Urban sprawl is a concept most residents of East Orlando are familiar with, mostly because they’ve experienced it. If you’ve had to drive to your grocery store, travel from your home in East Orlando to Downtown Orlando for work, or depend on your car in any way whatsoever to get from point A to point B, then you’ve encountered urban sprawl.

Unfortunately, East Orlando is somewhat known for urban sprawl - the spreading of a city to rural land, which causes residents to rely on their cars to get their daily tasks done. The travel time may affect us, but how are the emissions from our cars affecting the environment?

In the most recent study done by the Environmental Protection Agency, transportation is the fasting-growing source of greenhouse gases in the United States, and was responsible for approximately 29 percent of total greenhouse gas emissions in 2006.

The agency also reported that a passenger car puts out an average of 19.4 pounds of carbon dioxide emissions from a gallon of gasoline. That may not seem like a lot - after all, a gallon of gas can probably last a few days for a resident of Avalon Park who has to drive to Downtown Orlando for work. But that’s only one person - the agency calculated that approximately 380 million gallons of gasoline are used in one day by the United States.

Most Orlando residents have to drive to work, like Adrienne Hundley. She works with Gator Adventure Productions, a traveling entertainment show where she handles alligators. The production company performs shows across Central Florida at places such as McDonald’s on International Drive and Boggy Creek in Kissimmeee. On average, Hundley says she usually drives about 30 minutes to work from her apartment off of East Colonial Drive.

“Luckily I work with my fiancé, so we carpool when we’re both scheduled to work at the same location,” Hundley says. “But sometimes I really hate the drive when I have to go by myself. I love what I do, but the drive gets to me if I have to drive in morning rush hour traffic, in afternoon rush hour traffic, or if I’m just by myself.”

Hundley also depends on her car to check off her to-do list on a day-to-day basis. She takes classes at Valencia Community College’s East Campus, which is off of North Econlockhatchee Trail. Although she says the drive only takes her about five minutes, it’s the only option she has to get to school.

“A five minute drive is probably about 30 minute walk,” she says. “I really don’t have the time to do that, and plus, I don’t feel safe walking down Colonial with all the construction.”

As of now, the dependency of cars in East Orlando doesn’t seem to be dwindling down. The first phase of SunRail doesn’t have any stations planned for East Orlando, and even when this first phase is built, it’ll be at the end of 2012. As for LYNX, UCF’s SuperStop serves as the transfer to East Orlando residents, according to Matthew Friedman, the manager of media relations at LYNX, but the completion of Innovation Way could help expand the public bus transit system in East Orlando.

“This is something [another SuperStop installation] we would consider as service levels increase and Innovation Way develops,” he says.

LYNX received more than $30 million in funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The transit system plans to spend $7 million for the installation of bus shelters throughout Orange, Seminole and Osceola counties, according to Friedman.

If LYNX does decide to put bus stops in East Orlando, their fleet of buses will run on Biodiesel fuel, a clean-burning alternative fuel. Currently, West Virginia University is finishing a study on the exact amount of emissions that is cut down by a transit system when the entire fleet operates on Biodiesel fuel, Friedman says. The anticipated result is a 16 percent emission reduction for Central Florida.

“Public transportation by definition reduces emissions,” Friedman says. “Just one bus holding 40 passengers is 40 less cars on the roadways. Currently, we are exploring the options to install bus shelters. It’s a much-needed passenger amenity.”

Article by Nicole Lauber

It’s Tuesday morning. You wake up early, slide on your favorite pair of slippers and venture into the garage to drag the trash can to the curb again. When you get home from work, it’s time to lug it back inside. That’s all the typical person ever sees, or cares to see, regarding their trash. But when the trash gets hauled off, what happens to it and how is that process supported?

Once a truck finishes its predetermined route, they venture to the Orange County Landfill, located just off of Young Pine Road and Curry Ford to join one of the other 430 or so commercial vehicles that go in and out of the dump each day from more than 20 licensed companies. After pulling up to the scale house, being weighed and identifying what kind of waste is inside, the driver is told where to dump the cargo at the 5,000 acre site.

The type of waste is critical for the remainder of the process as garbage is separated into several distinct categories, each with its own disposal or storage methodology. The most common type is Class One, which is what you put on your curb. Next is construction and demolition followed by yard waste.

