Florida environmental and wildlife news for the week ending 10-30-09

FEATURED STORIES

McCollum, Sink Agree on Funding for Florida Forever
By News Service of Florida
The Jacksonville Observer
For a mere $15 million, Florida lawmakers can secure $300 million for the state’s Florida Forever program, a bargain even during cash-strapped times, the top contenders to replace Gov. Charlie Crist said Tuesday in a bit of campaign camaraderie.

Study raises new red flag on coastal development
By Curtis Morgan
Miami Herald
As early as the 1980s, scientists warned that rising seas could submerge vast portions of Florida's coast.

Sen. Bennett chides DCA secretary over new growth management law
By Catherine Dolinski
Tampa Tribune
Mike Bennett, chairman of the Senate Committee on Community Affairs, was by no means pleased this month when state Community Affairs Secretary Tom Pelham told Bennett’s panel that a new growth management law hadn’t freed urban-area developers from transportation concurrency rules as lawmakers had expected.

Activists meet with feds over environmental racism
By Dionne Walker
Tampa Tribune
Environmental and racial justice activists from six states met with federal Environmental Protection Agency officials Tuesday to demand a revamp of the agency they accuse of overlooking years of chronic environmental missteps in minority communities across the South.

Campaign to Reduce Carbon Dioxide Focuses on 350
By Andrew C. Revkin
New York Times
Campaigners against global warming have drawn on an arsenal of visually startling tactics over the years, from posing nude on a Swiss glacier to scaling smokestacks at coal-fired power plants.

We’re surrounded by beautiful beaches and the ocean. But maybe, not for long.
By James Boyce
FLA Politics
To live in Florida is to be surrounded by the beauty and the wonder of the ocean.

Audubon Celebrates a Victory for Wood Storks
Newsletter
Audubon of Florida
Audubon celebrates federal District Judge Jose Martinez’s decision to revoke the wetland destruction permit for the Mirasol development in southwest Florida.

Obama touts billions for 'smart grid' plan
By Zac Anderson
Sarasota Herald-Tribune
Related: Obama may have little sway in state's clean-energy debate
President Barack Obama came to this rural community Tuesday to tout an ambitious energy reform plan working through Congress, but he also came bearing gifts in the form of $200 million for Florida Power & Light to install 2.6 million "smart meters."

President Obama’s visit to Florida filled with irony
By Dr. Stephen A. Smith
Southern Alliance for Clean Energy
President Obama is visiting DeSoto County, Florida today to headline the opening ceremony of the largest solar photovoltaic (PV) facility in the country.

Solar power should be above politics
Editorial
Ft. Myers News-Press
President Barack Obama's visit to DeSoto County today marks the opening this week of the nation's largest solar power plant. It adds to the excitement of this milestone in the state's economic development.



THE BIG OIL ROUNDUP

Lawmakers' love affair with Big Oil
By Carl Hiaasen
Miami Herald
The mystery group trying to repeal Florida's ban on offshore oil drilling is winning converts the old-fashioned way, deploying a battalion of lobbyists and throwing campaign money at state legislators.

Offshore-drilling debate reveals upcoming battle lines
By Josh Hafenbrack
Orlando Sentinel
Related editorial: Caveat emptor on drilling
Envision oil derricks cluttering Florida's sunset views. Oil spills threatening marine life, turning beach sand black and scaring away tourists.

Cash cow or curse? Drilling experts offer familiar promises, warnings
By Jim Ash
Tallahassee Democrat
Related: Viewers respond, raise their own concerns about off-shore drilling
Offshore drilling would bring 20,000 new jobs and $2 billion a year to Florida, or it would doom a $60-billion-a-year industry that draws millions of tourists to Florida's pristine beaches.

Florida Forum: Energy Exploration
Don’t Drill Florida
Last night was the FSU/GANNETT Florida Forum on nearshore oil drilling featuring panels of both drilling proponents and opponents.

Supporters for offshore drilling in Florida still hiding
By Mitch Perry
Creative Loafing
Last night in Tallahassee, proponents and opponents of offshore drilling debated for two hours in a debate sponsored by Florida State University and Gannett Florida, the owner of the Tallahassee Democrat newspaper, and broadcast over the internet from the Florida State University web site.

Ken Welch: offshore drilling not the answer
By Sean Kinane
WMNF Community Radio Tampa
At last night’s offshore oil drilling forum in Tallahassee, drilling advocate David Rancourt, with the Southern Strategy Group, was asked who is backing the plan.

Australia oil spill fuels debate here
By Catherine Dolinski
Tampa Tribune
Aug. 21 was a mess for the oil industry. That was the day an oil platform off the northern coast of Australia began leaking 300 to 400 barrels of oil a day into the Timor Sea.

Company says oil leak may take weeks to plug
By David Weber
ABC News
The company responsible for the oil leak in the Timor Sea has warned that it may not stop spewing out oil for several more weeks.

Australian Oil Rig Blowout Creates Environmental Catastrophe
Press Release
Defenders of Wildlife
The impacts of the nine-week West Timor oil rig blowout are creating an environmental catastrophe for wildlife and ocean ecosystems, Defenders of Wildlife said today.


Drilling advocates’ claims that their technology is safe have been proved completely false as a massive ongoing oil spill is creating an environmental and marine disaster in the Timor Sea off Australia’s coast.

Offshore drilling splits House
By Bill Cotterell
Tallahassee Democrat
During the Florida Legislature's first big hearing on offshore oil drilling, state Rep. Paige Kreegel summed up the collision of economic, environmental and political factors.

Promise of drilling is vastly overblown
By Thomas Ballentine
Tallahassee Democrat
Related editorial: Think energy
Related AP story: Fla. offshore drilling being debated on Internet
The recent hype concerning offshore oil and gas drilling in Florida falls into the category of "Much ado about almost nothing."

House District 9 challenger Rick Minor says no campaign money from 'big oil'
By Jim Ash
Tallahassee Democrat
Trying to build on his strong third-quarter fundraising momentum, House District 9 challenger Rick Minor took a swipe this morning at the incumbent, suggesting she is a pawn of the oil industry.

Launch of New Campaign uses Power in Numbers to Oppose Off Shore Drilling (includes video)
By Meagan O’Halloran
WJHG NBC News Panama City
The battle over off-shore oil and gas drilling in the Gulf is escalating.

Cafe owner launches effort against offshore oil drilling
By John Kennedy
The News Service of Florida via FloridaEnvironments.com
A Panhandle restaurateur said today he wants thousands of Floridians to hit the beaches to fight offshore oil-drilling along the state’s Gulf coast.

Interests Differ on Money Drilling Would Bring In
By News Service of Florida
Jacksonville Observer
Florida’s fight over oil-drilling Wednesday pivoted on green issues – as in dollars.

Restaurant owner to protest proposed oil drilling
By Kimberly White
Northwest Florida Daily News
David Rauschkolb can pinpoint almost to the second when the inspiration struck.

Slow down the stampede to OK offshore drilling
By Ron Littlepage
Florida Times-Union
The charade in Tallahassee has begun.

Drilling's benefits unproven to Florida
By Fred Strobel
Sarasota Herald-Tribune
The fine series of articles by the Herald-Tribune's Jeremy Wallace and Zac Anderson place the problem in the proper perspective: Opening the eastern Gulf of Mexico to drilling is an environmental question, not an economic one, and soon to be a political one.

Chamber, BDA worried about drilling
By Daniel Carson
Panama City News Herald
Offshore oil drilling continues to be an area of concern for some Bay County groups, with officials from the Bay Defense Alliance and Bay County Chamber of Commerce worried Florida lawmakers will pass 2010 legislation that conflicts with the military’s Gulf of Mexico training missions.

Lee commission chairman: Will support drilling off state 'when hell freezes over'
By Charlie Whitehead
Naples News
Lee County Commission Chairman Ray Judah laid out for a business group Thursday morning precisely when and under what circumstances he would support drilling off Florida beaches in the Gulf of Mexico.

Florida needs safe buffer from offshore rigs
By J. Earle Bowden
Pensacola News Journal
Again, how much will near-shore oil rigs lubricate Florida's sandy shores?

