BryanTree.com
Our Mission is to provide Healthy, Creative, Socially Responsible Living spaces for Rent & be an Organic Garden Co-Op resource to make more places healthier for all of us.
Cutting out heathy trees actually allows more damaging wind to houses. Where the tree canopy is missing those first trees in line of wind fall but when there is enough trees they all support each other. The misguided idea passed around that "less trees is safer" is wrong. Trees absorb wind energy and guide it over houses.
We grow our yards & gardens in an organic & healthy manner with respect for nature, neighbors and better health. Natural yards require less work & can be more attractive, sell for more money and create a healthier environment to live in. Encourage Xeriscaping, NatureScaping & wildlife habitat or at least a Florida Friendly yard (Don't put pesticides in your yard. Leave the bugs for the birds and lizards to eat). Pesticides kill the benificial insects and upset the Natural Balance causing a percieved need for more pesticides. Work to understand nature rather than trying to conquer her with toxic products. One easy example is "Get rid of sitting water that breeds mosquitoes instead of spraying pesticides into your air" is an example of working with nature rather than against.
Ban Smoking fires & Internal combustion engines in our cities! They are public health hazards! We have much cleaner ways to heat, transport and enjoy flames without choking ourselves with cancer causing pollution! Think of your neighbors children with Asthma, Bronchitis, Cancer!
Stop Killing the bees with chemlawn pesticides, recognize they have very large part of healthy ecosystem & Legalize them locally (they are legal in state of FL but local governments still code enforce using illegal laws against bees) They are under a lot of stress from human poisons and it is affecting our food supply making it harder & more expensive to produce food. Bee stings are actually rare and good for the body as demonstrated in apitherapy. Fear of bee stings is a bad reason to kill our ecosystem. Bees make food production for us possible.
Make Separated Bike lanes for safe bicycling. Look at what New York and others are doing. Or at least try Bicycle Boulevards that put the emphasis on using bikes in a safe boulevard without cars. In Gulfport we have a very sad "bike route" that in most places is nothing more than a small useless sign on a narrow street where cars dominate without any room for bikes. Look at 52nd St "bike route" for example. ck out Bicycle use in Other Places Link No need to drive to the gym when you can use a bike to go places.
Missing Local Clean Energy? Blaming congress is just an easy way to duck Responsibility. Berkeley CA is providing all homeowners the capital to install clean energy in exchange for a monthly payment equal to electric payments until lien is paid off. The lien is transferable to next owner and is not included in assessments so taxes don't go up. Money can be from bond issues and sold as clean energy bonds. They also made a buyers coop to get parts cheaper for installs.
Consolidate Trash Collection to 49th St location which was purchased for that purpose. & Completely automate service, its much cheaper & more efficient. Why is it only Pasadena yacht & cc gets the city to pay for their garbage cans & better service, while the art district has to put up with the city's garbage operations with the extra pollution. Why are we not entitled to fresh air & free containers like them? * Move it to 49th St where zoning is appropriate for that use Or Privatize this city garbage business to get it done cheaper with Better service & we won't have to store any garbage in Gulfport. charging us to pickup appliances that others will pickup free for Scrap metals is just a tax. City run Garbage enterprise is just a Hidden tax on us.
Police say they "want to protect the environment" so tell them to Ticket Tailpipe Polluters! (Vehicles driving through Gulfport leaving a trail of smoke behind them) Call your council persons and local leaders to encourage them to enforce the state law against smoking vehicles from exhaust pipes into the air we breathe.
One smoking car equals the amount of pollution from 75 properly tuned cars! Get rid of one and its like taking 74 cars off the road. Also ask them to make the law stronger than its present weak form. Ticket people with oil dripping from cars as well. Give them a warning ticket first. If any more tickets are given to same car then ladder up the fines. Put up signs on Gulfport Blvd Reminding people that they will be ticketed for polluting vehicles to motivate them to clean up the polluting cars. -
2009 Florida Statutes
(2) No person shall operate any gasoline-powered motor vehicle, except a motorcycle, moped, scooter, or an imported nonconforming motor vehicle which has received a one-time exemption from federal emission control requirements under 40 C.F.R. 85, subpart P, on the public roads and streets of this state which emits visible emissions from the exhaust pipe for more than a continuous period of 5 seconds, and no person shall operate on the public roads or streets of this state any motor vehicle that has been tampered with in violation of this section, as determined pursuant to subsection (7).
(3) No person shall operate on the public roads or streets of this state any diesel-powered motor vehicle which emits visible emissions from the exhaust pipe for more than a continuous period of 5 seconds, except during engine acceleration, engine lugging, or engine deceleration.
(4) This section shall be enforced by the Department of Environmental Protection and any law enforcement officer of this state...
Gulfport Fire station should have a chemical drop off area for reuse and safe disposal of paint, batteries & other toxic to put in trash but simple for them to store, reuse or recycle. This valuable "trash" otherwise ends up in the trash cans or in the streets, because the only other proper place is the county site - a 2 hour ordeal just to get rid of a few things that should be easy to dispose of close by. Make it easy to do right.
Close down 20% of streets & alleys. Give some to Pinellas trails to save maintenance & make it easier to walk or bike. Use some of closed streets for parking areas & gardens.
Save electricity & money while reducing light pollution by replacing polluting lights shining up in air. Fix this with smaller bulbs and reflective tops to put light only where needed not wasted up in the sky. We can save money and see the stars again. Include turtle nesting protection with turtle safe lights. Beach Blvd has 4 sets of lights for streets. Get rid of older street lights and just use LED lighting.
