The Februaray 2008, Palm Beach Green Drinks event was hosted by the Arthur R. Marshall Foundation at O’sheas on Clematis Street in downtown West Palm Beach.  The event was great as always!  Check out some highlights from the event below.

The Arthur R. Marshall Foundation:   Eric from the foundation provided a brief talk featuring the “Young Friends of the Marshall Foundation.”  He also announced some of the following upcoming events and opportunities.  Visit the Marshall Foundation’s website for further details.

• March 1st -Macy’s Shop for a Cause: Purchase a coupon for $5 from the Marshall Foundation and use it for 10-20% off purchases at any Macy’s.
• March 7th - Marshall Foundation’s 10th Anniversary Recognition Luncheon:  Held @ the Palm Beach Club featuring Eco-Artist Betsy Damon and a drawing for a ZENN electric car. 
• March 11th - The Young Friends of the Marshall Foundation: They’ll be be meeting @ 5:30.  Call 561-805-8733 for more info.
• March 15th - Get Green St. Patrick’s Day Tree Planting: Held on Torry Island in Belle Glade from 9:00 a.m. -12:00 p.m. 

Palm Beach Green Building Conference:  Dennis from the Alternative Energy Association announced that the association will be hosting the Palm Beach Green Building Conference.  The conference will be held on February 29th at the Kravitz Center in Downton West Palm Beach.  Visit the Alternative Energy Association’s website for registration and sponsorhip information.

A New Prius Hits the Road:  Jonathan, a Green Drinks regular, recently made the switch to a Toyota Prius.  Check him out showing off his new wheels! 

The first Palm Beach Green Drinks event of 2008 was held at O’Sheas in downtown West Palm Beach on January 8th.  (Palm Beach Green Drinks holds its events on the 2nd Tuesday of every month.)  As always, we saw a diverse crowd of people interested in the environment, including teachers, financial planners, lawyers, engineers, environmental consultants, account managers, students, and city and county employees.  We enjoy Palm Beach Green Drinks because: its laid back, we learn something new, its a good place to network, and there are interesting people there.

Justin Hoysradt from Abundant Energy spoke to the group about the benefits of using solar power in homes.  Here’s a short video of that, as well as some pictures of the event.  Hope to see you at the next one, on February 12th at O’Sheas.

1. I will reduce my love handles and my carbon footprint.  If getting toned reduces my carbon footprint at the same time, great!  I will bike places instead of drive and take the stairs instead of the elevator when I can.  I will hike, run, bike and swim outdoors.  If I see trash on the beach, I will pick it up and run to the next trash can to throw it away. 

I will save money and the earth.  I will drive less and carpool and save money on gas.  I will turn off the lights when I’m not in a room and lower my electric bill.  I will wait to fill a full load of dishes and laundry and save on electricity and water.  I will not buy pesticides and garden with compost and other natural materials.  I will plant native plants that use less water.  I will not leave the water running.  Instead of buying new, I will reuse wrapping paper for presents, old t-shirts to clean with, shopping bags to carry things, etc…  (But… maybe I’ll splurge on organic food and sustainably produced clothing…)

I will eat better, organic and local.  I will eat more fruits and vegetables, but I don’t need them to travel thousands of miles and be grown with pesticides to get on my plate.  I will eat less meat (that’s better for my heart and pastures contribute to deforestation and carbon emissions anyways).  I will eat fish from sustainable fisheries.  I don’t need extra hormones, so I will choose milk from cows that aren’t pumped full of them or choose soy.

I will be more organized and efficient.  I will make a conscious decision to purchase items with less packaging, so that I don’t have to deal with disposing the packaging.  I will get rid of things I don’t use in my house and donate them, so that someone else can reuse them.  I will look into making my home more energy efficient (which will help me save money too) - like installing low-flow shower heads to use less water, plugging air leaks in doors and windows, replacing old appliances and windows with energy efficient ones, and adjusting my thermostat to use less energy.  I will plan ahead, so that I can get my errands and shopping done all in one trip, rather than wasting time and gas driving back and forth.