Next step in vetting Florida offshore-drilling plan: FSU forum
By Kevin Spear
Orlando Sentinel
Just as oil companies drill down into the Earth with progressively narrower sections of pipe, both opponents and proponents of offshore rigs in Florida waters are steadily sharpening their arguments as they search for a payoff in public support.

Tanker collision causes oil spill in Galveston
By Angel Covarrubias
KVEO News Texas
Coast Guard officials say they have contained an oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico caused when two tankers collided near Galveston.

Start to cap gusher of hype
Editorial
Palm Beach Post
Take the reader poll: To drill or not to drill?
Over two hours Wednesday, the question of allowing oil and natural gas drilling off the Florida coast will get a more honest debate than the issue got last spring over several days in the Legislature.

Money, oil, secrecy
Editorial
St. Petersburg Times
Money, oil and secrecy make a dangerous brew.


Satellite image detailing extent of growing oil slick from the blowout of the allegedly safe, advanced technology West Atlas oil rig in the Timor Sea.

TAKE ACTION NOW

Click the picture above to urge Senate President Jeff Atwater to oppose state legislative efforts that would allow offshore oil drilling off Florida’s coast.

MORE ONLINE ACTIONS
Write a letter to the editor, via Audubon of Florida.
Write your state legislators, via Audubon of Florida.
Tell Sen. Atwater Not To Allow Oil Drilling In Special Session, via Audubon of Florida.
Sign the petition against oil drilling, via Protect Florida’s Beaches.
Tell Salazar: No drilling off Florida's Coast, via Environment Florida.
Tell new Senator LeMieux to Repower America, via Environment Florida.
Tell Your Senator No More Offshore Drilling, via Oceana.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES OF NOTE
Protect Florida’s Beaches, recently launched coalition website.
Protect Florida’s Beaches on Facebook.
Don’t Drill Florida website.
Don’t Drill Florida Facebook page.
Hands Across The Sand website.
Environment Florida offshore drilling page.
Skytruth blog, an excellent source of info.
Not the Answer blog, courtesy Surfrider Foundation.
EnergyFLA.com, online hub of drilling proponents; their Twitter page is here.

MORE GREEN NEWS

Conference: Climate Change Worse for Florida Than Predicted, if no Action (includes audio)
By Gina Presson
Public News Service Florida
"It will be worse than predicted unless we take action."

Commission vote on FPL rate hike could signal shift in utilities' influence
By Dara Kam
Palm Beach Post
Utility regulators will decide Tuesday whether to comply with Gov. Charlie Crist's request to hold off voting on nearly $2 billion in base rate hikes for the state's two largest utilities.

At FPL rate hearing, outage complaints get attention
By Mary Ellen Klas
Miami Herald/St. Petersburg Times Tallahassee Bureau
Related: Bill requires FPL boosters to disclose utility links
Everglades High School history teacher Stephanie Nagel arrived home on Wednesday and, once again, her clocks were off.

Power Plays in Florida
By Alan Farago
Counterpunch
Today President Obama takes the bully pulpit for a new energy future to a rural, conservative town in Florida; Arcadia where Florida Power and Light is building the largest solar energy facility in the nation.

Largest solar panel plant in US rises in Fla.
By Christine Armario
The Associated Press
Greg Bove steps into his pickup truck and drives down a sandy path to where the future of Florida's renewable energy plans begin: Acres of open land filled with solar panels that will soon power thousands of homes and business.

Everglades at mercy of county, group says
By Paul Quinlan
Sarasota Herald-Tribune
A high-profile growth watchdog group called on the state of Florida Wednesday to rein in the Palm Beach County Commission, whose land use decisions, they fear, will cripple the multibillion-dollar Everglades restoration.

Scientists recommend improvements after reviewing Panther protection plan for eastern Collier
By Eric Staats
Naples News
A team of scientists is calling for improvements to a plan to protect the endangered Florida panther in eastern Collier County.

South Florida counties form environmental coalition
By Linda Trischitta
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
With a flourish of the pen, leaders from South Florida's four counties on Friday created a regional force that they hope will obtain federal funding to protect drinking water, enhance mass transit and encourage the use of alternative fuels.

Protesters accuse environmental agencies of inaction on climate change
By Paul Quinlan
Palm Beach Post
A two-hour, three-way standoff between protesters, environmental regulators and police outside a Florida Department of Environmental Protection office today ended peacefully, when activist leaders met briefly with regulators to discuss greenhouse gas emissions.

State agency teaches disabled about fish and wildlife - and jobs
By Jerome Burdi
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
An owl, snake, skunk and alligators were some of the main attractions at the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission's mentoring day for the disabled.

Survey shows residents TAPPing into water quality (includes audio)
By Trimmel Gomes
WFSU Public Radio Tallahassee
You may have seen humorous TV ads and billboards recently about the city of Tallahassee's TAPP campaign...TAPP stands for "Think About Personal Pollution".

Leon commissioners defer on 'Hometown Democracy' stance
By TaMaryn Waters
Tallahassee Democrat
Leon County commissioners decided not to take a stand on the heavily disputed proposed Hometown Democracy amendment during a workshop Tuesday.

Tired of dead-end development? Let's take back our cities!
By Mel Kelly
Destin Log
What does “growth” really look like to Florida communities?

Uninspiring energy-efficiency standards
Editorial
Miami Herald
Florida PSC should lead in promoting conservation, renewable power sources
The easiest, cheapest way to save energy is to use less of it. Floridians get that, already.

Panthers without borders
Editorial
Daytona Beach News-Journal
You see its image often on license plates in Florida, but chances are next to nothing -- and growing slimmer by the acre -- that you'll ever see the real thing in its natural habitat.

Forever isn't political
Editorial
Orlando Sentinel
This week, gubernatorial candidates Alex Sink and Bill McCollum seemed the last people capable of agreeing on anything, given their freewheeling attacks on each other for failing to stop rogue debt collectors from threatening Floridians.

Bagging a bad habit
Editorial
Orlando Sentinel
The world didn't end when doctors stopped making house calls, when filling stations stopped checking under the hood, when ATMs replaced tellers.

Wildwood Preservation Society is a non-profit 501(c)(4) project of the Advocacy Consortium for the Common Good. Click here to learn more.

"it's all connected"

Florida environmental and wildlife news for the week ending 10-23-09

FEATURED STORIES

Big business isn't doing state's environment any favors
By Brian P. Armstrong
Tallahassee Democrat
The answers to current energy issues will be key to a safe, healthy and prosperous future for Florida.

Wild Places Falling to Development
By Tom Palmer
Lakeland Ledger
It hit me as I was driving through one of the formerly remote sections of Central Florida's rural interior.

Fla. PSC approves new nuclear plant rates
By Bill Kaczor
The Associated Press
State regulators struggled with seemingly contradictory legal requirements Friday as they set annual rates to pay for future nuclear power plants, which critics say aren't needed, and upgrade existing ones.

Nuclear Regulatory Commission says planned Levy nuclear reactor has flaws
By Sean Kinane
WMNF Community Radio Tampa
Yesterday the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission said the design chosen for nuclear power plants at two sites in Florida is unacceptable because it cannot withstand hurricane winds.

Debate rages on Hometown Democracy amendment
By Jim Saunders
Daytona Beach News-Journal
Florida voters are still more than a year away from an election showdown about how to manage the state's growth.

Two recent panther deaths confound biologists
By Eric Staats
Naples News
A case of a Florida panther found dead in an orange grove east of Ave Maria has been turned over to federal investigators.

Manatees and Florida's Other Protected Species Need Your Input!
Take Action!
Save The Manatee Club
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission is making final revisions to the state's imperiled species listing process and needs to hear your comments by November 6th at 5:00 p.m.

Group wants 83 coral species listed as endangered
Staff Report
The Associated Press
Environmental activists are petitioning the federal government to put 83 coral species on the endangered species list.

Public pays as FPL makes case
By Mary Ellen Klas so
Miami Herald/St. Petersburg Times Tallahassee Bureau
Florida Power & Light has spent nearly $5 million trying to raise your electric rates.