Once your trash has been identified as household garbage, trucks will go dump on what’s referred to as “open space.” After that, the truck weighs out and leaves; but the process is only just beginning.

“Class One waste has a lot more systems in place to capture liquids as well as the methane gas generated from storage,” says Debbie Sponsler, section manager for the solid waste division of Orange County Utilities. “We have an extensive liner system where we lay down several different layers of various material and dirt before garbage even goes in.” Once lined, the garbage is piled on and covered.

On average, the facility takes in roughly 3,100 tons of waste per day, but that number fluctuates with the ebb and flow of garbage creation. In all, roughly 20,783,000 tons of waste is held at the landfill.

The landfill is a self-sustaining business, funded entirely by user fees. “If we ever need funding to kind of bridge that gap between revenue and operating costs, we have a lot of money set aside for long term care that we can use,” she says. “Really we look at what we can do service-wise and what we have to change to meet our current demands more than anything.”

Back to your trash. As it has been sitting, it has grown an increasingly noticeable odor. To combat the smell, the landfill uses odor control misters as well as a methane gas collection system to capture odors that they transport to OUC, who uses the gas as an alternate energy source.

But to some area residents, that’s not enough. “We moved here a few years ago because we really love our house and the location right next to the highway, but sometimes the smell from the dump is unbearable,” says Kelly Lawson, a homeowner off of Young Pine Road. “I knew we were moving close so I expected some odor, but there are days I dread walking outside.”

Sponsler admits that even with all of the protocols in place, the odor can be rather evident to the immediate area. “When it’s hot and/or rainy it tends to be a little more noticeable, but that’s why we have those systems in place to help control odor when things like weather are out of our control.” She says that many in the area were misled by builders years ago, which leads to some of the anger. “It has to go somewhere but no one wants it near them; some were told the landfill would be closing and turned into a park, but obviously that’s not true,” she says. “If [perspective homebuyers] would’ve asked us, we would’ve told them that are plans are for expansion, not closing.”

As your trash gets picked up every morning when it’s supposed to, remember that the other end of the process is far more complex than your weekly driveway walks. “On our end we’re dealing with various systems, controls, permits, regulations, engineering, customer service and so much more,” says Sponsler. “To be open 364 days a year and handle the volume we do, a lot of people don’t realize what goes into that.” Maybe now, you do.

Article by Corey Gehrold

Everyone wants to be eco-friendly today. Sure, there are easy ways you can do that around the house. Change a light bulb here or unplug an electronic device there. While these may be small, yet effective, steps, others are taking a much larger step toward a purpose-built eco-friendly home.

Homes like these have been springing up around the country recently, and are an alternative way to reduce energy on a large scale. One local community that has eco-friendly homes is Harmony, located just south of Lake Nona. All 568 homes in Harmony need to meet certain requirements to be considered eco-friendly, such as being Energy Star certified, according to Tim Hultgren, sales and marketing manager of the Harmony Development Company.

“The average amount of energy saved ranges from a 20 to 30 percent savings in utility cost per month,” says Hultgren. “Of course, so much of that is dependant on the homeowner’s personal consumption habits, and higher percentages of savings have been achieved.”

Hultgren says that most of the new homes being built in Harmony are green certified by the Florida Green Building Coalition and use sustainable practices in the design and construction phases.

“Some of the things to consider in green building practices are how to reduce human exposure to toxic material, how to conserve nonrenewable energy and natural resources, and how to protect and restore ecosystems,” he says.

By taking these things into consideration, Harmony is implementing numerous techniques to reduce their carbon footprint. During the construction of the home, builders use unique framing techniques to reduce the amount of material waste while also putting in double-pane windows and better insulation materials. Once the home is finished and ready to be moved into, a homeowner will have low-flow faucets and toilets, compact fluorescent light bulbs throughout the home, and an efficient HVAC systems with programmable thermostats to manage usage.

An eco-friendly home at Harmony starts at $174,900 for a 2,027-square-foot 4-bedroom and 2.5-bathroom home. Although it may generally cost more to buy an eco-friendly home in Harmony, Hultgren says the monthly utility bill savings outweighs the increase in a mortgage payment.