The inaugural Palm Beach Green Drinks kicked off at O’Shea’s Irish Pub on Clematis Street in downtown West Palm Beach this week. YouMayBeGreen.com was there and we had a blast! 

Green Drinks is an “organic, self organizing network,” and chapters are active in over 241 cities worldwide.  Every month, people who have an interest in a greener planet or work in the environmental field meet up for informal sessions known as “Green Drinks.”  Green Drinks invites you to make friends, develop new ideas and forge a new future.  

When all was said and done and the last stragglers, ourselves included, called it a night, the first Palm Beach Green Drinks event attracted around 40 people from a diverse range of backgrounds and professions:  architects, engineers, consultants, advertisers, lawyers (and future lawyers), health care professionals, real estate professionals, financial planners, and government representatives.  The atmosphere was laid back and casual, but there also seemed to be a buzz in the air.  No, it wasn’t just the beer; it was more the sense that we were surrounded by smart, interesting people, ready to make Palm Beach County a little greener, and then some.

In Palm Beach County, Green Drinks will be meeting the second Tuesday of every month.  The next event will be held at O’Shea’s Irish Pub, located at 531 Clematis Street, West Palm Beach, FL 33401.  Don’t miss it.  Visit the Palm Beach Green Drinks chapter website by clicking here.

Sociology, particularly the role of women and the environment, are some of artist Rachel Piering’s favorite topics to address in her art.   

She shows us her shade of green in the picture to the right (Mother Earth. 2007. Acrylic on canvas, 24 in. X 30 in.). 

Rachel says:

The painting is titled “Mother Earth.” Her body represents life and mimics the colors of a blooming flower. Patterns on her stomach symbolize the planet and her motherly embrace of that which is most important. The gray and black represents our everyday abuse of the environment through intentional and unintentional pollution and neglect. Mother Earth sheds a tear because we are not taking care of her baby. We are only given one chance to make the most of our priceless gift–our home. A change can be made if we acknowledge our responsibility to protect our environment and contain the adverse effects of the damage we’ve done. A little consideration can go a long way….

If you want to see more of Rachel’s work on her website, click here.

Thanks Rachel for sharing how you’re green! 

Are you watching Live Earth?  We’re watching right now on Bravo.  Don’t know what Live Earth is? 

Accoridng to www.liveearth.msn.com/about, “Live Earth is a monumental music event that will bring together more than 2 billion people on 7/7/07 to raise awareness about global warming. With 24 hours of music across 7 continents, and performances by more than 150 of the world’s top musicians, Live Earth will engage, connect, and inspire individuals, corporations and governments to take action to solve the climate crisis.”  Right now we’re watching the Black Eyed Peas in the United Kingdom.  This is really cool.  Visit LiveEarth at www.liveearth.org to learn more.

If you went to the concert, send us a picture; or, tell us what you think about it.

We’re making the Live Earth Pledge right now (click here) and hope you do too! 

Well, 7-7-07 hasn’t even ended yet and the media is buzzing about Live Earth.  The event is being praised by many (including us), but there seems to be some interesting criticism out there too.    

CNNMoney.com, CBS News, the ShowBuzz, and even RockStars Against Live Earth have interesting discussion about the hypocrisy of Live Earth, ranging from its huge carbon footprint and the inability of rock stars to be good advocates, to the decision to serve meat.  Is It Getting Warmer noted on YouMayBeGreen.com that Live Earth’s first pledge, to cut global warming pollution by 90% in developed countries, is a ludicrous goal and doing so would impose extreme economic hardship and impact millions of lives globally.      

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I have to admit to buying US Weekly now and then to write this green blog! Who would have thought that my tree-killing, paparazzi-promoting leisure activity would help me confirm the guilt-ridden anxiety I feel?

That feeling of letting cost, time and effort get in the way of being a little greener?

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