An underwater shot of a pair of Florida manatees.

THE BIG OIL ROUNDUP


Coming soon to Florida’s coastline? This oil rig beached just off of Dauphin Island, Alabama, after Hurricane Katrina brought the enormous structure a few hundred meters from shore.

Alabama, Texas oil revenues below Florida estimates
The Associated Press
Tampa Tribune
Texas and Alabama get far less money every year from offshore drilling in their state waters than advocates say Florida can expect, the state's environmental chief told a House panel Wednesday.

Key business group admits oil drilling in Florida will not lower prices at pump
Press Release
ProtectFloridasBeaches.org
House leaders today asked no questions about the secretive Texas group that is responsible for the push to drill and is conspicuously absent from the first critical legislative hearing.

State GOP senators skeptical on offshore oil drilling
By Steve Bousquet and Shannon Colavecchio
St. Petersburg Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau
The aggressive push for oil drilling off Florida's shores is backed by a coalition of powerful, well-financed business interests who are determined to succeed where they failed before: the state Senate.

Details of LeMieux's work for oil group remain murky
By Alex Leary
St. Petersburg Times
Up until he was appointed as Florida's newest U.S. senator, George LeMieux was advising a secretive pro-oil drilling coalition that is pushing a bill through the state Legislature to open up the Florida Gulf Coast to drilling.

Parties rake in oil, gas cash
By Catherine Dolinski
Tampa Tribune
With the debate over offshore oil drilling gaining steam but the outcome still in doubt, oil and gas companies have stepped up their contributions to the state's major political parties.

Oil spill off Australia could hold lesson for Florida
By Ernest Hooper
St. Petersburg Times
Over in Australia, they're trying to cap a leaking oil well nearly two months after it began spilling crude into the Timor Sea.

Timor Sea Drilling Spill - 3rd Relief Attempt Fails
By John
SkyTruth blog
Ugh, back to the ongoing Montara/West Atlas oil spill.

It's not the risk from oil drilling, it's the pipelines, DEP says
By Bruce Ritchie
FloridaEnvironments.com
In what the House council chairman said will be the first of several meetings on oil drilling, Florida's environmental chief today said drilling accidents pose a low risk to the state but he said other competing uses for state waters must be considered.

Drilling foes address House
By Catherine Dolinski
Tampa Tribune
Mary and Lee Wilkerson have won preservation awards and accolades from travel Web sites for their painstaking restorations of older beach homes in the Tampa Bay area.

Lawmakers kick off a crucial round in the state's offshore-drilling debate
By Lloyd Dunkelberger
Sarasota Herald-Tribune
Oil drilling has been specifically banned in Florida coastal waters since 1990.

Florida’s offshore hustle
By Dan Berard
Tampa Bay Weekly
The Florida Energy Associates continue to pressure our state legislature to allow drilling offshore of Florida.

House to hear drilling debate
By Jim Ash
Tallahassee Democrat.
The think tanks are humming, big oil is gushing money, some polls suggest the public is primed -- and environmentalists are nervous.

DRILL, BABY, DRILL? Oil, gas money flows in Florida as offshore drilling debate looms
By Chris Kromm
Facing South
A plan to begin offshore drilling as close as three miles from the Florida coast stalled in the legislature this year, but energy interests aren't taking no for an answer.

Offshore drilling risks outweigh benefits to state
By Deirdre Macnab, Florida League of Women Voters
Naples News
The Florida League of Women Voters believes that Floridians must take note of the environmental risks versus the potential monetary gain when considering offshore drilling.

Offshore drilling a bad idea
By Reginald T. Dogan
Pensacola News Journal
Before I moved to Florida 13 years ago, I thought about offshore oil exploration about as much as I thought about exploring Mars.

Florida, and U.S., should heed NOAA's concerns over environmental impacts from oil drilling
Editorial
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
As Florida gets serious about tapping into oil reserves off the Gulf Coast as a way to pump up a sagging state budget, warnings about very real threats to the environment should serve as a wake-up call to pause the push for drilling off our shores.

Pinellas to oppose offshore oil drilling
By David DeCamp
St. Petersburg Times
Related: Safety Harbor joins offshore oil drilling opponents
Pinellas County legislative priorities will include opposing efforts to allow offshore drilling within 125 miles of the county's tourist-rich beaches, according to the list of lobbying priorities to be discussed at Tuesday's County Commission meeting.

Manatee commission opposes Gulf drilling
By Sara Kennedy
Bradenton Herald
The Manatee County Commission Tuesday unanimously agreed to direct its staff to prepare a resolution stating it does not support oil or gas drilling in state waters in the Gulf of Mexico.

FARE to FlaSeia: 'Please Come Back Home'
Press Release
Reuters
The Florida Alliance for Renewable Energy (FARE) believes that Florida must accelerate its diversification of energy producing sources beyond its current dependence upon fossil fuels, nuclear and natural gas.

The O.K. Corral - A showdown of the solar industry of Florida
By Susan Nilon
The Nilon Report
The Florida Solar Energy Industry Association (FLSEIA) went rogue last week and decided to join the supporters of Off-shore drilling(OSD).

Drilling off coast is too risky
By Justin Scott Lacher
Sarasota Herald-Tribune
There are primarily three reasons why I oppose oil drilling off the Florida coast: endangerment of sea animals, tourist money at risk if beaches are ruined by oil spills, and possible coral reef damage.

Gulf drilling is a danger we can't afford
Letters to the Editor
St. Petersburg Times
Related: Industry puff piece to which writers are responding.
Dave Mica's op-ed expounds on how wonderful drilling in the Gulf of Mexico will be for our economy.

Oil industry greases votes at Florida Legislature
Editorial
TC Palm
The oil industry's money machine is pumping money into the state Legislature in an effort to open drilling within three miles of Florida’s coast.

Danger of drilling hits home
Editorial
Sarasota Herald-Tribune
State legislators from this region are divided on whether to allow oil and gas drilling off Florida's Gulf Coast. But local governments have had no qualms about taking firm stands against the proposal.

Golden State's green path
Editorial
Sarasota Herald-Tribune
The backers of nearshore oil drilling want Floridians to think their scheme is the only way to meet energy demands and finance investments in alternative sources, such as solar.


Editorial cartoon by Jim Morin, Miami Herald.

TAKE ACTION NOW

Click the picture above to urge Senate President Jeff Atwater to oppose state legislative efforts that would allow offshore oil drilling off Florida’s coast.

MORE ONLINE ACTIONS
Write a letter to the editor, via Audubon of Florida.
Write your state legislators, via Audubon of Florida.
Tell Sen. Atwater Not To Allow Oil Drilling In Special Session, via Audubon of Florida.
Sign the petition against oil drilling, via Protect Florida’s Beaches.
Tell Salazar: No drilling off Florida's Coast, via Environment Florida.
Tell new Senator LeMieux to Repower America, via Environment Florida.
Tell Your Senator No More Offshore Drilling, via Oceana.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES OF NOTE
Protect Florida’s Beaches, recently launched coalition website.
Protect Florida’s Beaches on Facebook.
Don’t Drill Florida website.
Don’t Drill Florida Facebook page.
Hands Across The Sand website.
Environment Florida offshore drilling page.
Skytruth blog, an excellent source of info.
Not the Answer blog, courtesy Surfrider Foundation.
EnergyFLA.com, online hub of drilling proponents; their Twitter page is here.

MORE GREEN NEWS

Survey favoring land deal takes aim at Crist critics
By Curtis Morgan
Miami Herald
The latest volley in the political battle over Gov. Charlie Crist's controversial $536 million land deal with the U.S. Sugar Corp. was fired Tuesday in the form of a poll bankrolled by its strongest supporters.

Floridians head to Capitol Hill to lobby for Climate legislation (includes audio)
By Sean Kinane
WMNF Community Radio Tampa
A group of Floridians concerned about climate change is in Washington, DC lobbying members of Congress to enact strong environmental legislation.

Floridians head to Capitol Hill to lobby for Climate legislation (includes audio)
By Sean Kinane
WMNF Community Radio Tampa
A group of Floridians concerned about climate change is in Washington, DC lobbying members of Congress to enact strong environmental legislation.

