Southwest Florida’s Green Initiatives How Cumulative Acts Are Making a Difference
by Linda Sechrist
“It is not given to us to know which acts, or by whom, will cause the critical mass to tip toward an enduring good. What’s needed for dramatic change is an accumulation of acts… We know that it does not take ‘every- one on Earth’ to bring justice and peace, but only a small, deter- mined group who will not give up during the first, second or hundredth gale.” ~ Clarissa Pinkola Estes
I
n 2007, seasonal Naples resident Dianne Rhodes hosted a screening of the Oscar-winning cli- mate-change documentary, An Inconvenient Truth, for
MoveOn.org, a family of organizations that helps con- cerned citizens find their political voice. Then, in 2008, she organized the Naples Network for Climate Action, in conjunction with
350.org, a global grassroots movement founded by activist and author Bill McKibben to solve the climate crisis. Ever since, the small group of concerned lo- cal citizens that were attracted to Rhodes’ efforts to help the planet has been tirelessly working to promote green initia- tives within their Southwest Florida communities. Since 2008, other than several public events, the ac- cumulation of small acts intended to tip Southwest Florida towards sustainability has occurred behind the scenes. Activities to build public awareness included two events in 2009: Naples Leading the Way to Sustainability, held at Fleischmann Park in conjunction with
350.org; and Awaken- ing the Dreamer, Changing the Dream, a symposium. Hands Across the Sand took place in 2010, along with the U Gotta Go Green! Eco-Extravaganza at Mercato, in North Naples; and No Impact Challenge week, which helped Eco-Extrava- ganza attendees make good on their promises for eco-action. In April 2011, a joint effort between Commuter
ServicesFL.com, the Smart Growth Coalition of Collier County, BikeWalkLee, the Fort Myers Office of Sustainability, Lee County Sustainability Office,
UGottaGogreen.com and private citizens resulted in a successful, 10-day “Taking It to the the Streets” Transportation Transformation campaign. Collier County will follow up with a Commuter Services Day on October 20.
“Our most recent
350.org event, the Moving Planet event, at Lakes Park, in Fort Myers, as well as a second annual No Impact Week this month, helps to keep local
28 Collier/Lee Counties
swfl.naturalawakeningsmag.com
momentum going,” says Marjorie Ziff-Levine. She is the founder of U Gotta Go Green!, a hyperlocal eco-networking web portal and green business directory, and also serves as a volunteer mem- ber of the Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) Collier task force.
PACE Collier Project PACE, a citizen’s panel created by Collier County Commissioner Jim Coletta, is a public-private partner- ship opportunity for communities
and local governments to reduce energy use and create jobs. Volunteer panel member Steve Hart says, “The task force, initially formed in 2010, has been exploring a commercial PACE initiative while waiting for the elimination of roadblocks from residential PACE initiatives.” PACE’s city- and county-run programs will enable prop- erty owners to invest in new energy technologies without taxpayer subsidies. They will be able to “choose” to partici- pate and repay the costs of their projects through an assess- ment on their annual property taxes over a fixed period. This eliminates the greatest barrier to these investments: signifi- cant upfront costs.
After Florida’s 2010 legislative session authorized the program for energy retrofits on residential and commercial properties, more than 12 Florida cities and several counties been developing their own PACE programs to support energy bill savings, green job growth and the foundations of a new energy economy in their communities.
“PACE’s commercial program will particularly benefit Florida schools with flat roofs that are perfect for solar panels,” advises Marie Barnett, an environmental architect and owner of Barnett Design Studio, who is also a PACE volunteer panel member. Barnett says older schools will also be able to retrofit with more energy-efficient, wind-resistant windows.
NPower
Cloe Waterfield is the founder of Twentyfifty, LLC, a scien- tific research and consulting company that helps organiza- tions and individuals optimize the environment in their daily operations and long-term business goals. The sustainability and environmental consultant’s latest outreach program for the city of Naples is NPower, made possible by grant money from the federal government’s stimulus program. NPower’s website,
NPowerNaples.com, allows resi- dents and businesses to stay informed about sustainability initiatives and new criteria for achieving a green certifica-
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