Hello!  Thanks again for sharing how you’re green!  Here’s the remix…

Here’s how Shane Davis, a Naturalist/Biologist, is green:

“Attached are a couple of photos of an area 600 acres in size that I planned for an entire year to restore.  It was  a 1.5 mile state park creek that had been re-aligned due to extreme storm water run-off and erosion due to urban development.

This project created a viable, sustainable ecosystem - creating new habitat for wildlife to flourish.  I organized and led a team of 156 volunteers to plant 18,000 trees and shrubs along the creek side to prevent stream bank erosion, cleanse the water and generate new habitat for all wildlife.  This was 3 years ago and I saw it last week for the the first time and it is amazingly teaming with invertebrates and vertebrates of all sorts.  The stream banks are solidly intact and the willow shrubs are now 12 feet tall from planting 6″ cuttings!”

 He also sent us a video - thanks for sharing how you’re green Shane!

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.      

(more…)

Show us your shade of green.  Send us a video or photo along with a brief description to yourpics@youmaybegreen.com.  We’ll pick the best ones and feature them on www.YouMayBeGreen.com and our myspace and facebook pages!

To get the ball rolling, Matt from YouMayBeGreen.com would like to share his small, but nevertheless important, recycling achievement with you…

I noticed that my office burned through paper like there was no tomorrow.  Even though I knew some co-workers would give me a hard time, I had to do something.  So, I talked to my boss, had an office meeting, and even presented my ideas before the board of directors for our office building.  As a result, my office and the rest of the building now recycle paper and cardboard waste in a dumpster. 

I am proud to see that the dumpster is full almost all the time.  My building will now recycle approximately 156 cubic yards of paper and cardboard each year which is equivalent to filling 1.5 swimming pools annually! 

In the end, everyone was open to idea of recycling and even thankful for my efforts. Although, some co-workers handy with Photoshop posted this sign on every recycling bin in the office.  Recycle, or else… At least it looks like I’ve been working out.

Zenta says…

I carry my own mug around and reuse it at coffee shops, at work, gas stations, etc. I am reducing waste, saving money, and, I think I am also letting business owners know that their customers care about the environment!

I also always carry an over-sized purse with me… that way, even if I don’t have a canvas shopping bag with me, - I can always stick quick purchases in my own purse and avoid getting a plastic bag.

I save organic kitchen scraps… my tea bags, coffee grinds, vegetable left overs, pasta, egg shells, etc.- and compost in a bin outside. I use it for my garden and soil - keeping it healthy, attracting good bugs, and saving me money from having to buy top soil! Most importantly though, we’re reducing waste.

Since I’ve started, I have realized that my garbage can always has a little room left in it on trash day… something that never really happened before!

Thanks Zenta for sharing how you’re green!