from the crow's nest

Mary Peters is our Transportation Secretary. She wants us to know that traffic congestion has gotten worse. (duh!) Lost hours have increased from 16 to 47 in the last 20 years in 85 of our largest cities. One can sit and be stuck in traffic an equivalent of eight work days a year - that's almost 2 weeks. FYI Los Angeles has the least amount of pavement per person and Dallas has twice as much with half the congestion. - George Will, The Washington Post as printed March 12, 2007 in The St Petersburg Times.

Florida land developers should be hung out to dry! Now we have one who wants to develop an area by Big Bend and tear up 40 acres of sea grass so that boats can get to a marina. They are proposing to dig a channel, 2 miles long and 7 feet deep, smack dab through the Big Bend Seagrass Aquatic Preserve. Amazing!

"Ted Turner lives in tiny Lamont, near Tallahassee, on his whopping 31,000-acre Avalon Plantation. . . . Watch for his new love: renewable energy." - St Petersburg Times March 12, 2007.

I'm going to start compiling a list of ecological-friendly steps people can take to reduce energy consumption, recyling, or better management of our planet. There are the obvious steps which I may or may not reiterate - haven't decided but, for now, here are a few thoughts.

1. When using a clothes dryer, just heat up the articles and then remove them to line dry or dry flat. Reduces winkles, eliminates ironing, and saves electricity.

2. Telecommute one day a week.

3. Live closer to work - reduce driving.

4. Assess business travel and create more efficiencies.

5. Avoid prepackaged food.

Not sure what to say - I've got spring fever?! The Florida weather has finally turned to 'beautiful'. Cool mornings and nice, not too hot days. I'm back out into the yard (all my yard is a garden - NO GRASS) and am surprised to see how much things have grown over the winter. Seems like summer growth rates were attained. The oak mess is all over the place and the weeds are starting to sprout up. We are already on 'once a week' watering restrictions which is just fine with me. Whoever planted this didn't truly xeriscape so I've decided to remove anything not hardy enough to make the lower watering schedule and replace it with flowering native plants and shrubs. The scheffleras will probably never die - oh well. I can't wait to get rid of the dry, dry decorative grass that has turned brown and ugly. Something with flowers and butterflies will be so much better.

So I guess I'll make a run the the local native plant nursery this weekend and start my planning.