Study Shows Water Shortages in Southeast United States Are Due to Overpopulation, Likely to Be Repeated
Press Release
Center for Biological Diversity
A new study by Columbia University climate experts has determined that the drought that caused water shortages in the southeastern United States in 2007 and 2008 was not unprecedented in severity, but in fact a “typical event.”

State planners urge Marion to reject Shady-area industrial park
By Bill Thompson
Ocala Star-Banner
State planners are urging Marion County to reject a controversial industrial park targeted for an area south of Ocala, saying the proposal will promote sprawl, could harm the environment, lacks appropriate infrastructure, and is not needed at this time.

Four on list for PSC replacement
By Mary Ellen Klas
Miami Herald/St. Petersburg Times Tallahassee Bureau
Meeting for less than half an hour, the Public Service Nominating Council on Tuesday sent Gov. Charlie Crist the names of four previous nominees to fill an unexpired term on the state utility board.

DEP's Sole says "lift the hood" on biomass projects
By Bruce Ritchie
FloridaEnvironments.com
The governor says they could provide renewable energy for Florida, but Department of Environmental Protection Secretary Michael Sole says biomass electric plants also are being viewed by DEP the same as any other environmental permit applications.

Environmental concerns fail to stop expanded rock mining in Everglades Agricultural Area
By Andy Reid
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
Rock mining that environmentalists say threatens to pollute water supplies and hamper Everglades restoration can expand to more western farmland, Palm Beach County commissioners decided Thursday.

Klement gets hurry-up call on PSC from governor
By James A. Jones Jr.
Bradenton Herald
His appointment to the Florida Public Service Commission was originally supposed to begin in January, but David Klement, of Bradenton, learned that he will be getting to work even sooner.

Fishing for amberjack closing in Gulf federal waters
By Tom McLaughlin
Northwest Florida Daily News
News that a federal agency had slammed the door on this year’s amberjack season without notice didn’t sit well Tuesday with charter fishermen.

Treasure Coast Manatee awareness urged
By Staff Report
TC Palm
Gov. Charlie Crist recently issued a proclamation recognizing November 2009 as Manatee Awareness Month, a tradition supported by Florida’s governors for many years.

Manatee concerns snag river project
By Christian M. Wade
Tampa Tribune
When temperatures in the Gulf of Mexico drop in winter, herds of manatee meander slowly up the Hillsborough River in search of warmer water.

Corkscrew named Wetland of International Importance
By Eric Staats
Naples News
Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary is basking in the international limelight.

PSC approves nuke charges as members cite legal conflict
By Bruce Ritchie
FloridaEnvironments.com
Florida law contains contradictions to guide the Public Service Commission on how much to allow companies to bill their customers for nuclear power plants that have not been completed, some PSC members said today.

North America's Largest Photovoltaic Solar Plant Set to Open
By Zac Anderson
Lakeland Ledger
The road to North America's largest photovoltaic solar plant passes cows and orange trees before turning to gravel amid a field of 90,000 black panels.

After rich success, land conservation program faces Spartan future
By Zac Anderson
Sarasota Herald-Tribune
More than 27,000 acres have been protected from development over the last decade through Sarasota County's conservation tax -- an amount of land twice the size of Manhattan.

Protect the water, not polluters
By Diane Roberts
St. Petersburg Times
Florida is half-solid, half-liquid.

The real outrage at the PSC
Editorial
Palm Beach Post
To understand the latest act in the carnival that is the Florida Public Service Commission, you have to go back eight years.

State must preserve Florida Forever
Editorial
Tampa Tribune
There is a good reason Democrats Reubin Askew and Bob Graham have joined Republicans Bob Martinez and Jeb Bush to campaign for the funding of Florida Forever.

Water matters
Editorial
Gainesville Sun
News flash: The Environmental Protection Agency has decided that it has a responsibility to enforce the Clean Water Act.


Click the picture above to visit the Florida Forever Coalition website.

Wildwood Preservation Society is a non-profit 501(c)(4) project of the Advocacy Consortium for the Common Good. Click here to learn more.

"it's all connected"

Florida environmental and wildlife news for the week ending 10-16-09

FEATURED STORIES

Florida Forever defenders step up
By Yvette C. Hammett
Tampa Tribune
Related: Read the Florida Forever Coalition press release here.
It's been an easy concept from the start. Get developers to pay for growth by preserving vast stretches of natural Florida.

County won't appeal ruling on Summerfield
By TaMaryn Waters
Tallahassee Democrat
Leon County commissioners decided Tuesday they didn't want to appeal a court ruling regarding the Summerfield development.

Land grabs fuel Hometown Amendment drive
By Lauren Ritchie
Orlando Sentinel
The city of Wildwood, west of Leesburg at the junction of Interstate 75 and Florida's Turnpike, has annexed empty land that has approval for up to 87,000 new homes.

Economic hammer pounds developers
By Michael Sasso
Tampa Tribune
Long vilified as greedy power brokers, many of the people in the business of turning open spaces into malls and subdivisions are reeling from liens, foreclosure lawsuits and bankruptcies.

Florida wants to bag the plastic
By Kevin Spear
Orlando Sentinel
Florida environmental officials want to make the state the first in the nation to prohibit throwaway plastic and paper bags.

PSC showdown Friday: Can Progress Energy charge customers upfront for nuke plant costs?
By Robert Trigaux
St. Petersburg Times
What once seemed a slam dunk deal for Progress Energy -- building a new nuclear power plant complex in rural Levy County north of Tampa Bay -- is now very much up in the air.

Nuclear reactor design has safety flaw
By Curtis Morgan
Miami Herald
The nuclear reactor design that Florida Power & Light has chosen for its expansion at Turkey Point has safety flaws, federal regulators said Thursday.

Feds need to close red snapper fishing areas
Editorial
Florida Today
Space Coast anglers -- and anyone who enjoys a seafood meal -- know why red snapper is a prized catch.


The red snapper is being fished unsustainably.

THE BIG OIL ROUNDUP

The Big Oil roundup: news and information about Big Oil’s push to rig Florida’s coastline for the week ending 10-16-09:

Federal scientists: Limit offshore drilling plans
By Jim Tankersley and Josh Meyer
Los Angeles Times
The federal government's top ocean scientists are urging the Interior Department to drastically reduce plans to open the coast to offshore oil and gas drilling, citing threats to marine life and potentially devastating effects of oil spills in Arctic waters.

NOAA urges caution in expanded offshore drilling
By Sue Sturgis
Facing South
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has called on the Interior Department to proceed cautiously with plans to expand offshore oil and gas drilling, pointing to the need to protect fisheries, marine habitat and coastal communities.

Solar group's endorsement of offshore drilling causes controversy
By Catherine Dolinski
Tampa Tribune
An association of solar energy businesses in Florida stunned environmentalists last month by declaring its support for offshore oil drilling.

What's the tie between lobbyists, oil drilling and solar power?
By Marc Caputo
St. Petersburg Times/Miami Herald
From Progress Florida: On behalf of the tens of thousands of our members across Florida who strongly support moving our state and nation toward a clean, renewable energy future and growing a green economy here in the “Sunshine State,” we were extremely disappointed to learn about your association’s support for opening Florida’s near shore waters to oil drilling.

Solar Energy's Stockholm Syndrome
Don’t Drill Florida
Stockholm syndrome is a psychological response sometimes seen in abducted hostages, in which the hostage shows signs of loyalty to the hostage-taker, regardless of the danger or risk in which they have been placed.

Solar Group’s Drilling Stance Spurs Backlash
By Kate Galbraith
New York Times
A Florida solar group’s support for offshore oil and gas drilling as a means of generating revenue for renewables has spurred a backlash.

Drilling backers, foes prepare for big fight
By Steve Bousquet
Miami Herald/St. Petersburg Times
From an office near the state Capitol, David Rancourt oversees a growth industry: the lobbying and public-relations operation seeking to lift the long-standing ban on offshore oil and gas exploration off Florida.