“A newly constructed home with these eco-friendly features typically adds about 5 percent to the building cost, but in turn saves up to 30 percent in monthly utility costs,” he says.

On a smaller scale comes eco-friendly homes from Joe McKinney, an Orlando resident in the home-building business. McKinney has teamed up with other individuals in the field and is attempting to build eco-friendly homes that start at $130,000.

“A lot of the other green homes that have been built are more expensive, so we’re aiming to build for the individual that could really use an electric bill that’s half of what they pay now,” McKinney says. He plans to build 900 to 1,200 square feet homes in Lake Nona and eventually Bithlo and Downtown Orlando.

McKinney’s homes will use structured insulated paneling, which consists of two materials. Polystyrene, a common plastic used to make yogurt containers and CD cases, is mixed with oriented strand board, a wood product formed by layering different pieces of wood in specific directions. Like the homes in Harmony, McKinney’s homes will be certified by the Florida Green Building Coalition.

But, with the economy in its current condition, are homebuyers interested in being eco-friendly over saving money?

“Definitely,” says Brenda Kolbrich, an East Orlando realtor with Keller Williams Realty. “While the price of a home is obviously a factor, people are requesting that their homes be green.”

Kolbrich says the initial building of the home is what really matters in regards to being eco-friendly, but turning off your lights when they’re not in use and opening windows instead of having the air conditioner running can help if you’re trying to sell your home.

“When I show homes, prospective buyers ask to see the utility bills. Some people won’t buy a home based on if the bills are high,” she says.

No matter where the home is, Hultgren and McKinney agree on the benefits of living in an eco-friendly home: doing something better for yourself and the environment.

“The main benefits are energy savings on your monthly utility bills, a better quality of life leading to a healthier life, and it’s environmentally conscious,” Hultgren says. “It’s the right thing to do for yourself and our planet.”

Article by Nicole Lauber

Recently the label “organic” has been springing up on food labels everywhere around the grocery store. People want to eat organic, but why? In the seven and a half years since the government began certifying food as organic, sales have more than doubled with more than 30 percent of Americans buying organic food on occasion.

Many believe organic food to be better for the body and the environment than processed food, but is that true? It depends. “We’re not clear if there is a huge difference between organic products and whole or processed products,” says Dr. Kaye-Ann Taylor, a local registered dietician of 19 years. “There is not enough real data that says there is a huge difference in regards to benefits.”

To be defined as USDA Organic, foods must not contain any preservatives, added chemicals, fertilizers or pesticides. Meat cannot be given antibiotics or growth hormones. Without using pesticides, farmers protect lands naturally without being exposed to harmful chemicals themselves. Organic products are then able to keep synthetic and enriched foods out of our diets.

“From the growing process and even how much packaging the food has are things that have an effect on our footprint,” says Taylor. “Generally, the more packaging food has, the less nutritional value.”

Taylor uses an apple as an example. By converting an apple into apple sauce it loses the skin and generally adds some preservatives to keep the sauce on the shelf longer, losing fiber and other nutrients along the way. “Then if you go to the next phase, apple juice, you’ve now lost all of the fiber and nutrients that travel along with the fiber polyps,” she says.

Keeping the food organic generally means keeping synthetic, “food like substances” out of your body. Many of these ingredients are found in processed foods, or foods that are allowed to use pesticides and preservatives. These foods can be grown, raised and engineered for a number of reasons. Benefits include stopping bacteria growth, preserving shelf life, increasing flavor and killing harmful pathogens.

“One of the major benefits with processed foods is cost,” says Taylor. “We can make the food last longer and travel across greater distances so it’s often a tradeoff between value and nutrition.”

Environmental advocates argue that many of the processes used to create processed foods are harmful for the planet. “All of those chemicals seep into the soil and groundwater, not to mention many of the animals are treated inhumanly,” says Stephen Briz, an environmental activist and UCF graduate student.

So, organic food seems like an obvious choice right? Well, not necessarily. So far we’ve talked about a lot of things that organic foods are, but there are a lot of things they aren’t. For one, they aren’t cheap. “The whole process of getting the organic product to market is very different, which tends to make it cost more,” says Taylor. “Not being able to use synthetic pesticides and fertilizers tends to drive the cost as well.”

