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The Green Community week in review: Democrats call on Gov. Crist to ban offshore drilling, hybrid and electric vehicles for Tampa Bay, wildlife affected by oil spill, and more

By Katie Machol Simon on Sun, Jun 27, 2010 at 7:42 pm

[image-1] - The Chevy Volt, a sleek and shiny looking car, was stationed next to the rest of the hybrids in the lot, but this one didn’t look like a hybrid car at all. In fact, it looked sporty and slightly reminiscent of something out of 2 Fast 2 Furious.

Sarasota County seeks ban on surfing despite its positive environmental and economic impact on local beaches - The irony of the situation: the local surfing community assists in keeping the area clean and supports the ban on offshore drilling.

The Gulf wildlife death toll rises while the oil still flows on (video) - The latest reports on the oiled wildlife toll is that the numbers are quickly rising, with either not enough ships able to reach the animals in the affected areas or the fact that many of the ones that have been rescued simply aren't surviving.

Chlorine-free swimming pools: A safe, non-toxic alternative - Chlorine is a very toxic chemical that is easily absorbed through the skin. Here's a safer, greener alternative to chlorine-filled swimming pools.

Hernando County residents come together to talk about the oil spill - A town hall community meeting of sorts occurred Wednesday afternoon at R Beach Restaurant in Hernando County. To a crowd of approximately 30 people, marine biologist Dr. Riki Ott spoke with residents and fishermen about the oil spill crisis.

Green up your office by saving energy and resources - Simply developing a few good habits and using some of the easy steps discussed here you will be able to make your office time more eco-friendly and rewarding.

Hands Across the Sand event locations around Tampa Bay and press conference information - Concerned residents and visitors will hit Tampa Bay area beaches and hundreds of locations in the U.S. and abroad this Saturday to join Hands Across the Sand.

Going green on the home front: Tips and gadgets for saving energy and water - Follow these tips and you'll surely be on your way to an eco-friendlier lifestyle, not to mention, saving money on your bills.

Bicycle polo gears up in Tampa Bay - Bike polo is a game that has grown to considerable popularity in the Bay area. Cyclists from St. Petersburg, Tampa and Sarasota play matches weekly.

ABC Wine and Spirits wants your wine corks for their 'Save the Corks' recycling program - Do your part: Drink and be merry, then drop your corks off to your local ABC Wine and Spirits store.

Highlights from International Surfing Day on St. Pete Beach - Founded by Surfing Magazine and the Surfrider Foundation, ISD dedicates one day out of the year focusing on Surfing and surfers' local communities.

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What’s the buzz on the latest issues in the Green Community? Check out what you may have missed last week:

Markey says Jones Act doesn't apply in gulf spill, foreign ships are helping out he says - Several Florida lawmakers, most prominently Attorney General Bill McCollum and U.S. Senator George LeMieux, both Republican, have been calling on the Obama administration to waive the Jones Act and allow foreign tankers to come into Gulf waters to help skim the oil out of the water.

Savvy recycling initiative: Gathering unwanted items that can be upcycled into something useful - Upcycling takes materials normally slated for the landfill and converts them into usable consumer goods. These goods might be unusual handbags or they might be fertilizers made from soda bottles, but they all repurpose garbage and reward contributors.

Wow Green: An eco-friendly, non-toxic alternative to household cleaners - A non-toxic household cleaner that uses eco-friendly shipping and packaging methods.

With 46,000 pieces of plastic floating in each square mile of our oceans, it's not just the oil we need to worry about - If the oceans continue to become filled with with debris and garbage, their many systems will begin to fail and it will not be long before the land dwelling creatures feel the effects.

Florida Democrats again call on Charlie Crist to hold a special session on banning offshore drilling from Florida waters - And no, a ban on offshore drilling in state waters wouldn't have prevented everything that is happening in the Panhandle from going on right now - the Deepwater Horizon spill was in federal waters, close to Louisiana. But we've seen the literal sea change in attitude amongst Floridians when it comes to drilling in state waters (a 48 point swing).