Australian oil spill fuels Alex Sink's drilling skepticism
By Adam Smith
St. Petersburg Times
Could a ruptured rig off western Australia(left) be the death nell to state officials trying to open up Florida to offshore drilling as close as three miles to the coast?

Strike two: oil leak plugging attempt fails
ABC News
Related: Failure to plug oil leak 'unacceptable'
The West Atlas oil rig in the Timor Sea has been leaking oil into the ocean for more than seven weeks.

Oil drilling threatens tourism
By Will Graves
Orlando Sentinel
The one-dimensional thinking championed by state Rep. Dean Cannon is exactly what National Geographic, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, the Orlando Sentinel and other publications have decried as a death knell for Florida.

Florida Republicans: drill, baby, drill (includes video)
By Steve Nichols
Fox 13 News Tampa Bay
Will there be consequences for local lawmakers who oppose offshore drilling legislation?

Bennett wants to delay offshore drilling debate
By Jeremy Wallace
Sarasota Herald-Tribune
State Sen. Mike Bennett, R-Bradenton, is looking to put the brakes on the state oil drilling debate.

Florida State University to hold offshore-drilling symposium
By Jim Ash
Tallahassee Democrat
Pledging to be honest brokers in a politically charged debate, Florida State University scientists announced Monday they will conduct an offshore drilling symposium next month.

Save Florida
By Bill Pownall
Hernando Today
I am writing this letter to each and every citizen of the state of Florida for you to contact and press your state legislators from passing a bill this upcoming session or as early as an October special session.

Florida oil drilling supporters, opponents post letters on issue
By Bruce Ritchie
FloridaEnvironments.com
Florida oil drilling opponents today called on Gov. Charlie Crist to include more coastal protections to his criteria for allowing offshore drilling.

Green activist advocates taking polite approach to opposition
By Steve Patterson
Florida Times-Union
ProvidedWith Florida politicians and environmentalists squaring off to fight over offshore oil drilling, a visiting activist is sharing some advice: Don't make enemies until you have to.

Rigging offshore drilling
Editorial
Orlando Sentinel
An elected official whose spouse gets paid by a group bent on influencing legislation before his committee has no business heading that committee.


Editorial cartoon by Jeff Parker, Florida Today.

TAKE ACTION NOW

Click the picture above to urge Senate President Jeff Atwater to oppose state legislative efforts that would allow offshore oil drilling off Florida’s coast.

MORE ONLINE ACTIONS
Write a letter to the editor, via Audubon of Florida.
Write your state legislators, via Audubon of Florida.
Tell Sen. Atwater Not To Allow Oil Drilling In Special Session, via Audubon of Florida.
Sign the petition against oil drilling, via Protect Florida’s Beaches.
Tell Salazar: No drilling off Florida's Coast, via Environment Florida.
Tell new Senator LeMieux to Repower America, via Environment Florida.
Tell Your Senator No More Offshore Drilling, via Oceana.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES OF NOTE
Protect Florida’s Beaches, recently launched coalition website.
Protect Florida’s Beaches on Facebook.
Don’t Drill Florida website.
Don’t Drill Florida Facebook page.
Environment Florida offshore drilling page.
Skytruth blog, an excellent source of info.
Not the Answer blog, courtesy Surfrider Foundation.
EnergyFLA.com, online hub of drilling proponents; their Twitter page is here.

MORE GREEN NEWS

For the loggerhead sea turtle, a worrisome trend
By Kate Spinner
Sarasota Herald-Tribune
For loggerhead sea turtles, 2009 marked a dismal nesting year, extending a decade-long decline that has prompted lawsuits, fishing bans and a push to list the animal as endangered.

Long-stalled project to help Florida Bay, Everglades finally getting started
By Andy Reid
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
A vital Everglades restoration project, intended to fix decades of environmentally destructive draining, got a long-awaited go-ahead from South Florida water managers on Thursday.

Delayed canal overhaul OK'd
By Curtis Morgan
Miami Herald
Back in the 1970s, when Mike Collins was a young flats guide in the Keys, old-timers like legendary fly-fishing pioneer Jimmie Albright already knew what was ailing Florida Bay.

FPL agrees to assessment of mysterious saltwater plume near Turkey Point nuclear plant
By Curtis Morgan
Miami Herald
Florida Power & Light will spend millions to assess whether the massive cooling canal system at the Turkey Point nuclear power plant is fueling salt contamination of the aquifer in South Miami-Dade County.

Fla. PSC considers nuclear plant rate hikes
The Associated Press
Tampa Tribune
The Public Service Commission is considering rate increases to pay for building nuclear power plants that critics say aren't needed.

PSC staff recommends utilities be allowed to drop conservation incentives
By Mary Ellen Klas
St. Petersburg Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau
Despite pressure from both Gov. Charlie Crist and the Florida Legislature, state regulators on Thursday recommended that electric utilities not be required to give customers new incentives for saving energy and reducing electrical consumption.

Volusia approves massive 'city in the woods' project
By Ludmilla Lelis
Orlando Sentinel
A potential city in the woods, with more than 20,000 homes proposed on remote timberland west of Interstate 95, passed a key hurdle Thursday.

State lawmakers battling DCA secretary over growth
By Michael Peltier
Naples News
Civics books often tell you how it’s supposed to work.

Bronson says water lawsuit threatens jobs, prescribed burning
By Bruce Ritchie
FloridaEnvironments.com
Agriculture Commissioner Charles Bronson today warned other Cabinet members that setting specific pollution standards for nutrients in Florida waters could jeopardize prescribed burning efforts and the state's forest industry.

Group: FEMA Must Consult FWS To Protect Turtles (includes audio)
By Gina Presson
Public News Service Florida
The Florida Wildlife Federation (FWF) has inched closer to filing a lawsuit against the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

Solar plant set to open, even as shadows loom
By Zac Anderson
Sarasota Herald-Tribune
The road to North America's largest photovoltaic solar plant passes cows and orange trees before turning to gravel amid a field of 90,000 black panels.

Stop drift in oceans policy
By Frank Muller-Karger
St. Petersburg Times
In Florida, our beaches and coastal waters attract over 33 million tourists each year. Our marine fishing, boating, tourism, recreation and ocean transport industries bring over $400 billion every year to our state.

Seagrass Recovery Joins the United Nations in Calling Attention to the Need to Restore Critical Seagrass Habitats in the Coastal Zone of the World's Oceans
Press Release
Seagrass Recovery
A report released October 14, 2009 by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) stresses the importance of urgent action to maintain and restore marine ecosystems such as seagrass, mangroves and salt marshes (blue carbon sinks) as the key to combating climate change.

Environmental threats observe no borders
By Douglas Rader and Kumar Mahadevan
Sarasota Herald-Tribune
Cuban and American scientists recently gathered at Environmental Defense Fund in Washington, D.C., and Mote Marine Laboratory in Sarasota for a groundbreaking exchange of science and ideas -- the first of its kind in years to highlight the importance of working together on ocean conservation and shared waters.

Giant invasive snakes are here to stay
By Curtis Morgan
Miami Herald
There are a few upbeat findings in a new federal study of the assorted threats posed to the nation by Burmese pythons and eight other large exotic constrictors.

Joint investigation finds no criminal wrongdoing at Public Service Commission
By Mary Ellen Klas
Miami Herald/St. Petersburg Times Tallahassee Bureau
Leon County State Attorney Willie Meggs said Monday that a joint investigation between his office and state police into the state's public utilities regulator has not turned up any criminal wrongdoing.

PSC troubles prompt widespread calls for reform
By Mary Ellen Klas
Miami Herald/St. Petersburg Times Tallahassee Bureau
Related Carl Hiaasen column: Man bites dog: PSC rejects FPL rate hike
Faced with an edict from Gov. Charlie Crist to ``clean house'' at the troubled Public Service Commission, Senate President Jeff Atwater says he'll hold hearings during the next two months to change the way the utility regulator does business.

Ballot issue on growth a hot topic
By Grace Gagliano
Bradenton Herald
A November 2010 ballot issue is already stirring heated local discussions.