Christmas decorations of 40' high santas and other plastic crap that is likely full of lead from china is a big waste of money. Put in trees that will grow to provide for habitat and food for wildlife.
Run "How to Xeriscape" videos on ch 615 how to xeriscape to save water, garbage collection costs and dump fees from silly raking and hauling away of beautiful leaves that should be left on the ground to build top soil.
Plant more trees for our health, for the birds, protect us from the wind, provide us with shade in the summer and to Clean the Air. Many streets have lost their valuable shade trees from people cutting them down or they die out and not replaced by nature because of excessive mowing. Mowing kills tree seedlings. Let plants grow. Here is a short list of places lacking in trees:
1. Church on 54th St & 27th Av has lots of room along city easement for at least 8 live oaks.
2. Parks on Beach Blvd from 23rd av to Downtown Gulfport.
3. City easements all over the city
4. Let me know what else I should list on here.
5. Pinellas Trail needs lots of trees for shade
6. Gulfport City hall is missing trees on 3 sides. Our "Tree Ordinance" is very weak & not being enforced.
*A major study said that in areas with a dense tree canopy the damage from hurricane winds is far less than areas without dense tree canopy. Where the trees are missing is where the wind comes in and does damage. otherwise the winds go over the tops of trees sparing the homes beneath of most of the damage. Look at this interactive Google map to find places that trees could be planted. Pasadena Yacht & Country Club is an example of a TOXIC DEVELOPMENT. They pour pesticides on the ground along with chemical fertilizers and herbicides that run off and pollute the bay and our ground waters. They cut down sustainable plantings in favor of high maintenance turf that takes lots of chemicals, water and machinery to maintain while polluting the air with exhaust fumes & noise pollution.
Take care of the Land and the Land will Take Care of You. - Old Hawaiian saying
A conversation between GOD and St. Francis about Suburbanites
GOD: St. Francis, you know all about gardens and nature. What in the World is going on down there in the USA? What happened to the dandelions, violets, thistle and stuff I started eons ago? I had a perfect, no-maintenance garden plan. Those plants grow in any type of soil, withstand drought and multiply with abandon. The nectar from the long lasting blossoms attracts butterflies, honeybees and flocks of songbirds. I expected to see a vast garden of colors by now. But all I see are these green rectangles.
ST. FRANCIS: It's the tribes that settled there, Lord. The Suburbanites. They started calling your flowers weeds and went to great lengths to kill them and replace them with grass.
GOD: Grass? But it's so boring. It's not colorful. It doesn't attract butterflies, birds and bees, only grubs and sod worms. It's temperamental with temperatures. Do these Suburbanites really want all that grass growing there?
ST. FRANCIS: Apparently so, Lord. They go to great pains to grow it and keep it green. They begin each spring by fertilizing grass and poisoning any other plant that crops up in the lawn.
GOD: The spring rains and warm weather probably make grass grow really fast. That must make the Suburbanites happy.
ST. FRANCIS: Apparently not, Lord. As soon as it grows a little, they cut it, sometimes twice a week.
GOD: They cut it? Do they then bale it like hay?
ST. FRANCIS: Not exactly Lord. Most of them rake it up and put it in bags.
GOD: They bag it? Why? Is it a cash crop? Do they sell it?
ST. FRANCIS: No, sir -- just the opposite. They pay to throw it away.
GOD: Now, let me get this straight. They fertilize grass so it will grow. And when it does grow, they cut it off and pay to throw it away?
ST. FRANCIS: Yes, sir.
GOD: These Suburbanites must be relieved in the summer when we cut back On the rain and turn up the heat. That surely slows the growth and saves Them a lot of work.
ST. FRANCIS: You aren't going to believe this, Lord. When the grass stops growing so fast, they drag out hoses and pay more money to water it so they can continue to mow it and pay to get rid of it.
GOD: What nonsense. At least they kept some of the trees. That was a Sheer stroke of genius, if I do say so myself. The trees grow leaves in the spring to provide beauty and shade in the summer. In the autumn they fall to the ground and form a natural blanket to keep moisture in the soil and protect the trees and bushes. Plus, as they rot, the leaves form compost to enhance the soil. It's a natural circle of life.
ST. FRANCIS: You'd better sit down, Lord. The Suburbanites have drawn a new circle. As soon as the leaves fall, they rake them into great piles and pay to have them hauled away.
GOD: No. What do they do to protect the shrub and tree roots in the Winter and to keep the soil moist and loose?
ST. FRANCIS: After throwing away the leaves, they go out and buy Something which they call mulch. They haul it home and spread it around in place of the leaves.
GOD: And where do they get this mulch?
ST. FRANCIS: They cut down trees and grind them up to make the mulch.
GOD: Enough! I don't want to think about this anymore. St. Catherine, you're in charge of the arts. What movie have you scheduled for us tonight?
ST. CATHERINE: Dumb and Dumber, Lord. It's a real stupid movie about.............
GOD: Never mind, I think I just heard the whole story from St. Francis.
Legalize Marijuana. A sick person should be able to Grow, smoke & eat any herb that helps them & hurts no one. The laws against marijuana are the real problem not the herb.
"All Politics are Local" -Means that you CAN change things for the better by improving the way you and your city do things. If it works well, it will spread to other areas organically.