Many small businesses contact us, and ask what they can do to ‘green up’ their business. Community Greenhouse Foundation has developed a program to help you reduce electric and water usage, to encourage recycling and use of recycled materials, and to reduce the amount of solid waste your organization produces. And to launch their efforts, they announce the Greening America Business Challenge.

How do you change the world? One light bulb at a time. Lighting plays a huge part of our energy use. All of us at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) ENERGY STAR program would like to wish you, our partners and friends, a happy Change a Light Day today!

Program takes undersold homes, renovates them to be energy efficient, and works with municipalities for workforce housing.

The Community Greenhouse Foundation has been working for months on a program which is targeted to assist in the rehabilitation and sale of the “glut” of houses being dumped into the market resulting from foreclosures. The “Greening of America’s House Stock” program is a pro-active economic stimulus program that has been developed due to the current economic position of America. Never in our countries history has energy, housing and the environment been seen as critical issues at the same time.

The Community Greenhouse Foundation is proud to announce a new Strategic Partner serving the South Florida communities to delivery it’s “Greening Residential America” program. The program helps to provides communities with the resources to bring “green attainable housing” to their communities. New and renovated energy efficient green homes can be offered to City, County, governmental employees and the public through the program along with the opportunity for local “community” builders to tap into products and training to build greener and more energy efficient.

The Sea Turtle Preservation Society has developed a new volunteer program that will be administered through the Marine Turtle Permit for Sea Turtle Strandings. This program, the Sea Turtle Emergency Response Program, has been developed to provide better beach coverage to search for and rescue post-hatchling sea turtles that have washed back ashore after a large storm event. The purpose of this program is to increase the number of post hatchling sea turtles that are rescued, rehabilitated and eventually released back into the ocean.

With Memorial Day and the summer travel season approaching, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) encourages Florida residents and guests to travel close, clean and green with the launch of a new green travel Web site and Florida Green Lodging Program locator map. The newly launched green travel Web site offers resources for families and travelers looking to get away without depleting their wallets, gas tanks or the environment.

Florida Governor Charlie Crist today announced the 2008 Serve to Preserve Florida Summit on Global Climate Change. The conference will be held June 25-26, 2008, at the Intercontinental Miami. Building on the foundation for Florida’s energy future began at last year’s summit, the 2008 summit will focus on stimulating economic development in clean technologies as well as “greening” Florida’s business community.

The Green Earth Expo, May 15-18, 2008, at Orlando’s Orange County Convention Center, will be the largest show of its kind. Green Earth Expo allows hundreds of Green and Sustainable corporations and non-profits to showcase their Green initiatives to other businesses and consumers. Slated as the “World’s largest sustainable commerce and lifestyle trade show event, the Expo will feature major automakers, alternative energy providers, green construction fabricators and contractors, Green service providers, energy efficient appliance manufacturers, as well as health & wellness groups and organic retailers. Confirmed speakers include top level government officials, Green business leaders, and environmental experts.

DEP’s Coral Reef Conservation Program helps educate and raise awareness of Southeast Florida’s coral reefs. Leading up to the International Coral Reef Symposium this summer, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection’s (DEP) Coral Reef Conservation Program is encouraging public awareness of coral reefs and their impact on Florida’s marine environment, the commercial and recreational fishing industry and the economy. Recognizing the importance of the state’s reef ecosystem, Florida is the site of the 11th International Coral Reef Symposium, July 7-11, 2008, in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

The International Bicycle Fund (IBF) is a non-profit organization promoting bicycle transportation and international understanding. IBF promotes bicycle and other aspects of non-motorized transportation worldwide, especially in less developed areas, with a particular interest in Africa and South America. Areas of activities include: creating a bicycle culture, urban planning, transportation planning, rural mobility, mobility for women, economic development, road safety education, human settlement and quality of life, personal health, environmental quality, energy conservation and responsible tourism.