Suit over law that favors builders
By Dale White
Sarasota Herald-Tribune
The new state law that critics blasted as a massive assault on Florida's growth regulations has been blocked by the agency that is supposed to enforce it, and attacked in court by a growing number of cities and counties that want it struck down.

Bio-energy, ethanol projects proposed across Florida
By Bruce Ritchie
FloridaEnvironments.com
Nine bio-energy or ethanol projects are being proposed in Florida and at least five others are under discussion, according to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection.

Enviros support new lands ranking process
By Bruce Ritchie
FloridaEnvironments.com
In a move that environmentalists said resolves their concerns, a state panel on Friday adopted a rule that would establish a new rankings process for determining which conservation lands should be bought.

Environmental agency rejects Florida Crystals land as inland port site
By Paul Quinlan
Palm Beach Post
Politically powerful Florida Crystals Corp. was dealt a blow Friday by state environmental regulators, who said a transportation, warehousing and distribution complex the sugar company wants built on its land south of Lake Okeechobee would interfere with Everglades restoration.

Manatee habitat poorly defined
Editorial
Daytona Beach News-Journal
In the next few months, manatees will start heading for their traditional wintering grounds in Florida -- mostly springs (such as Blue Spring State Park in Orange City) and power-plant outfalls.

Needed review
Editorial
Florida Today
Florida residents — and those along the Space Coast in particular — have long had a special responsibility to help the manatee survive.


Threatened loggerhead sea turtle.

Wildwood Preservation Society is a non-profit 501(c)(4) project of the Advocacy Consortium for the Common Good. Click here to learn more.

"it's all connected"

Major update on effort to save Fred George Basin

Major update on effort to save Fred George Basin

The Leon County Commission voted unanimously Tuesday night to purchase two critically important land parcels as part of the Fred George Basin conservation project. This marks the third and fourth out of five tracts that will comprise the 175-acre Fred George Basin Greenway.

Wildwood Preservation Society was formed in April 2006 to challenge a rezoning notice that, if approved, would have allowed reckless high-density development in the Fred George Basin floodplain, an area active with endangered wildlife and that had already suffered from nearby sprawl. Thanks to the hard work and support of many, many individuals and a coalition of concerned organizations, the heart of Fred George Basin has largely been saved. The Fred George Basin Greenway is slated to eventually open as a public park with low-impact recreation such as hiking trails.


Endangered wood storks in Fred George Basin, May 2009. Photo courtesy Rich Leighton, Florida Nature Photography.

Detailed background (adapted from Leon County Commission Agenda Item 38 from the Oct. 13, 2009 meeting): The Fred George Basin, located in northwestern Leon County, is made up of several parcels that contain developable uplands as well as flood prone areas, wetlands, and the Fred George Sink. The three parcels that form the core of the Fred George Basin were owned by R.P. Properties, LLC. (R.P.), the Maples family, and Christina Maples. The owners applied for a rezoning of their property from RA to R-3 in April 2006. Prior to the Planning Commission hearing on the requested rezoning, petitions were filed with the Florida Division of Administrative Hearings (DOAH) by Wildwood Preservation Society founder Misty Penton, a nearby resident, claiming that the substantial increase in residential density would change the nature of the rural community, increase runoff in the Fred George Basin, cause flooding within some neighborhoods, and have a negative impact on threatened and endangered species in the area. Standing to challenge was found in two of the three rezoning requests (R.P. and James Maples). Due to an interest by the County to obtain the parcels, the rezoning requests were voluntarily postponed by the owners, and the DOAH hearing placed in abeyance, pending a decision on final disposition of the property.

At the October 10, 2006 Board meeting, the acquisition of the parcels was discussed under Commissioners’ time and staff was directed to develop an agenda request concerning this issue. The agenda item went before the Board at the December 12, 2006 regular meeting. After discussion, the Board voted to acquire the tract owned by R.P. Properties LLC, the most environmentally sensitive parcel, upon dismissal of the rezoning request, with the option to acquire the James Maples and Christina Maples property at a future time. In addition, the Board directed staff to seek Blueprint 2000 (BP 2000) funding for the acquisition of all three properties.

At the February 13, 2007 regular meeting, an agenda item concerning the proposed Fred George Basin Greenway went before the Board. After discussion, staff was directed to seek funding for the acquisition of the three original parcels and two additional parcels, the four-acre Schwartz property, located to the north of the original three parcels, and the 13-acre Cavanagh property, located to the east of the original three parcels. Staff was directed to seek the additional funding required for the acquisition by submitting a Florida Communities Trust (FCT) Grant application to the Florida Department of Community Affairs (DCA).

In January 2007, the County submitted a request to BP 2000 to reclassify the Fred George Basin project from a Tier 2 to a Tier 1 to obtain BP 2000 funding. In addition, the County requested that BP2000 utilize the funding originally allocated for Lake Jackson projects to the Fred George Basin project since many of the Lake Jackson projects had been completed by the County using other sources of funding. BP 2000 staff submitted this proposal to their Technical Review Committee (TRC) on February 8, 2007.

The TRC considered the issue and formally recommended the transfer of $2.691 million from the Lake Jackson project to the Fred George Basin project. This recommendation was presented to the Citizens Advisory Committee (CAC). The CAC concurred with the TRC, and formally recommended the transfer $2.691 million to the Fred George Basin project and to begin the reclassification process necessary to move the project from Tier 2 to Tier 1. This recommendation went to the BP 2000 Intergovernmental Agency (IA) meeting on February 26, 2007. The IA directed BP 2000 staff to schedule the public hearing necessary to move the Fred George Basin project to Tier 1 and, upon the reclassification, transfer no more than $2.77 million to the project. At a public hearing on June 4, 2007, the IA approved the reclassification of the project to Tier 1 and the allocation of no more than $2.77 million to the project.

Concurrent with the process of seeking funds through BP 2000, the Tallahassee-Leon County Planning Department (Planning) and the Grants Program Coordinator, working with Wildwood Preservation Society, developed and submitted a FCT application for the Fred George Basin Greenway project. The application called for reimbursement to the County after the parcels were acquired through a voluntary negotiated transaction. The application was successful, ranking the Fred George Basin Greenway project 5th out of 110 applicants, and the County executed an agreement with FCT on January 15, 2008.

In order to expedite the acquisition of the properties, County staff ordered appraisals for all five parcels. Since FCT would utilize the appraised value in determining the amount of reimbursement to the County, the FCT process of appraisal was utilized. Two state-certified appraisers were retained, and appraisals were done for each parcel. A third state-certified appraiser reviewed the appraisals to insure accuracy, and developed a Maximum Approved Purchase Price (MAPP).

At its regular meeting of December 9, 2008, the Board approved the purchase of the RP property for $900,000, and allocated an additional $200,000 for environmental cleanup of the site. At its July 14, 2009 regular meeting, the Board approved the purchase of the Dan Schwartz property for $100,000. Both parcels have since been purchased.

With the purchase of the two newest properties, four of the five parcels originally planned for acquisition are now County owned. More than 160 acres have been saved to date. Currently Leon County staff is negotiating with the owners of the fifth parcel, a 13-acre piece that is predominantly flood plain and bottomland forest.


Egret chicks in Fred George Basin, May 2009. Photo courtesy Rich Leighton, Florida Nature Photography

Wildwood Preservation Society is a non-profit 501(c)(4) project of the Advocacy Consortium for the Common Good. Click here to learn more.

"it's all connected"

Florida environmental and wildlife news for the week ending 10-9-09

Ed. Note: today’s post covers the past two weeks – we’ll return to our weekly posting schedule next Friday.

FEATURED STORIES

Federal agency could update manatee habitat map
By Curtis Morgan
Miami Herald
It has been more than 30 years since federal wildlife managers formally mapped the places where endangered manatees live in Florida.

Report: Climate change poses risk to Florida’s National Parks
By Paul Brinkmann
South Florida Business Journal
Florida’s three national parks – which help drive tourism dollars to the state – are among the 25 parks most at risk from climate change, according to a report from Natural Resources Defense Council.

Body of evidence shows that atrazine harms fish and amphibians, USF researchers say
By Richard Danielson
St. Petersburg Times
With the EPA taking a hard look at the popular weed killer atrazine, two University of South Florida biologists say there's evidence it harms fish and frogs.

