I met Dianne Rhodes at the Alliance for a New Humanity in Costa Rica last spring. She is a mover and shaker in the State of Florida and volunteers as Coordinator of the Naples Network for Climate Action. The following actions can be done locally all across our nation. This is an example of leadership from the ground up!

OCTOBER E-NEWS HAPPENINGS

1) Presentation to Naples City Council
An energy audit has now been completed, establishing Naples green house gas emissions. Now goals can be set to ultimately minimize our community's impact on Global Climate Change.

2) Last June the Naples Unitarian Universalist Congregation earned commendation by becoming recognized as a Green Sanctuary (by the Unitarian Universalist Ministry for Earth). See what actions they’ve taken to make a positive difference in this time of climate crisis at www.naplesgreensanctuary.com.

3) Rain barrels with set-up instructions and kit are available at only $50 each at our UF County Extension Center (14700 Immokalee Road, 10 miles east of I-75, 353-4244). They’ll be on display at the SW Florida Yard & Garden Show held at the extension office on Oct 25th & 26th as well as at the 3rd Street Farmers’ Market each Saturday morning starting next month. The benefit of using rain barrels to collect rain from gutters includes (1) reduction of runoff that may be contaminated with pesticide or fertilizer into our storm drains—which then runs into our waterways, harming corals & causing algae bloom; and (2) we can use the water for our gardens & lawns via the faucet attached at the bottom of the barrel. A rain garden has just been built at City Hall which is a great showcase project for capturing stormwater on your property.

4) Petition to BAN PLASTIC BAGS in grocery and drug stores:
Millions of disposable plastic bags are used in Naples every year, and most are made of plastic. The filmy plastic grocery bags are hard to recycle and are messy. They blow around our streets, snag on trees and float on waterways. Some reports say the plastic shreds are eaten by fish and other marine life and kill them. Plastic bags are made with petroleum products, and usually are used just once before discarding. We at NNCA know that the answer to "paper or plastic" should be NEITHER! Of course the best way to reduce waste is not to create it. Cloth bags should be used when shopping, and a nominal fee of possibly 20 cents could be charged if plastic is still required.



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Feeding The People ~
What's An Acre Worth?

One acre can produce:

130,500 heads of lettuce
or

62,250 bunches of carrots
or

14,500 pounds of potatoes

or
160,800 bunches of mixed greens

One acre alone can produce 10 tons of mixed vegetables, enough to feed approximately 250 people annually at 80 pounds per person. (Figures are based on yearly production averages at The Root Connection Farm using sustainable, chemical-free growing methods.)

King County has designated approximately 1100 acres of farmland, which is available for cultivation in the Agricultural Production District along the Sammamish Valley. Using top production methods, each year these acres could produce 22,000,000 pounds of fresh, wholesome food. The combined population of Woodinville/Redmond area is about 100,000 people. These acres could feed 2 3/4 times that many people...impressive! We don't really need any more reason than that to keep our local farmland available.

Our Sammamish Valley ranks in the top ten most fertile in the Unites States!