MyTampaLife » Environmental Issues

What About Blue? St Petersburg man helps solve the Global Water Crisis

Denis Baldwin — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 17:14:00 +0000

When you meet Kevin Lilly, you probably wouldn’t assume that he’s out to change the world. He’s a young guy with disheveled hair, a rock and roll wardrobe and a quirky smile. To look at him, you probably wouldn’t realize that his actions and the actions of those he’s helping to rally will go a long way to put an end to death and disease that dirty water (and lack of water) in remote areas all over the world.

Kevin runs the website “What About Blue“, a social network bringing people together to solve the global water crisis. He’s based right here in St. Petersburg and attends events to promote his cause. The mission is simple, to bring awareness of an issue that many of us in the civilized world take for granted. Starting in July and ending in October, he and two of his fellow adventurers (Brian Coggan and Danielle Katz) will kayak 2500 miles down the length of the Mississippi from Bemidji, MN, to the Gulf of Mexico, in order to help raise awareness of Water and inspire action to preserve, cultivate, restore, protect, conserve, and share safe water.

‘What About Blue?’ exists to encourage people to think specifically about Water and all the ways it is used in our lives. WAB aims to not only raise money to help combat this critical issue (Did you know that over 1.2 billion people live without daily access to clean drinking water?) but to create a network of individuals around the globe who are linked by their passion and concern for water.

Money raised will go to charities working on water issues, locally and nationally preserving and restoring waterways, and internationally to help build wells for those without access to clean water. For just $5 per month, you could help bring water to dozens of people who need it. Such a small contribution (about what you’d pay for a Latte!) could dramatically reduce water born diseases, and cut death in third world countries considerably.

Here’s a video by Fox Tampa Bay covering Kevin’s quest:

Being in the Tampa Bay Area, we’re all surrounded by water. We swim in the gulf. We deal with hurricanes. We are constantly at odds with our city government over when to water our lawns and how much water to use. Now consider what would happen if our water supply dried up. Consider how bad it is in developing nations where no one has access to clean water and the water they do have is filled with bacterial, viruses and waste.

Even if you don’t have money to donate, sign up for What About Blue and listen to the encouraging stories of Kevin Lilly and his collective. You will think twice before wasting water again.

Creative Loafing’s Green 100 Party

Denis Baldwin — Wed, 06 May 2009 12:53:00 +0000

Last night, I attended Creative Loafing’s Green 100 Party, a celebration of the 100 people, places and businesses that are paving the way for a greener and more environmentally sound Tampa Bay. Everyone who showed up had the same goal, to network with fellow green minds and share ways to solve the eco-crisis locally.

The Green 100 Class of 2009

The Green Bloggers for CL’s new Green Tampa initiative.

Everyone was encouraged to take a tree home and plant it. Mine is now growing in my backyard.

Joshua from Zen Glass, makers of eco friendly glass materials.

Presentations were made, explaining our green impact and how we can help.

I can’t even tell you how much I enjoyed 360 Vodka, the world’s only fully green alcohol. From processing to bottling, the whole deal is green. They even take the tops back for recycling!

Sherry Smith from Creative Loafing MC’ing the event, and sharing the spotlight with the 360 Vodka guy.

Joe Redner makes an appearance.

It’s Heidi, from Got Jokes? Fame, hanging out with Karl Simon.

The paparazzi were all over this.

Human pyramid!

After a few drinks, even the most sophisticated can do the pop-n-lock.

.. and some more random photos from the event:

Interview with Jen from GoGreenItems.com

Denis Baldwin — Wed, 06 May 2009 12:37:00 +0000

Everyone knows how important that Green Living is, especially today. Saving energy, minimizing waste and becoming sustainable are goals we can all live with, and a lot of vendors are stepping up to the plate to help us do this. Tampa’s own Jennifer Meier started GoGreenItems.com, a bay area online store that sells recycled handbags, eco-friendly gifts, organic clothing and recycled jewelry, organic personal care products, green gadgets, organic baby products and other green items for your home. Jen agreed to some question and answer about her store.

