Cities, County getting greener
At the recent Keys Sustain-Ability Project (KSAP) meeting in Marathon, all of the cities in the Keys as well as Monroe County reported real progress in their efforts to make each area greener. Some of the teams, such as in Marathon and Key West, have completed inventories of their energy usage, others have taken specific actions.
Key Colony Beach recently formed its own green team and even tiny Layton has taken steps to reduce its impact upon the environment.
GLEE president Alison Higgins was delighted with the progress and indicated that she had heard about some of the projects for the first time herself.
Monroe County
Monroe County commissioners Mario DiGennaro and George Neugent took the stage at the Marathon Community Theater to acknowledge that global warming has a definite impact on our local economy. Whether it’s damage to the coral reefs, which many tourists come to see, or a rise in ocean levels, the Keys must take action now. Both commissioners expressed their support for what GLEE is doing.
Then county engineer Dave Koppel cited some of the specifics about what county personnel are doing. Some of them include management strategies that include encouraging employees to turn off lights or report water leaks. Air conditioning system have been modified to control the temperature when no one is in building. The county is also encouraging carpooling and switching light bulbs as funds are available. He acknowledged that there is room for improvement when it comes to recycling.
The county is now recycling asphalt, using it on road shoulders instead of lime rock. It is also recycling demolition concrete and other products. Finally, the county is looking at modifying the county code to provide incentives to the building community.
Key West
Annalise Mannix said that this city’s greenhouse gas emissions inventory is now complete. A local Green Coalition has now brought 10 items to the city commission for its approval.
Included among those items are an increased effort in the area of recycling, a limit on plastic bags that are given by local businesses, a limit on Styrofoam use, a community composting center, and an advisory board for waste and green issues. Mayor McPherson has agreed to adopt this plan.
Mannix also said that Key West has increased its recycling rate by 5% in just three months. That means there has been a doubling of most recyclables in households. Now the team wants to enact a mandatory recycling ordinance. Again, the mayor has agreed to take the ordinance to the city attorney.
The team in Key West gave out 200 recycling bins at its recent fair in less than one hour. The city has also enhanced its website to go to the recycling site and placed commercials on cable TV urging great recycling.
Marathon
City vice-mayor Chris Bull reported that Marathon’s green team, chaired by Michael Welber, has completed its 
baseline inventory and is ready to take the next steps. Now the team will look for ways to reduce consumption of electricity in the various city buildings, reduce car mileage, trim usage in city offices (such as reducing paper consumption), and also reduce financial outlays.
The team will also propose ways for local citizens to do the same, whether it’s encouraging more car pooling, increasing the currently low rates of recycling, or turning off lights during non-business hours.
Marathon will submit budgets in June or July and the team hopes to have its recommendations in place before then to incorporate some of their ideas into an action plan.
Key Colony Beach
Ron Sutton, vice mayor, indicated that the small city is starting a green team. Currently there are five members who are working on ideas to make the city greener. Key Colony has already made progress in the area of recycling. Residents reported that they didn’t have bins. Now they can come to city hall to get a bin. In addition, the city sent every resident a copy of rules on recycling properly.
The group is also concerned about their canals filling up with trash.
Layton
According to city councilor Skip Haring, the Layton council has readopted the US Mayors Climate Protection Agreement. Now the community is looking to adopt a comprehensive plan that includes greening the community. The local green team is also looking to increase recycling and has eliminated all invasive exotic plants and trees.
Islamorada
Karin Wolfe, chair of the upper Keys green team, reported that This upper Keys city recently adopted a sustainability plan. Now locals are looking at what the next steps should be. There has been an increase in recycling since the GLEE sponsored fair. Now Islamorada hopes to build upon that success. Zully Heymeyer from the Village reported that the village is working to create a recycling ordinance in time to be used for bidding the village’s solid waste contract, which is up for renewal in October.
In addition, working committees have been created to healthy living at work; and for working with youth and leadership.
