Category Environmental Issues
State’s lucky storm run continues in post-Jeb! Florida
Florida has gone ten years without being impacted by an Atlantic Hurricane. Joaquin which sat not far off the Florida coast and battered the Bahamas as a Category 4 was the 64th straight storm that eluded the Sunshine States. Since recording of tropical weather in the Atlantic basin began the previous record was just 33 […]
Should Rick Scott’s poll numbers renew an interest in defining environmental issues?
The Florida Chamber poll that was released yesterday created headlines because it showed Donald Trump leading in the Sunshine State by a double-digit GOP Primary margin over Florida’s sitting Republican US Senator Marco Rubio and former Governor Jeb Bush even further back. But lost in some of the hype around the poll was that according […]
Cecil the Lion style murders happen in Florida every week
The world has rightfully expressed scorn and outrage the last few days over the murder of Cecil the Lion. Celebrities as diverse as Sir Roger Moore and Speaker Newt Gingrich have expressed anger about the unsporting killing of a captive and virtually domesticated animal. If you think this only happens in Africa or some third world […]
#HB7003 and The Legislature’s Problem with Good Science
Even though most of the headlines this week came from the notorious ‘Bathroom bill’ and the fallout from the passage of blatant discrimination of the transgendered citizens of this state by the Republican members in the house, the passage of the water #HB7003 was passed , with only 9 Democrats standing against the bill. Even […]
A Progressive’s Guide to the 2015 Legislative Session – Issues: Water
Everybody is talking about water due in large part to the overwhelming popularity of Amendment 1. The 75% passage rate changed the dialogue in Tallahassee: now at least the Legislature has recognized this is an important issue for voters on both sides of the aisle. While there will be huge battles of the allocation of […]
New boss named for Everglades National Park
Many of our readers probably did not know that Florida has more national parks than any other state east of the Mississippi River – three parks in total, Everglades, Biscayne and the remote Dry Tortugas. This week, The National Park Service named a new Superintendent for Everglades National Park with responsibilities over Dry Tortugas National […]
Smithsonian Channel to show “Aerial America – Florida” tonight at 8pm ET
The Smithsonian Channel’s Aerial America series stops in Florida tonight with an airing tonight at 8pm ET/7pm CT. I have already seen the program having watched it when it debuted late last year. As a fan of the Aerial America series, I was thrilled the Florida version was so contemporary and versatile. Unlike previous programs […]
Florida becomes 3rd most populated state – some thoughts
When Florida became the nation’s 4th largest state in 1987, I was ecstatic. As a young kid I will admit I had an inferiority complex with many areas from the rest of the nation who got more attention on TV, had more pro sports teams and where all my relatives lived. Boasting about Florida’s size, […]
Record number of Florida Panthers killed in 2014
Florida’s endangered Panther population suffered a record number of deaths this year. 30 panthers have been killed this year in Collier and Hendry Counties, and an alarmingly high 21 have been killed in road accidents. The decline in habitat for the Panther thanks largely to recent development further east in Collier County is at least partially […]
Climate Change already being seen at Kennedy Space Center
Unfortunately at an environmentally sensitive place like Cape Canaveral this was just a matter of time. The below video from the University of Florida Geology Department lays out the grim news for all to see. Among the findings were: Dunes that historically protected Kennedy Space Center from high seas even during the worst storms were […]
The Florida Squeeze 