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Tuesday, May 26, 2009
An overview of Green Cities Florida in Orlando and hopes for a greener future
Posted by Joshua Michael Poll on Tue, May 26, 2009 at 4:00 PM
Green Cities™ Florida hosted in Orlando was May 20th & 21st at the Orange County Convention Center. The overall focus of the event is to bring businesses and municipalities together to achieve green goals to save the planet, increase profits, and to qualify for possible federal funding. The Green Cities™ conference will demystify ’sustainability’ and provide you with tools, steps and resources from top experts and educators. You will walk away with green strategies that will transform the way you think, live, manage business and govern in Florida.
There was a ribbon cutting ceremony and official “Flipping the Switch” for the new 1 MW Solar Electric System atop the Orange County Convention Center. This is the largest installation of its kind in the Southeast US, and one of the largest outside of California and the Pacific Northwest. This installation was installed with the help of a $1.8 million grant from the state of Florida, an example of the kind of partnerships that Green Cities™ Florida advocates.
The City of Orlando and Orange County teamed up to make Orlando a Solar City. Through this partnership, OUC(Orlando Utilities Commission), the city and county will develop a strategic energy plan with the goal of increasing the use of solar technology and the amount of renewable energy in Central Florida.
Orlando's Mayor Buddy Dyer says he is proud and excited to unveil Green Works Orlando, the City’s first comprehensive plan to protect our natural resources, encourage environmentally-friendly lifestyles and business practices and engage everyone who lives, works and visits Central Florida in the effort to “go green.” Green Works Orlando is an environmental action agenda designed to transform Orlando into one of the most environmentally conscious cities in America.
Where have I been? Orlando is becoming or has become a "green city" or "solar city" right under my nose. I just drove there and back twice in the last two days and will again today and tomorrow, for a Day Lily conference we are participating in. How convenient it would have been, just to hop on the train and head back and forth. But as I rolled by Sea World, Disney World, and all of the hotels on i4, I could not help to think about all of the energy, waste and water that is being produced to sustain them.
All of that aside, way to go Orlando! Solar power and green initiatives, are we not speaking loud enough in the Bay area? It is about time we get that high-speed rail system we voted "yes" for in 2000 and again in 2004. Hopefully one of these St. Petersburg Mayoral candidates will jump on to the green ship and take a solar trip to the stars. Maybe Tampa will see through the maze of traffic and drop a commuter rail right down the middle of the new 275 expansion and power Ray Jay with the sun.
We can dream can't we?
Comments (3)
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Could you expound upon your statement about energy, waste and water used to sustain the hotels that support Florida's #1 industry? Is you don't find it a worthwhile industry or that you have problems with the efficiency?
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I was really just passing by and thought, hummm... Orlando, green city, wow look at all of these hotels, how can they possibly be "green". I am not into efficiency, if you are doing bad things efficiently it is still no good. What are your thoughts on solving a problem that plagues Florida's number one industry, Waste? What are hotels and theme parks doing to curb their waste? How are they supporting alternative energy sources? Are they replanting the native landscape they tore up to lay hundreds of thousands of square feet of concrete, 30 stories tall? They could be doing something, planting a green roof with native habitat, using solar energy, catching rainwater or using graywater. I have a serious problem with the status quo. When the knowledge, materials and technology is there to build these things sustainably(LEED certified), yet it is not being implemented.
I agree with your bad things efficiently comment and happy you answered the way you did. I was curious though if it should not be applied more liberally and closer to home. I tried to start a discussion very much centered on that concept with regards to recreational boating since it impacted Tampa/StPete more as they are coastal city. If Tampa/StPete really wants to be green and it residents to be green citizens shouldn't they curb or stop recreational activities that require the burning of fossil fuels? Imagine some city in the south that has ATV parks and tracks setup and then declares itself a green city. Isn't that a little hypocritical as well? I do hear you about the need for strategic planning and sustainability in regards to waste. Irregardless of the legacy costs of prior decades, everything seems haphazard and with everyone having their own say that dilutes the effectiveness. Until the people who make the decisions realize that the needs of the few don't outweigh the needs of the many, even though they have more money to spend on wooing the decisions makers. Sorry for the depressing tone. This subject brings out my bad side. Thanks for your feedback.
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