1. Why your interest in green products?
I wanted to develop a business where I would be able to give back and make a difference. Being a green company inspires me every day to seek out new products and speak with others that share my same passion.

2. How long have you had your store open?
Our vision for the company was developed a few years ago. We officially launched the site in November 2008.

3. Do you have any stories about how you or your store really helped someone change their world for the greener?
For the month of April I sent out information about Earth Day to all my customers. I had a customer that is a Middle school teacher. She read the information to her entire middle school, also her girlfriend used it at her church high school youth group retreat. That information was able to be shared with hundreds of students. With educating our youth about Earth Day it creates a greener world. That was really a nice way to show me that people do appreciate the work that our company is doing.

4. With Earth Day come and gone, what are you hoping the world has learned or will do to be greener?
That we can all make the world greener, it just takes one item at a time.

5. What’s the plan for your store long term?
I would love to see both the store and green practices go global.

6. Are there any green resources, forums or blogs that you read and can recommend?
Green Maven and Eco Seek are great green product resources. For blogs WordPress, BlogCatalog, and Creative Loafing has a great green blog forum.

7. What are your greatest green sellers?
The recycled juice box hand bags are really popular right now. The Chili pepper, it is a hot water pump. We can’t seem to keep them in stock. Another great product is the Klean Kanteen it is a reusable bottle.

8. Anything else your future customers should know?
Please visit the site often, we are always updating with new innovate green products.

There you have it, another Bay Area Green personality promoting ways to help the environment. I’m always looking to cover more environmental stories, so please feel free to submit yourself or others who do something substantial to improve the quality of eco-life here in the Tampa Bay area.

City of Tampa Rolls Out New Recycling Program

Denis Baldwin — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 12:26:00 +0000

Mayor Pam Iorio and the Tampa Downtown Partnership will officially unveil a new recycling program in downtown Tampa and the Channel District on Earth Day. The event will take place on Wednesday, April 22, 2009 at the corner of Kennedy Boulevard and Franklin Street at 11 a.m. (southeast corner of Lykes Gaslight Square Park).

The City of Tampa is placing 20 newly designed receptacles for recycling plastic and aluminum throughout downtown and the Channel District. The green receptacles will be placed along popular pedestrian corridors to assist with recycling efforts. The recycled items will be collected by the Tampa Downtown Partnership Clean Team and brought to a central location for pickup by the City of Tampa Solid Waste Department. Funding for the program was provided by the Downtown and Channel District Community Redevelopment Areas.

Get rid of your junk on Tampa Freecycle

Denis Baldwin — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 16:08:00 +0000

One man’s trash is another man’s treasure. That’s the premise of the Freecycle Network. The concept is simple. Instead of throwing away items that might still be useful such as furniture, knick-knacks, clothes, tools or just about anything else, you put it up on a message board and people can claim it. Alternatively, if you’re looking for something, and most anything is perfectly acceptable to ask for, you can post a wanted ad and people may respond. With over 4,675 groups with 6,365,000 members, this is a community that grows daily and has helped so many people.

I’ve been a freecycle member for many years. 5 years ago in Michigan, I was a moderator for a few of the groups there. I saw the efforts of freecycle help many families who had nothing and were living in squaller to get on their feet. I also saw many people with garages full of junk able to find new space without filling landfills. It was very rewarding seeing the process at work. This is the re-use portion of the the reduce-reuse-recycle movement, and it’s making a big impact.

When I was down on my luck and trying to get my life together, freecycle helped me furnish my entire house. Couches, beds, tables, even a computer all just for asking for it. When I was able to afford nicer things, I freecycled the old stuff back out, as well as some other things I had gathered along the way. These days, I pick up a few nice things if I see them, but I seem to give more than I ask for. Last night, I picked up a 55 gallon fish tank from a very nice local freecycler. A month ago, I gave away 3 computers that I refurbished and a bunch of tech gear to needy families. The give and take is a thrill in and of itself.

Every city has a Freecycle. The Tampa Freecycle is here:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/freecycletampa/

As of this morning, they had 15,122 members. Feel free to sign up and post your offers or wants.

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