One of the main reasons the Community Greenhouse Foundation sponsored the Green Communities program was the idea of communities sharing good news and stories about the way people and organizations are doing positive things as they related to green sustainable living in their communities. The web sites are geared to act as a conduit to all sectors of the community and other communities around the state. This is a PERFECT example of what this program is supposed to promote and share.

There are more unknown and talented artists in the world than there are known ones. At least that’s how I feel– because I’m one of the unknowns. We strive to get our work out there to be seen by others, but we often are overlooked. I went to a certain park downtown and set up my artwork in hopes of selling a few pieces. About 10 minutes after I got there I was escorted out of the park by security who treated me as some sort of Artsy Criminal. Yet, after years of many of us holding back and having limited opportunities to display our work and sell it in public, someone finally did something amazing.

The Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) today welcomed both the Hampton Inn and Courtyard by Marriott into the Florida Green Lodging Program. The designations are the first for Brevard County and the 37th and 38th for the program, a voluntary state initiative that provides the lodging industry with technical assistance and encouragement to adopt cost-saving “green” practices that reduce waste and conserve natural resources.

John and Pam Paré weren’t home when Hurricane Charlie buried their Orlando home under a massive oak, but reality sank in quickly. The family had gone away for the weekend, and never spent another night in the home they had owned since 1996. As they considered whether to move or replace their home, Paré, at that time Senior Vice President and General Counsel of Hughes Supply, Inc., thought his connections to the construction materials supplier could help.

Florida Solar Energy Center helps an Orlando home achieve LEED™ Certification. An Orlando home rebuilt after it was destroyed in a 2004 hurricane has become the first house in the state to achieve the silver certification under the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED™) for Homes standard.

The Florida Solar Energy Center completed several inspections and performance tests on John and Pamela Paré’s new home, which features solar water heating, high-efficiency windows and doors and many other environmentally friendly features. The home, built by Classic Construction, is only the second home in the state to earn a LEED certification from the U.S. Green Building Coalition (USGBC).

Two recent bits of news has caught our notice, as it seems hydrogen powered cars might just start to become a reality. The first was Honda’s launch of its H powered, FCX Clarity. Though it’s only offered, as a $600/month lease to folks in Southern California, it still represents a start. Why Southern Cali? That’s where they’ve started to build a real hydrogen fuel distribution system.

The U.S. Department of Energy recently named the Florida Solar Energy Center at the University of Central Florida as one of only two sites nationwide that will share a multi-million dollar grant to accelerate the adoption of new and developing energy-efficient technologies.

The Florida Solar Energy Center (FSEC) received $2 million from the Department of Energy (DOE) grant to be home to a regional building technology application center. The center, to be located at FSEC’s facility in Cocoa, will serve 12 states and produce projects that will substantially increase the deployment of high-performance “beyond-code” buildings across the Southeast. Washington State University is the site of the other center.

Home builders are starting to see the light. The green light that is. Mercedes Homes revealed their commitment to helping the environment with the unveiling of the company’s second greener home in Brevard County. The ‘Green for Life’ program, was rolled out in Brevard County by showcasing a green-built home and introducing the company’s commitment to green building.

Scott Buescher, President of Operations for Mercedes Homes’, kicked off the program by mentioning, “Mercedes Homes’ Green for Life initiative combines earth-friendly technologies with reduced energy consumption and water conservation, translating into savings on utility bills and big benefits for generations to come.”

It’s hard to imagine that every year dolphins, mammals so similar to us and beloved by so many, are slaughtered in huge numbers in Taiji, Japan. Here in Florida, seeing a dolphin can be the height of a boat ride or trip to the beach. In Brevard county, we see them regularly, from a dockside restaurant on the Indian River or walking the beach at Holland Spressard Park. They are amazing.

Connected to both the green building industry and the health & wellness world, Get Green Today Expo helped us see the need to create a place where consumers can find and connect with businesses and people who make a difference. We call this new place on the web, Get Green Directory.

Why do we want you to get green? As Florida grows and develops, we’re going to see more and more need to conserve water, electricity and resources. There’s so much you can do to better position yourself and your home, by becoming more efficient, more green. Our site directs you to people who are leading the way.