Everglades restoration dispute heads to Florida's high court
By Paul Quinlan
Palm Beach Post
Gov. Charlie Crist's mammoth land deal with the U.S. Sugar Corp., a $536 million bid to restore the Everglades, is headed to the state Supreme Court.

Lake Jackson is a on a rebound with help from Mother Nature
By Gerald Ensley
Tallahassee Democrat
Joe Jacobsen has been fishing Lake Jackson since 1956. On a recent Friday morning, the retired Tallahassee electrician went out with hopes of catching some bream but wound up catching a bunch of speckled perch instead.

Blocking build-build-builders
By Mike Thomas
Orlando Sentinel
The Florida Chamber of Commerce and Associated Industries of Florida are complete frauds.


Lake Jackson shoreline.

THE BIG OIL ROUNDUP

The Big Oil roundup: news and information about Big Oil’s push to rig Florida’s coastline for the two week period ending 10-9-09


Editorial cartoon by Andy Marlette, Pensacola News Journal.

Fla. drilling advocate: Money won't come quickly
By Bill Kaczor
The Associated Press
An offshore drilling advocate acknowledged it'll take years before the state can realize the promises of a revenue windfall from oil and natural gas exploration during a Capitol debate Tuesday.

Florida Solar Group Backs Offshore Drilling
By Kate Galbraith
New York Times
When solar power advocates peddle their product, they emphasize that the panels generate clean energy – in implicit contrast to greenhouse gas-producing fossil fuels.

Florida solar group criticized for oil drilling support
By Bruce Ritchie
FloridaEnvironments.com
A solar energy group's support for offshore oil drilling is facing sharp criticism from environmentalists.

Support of oil drilling takes the shine off solar
By Eric Ernst
Sarasota Herald-Tribune
When it endorsed drilling for oil within sight of Gulf coast beaches last week, the state's solar power industry showed its true color: Green.

Solar, oil industries: strange bedfellows?
By Peter Linton-Smith
Fox 13 News Tampa Bay
Florida's solar energy industry trade group is reconsidering a position taken last week on offshore oil drilling.

In midst of offshore drilling debate, Miami lawmaker denies conflict with his lobbyist wife
By Steve Bousquet and Shannon Colavecchio
St. Petersburg Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau
The powerful Miami lawmaker now in charge of the Senate committee on energy policy is married to a lobbyist hired to help secure the repeal of Florida's ban on offshore oil and gas exploration.

Two senators want panel to explore oil drilling
By Bruce Ritchie
FloridaEnvironments.com
Two Democratic senators today said they are proposing legislation to require creation of a new panel to look at the risks and benefits of drilling off of Florida's coastline.

Drilling proposal protects Pinellas
By Catherine Dolinski
Tampa Tribune
Supporters of oil drilling off Florida's Gulf coast say their plan would leave waters around Pinellas and a few other counties free of derricks.

Don't Drill In Gulf of Mexico, Beach Cities Agree
By Sheila Mullane Estrada
St. Petersburg Times
Pinellas County's beach communities voiced strong opposition last week to any oil drilling within state-controlled waters of the Gulf of Mexico.

Offshore Drilling Bill Passes House; Panhandle Chambers Oppose (includes video)
Staff Report
WJHG News Panama City
Chamber of commerce officials across the Panhandle are organizing opposition to any plans for expanding offshore oil and gas drilling in the Gulf.

Cities and county unite to oppose offshore drilling
By Doug Sword
Sarasota Herald-Tribune
Sarasota County and its four cities unanimously approved a resolution to maintain the bank against oil drilling off of Florida's coast.

Don't drill in Gulf of Mexico, beach cities agree
By Sheila Mullane Estrada
St. Petersburg Times
Pinellas County's beach communities voiced strong opposition last week to any oil drilling within state-controlled waters of the Gulf of Mexico.

Florida's dej vu on oil drilling
By Bob Rackleff
Tampa Tribune
Before Florida goes back into offshore oil drilling, let's consider the mess our state leaders created the last time they aspired to be another Texas or Louisiana.

Some agreement, disagreement in House Dems oil debate
By Bruce Ritchie
FloridaEnvironments.com
A discussion among Florida House Democrats on oil drilling today featured some sharp exchanges between a leading environmental opponent an attorney representing drilling supporters.

Politicians slimy enough without Big Oil's slick talk
By Scott Maxwell
Orlando Sentinel
I'm looking forward to a healthy debate over offshore drilling.

Offshore drilling is not worth the risks to the Florida gulf coast
By Dan DeWitt
St. Petersburg Times
The Gulf of Mexico at Bayport is clear enough that James Frost could look down from the pier Tuesday and see crab traps a dozen feet underwater.

Beware the Sirens of Big Oil
By Dr. Riki Ott
Huffington Post
Cordova, Alaska. In the early 1970s, Big Oil wooed Alaskans with a seductive chorus promising jobs, riches, and risk-free oil development, pipeline transfer, and tanker transport.

Florida Lawmakers Dive Deep Into Big Debate On Drilling
By Brandon Larrabee
Jacksonville Times-Union
A battle over the future of Florida’s coastline and the resources that lie just beyond is shaping up in the Legislature, as lawmakers, lobbyists and advocates on both sides mobilize for what could be one of the major fights of the coming session: whether to open state waters to offshore oil drilling.

Drilling Tug-Of-War Continues
By Timothy O'Hara
Key West Citizen
An oil spill off the coast of Australia that is currently dumping 16,800 gallons of crude in the ocean each day is heightening concerns about allowing drilling off the coast of Florida.

Group Aims For Neutral Forum On Drilling
By Jim Ash
Tallahassee Democrat
Supporters and opponents of offshore drilling are cautiously optimistic that the Century Commission for a Sustainable Florida, a policy group created by the Legislature in 2005, can provide a neutral forum to answer some of the thorniest questions.

Century Commission for a Sustainable Florida assessing offshore drilling
By Jim Ash
Tallahassee Democrat
Supporters and opponents of offshore drilling are cautiously optimistic that the Century Commission for a Sustainable Florida, a policy group created by the Legislature in 2005, can provide a neutral forum to answer some of the thorniest questions.

Oil, gas drilling off Florida coast? Lawmaker's plan spurs debate
By Kevin Spear
Orlando Sentinel
Related: Drilling in Gulf? Pros and cons of Cannon's plan
State Rep. Dean Cannon is an avid pilot, motivated partly by his father's past military flying, so he often wings it to the capital in a rented plane.

'Drill bill' puts our tourism economy in jeopardy
By David Pleat
Destin Log
In July of this year over 58,000 gallons of raw crude oil spilled into the pristine waters of the Gulf of Mexico 30 miles off of the coast of Louisiana.

Anti-Drilling Coalition Fractures
By Zac Anderson
Sarasota Herald-Tribune
Oil and solar power may seem like strange bedfellows, but this week the Florida Solar Energy Industry Association -- a group that represents more than 100 solar companies statewide -- announced support for oil drilling within 10 miles of Florida's coast so long as oil tax money is used to subsidize solar installations.

Drilling camp making inroads
By Jeremy Wallace
Sarasota Herald-Tribune
While much of the nation has been focused on the health care debate in Washington, a three-pronged effort to open Florida's Gulf Coast to oil drilling has quietly been gaining strength and appears set to become a major battle later this fall.

Floridians should unite against drilling
By Tommy Maple
Independent Alligator
Florida politics has always been a giant petri dish of sleaze, and the Florida Legislature is always a spectacular orgy of corruption.

Stacking the deck for drilling
Editorial
St. Petersburg Times
Republican Senate President Jeff Atwater, who wants to be Florida's next chief financial officer, ignored a blatant conflict of interest and named a new energy committee chairman whose wife is a lobbyist for the secretive group pushing offshore drilling.

Too slick for Florida
Editorial
Orlando Sentinel
Winter Park's Dean Cannon keeps hawking his proposal to lift the state's ban on offshore drilling.

Tallahassee mulls drilling off Florida's Gulf Coast
Editorial
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
The push is still on to turn Florida into a gas- and oil-producing state and, unlike similar efforts in Congress, this push is appealing to a far more receptive audience.