Utilities in the Keys – both water and electric – have joined with GLEE in its efforts to reduce energy and water consumption in the islands. Representatives of these groups reported at the recent Keys Sustain-ability Program session about what each utility is doing to reduce greenhouse gas consumption.
The Florida Keys Electric Cooperative, for example, has made some dramatic moves to reduce its own energy consumption as well as that of its customers. The company had switched to B99 biodiesel in its trucks. Unfortunately the B99 blend proved to be too much for its bucket trucks on take off so FKEC moved to B50.
According to TJ Patterson of FKEC, the company’s new building in Tavernier will have many LEED elements in it including using recycled materials, high efficiency chillers, and a special ventilation system. In addition, the company is installing 150,000 watts of solar panels in Marathon office. That power will go right onto grid.
FKEC is also installing a solar array over the parking garage in Tavernier.
Florida Keys Aqueduct Authority
Company executive director Jim Reynolds told the crowd at the KSAP session about the current efforts to preserve and protect the Everglades. Restoration plans include diverting the water flow back to the natural system. No additional fresh water will be withdrawn from aquifer.
As a direct result FKAA will have to rely upon alternative water supplies. Reynolds pointed to three possibilities – recycled water, sea water, and brackish water. The company can drill 1700 feet down to tap a brackish water aquifer. Doing so would require less energy than to desalinate it.
The South Florida Water Management District has provided the funding for an alternative water supply. Reynolds also commented that demand is higher than FKAA can pull from well field so they must blend with brackish water.
FKAA’s Public Information Office Colleen Tagle spoke about the project that she has pushed hard for -- the new Marathon Customer Service Center which should achieve LEED Platinum certification. The center will have a museum and interpretive center, a green roof, solar PV panels, a large cistern and many other green elements.
Keys Energy
The company is installing a 1 MW solar power system on Big Pine that will power 350 homes. They are also working with GE to use biodiesel fuel in the company’s backup generators. The problem that KEYS has encountered is that the fuel stays in tanks for a long time and that could compromise the fuel.
The company anticipates it will save $22,000 by not leaving their computers on. They have also put a carbon calculator on the company website -- http://www.kwcityelectric.com/.
South Florida Water Management District
Cecilia Weaver from WFWMD talked about the group’s major initiatives including encouraging water conservation, a rain barrel program, looking for alternative water supplies, and local incentive programs. The group is also working with GLEE and FKAA on a Keys-wide cistern program.
Keys Hydro Power
Former Monroe County commissioner Shirley Freeman spoke on behalf of a new venture that is attempting to harness the motion of the tides in the Keys to generate electric power. Founded by Douglass Bedgood, this research corporation will try different turbines and methods to see if they can turn tide water into electricity. Recently the Sanctuary council voted to recommend permit approval.
Preliminary testing will occur at Florida Keys Community College. Students will do some of the welding, marine science students will help with monitoring and collection of data. Florida Atlantic University is also a partner in the project, testing power from the gulfstream.
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At her talk at the KSAP session, Jennifer Woofter pointed 
to what she called the five deadly sins of sustainable community planning and how to avoid them. These include:
1. No sustainability framework. It’s like working a puzzle without looking at the cover of the box. As a result groups can’t define sustainability and create no decision tree to guide their choices. Typically these organizations generate lots of initiatives but form no clear direction. She recommends a book and process called The Natural Step for Communities.
2. Sin #2. Establishing no baseline. As a result, communities don’t understand where they’re starting. That makes it very difficult to plan the next step. These communities can provide lots of anecdotes but very little data and can’t measure their progress.
3. No targets. (or bad targets.) It gives these communities no sense of progress; no plan to meet targets; no sense of urgency.
4. No budget. Places that rely upon primarily volunteer organizations tend to focus on low hanging fruit with only minor cost savings. Eventually big savings come from big investments. Groups should look at the time frame and at the payback period. There are a number of ways to finance the changes including local funding, state/federal funding, private funds and others. The Center for the New American Dream provides grants for local governments.
5. No tracking system. As with not establishing a baseline, these communities can provide lots of anecdotes, but little data. There is software for tracking for cities such as that provided by ICLEI.
