on February 25 & 26, 2010. This is a business to business event, run by the same folks that put on the Miami Living Green Expo in August.
MiaGreen is currently accepting booth reservations & sponsors. Please see their current special, or check out details on their website.
Want to do something different, unusual, fun, healthy and will help the area be green? This weekend, Saturday, October 24 thru Sunday, October 25, 2009 there is a great event going on at the Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden. It is the Fairchild’s Edible Garden Festival and Scarecrow Contest. You can always call for directions or more details on what they have to offer. There are going to be contests, food, lectures, cooking demonstrations, plant vendors and demonstrations on how to create a fruit and vegetable garden in your own home garden or as a container garden. Wouldn’t we all love to have fresh fruit and vegetables on our plates knowing they are free from chemicals? They do taste so much better and healthier for us too.
Bee Heaven Farm & Redland Organics will also be there with their first batch of certified organic heirloom tomato & veggie starts, plus some farmer’s market style items with the first of the local harvests - all certified organic as well.
So bring the kids, grandma and grandpa, aunts and uncles, friends and neighbors. Maybe this would be the time to start a neighborhood garden. All the information needed at your fingertips and what a fun way to show our children a better way to eat and be healthy.
It’s with great pleasure that we announce the launch of Eco Echo, a sister site, if you will. Eco Echo will be your destination for green content that isn’t just South Florida based. The website, however, is just one feature of Eco Echo. It is actually a television show for which I have worked with Spiral Media to create. We have made the pilot and are now seeking sponsors (both local and national) so that we can get the show on the air in the South Florida market in the beginning of 2010.
Please check out our promo spot and definitely browse around EcoEcho.tv. And hey, if you Facebook and Twitter…so do we!
Bike Miami, Miami’s Largest FREE Street Party is Back! No bicycle required.
Sunday, October 4, 2009. 9am-2pm
Downtown Miami streets CLOSED to motor traffic:
Flagler Street will be closed from the Courthouse to Bayfront and connect to
Mary Brickell Village via SE 1st Avenue and South Miami Avenue.
NOTE: Motorist Traffic allowed to cross at SE 7th, SE 8th and SE 3rd Streets, as well as Biscayne Boulevard
FREE Children’s Activities all day long
FREE Bicycle Rentals ~ Bike and Roll Cruisers and BuddyBikes
FREE Air, Brake Checks from local Bicycle Shop Mechanics
Park (your car) at Mary Brickell Village all day for just $3, FREE Bike Valet
Performances by Suénalo, Afrobeta, Jazzilla and other live music
Have an individual, business, or organization that is demonstrating leadership and innovative ideas in sustainability and green practices? Nominate them to win in the first Sustainable South Florida Awards! Deadline has been extended through September 4, 2009!
This is a guest post by Fernando Capablanca, president and chief executive officer of Union Credit Bank (UCB).
Now, more than ever, businesses are embracing an eco-friendly attitude. We encounter the infusion of environmentally friendly living in our everyday activities from supermarket chains with organic-only aisles to clothing stores selling apparel made of organic cotton. It’s becoming increasingly clear to many that the earth is in dire need for us to change and adopt a more sustainable lifestyle.
Therefore, it should come as no surprise that several banks are also embracing eco-friendly ways of doing business. Leading the pack in this movement is Union Credit Bank (UCB), a Miami-based community bank. UCB is the first community bank in the nation to sign the U.N. Environment Program Finance Initiative, which aligns the bank with environmentally friendly principles.
This pairing allows UCB to offer its customers “green” services such as hybrid car loans and green home equity lines of credit. Customers are offered loans at a reduced interest rate to help them purchase a new hybrid vehicle, an environmentally friendly home or a business as well as make improvements on their current home or business. Green incentives have also been implemented to encourage green builders. UCB provides funding with higher loan to value rations to help green builders borrow enough money to cover higher costs of construction, which later translates to an increase in asset value.
Beyond all of these initiatives, the bank truly understands that reducing carbon imprint begins from the inside. UCB’s Miami headquarters, located at 1150 South Miami Ave, is completely environmentally equipped; the building is registered as a “green building” and is considered to be a historical site. This alone has allowed the bank to acquire benefits such as tax incentives and zoning incentives.
The bank’s second branch located in the city of Doral (map), is entirely eco-friendly.
All the furniture, carpeting and flooring are made out of recyclable material. Not to mention the fact that UCB effectively reduces power and paper usage by encouraging paperless statements, offering electronic marketing brochures and installing a recycling program.
About the author: Fernando Capablanca is president and chief executive officer of Union Credit Bank (UCB), a full-service Miami-based bank. With more than 40 years of banking experience, Capablanca founded UCB in 2006 and has overseen the bank’s expansion in South Florida.
Here is the final program for Miami Living Green. Don’t forget your coupon for buy one, get one free! Saturday & Sunday, August 15 & 16, 2009 at the DoubleTree Miami Mart.
Want to do something different, unusual, fun, healthy and will help the area be green? This weekend, Saturday, October 24 thru Sunday, October 25, 2009 there is a great event going on at the Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden. It is the 
