July is "Celebrate Park & Recreation Month with Family, Friends and Fun!"

Governor Charlie Crist recently officially recognized July as 'Park and Recreation' month in the State of Florida.

Whether visiting the state on vacation, or if you live in this beautiful region, visiting a Florida State Park is a great way to help kids connect with nature and learn about the environment.

"We encourage residents and visitors to experience the treasures of state parks in their backyard," says Mike Bullock, Florida Park Service Director.

To find a park near you, visit:

The map above illustrates "that if current growth policies continue, the amount of developed land in Central Florida will double by 2050.... City boundaries will meld into one another, with little distinction or "green space" between developed areas," according to conclusions reached by MyRegion.org in it's groundbreaking planning document, "How Shall We Grow?"

The organization's 2009 progress report, "Where in the World are We?" suggests that many counties, including Osceola County have moved in the right direction to implement the vision for a better tomorrow.

The residents and leadership of the seven county area known as Central Florida prefer an approach to preserve the area's precious resources, open space and rural countryside by concentrating development in urban centers with transportation corridors, as Destiny will do.

The following map illustrates the vision adopted by Central Florida that incorporates the 4C's:

• Conservation
  
• Countryside
  
• Centers
  
• Corridors
  

America's First Eco-Sustainable City™ is located in an area specifically designated by the planning documents and embraces the 4C's.

Wish you were here. The weather is beautiful!

Site selection requires much more than beautiful weather, of course. But, it doesn't hurt.

Here are a few more reasons to select Destiny, Florida as a location for your company. Destiny is located in Central Florida where:

• If Central Florida were an independent nation, its gross domestic product would rank 45th in the world.
  
• At a hefty $145 billion, Central Florida's GDP ranks close to Singapore's.
  
• Central Florida's per capita GDP would rank 6th among the G-20 nations, ahead of Japan and Germany.
  
• Residents of Central Florida are youthful and educated (nearly two thirds of residents are under the age of 35 and most have post-secondary education.)
  
• Globally competitive, Central Florida is on par with international regions such as Barcelona, Montreal and Milan.
  

*Statistics provided in "2009 Progress report for the Central Florida Region," available at: http://www.myregion.org/Aboutimyregionorgi/ResearchPublications/2009CentralFloridaProgressReport/tabid/231/Default.aspx

House Passes Clean Energy Bill

Now it's on to the Senate... Key provisions in the bill include:

• Electric utility companies must meet 20 percent of demand with renewable sources by 2020.
  
• $190 billion investment in clean energy technology and energy efficiency by 2025.
  
• New standards for energy efficiency for industry, buildings and appliances.
  
• A reduction of 80 percent in carbon emissions by 2050.
  
• Consumer protection from energy price increases.
  

Check out the latest version of the bill (H.R. 2454) at The Library of Congress (http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c111:H.R.2454:)

This is good news for those companies looking to locate at Destiny. Destiny will be a clean technology hub. The city itself will be designed to have a carbon footprint as small as possible.

Batteries are Recyclable

While batteries of all types can be recycled, the question is where and how?

The best place to start is with your local solid waste management district or the State EPA website may also provide information.

Environment, Health and Safety Online offers several helpful resources. BestBuy, the HomeDepot, Lowe's, Office Depot, Sears, RadioShack, Staples and Target are a handful of national retailers that accept spent batteries for recycling.

To learn more, visit: http://ehso.com/ehshome/batteries.php#where2recycle

Earth911.com has some helpful tips on recycling and purchasing batteries.