Florida Agenda

Earth Day has passed. Just as a real “Child of Christmas” practices the spirit of the holiday all year long, a true friend of the earth doesn’t recycle the Grey Goose bottle only on Earth Day. His lifestyle is environmentally friendly 365 days a year.

The first Earth Day was in 1970. Regardless of the waxing and waning of political and societal attitudes towards the environmental movement, the effects of man’s exploits have taken an increasingly obvious toll on Mother Earth’s health.

We DO KNOW what we do or say can come back to haunt us. That rests true with our behavior towards our planet, evident in climactic changes, destruction of natural habitats, catastrophic oil spills, arsenic in drinking water, fish with two heads and the alarming disappearance of honey bees endangering food supplies due to the indifferent use of pesticides. The list is endless. No one has to look far, especially in Florida, to see what damage man’s unadulterated greed, wanton carelessness and belligerent ignorance has wrought upon the only home he knows: EARTH!

YES! I confess! I am what misinformed, narrow-minded people, benignly satisfied, being comfortably numb with the status quo, would prefer to blast as a “bleeding heart liberal, anti-American/free enterprise, TREE HUGGER!” If those are the definitions of someone who cares about the health of the “Home” we all share, then so be it!  Did I say “Share?”

Go ahead, label me!  Being gay, I’ve been called worse – far worse.

Florida’s ecosystems are extremely fragile. Her unique, expansive coral reefs, wetlands, beaches, etc., are very sensitive to human abuse. Intense heat radiated from giant parking lots causes storm clouds to pass us by, taking life giving rain with them. Beach erosion, algae blooms, decimated populations of the manatee, panther, avian and fish species, weather pattern changes threatening the existence of the Everglades, just to name a few, are sad results of man’s poor stewardship of the paradise he was given. Battered Florida teeters on a slippery precipice of an ecological abyss.

Contrary to what some will preach, Earth is NOT ours to exploit with unadulterated greed and blind, myopic goals, rationalized with Machiavellian dogma. Earth, is man’s to nurture and revere.

So, what can we do, one home at a time, to preserve our Earth? Don’t get negative falling into that “What can one person do to make a difference?” trap! All of the progress the GLBT community has made began with one person!

Being “Green” is so many things. In most cases it’s economical.

Recycle as much as possible. Buy a water filter apparatus instead of the trendy expensive bottled stuff and use a refillable waterbottle. Disposable bottles are a huge problem. Purchase a reusable bag for grocery shopping. Buy certified organic produce and meats.

At home, don’t use the heat button in the dishwasher, reduce the hot water heater temperature, and program the thermostat to 78 degrees, using fans liberally. Use power strips for computers, TV’s, and other electronics. They still sap power all day unless turned off at the power source, using up to $10.00 each per month! Wash clothing in cold water. Hot water is expensive and harsher on those designer duds. Use an environmentally friendly detergent.

Get a water saver shower faucet. Xeriscape! You’ll use far less chemicals and water, saving lots of money, plus have a killer yard! The National Wildlife Federation will issue you a plaque you can proudly display in your yard once they’ve determined your property fits the criteria to earn a “Natural Habitat” designation!

That brings me to being “Green” on the road. Get rid of gas guzzlers! We know the culprits and how useful most of them are NOT!

Anyway, they don’t make you more “butch”. Keep tires properly inflated, increasing gas mileage up to 20%. Slow down! Where’s the fire? Don’t start from the red light as if it was the Daytona 500! That only shows you don’t know this habit wastes gas, tires, and don’t see it’s only 500 feet to the next red light.

All of us have the responsibility and power to make positive changes. Apathy and lack of knowledge are our biggest hindrances leading to becoming a “greener” society. Every small step towards a greener lifestyle and mother earth breathes easier. It all begins at HOME!

Michael French, is Agenda’s Home from Home columnist. Contact Michael at mf7954fla@gmail.com

By Jesse Durko

Earth Day has been around since, well, surely since the beginning of time.  It’s a shame to honor its existence only one day a year, but at least the date serves as a marker reminding us to think about it. The gay community, I feel, is generally more conscious about the earth than most.

Most of us juggle the simple task of putting trash here and recyclables there as we go about dashing through our busy lives.  Even though we do so much, maybe Earth Day is the one day we should “think Globally and act Locally” and ask ourselves if we are doing all that we can?

Are we turning off lights when not needed? Are we combining errands, or sharing a ride to save fuel? It’s a good day to stop and think about our “carbon footprint“.

One way we can help the earth is to plant our gardens wisely by using water smartly. There is a term for this approach – it is called Xerophytic Gardening.

I don’t really like the term, as it makes me think of cacti (which I have and like) but South Florida doesn’t and shouldn’t look like a desert. What it really means is to plant your garden to utilize the existing conditions to their best advantage.

Noting such things as sun and shade patterns, wet and dry areas or soil types, we can then think how each area will be used; walkways, entrances, patios, pools and, of course, your hot tub! Now we can explore style, and there are as many landscape variations as there are people.

It’s a wonderful and rewarding way of expressing yourself.

You could decide to make your landscape tropical or you could go for a northern look or maybe more formal, natural, Italian, Japanese, serene or exciting – x it’s all up to you!

Whatever style you chose, I recommend aiming for something a little “over the top,” just for fun.

You should also have any kind of plant you like, but herein lies the key: Each different kind of plant utilizes different amounts of water so, by placing plants of like requirements together, we can create zones, allowing us to water less where it isn’t necessary, while adequately watering areas that do.

Planting around your home or anywhere helps the world in many ways, for not only are plants beautiful, delighting the eye and pleasing to the soul, but they do wonderful things for the environment, too. A single tree helps filter the air and produces oxygen – not to mention its ability to cool us and our houses, thus reducing our electricity costs and our carbon footprint.
At Jesse Durko’s Nurse

ry, we offer an extensive collection of trees and shrubs not commonly seen in regular nurseries throughout southern Florida, many of which are specially adapted to growing in gardens requiring less water.