It’s also important to note that just because food is organic doesn’t mean it’s good for you. Junk food that has been certified as organic is still junk food, just like their processed food counterparts. “Organic has become synonymous with healthy to some people, but that’s not always the case,” says Taylor.

Organic doesn’t mean local or sustainable, either. Frozen fish or vegetables from China can be certified organic, but that doesn’t mean the farming process was a green one. “Major corporations are involved in the organic food market now and their mass production assembly lines aren’t any better than their processed food counterparts,” says Briz.

The bottom line when shopping or trying to help the environment is to remember that whatever you decide to eat, there is a process behind it. Organic does not automatically mean “healthy” or “safe” just as processed doesn’t always mean “bad” or “unethical.”

“To be safe, go back to basics,” says Taylor. “If a food label looks like something made in a lab and you can’t figure out what the ingredients are, that’s probably something to stay away from.”

Article by Corey Gehrold

Farmers don’t just ensure that your grocery store is stocked full of fruits, vegetables and fresh meat - they must also ensure they’re protecting their land and, subsequently, the environment.

Thanks in part to the Division of Agricultural Environmental Services of the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS), Florida farmers must register, pass tests and allow regulation on the pesticides, pest control, feed and seed they use, thus protecting the environment.

But even without regulations, many Florida farmers have been conserving and protecting the environment for decades to the best of their abilities. Being eco-friendly is no news to Rusty Wiygul, a fourth generation farmer from Central Florida. He believes that farmers are “some of the best environmentalists out there” because of their constant motivation to care for their land.

“What we like to say is that we are active environmentalists, not environmental activists,” says Wiygul. “We have to take care of our land all the time, or it will be gone.”

Another way the FDACS monitors standards for farmers is through fertilizer analysis. Done by the Bureau of Agricultural Environmental Laboratories, the fertilizer laboratory inspects commercial fertilizer and agricultural liming materials to make sure the fertilizer complies within limits. Their inspections include analyses for nutrients and heavy metals in fertilizer.

For the consumer, these regulations are necessary. Everyone wants to know that the food they’re eating isn’t poisoning them.

But the changing prices of these different agricultural necessities and regulations, as well as the supply and demand for food, all ties into a shift in the farming industry in Central Florida.

Within the past twenty years, the U.S. Census of Agriculture, which is conducted every five years, has mostly shown a decrease in the amount of farms in Orange County. In 1992, 990 farms filled the area, but just 15 years later, that number was 825.

“The land is too valuable,” says Bobby Beagal, a local cattle ranch owner. “The changing prices for livestock and feed gets to the point where you have to say, ‘If I can get $30,000 for this acre of land, is all of that [testing and regulation cost] really worth it?’”

Beagal has seen some of the changes Central Florida’s farmland has gone through. His stepfather started their cattle business in 1956 with Beagal visiting the ranch every weekend.

“We used to do everything from mending fences, pulling weeds, keeping up with the cattle, of course, and enjoying no neighbors,” says Beagal. “But now, land for farming is going away.”

The lack of farming land goes back to the constantly fluctuating prices of the industry, says Beagal. Diesel fuel for semi-trucks has peaked at almost $3 per gallon, when farmers used to only pay 50 cents per gallon. Feed prices have nearly tripled in the past three years, and fertilizer for his ranch used to cost $1,900 for about 10 tons. Now, Beagal says he pays well over $3,000 for the same fertilizer.

Unlike farmers out west who raise corn and other vegetables, Central Florida farmers receive no aide or subsidies from the government, except during times of crises, such as when a hurricane destroyed land or if a drought is in effect. Fortunately for local farmers, the government does give out low interest loans to agricultural businesses, according to Beagal.

“Business for farmers has been rough for the past couple of years,” Beagal says. “We’re at the mercy of supply and demand. When you go to buy a $9 per pound steak at Publix, we’re selling that for about $1.28 per pound.”

While some farmers are enticed with large profits in return for their land, some farmers are doing all they can to preserve their land, their lifestyle and their environment as well.

“All we really have is our land,” he says. “We don’t have a lot of retirement built up… We have to pass the land on to our children, and we are the original environmentalists, I’ll say without a doubt. Our 401K is our land.”

Article by Nicole Lauber