Net Zero Headquarters Grand Opening
Sierra Club Florida's new headquarters opened in St. Petersburg
By Marcia Biggs, Chair, Tampa Bay Group
The sun was shining on the canopy of photovoltaic solar panels that provide energy for the new Florida Sierra Club headquarters near downtown St. Petersburg today for the official grand opening of the new Net Zero building. It was a star-studded day filled with dignitaries, city and county officials, Sierra Club honchos from Washington D.C., Atlanta and West Virginia and a retinue of community friends.
Hundreds gathered to celebrate this ground-breaking building which promises to create more energy than it consumes through solar panels, geothermal heat and AC, and tankless water heaters. The Sierra Club office also features cork flooring and recycled carpeting.
Florida Sierra Club staff manager Frank Jackalone held court over the day's festivities, which included a powerful speech by Mary Anne Hitt, national director of Sierra Club's Beyond Coal Campaign. Sierra Club friend and nationally renowned photographer Clyde Butcher was also on hand to present the office with a large photograph depicting the Caloosahatchee River. Mayor Bill Foster thanked the Sierra Club and all those involved in bringing Net Zero to downtown St. Pete and urged the community to continue supporting clean, green energy.
