Local Green

Last week I looked a few articles covering global trends in Green Politics, this week I’m going micro and discussing a couple of stories about local Green.

Florida is going Green from the Ground Up. The Florida Department of Environmental Protection has launched an initiative that “provides the lodging industry with free technical assistance, encouraging hotels and motels to adopt cost-saving “green” practices that reduce waste, conserve natural resources and improve the bottom line.” My home state of Florida is a hotspot for tourists so this imitative could be a huge step towards Green if the lodging industry participates in this initiative.

Gwinnett County, Georgia is getting serious about recycling by imposing a $500 fine for those who don’t separate recyclables from trash. It is good to see my last state of residence taking such a strong step towards Green. I for one support punitive measures, if and only if the government has made things relatively easy for citizens to be Green. In this case it is warranted because you can't get much easier than curb-side recycling.

As for my current locale, after living in Gainesville, Fl and Athens, Ga, where curb-side recycling is the norm, it’s sad to live in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, where not only is curb-side recycling not available but you can’t even recycle glass anywhere in the county. And Hattiesburg is a freaking college town! Imagine the rest of Mississippi. Not to be too hard on my new home, but we have a long way to go.

What’s going on in your local areas? What needs to happen?

(Side note: It's snowing, I mean full on snowing, here in Mississippi today. Crazy.)