• New Blue Ribbon Program Saves Water and Money • September 22, 2008
• Go Solar to Save Money and Energy - Orange County will Help! • September 17, 2008
• Utilities Water Division Presents A Free Florida Friendly Neighborhoods Workshop • September 17, 2008
• Orange County Green PLACE Hosts Workday in Honor of National Public Lands Day • August 26, 2008 
• Mayor Crotty Fuels-up at the County's New Ethanol Station • June 11, 2008 
• Orange County Celebrates May as Clean Air Month • April 29, 2008
• City, Orange County, OUC to Receive $200,000 Grant to Advance Solar Energy • April 23, 2008 
• County goes Green and is the First to Get the Gold • April 22, 2008
• Orange County Celebrates Arbor Day • April 22, 2008
• Orange to Green becomes $Green to Green$ • February 18, 2008
• Mayor Crotty Announces Major Solar Project • January 31, 2008
• Environmentally Friendly Demonstration Garden Installed • November 21, 2007
• Orange County Announces Recycling Day • October 30, 2007
• Mayor Crotty's Climate Change Plan for Orange County • October 12, 2007
• Local Firm Accepts Mayor Crotty's Challenge to Go Green • October 5, 2007

Archives

Looking for a way to go green and save more money?  Check out Orange County's solar incentive program for residential and commercial properties.

Join us for a Free Workshop (PDF - 114KB) to show why going solar is a smart choice for Florida residents and business owners • Register via e-mail at OrangeToGreen@ocfl.net or call 407-836-1400.

• October 11 • 9-11 AM
  Orange County Extension Education Center
  6021 S Conway Road
  Orlando, 32812
  

Thanks to our partners!

External Sites

• Allsolar Service Company
• American Solar Energy
• City of Winter Garden
• FLERA
• Orange County Extension Education Center
• OUC
• Progress Energy
• Solar Connect
• Sunworks Solar Systems
• Superior Solar 

It's important to be prepared for whatever may come during hurricane season.  Find out what to do before and after a storm.

Orange County pages

• Hurricane Preparedness
• Office of Emergency Management

External Sites

• DEP Hurricane Information
• DEP Hurricane Debris Clean-up
• EPA Hurricanes • preparing for & recovering from

Hurricanes and Climate Change

External Sites

• Forecast: Storm Warnings • Mayor Crotty speaks • August 27, 2007
• Global Warming & Climate Change • NOAA

Visit the Orange County Environmental Protection Division's (EPD) page. 

• Autumn's upcoming events  
• FDEP's Green Travel site
• EnviroFlash - and other air quality info
• Citizen and community involvement
• Permit and ordinance information
• ...and much more!

Visit the beautiful Florida Friendly Landscaping Demonstration Garden (PDF - 190KB) at  201 S Rosalind Avenue (corner of Rosalind Avenue & Jackson Street) in downtown Orlando • Take a look back at the Garden's beginnings 

For Florida Friendly Landscaping (External Site) information and classes, contact the Orange County Cooperative Extension at 407-254-9200 or visit ocextension.ifas.ufl.edu (External Site) • 6021 S. Conway Road, Orlando 

Do your part to protect Florida's fabulous & threatened wildflowers (Word - 56KB).

Free landscape tree giveaways through Orange County's Streetscape Adopt A Tree (MS Word - 104 KB) program. 

Saving our water resources is critically important and requires everyone's participation.  Discover ways you can conserve water.

External Sites 

• Orange County's Water Conservation page
• FDEP  
• St. John's River Water Management District • SJRWMD
• Florida Water Star • SJRWMD
• South FL Water Management District • SFWMD
• US EPA WaterSense

Energy Audits are widely available and can be done in person or on-line.

Orange County Mayor Richard T. Crotty invited WESH TV (PDF - 142KB) into his home to help inform homeowners of a free service that can help them save money. "There's my role as mayor to highlight the issue and my role as a citizen to try to do the right thing," he said.

Setting a personal example for others to follow by having an energy check at his home, Mayor Crotty encourages residents to follow his lead.

The choices you make every day can save energy and improve the environment.  Visit the U.S. Department of Energy Make Every Day Earth Day site for tips to save money and protect the environment.  (text only version) (External Sites)

Learn more about what you can do (PDF - 89KB) to make Orange County Green.  Here's a few home improvement ideas to get you started:

• Lighting (external site) is one of the fastest ways to cut your energy bills. Electric lighting and fixtures, such as ceiling fans, controlled by motion sensors can help to ensure that energy is not wasted in unoccupied spaces.
• Energy efficient windows (external site) can lower energy consumption and reduce heat transmission.
• Switch to Energy efficient appliance (external site). Recycle (external site) or properly dispose of old models.

On September 25, 2007, Orange County hosted its first-ever Climate Change Summit. Both the Summit and Mayor Crotty's Climate Change Plan (Word - 169 KB) mark the beginning of a strategy to place Orange County in the forefront of the world-wide movement to reduce green house gases.

• Summit Agenda & Presentations
• Summit Summary (PDF - 46KB)
• Climate Change Implementation Plan, 02-18-2008 (PDF - 107KB)
• Orange to Green Presentation, 02-18-2008 (PDF - 3.61MB)

• Building Green In Orange County

Governor Charlie Crist made history of sorts Friday when he became the first Florida governor to visit Maitland city hall on official business, at least according to Maitland Mayor Doug Kinson's introduction of the governor. Crist met with Kinson, Orange County Mayor Rich Crotty and community leaders...(click for entire story - PDF 35 KB).  Enlarge picture (JPG - 353 KB)

See FDEP's story (External Site)