the village green november 2009

T H E

V I L L A G E G R E E N

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THE VILLAGE GREEN IS A PROJECT OF COMMUNITY GROUP, GO GREEN DAYTONA AND IS BROUGHT TO YOU COURTESY OF NETWORKS, INC. AND BROWNING COMMUNICATIONS.

NOVEMBER, 2009 Volume 1, Issue 6 FREE

PAGE 4

“GREEN” YOUR POLITICS

PAGE 6

OVER THERE, SOMEWHERE

PAGE 7

I’M DONE WITH YOU, FLU!

The V i l lage Green Volume 1, I ssue 6

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Gratitude in Action Shannon McLeish, editor and Ciana Maglio, designer

With the coming new year, we

thought it might be a good time

to start posting opportunities to

get involved. If we really want to green the Daytona area, we

need to look for ways to impact

local laws and policies. Luck-

ily, there are a number of local

groups, potentially including

ours, trying to do just that, so

for your reading pleasure,

we’ve included them in this

issue of The Village Green –

just in case you’ve got an open-

ing for one or two more com-mitments to your schedule dur-

ing this busy holiday season.

We’re going to try to make this

a regular service, because this is

our area and we believe that

together we can talk to our gov-

ernment officials and advocate

for what we want to see. We

believe that it is each of our

duty to speak up for what we

want. People working together can make a difference.

We do have some ideas perco-

lating; in fact, one is drawing

from an organization we might

look toward as an example of

what several diverse groups can

accomplish together. While it is

not a “green” group, it is cer-

tainly an effective citizen action

group. F.A.I.T.H. of Volusia (Fighting Against Injustice To-

ward Harmony) is “a congrega-

tion-based community organi-

zation [of people from] … di-

verse racial, religious, and eco-

nomic backgrounds [who]

pledge to work together to ad-

dress the root causes of poverty

and injustice.” Though the

group includes people from

missionary churches, a number

of different branches of Chris-tian churches, a Jewish temple,

and the Unitarian Universalist

Society, everyone is able to

come together to address some

common goals. This idea of a

working group of members

from different walks of life and

with differing points of view is exactly what we had in mind

when we created Go Green

Daytona.

So without further ado, here are

some local green groups and

grassroots community action

organizations you might want

to check out for the new year:

Audubon of Florida

(audubonofflorida.org)

Environmental Council of

Volusia & Flagler Counties

(ecvf.org)

Fair Share Urban Garden Pro-

ject

(wedigfairshare.org)

Florida Trail Association

(floridatrail.org)

Go Green Daytona

(gogreendaytona.com)

Green Halloween® of Daytona

(greenhalloween.org/Daytona)

Halifax Heritage Preservation

Trust

(heritagepreservationtrust.org)

Ormond Mainstreet Organiza-tion

(ormondmainstreet.com)

Save Our Neighborhoods

([email protected])

Save the Loop

(savetheloop.org)

S.T.A.N.D. Striving Towards A

New Daytona (standaytona.com)

Volusia/Flagler Florida Native

Plant Society

(pawpaw.fnpschapters.org)

Volusia County Green Ribbon

Panel

(volusia.org/environmental/

greenribbon/)

Volusia/Flagler Sierra Club

(florida.sierra.org/Volusia)

Volusia Sea Turtle Society

(vstsinc.org)

Volusia-Flagler Surfrider

Chapter

(surfrider.org/volusiaflagler)

Volusia-Flagler Turtle Patrol

(turtlepatrol.com)

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GRIPE “GREEN” YOUR POLITICS

by Gripe, the Green Guru

So, I’ve got a hot question:

What can we do to make our

government more sustain-

able? Particularly here at the local level, much of our gov-

ernment has to do with pre-

sent and future development

– which is certainly another

hot topic around here.

The Brundtland Commission

defines sustainable develop-

ment as "development that

meets the needs of the present

without compromising the ability of future generations

to meet their own needs."

Wikipedia, on the other hand,

breaks the concept of sustain-

able development into “three

constituent parts: environ-

mental sustainability, eco-

nomic sustainability and so-

ciopolitical sustainability.”

Europe delves even deeper.

The Regional Environmental

Center for Central and East-ern Europe refers to

“sustainable human develop-

ment as opposed to sustain-

able development in order to

emphasize issues such as the

importance of gender equal-

ity, participation in decision-

making processes, and access

to education and health.”

Locally, we might define a

sustainable government as a

governing organization that emphasizes citizen involve-

ment in the decision-making

process and focuses on devel-

opment that creates economic,

environmental, and socio-

political sustainability while

endeavoring to fulfill the com-

munity’s present and future

needs.

