St. Petersburg may sit next to the blue Gulf of Mexico, but the city has turned green. Its breadth of eco-initiatives and sustainable development planning have earned it the title of Florida’s first official “Green City.”

The Florida Green Building Coalition (FGBC) developed the criteria that deems a city "green." The FGBC examines a city’s performance and planning in the areas of energy, water, air, land, and waste. Some of St. Pete’s initiatives include:

• A city fleet that includes biodiesel and hybrid vehicles
• One of the nation’s largest reclaimed water systems
• Land conservation
• Environmental education events
• Popular recycling and yard waste-to-mulch programs
• Extensive bike trail system
• Energy efficiency measures

Ken Shapiro, a FGBC Board member, explained:

"St. Petersburg has emerged as a leader in the state in developing sound programs to ensure the sustainability of its community in the near and long-term future. Especially considering St. Petersburg's location in the state's most densely populated county, the strides the city continues to make in enhancing the environment are admirable and a great example for other cities in the state to follow."

The Green City designation is yet another feather in the city’s green cap. The St. Pete Vision 2020 is an extensive plan, developed by citizens, that identifies values like sustainability, healthy families, education, and transportation, and gives the city a set of goals and objectives to reach these ideals. This long-term vision, combined with real, measureable initiatives, has set a high bar for cities across the nation.

Cross posted at Maria Energia

City of St. Petersburg
Florida Green Building Council

The Swedish government, consumers, and businesses have joined hands and taken the leap to escape fossil fuels completely by the year 2020.

Already, 26 percent of Sweden’s energy comes from non-fossil fuels sources. There are cars that run on methane instead of gasoline, and heat that comes from wood pellets instead of oil. Currently, most of their non-fossil fuel electricity comes from hydroelectric power and…nuclear. But don’t choke on your lingonberry just yet – the government has committed to get new electricity from clean, renewable sources like wind and wave power, rather than more nukes.

These advances aren’t happening overnight: the Swedish government had to make the policies that brought about these changes, like tax breaks for heating homes with renewable fuel and a green certificate system that requires utilities to get a certain amount of their electricity from renewables. What’s more, motor giant Volvo plans to be the first heavy industry to emit no global warming pollution by the end of this year.

Solid government policies, determined consumers and innovative businesses could catapult the Swedes out of the fossil fuel age. In fact, I’d bet my lefse on it.

BBC: Sweden aims for oil-free economy
Environmental Science and Technology Online: Sweden to kick fossil fuel habit by 2020
MSNBC: Sweden hopes to be totally green by 2020