Greening City Government in South Florida

NAME: Doug Young

LOCATION: Tamarac, FL

ORGANIZATION: South Florida Audubon Society

As a board member, vice president and now president of the South Florida Audubon Society, Doug Young has taken the 53-year-old chapter (formerly known as Broward County Audubon Society) from a small, little known group to a healthy, respected environmental organization that now boasts an active membership of over 1,700 members and a diversified board of 15 members. Doug has also helped to expand the group’s mission to include what many believe is the environment’s greatest threat: climate change.

South Florida Audubon Society’s Global Warming Initiative educates residents, business and government officials through newsletter articles, a global warming Web site, and speaking events. In addition, Doug is leading the charge to help local governments set up ‘Green Teams’ to plan and execute programs to conserve energy and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. As a result, 27 South Florida mayors – including 23 of the 31 Broward County municipalities – signed on to the U.S. Mayors Climate protection agreement, more than any other county in country!

With his TogetherGreen Fellowship, Doug can help his Audubon Chapter enter the next phase of its Global Warming Initiative -- the greening of city government. “The Greening of City Government: Environmental Responsibility Practices for Cities” is a one-day workshop for Broward County and South Florida cities to discuss implementation of the US Mayors Climate Protection Agreement and how each municipality can use their existing staff and resources to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

With input from experts from the conservation, academic, and green business sectors, Doug hopes participants will not only reduce the greenhouse gas emissions of their municipalities, but take steps to become environmental leaders in their communities, for the benefit of South Florida and beyond!