There are often significant roadblocks to communication

between citizens and govern-

ment officials. When citizens

are not fully heard, govern-

ment’s decisions will not serve

the community’s best interest.

And when decisions do not

represent the will of the peo-

ple, the people often resist –

costing government thousands

of dollars in planning redesign,

time for meetings, and a long list of other expenses. Need-

less to say, this is not exactly

the most efficient method for

sustainable development.

A truly sustainable govern-

ment is there for the benefit of

the people and balances the

interests of the community as a

whole. It requires an active role

from its citizens as well as its

governing political officials –

there is equal responsibility

between the two groups. Luck-

ily, from neighborhood groups

to community gardens to those

who attend public meetings,

citizens of the Volusia-Flagler area are taking a more active

role to ensure that their govern-

ment knows what they consider

important.

If you’re looking to discuss this

further, or to get involved with

grassroots support for a more

sustainable government, bring

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your thoughts to the forum at

GoGreenDaytona.com.

Send your gripes to Gripe at

thevillagegreen@gogreen

daytonabeach.com or the

forum at GoGREENDay-

tona.com and receive a re-

sponse filled with wit and

humor, but always relevant

information.

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Dear Advertiser, An increasing number of people are deciding to use products based on a company’s commitment to the environment. Every day it is becoming more important that busi-nesses make sustain-ability a part of their brand. “Sustainability as we used to talk about it was a buzz word and it was nice to talk about it…not in the context of your real business planning, but as an addendum. Now sustainability has to truly become part of your business because it makes good economic sense, not because it sounds good as a char-ity.”

Muhtar Kent, Chief Executive Officer

of Coca Cola Many business owners believe that changing their processes to fit a more eco-friendly world will be expensive and time consuming. Actu-ally there are many eco-friendly solutions that save you money in the forefront as well as the long term.

If you are making eco-friendly changes to your operations,

here’s a chance to let the Daytona area know

about them.

Advertise with Go Green Daytona

Go Green Daytona is a grassroots community group focused on creat-ing a network of like-minded people and or-ganizations dedicated to improving themselves, our environment and our businesses through con-scious actions and choices about the way we live. Building a green commu-nity offers a wide array of benefits for developers, investors, business own-ers, residents, and the environment. This leads to healthier homes and communities, lower en-ergy and water costs, and a sustainable future. As a business owner you’ll experience a vari-ety of benefits by adver-tising with Go Green Daytona. Your business will enjoy increased brand awareness and you will reach out to a new market within the community. Most impor-tant, you will be recog-nized as a leader in the greening of Daytona Beach. Go Green Daytona cur-rently offers two plat-forms in which to adver-tise:

GoGreenDaytona.com GoGreenDaytona.com is a community-based re-source for everything green: green business directory, green products and services available in the Daytona Beach area; green forums in which consumers interact; green events in the Day-tona Beach area; green news; links to green websites (local, national, and global); articles on how to go green in Day-tona Beach, and more. The Village Green The Village Green is a monthly virtual newslet-ter available online at GoGreenDaytona.com. It is soon to be physically distributed—in a limited run—printed on FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) certified paper. It will be available at the Downtown Farmers Mar-ket, The Volusia Mall, and Ocean Walk Shop-pes & Village. Standard packages are available on both plat-forms and customized advertising opportunities are also available. GoGreenDaytona.com: Place a large ad (300 pixels by 300) on our site for $50.00 per month, or choose a smaller ad (300 pixels by 100) for just $25.00 per month! The Village Green: 3” x 2” ad space is available for $25 per month; or $20 a month with a com-

mitment of three months or longer. Would you like to advertise in both spaces? Choose the Go Green Combo for $45 a month (3” x 2” ad in The Village Green plus a small ad (300 pixels by 100) on GoGreenDay-tona.com; or $40 a month for the same combination with a commitment to three months or longer. The same combo with a large ad on GoGreenDay-tona.com (300 pixels by 300) is available for $70 per month, or $65 if you commit to three month or longer. Thank you for your interest in Go Green Daytona! For advertising opportuni-ties please contact Nicole Miller, Go Green Daytona Marketing Committee member at 561-843-3948

or nicole@benedictadvertising. com

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techniques? Ever hear of the

United Nations Environment

Programme? They took about

one hundred small-scale farms

in twenty-four African nations and the yields doubled with

organic growing practices – not

more chemicals! Why can’t you

change things?”

By now, The Man’s pockets

were overflowing with money

from the long arms reaching out

of the shadows, and his head

was shrouded in butterflies, and

to the surprise of the brave

young natty-dreaded woman he said very softly and quietly, like

the sound of butterfly wings,

“What do you want me to do?”