Offshore drilling a live issue
Editorial
Ft. Myers News-Press
Ed. Note: this editorial board flatly states that the offshore industry has a “solid safety record” – a reckless assertion in light of the number and severity of known spills.
Used to be, offshore oil drilling was a simple issue in Florida politics: Don't even think about it.


Montara-sized area of oil slick and sheen overlain in the northern Gulf of Mexico, showing potential impact of a comparable spill from a source located in the Destin Dome area 50 miles offshore from Pensacola. Based on analysis of August 30, 2009 NASA / MODIS satellite image of Timor Sea blowout and spill. It would in fact be much worse than even this illustration because thousands of gallons have continued to spill every single day since.

First attempt to plug oil leak fails
ABC News
The company responsible for an oil leak off the north-west coast of Australia says the first attempt to plug the leak with mud and stop the flow of oil has been unsuccessful.

Oil Platform Spill a Disaster in the Making
Audubon of Florida blog
On the 21st August the West Atlas drill rig began spewing 400 barrels of oil a day into the Timor Sea.

Foes of drilling say new technology won't stop oil spills
By Tamara Hill and Mike Deeson
Tampa Bays 10 News
The Coast Guard has documented more than 239,000 oil spills across the globe between 1973 and 2001.

TAKE ACTION NOW

Click the picture above to urge Senate President Jeff Atwater to oppose state legislative efforts that would allow offshore oil drilling off Florida’s coast.

MORE ONLINE ACTIONS
Tell Salazar: No drilling off Florida's Coast, via Environment Florida.
Tell new Senator LeMieux to Repower America, via Environment Florida.
Tell Your Senator No More Offshore Drilling, via Oceana.
Tell Sen. Atwater Not To Allow Oil Drilling In Special Session, via Audubon of Florida.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES OF NOTE
Protect Florida’s Beaches, recently launched coalition website.
Protect Florida’s Beaches on Facebook.
Environment Florida offshore drilling page.
Skytruth blog, an excellent source of info.
Not the Answer blog, courtesy Surfrider Foundation.
EnergyFLA.com, online hub of drilling proponents; their Twitter page is here.

MORE GREEN NEWS

Rare butterfly is a clue to global warming
By Dan Moffett
Palm Beach Post
The United Nations pulled together 100 world leaders last week for the highest-level meeting yet on global climate change.

Migrating Birds Seek Cooler Temps as Climate Changes
By Patricia Behnke
Wakulla.com
Autumn in Florida brings relief from the suffocating heat and dripping humidity of summer.

Long-Term Climate Changes Raise Concerns
By Tom Palmer
Lakeland Ledger
The prospect of the effects of climate change on the Lake Wales Ridge has environmental land managers worried.

Students find that wetlands matter
By Faith Eidse
Tallahassee Democrat
Globally, wetlands harbor 5,000 plant and 190 amphibian species, a third of all bird life, most of our fish nurseries and half our threatened or endangered species.

The battle escalates as pythons flourish
By Paul Flemming
Tallahassee Democrat
Hostilities have already been declared, but Florida is considering a surge in its war against Reptiles of Concern.

U.S. Sugar, shareholders agree on $15.9M deal in suit
By Brian Skoloff
The Associated Press
U.S. Sugar Corp. and employee shareholders of the largest U.S. cane sugar producer have agreed on a settlement to a lawsuit that claimed U.S. Sugar's board failed to inform shareholders of two lucrative buyout offers, then rejected the deals.

Coal waste from Florida headed to Panama (includes audio)
By Sean Kinane
WMNF Community Radio Tampa
Last December a major environmental disaster occurred when an ash dike ruptured near a Tennessee power plant, endangering schools and residences.

Legislature Provides Cash For Possible Sweetheart Deal
By Bruce Ritchie
FloridaEnvironments.com
It looks like a sweetheart deal, though it's not clear yet who in the Legislature helped set it up.

Ag Commissioner Wants To Intervene In EPA Suit
Associated Press
Florida Agriculture Commissioner Charles Bronson wants to challenge a legal settlement involving the Environmental Protection Agency that could impose costly nutrient standards for state water bodies.

FPL's Request To Raise Rates For Natural Gas Pipeline Shot Down
By Julie Patel
Orlando Sentinel
The Florida Public Service Commission denied Florida Power & Light's proposal to build a $1.53 billion natural gas pipeline on Tuesday, saying the utility didn't prove the project was the best and cheapest option.

Too much politics in regulation, utility analysts say
By Mary Ellen Klas
Miami Herald/St. Petersburg Times Tallahassee Bureau
A day after Florida Power & Light losts its bid to build a ratepayer-financed natural gas pipeline, utility analysts Wednesday said Florida has a ``highly politicized atmosphere'' for utility regulation and warned that if it continues, credit ratings for utility companies could drop.

Ship likely struck whale found dead in Port of Tampa, NOAA says
By Baird Helgeson
Tampa Tribune
A ship in the Gulf of Mexico likely struck and killed the rare 41-foot whale found floating in the Port of Tampa last weekend, according the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Hunters Push to Legalize Fishing Once-Endangered Goliath Grouper
By Natalie O'Neill
Miami New Times
​Shhhhhhhh. Listen to that. It's the sound of hundreds of feisty, cow-size fish making sweet, sweet love.

State to enforce new seagrass rule
Staff Report
Tampa Tribune
State law officers will soon begin enforcing new rules targeting those that intentionally damage seagrass.

Reef Rescue: We found rare Staghorn coral where Palm Beach officials told feds it wouldn't be
By Sonja Isger and Andrew Marra
Palm Beach Post
Excitement is brewing this morning about a patch of life no one knew was flourishing in waters a mile east of the island of Palm Beach.

Florida panther No. 113 now a mother
By Andrea Stetson
Ft. Myers News-Press
No one knew panther No. 113 was a mom until a camera, paid for by Southwest Florida schoolchildren, captured an image of the tawny mother and her cub.

Senator Proposes Snake Ban
By Mike Vasilinda
Capitol News Service
A Florida State Senator is proposing a total ban on the importation and possession of non native Reptiles of Concern, which includes most species of pythons.

Collier Commissioners not sold on protection for endangered red-cockaded woodpecker
By Eric Staats
Naples News
A draft plan to protect an endangered woodpecker in rural Collier County needs to be reworked, county commissioners said this week.

EPA cites West Palm Beach over sewage
By Paul Quinlan
Palm Beach Post
The city's sewage treatment plant has pumped untold millions of gallons of poorly treated wastewater onto wetlands adjacent to wells used to supplement the city's drinking water supply.

Gulf Power To Cut Ribbon On Wind Energy Test Tower
Staff Report
Pensacola News-Journal
Gulf Power Co.'s experiment in wind energy generation will begin today with a 10:30 a.m. ribbon-cutting of its newly erected data-gathering tower on Navarre Beach.

Recovery Without Feeling
By Alan Farago
Counterpunch
The economic calamity is abating according to Ben Bernanke, Federal Reserve Chief.

'Sea change' due in state's growth policies
By Peter Johnson
Tampa Tribune
Citizens across Florida are concerned with the implications of the statistics that register the state's economic downturn.

Hometown democracy: Empower the people on growth
By Bett Willett
Florida Times-Union
Amendment 4 will give voters veto power over changes to their local master plan.

Don't let feds backslide on Everglades
Editorial
Ft. Myers News-Press
Here we go again. Congress is considering a $34 million cut to Everglades restoration funding, continuing a decade-long betrayal of its commitment to this epic project.

A bridge to the Everglades
Editorial
Palm Beach Post
For now, it's just a piece of paper. With any luck, however, it will become the document that helps to save the Everglades.

Not listening
Editorial
Gainesville Sun
Ever since water management officials first floated the idea of pumping the Ocklawaha and St. Johns rivers, they have framed the discussion not in terms of whether to take the water, but when.


Female red-cockaded woodpecker.

Wildwood Preservation Society is a non-profit 501(c)(4) project of the Advocacy Consortium for the Common Good. Click here to learn more.

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