“Well, you are supposed to

have answers but you just don’t

know the right questions. Come

with me!” she said with a smile,

“I know a place…”

The Man, the butterflies, and the brave young natty-dreaded

woman began the long journey

walking “Over There.”

Once upon a timeless dream, a

young woman with butterflies

hovering over her natty dreads

was wondering where her food came from, so she

slipped on her sandals, looked

up at the sky, down at the

ground, and around the corner

she went to find out. She

walked and walked until lunch

time and beyond, way past

dinner and dusk.

Soon it grew dark and she

realized she was a long, long way from home and so she

curled up with some peaceful

thoughts and fell asleep be-

neath the stars. But when she

awoke with the sunlight and

looked around to see where

she was, she found herself all

the way “Over There” and that

is a powerfully lonely place,

because no one goes there.

“Over There” is where all the

big problems that no one really wants to solve are

growing and she was dis-

turbed looking at them all

lined up in rows stretching for

thousands and thousands of

acres to the horizon.

Being a brave young natty-

dreaded woman, she ventured

in and asked, “What’s your

problem?” There was silence; she was addressing a problem

no one talked about, and it

didn’t talk either.

“What’s your problem?” she

asked again, a little farther

along, and to her delight the

response was, “Food!”

“I like food and I was hoping

to find out where it comes

from!” and she decided to sit and listen to the problem, and

she listened, and she listened,

and the more she listened, the

more questions filled her mind

like a big meal with dessert.

The young natty-dreaded

woman, full of difficult ques-

tions, decided to get up and go ask them, and off she went

shouting, “I will be back!”

Soon she arrived at the market

where you could trade ques-

tions for answers. After

browsing around all the easy

answers, she finally found a

tiny sign that said food, and

out of the shadows stepped

The Man. She couldn’t decide whether he was a government

or a corporation, but before

she even began asking ques-

tions, long arms reached out

of the shadows and stuffed

money into his pockets and

this seemed to please him very

much, and he smiled as he

hushed. But the brave young

woman began asking The

Man question after question,

and more and more butterflies appeared and hovered over

her natty dreads as she spoke.

“Hey Man, if a child dies of

hunger related causes every

six seconds, how can you

keep telling people this food

system works so well? And as

a woman, I want to know why

60 percent of the people going

hungry are women? Don’t women grow most of the food

around the world?”

The long arms stuffed more

money into the pockets of The

Man but the young woman

pressed on through the butter-

flies, “And why do you keep

telling people that they have

to grow food the way you do,

when your way is ruining the

environment and keeping farmers in debt? Haven’t you

ever heard of climate change?

Why don’t you listen to farm-

ers who know how to grow

more food than you do and

can do it the right way that

doesn’t ruin the soil and the

water and give off so many greenhouse gasses?”

Suddenly The Man stepped up

into the face of the young

natty-dreaded woman, and

despite the butterfly that

landed on his nose, he

shouted, “You can’t prove

that!”

“Well,” the brave young woman responded, “the folks

at the Rodale Institute said if

you take 10,000 medium size

farms and convert them to

organic production they will

sequester about seven thou-

sand pounds of carbon per

acre per year. You know…

greenhouse gasses? That’s

like taking over a million cars

off the road. Don’t you know

your industrialized agriculture is responsible for about 25

percent of man-made green-

house gasses? And anyway,

don’t you know that your way

of growing food is just not

sustainable because it depends

on cheap oil? Don’t you know

when oil prices go up and

your food costs go up, more

poor people cannot afford it

and suffer? That’s what hap-pened last year, right? Re-

member the food riots in Haiti

and in Egypt and all those

other places? Don’t you

care?”

“Now wait a minute!” The

Man said through the shroud

of butterflies.

“No, you wait! Don’t you

listen? More and more chemi-cal fertilizers and pesticides

are not working! Didn’t you

hear about the studies done in

Africa with organic farming

Fresh Greens OVER THERE: A Comedy, a Tragedy, and a Fairy Tale

by Joel Tippens

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Little Green Apples COLD KILLER, AND POSSIBLY FLU,

TOO—WHO KNOWS?

by Shannon McLeish

All ingredients should be

organic for best efficacy:

Turmeric, fresh or pow-dered

Ginger, fresh or powdered

Garlic cloves

Onion

Shallot

Black pepper, ground

Pure extra virgin olive oil

Grate all ingredients into a

small bowl.

Serving suggestion: Add

this mixture to tahini hum-

mus, avocado dip, buck-

wheat honey for the kids,

or to organic vegetable

juice.

To boost this mixture’s

effects, add any combina-

tion of cinnamon powder,

elderberry powder, acai

powder, spirulina, chlorella,

cilantro, and/or cayenne.

I can’t tell you how many

times we could feel our-

selves coming down with

something and totally

knocked it out with this.

Speaking of cold and flu,

don’t forget to buy alco-

hol-free all natural sani-

tizer from your local health food store—it’s a must this season. You

might look for one with

cinnamon oil. We just came

across an interesting study

on it recently – and here’s a

secret: it beat out alcohol

and Triclosan as an anti-

bacterial.

Chasing the Green

WHAT’S YOUR URBAN TURF?

by Don Spence

Grass is an important living or-

ganism. It has aesthetic value and

will always have a place in our

urban landscapes, to some degree. In addition, we need it for recrea-

tional fields and soil stabilization.

However, grass is a major cause

of water waste, non-source pollu-

tion, poor carbon management,

and biodiversity destruction.

There have been claims by the

turf grass industry that grass is a

good thing ecologically. This is

just false. As noted above, we have had to make some excep-

tions and use grass in the urban

landscape, but, the energy used to

grow it (including the costs to

manufacture fertilizer and pesti-

cides along with their transport to

a store), and to run lawn mowers

and trimmers, is much larger than

any potential for carbon seques-

tration.

Ecology is the study of organisms in their physical, chemical, and

biological niches, and of their

inter-species relationships. Turf

grass does not fit anywhere in that

definition. Grass considered to be

the “best looking” or “healthiest”

is found as a monoculture organ-

ism; we eradicate the weeds, kill

any insects, and generally dis-

courage any other living thing from encroaching on it. Monocul-

tures treated with fertilizer are

unstable and attract pests. Since

there is no biological diversity,

grass needs artificial nutrient

supplements and a petro-

chemical-based management

program to survive. This turf

grass reality cannot be compared

to the diversity of an urban land-

scape with little or no grass and a majority of native trees and

plants.

Be healthy, be green, and be pol-

lution-conscious. Plant vegetation

native to your region of Florida

and be a biodiversity partner.

Don Spence holds a Masters of

Science in Biology and is a Cer-

tified Municipal Arborist. He is a

Doctoral candidate at the Uni-

versity of Florida, College of

Agriculture and Life Sciences. To

contact Mr. Spence please call

(386) 235-0404 or visit his com-

pany website

NativeFloridaLandscapes.com


SHARE A Little Green Apple

Share your recipes

by sending your 100 to 150 word submission

to

[email protected]

CONTACT

The Village Green

The Village Green is a project of community group, Go Green Daytona

and is brought to you courtesy of Net Works, Inc. and Browning Communications.

November Cover Artist

Miss Jordan Faith Parsons Editors:

Ciana Maglio

GoGreenDaytona

386-676-0011

thevillagegreen@gogreendaytona

beach.com

Shannon McLeish of McEditing

McEditing.com

386-672-5028

Printer:

Browning Communications BrowningCom.net (386) 668-1860

Publisher:

Dustin Ross

of Net Works, Inc.

DaytonaNetworks.com

(386) 868-7259

Marketing/Advertising:

Nicole Miller

of Benedict Advertising

BenedictAdvertising.com

marketing@gogreendaytona

beach.com

(561) 843-3948

Our cover artist, Jordan Faith Parsons, is a mere twelve

years of age, yet she has been painting and selling her art-

work for a few years now. Beginning to label her artwork

under the name Artistry by Jordan, she paints and sells glass

vases and mailboxes, makes crafts of all kinds, and has

started selling one of her favorite “green” features—custom

painted stainless steel water bottles.

Although, Jordan was born in Illinois, she has been a resi-

dent of Florida for over eight years with her parents and

siblings. Jordan’s family noticed her artistic promise from

about age two, and it was at this time that her mother en-

deavored to promote her gift by exposing her to techniques

from art books and shows. Quick to learn, she began paint-

ing at age four, but still enjoys sketching, crocheting, and

working with multiple mediums.

Jordan is a student at Rock Church Academy in Port Orange

and is currently completing seventh grade.

If you are interested in purchasing a commissioned work or

one of her already completed items, please email

[email protected].

Keep it

GREEN!

Sign up on GoGREENDaytona.com

Help us to keep the trees IN the Earth. PASS THIS ALONG

and sign up to receive information on green events and activities online.

Go Green Daytona is a network to unify and sup-

port efforts that create a progressive and sustain-

able environment for all. For more information

call 386-676-0011.

the village green november 2009

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