Florida environmental and wildlife news for the week ending 3-27-09

FEATURED STORIES

Gov. Charlie Crist to downsize Everglades-U.S. Sugar deal
By Curtis Morgan and Mary Ellen Klas
Miami Herald
His hand forced by a failing economy, Gov. Charlie Crist is poised to dramatically downsize his proposed Big Sugar buyout -- and his vision for Everglades restoration.

Alliance urges action on renewable energy
By Bruce Ritchie
Florida Environmental News
A coalition of environmental groups and businesses today urged legislative leaders to take action on a proposed renewable energy requirement for utilities.

DCA Could Be On The Chopping Block
By Gary Pinnell
Tampa Tribune
Take action: Click here to sign on to Progress Florida's letter to the Florida Legislature.
Jim Polatty has fought for decades with the Department of Community Affairs. But Highlands County's chief planner doesn't want the state agency dismembered.

Bill would limit state's ability to stop wetlands destruction
By Craig Pittman and Matthew Waite
St. Pete Times
A bill that would drastically limit the state's ability to stop wetlands from destruction has passed a legislative committee.

Bill making it easier to pave over Florida's wetlands called 'recipe for fraud'
By Paul Quinlan
Palm Beach Post
Developers who want to fill in wetlands would find getting the necessary permits much easier under a bill working its way through the legislature.


Editorial Cartoon by Andy Marlette, Pensacola News Journal

MORE GREEN NEWS

Gov. Crist promotes polices to curb gases but trips leave big carbon footprint
By David Fleshler
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
In March 2007, Gov. Charlie Crist took a 45-minute flight on a state-owned Cessna Citation Bravo from Tallahassee to Bradenton, where he congratulated a school district for purchasing hybrid-electric buses.

Lawmakers power down Crist's climate proposals
By Jim Saunders
Daytona Beach News-Journal
Gov. Charlie Crist's proposals to fight global warming are gasping for air.

Jailed Activists Seek to Free Enslaved Environment
By Howard Lisnoff
ZNet
Looking east from the top stories of the Palm Beach County Courthouse, the sea is singular and impressive, filling the entire horizon and appearing to play teasingly with the land.

Bill introduced to have nuclear power included as "clean" energy
By Asjylyn Loder
St. Pete Times
So what is "clean" energy? Sen. Charlie Dean, R-Inverness, thinks nuclear power should count.

Florida's Bright (Green) Idea: Renewable Standards
By Russell Ray
Tampa Tribune
Thirty-one states have one. Florida may be the next state to adopt a standard for generating electricity from renewable resources.

As Florida shifts to solar, a fight looms
By Zac Anderson
Sarasota Herald-Tribune
Billions of dollars are at stake in a battle under way in Florida over who profits from the pending expansion of solar energy: Big energy companies or individuals and businesses with extra roof space.

The Rooftop Revolution
By Mariah Blake
RenewableEnergyWorld.com
A little-known policy is turning sleepy central Florida into a green energy hub. Could it do the same for America at large?

Florida Celebrates Oceans Day
Press Release
Florida Oceans Council via Wakulla.com
The Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) joined a host of public and private partners today to celebrate Florida Oceans Day at the Capitol.

Revised U.S. Sugar deal could drop price to $500 million
By Paul Quinlan and Michael C. Bender
Palm Beach Post
Related editorial: Reality on U.S. Sugar deal
Gov. Charlie Crist is scaling back considerably his extraordinary bid to save the Everglades, as a worsening economy has rendered the $1.34 billion deal with U.S. Sugar Corp. unaffordable, people familiar with the negotiations say.

A rare sight: Wood storks, other wading birds enjoy feeding frenzy at Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary
By Eric Staats
Ft. Myers News-Press
Mother Nature is putting on her greatest show in years at Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary as endangered wood storks and a host of wading birds stage a feeding frenzy.

Commissioners share vision on growth plans
By Will Brown
Tallahassee Democrat
Commissioners at the city and county level want smart, well-planned growth, not a collection of commercial entities that are as unorganized as the moss that collects on Tallahassee's oak trees.

Protecting land and water is good for business
By Jeff Danter
Miami Herald
When my family and I pulled into Bahia Honda State Park in December, the parking lot was packed, and the beach was filled with bathers -- all of whom had paid park entrance fees.

Negative Bond Ratings Hurt Florida Forever Chances
Florida Audubon News
A report on tax revenues linked to Florida Forever bonds downgrades the state’s credit ranking.

The Strip Mall Protection Act of’09
By Daniel Ruth
St. Pete Times
Here's the problem with all of these annoying wetlands: They're so …so … uh, well, they're wet is what they are.

Anti-environment bills a dangerous ruse
Editorial
Miami Herald
Granted, the seven groups composing the Florida Forever Coalition have a vested interest in conserving undeveloped state land, so their latest study naturally reflects their views.

Another really bad bill
Editorial
Pensacola News Journal
Every spring, the Florida Legislature flowers with reborn efforts to reverse hard-won environmental protections with really bad legislation.

Stop Florida turtle harvest
Editorial
St. Pete Times
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission next month will consider banning commercial harvesting of wild freshwater turtles. So it should.

End water giveaway
Editorial
St. Pete Times
Bottled water companies have quite the deal.

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"

Will the Florida Legislature pave paradise?

Ed. Note: Please see the letter below from Progress Florida and take action to protect Florida’s vital growth management agency, the Department of Community Affairs (DCA).



"I don't know whether they're corrupt, stupid or simply so embedded in the Culture of Concrete they can't think outside that tiny box. The pressure to pave permeates the Florida Capitol like skunk stink." - Mike Thomas, Orlando Sentinel

They're at it again in Tallahassee. As if Florida isn't getting paved over fast enough already, now Florida legislators in the pockets of big developers are trying to get rid of the agency that reviews development plans - the Department of Community Affairs (DCA). The DCA's job is to make sure we don't let unchecked development swallow up what's left of Florida's open spaces, wildlife habitat and unique character.

Please sign on to Progress Florida's letter to the Florida legislature - let them know we won't sit idly by while what's left of our state gets paved over for profit.

Florida has about 300,000 homes sitting vacant today but incredibly a new bill flying through the legislature says we need to build faster. In fact, Port St. Lucie Mayor Patricia Christensen says if Senate Bill 730 passes, "You're going to see development like you've never seen before."

Environmental advocates from The Nature Conservancy to Audubon Society to the Sierra Club have said this bill "will cripple effective growth management in Florida." City planners and local elected officials have warned it would lead to more vacant homes, more traffic and more economic woes. "Growth management didn't cause the recession. That's just not true," said Michael Busha, executive director of the Treasure Coast Regional Planning Council. "If anything, growth caused the recession."

"Dismantling the state's land planning agency sends the wrong signal to the citizens of this state," said DCA Secretary Thomas Pelham. "It suggests that it is not an important function, that Florida doesn't need to be concerned anymore about planning and growth management."

Let your legislators know this couldn't be further from the truth. Sign on to our letter today.

Sincerely,

The Progress Florida Team


P.S. – Wildwood Preservation Society is now on Twitter and Facebook! Click below to follow us on Twitter:

Click below to become a fan of our Facebook Page (and please tell your Facebook friends about us!):

One last thing! Click the picture below to join Progress Florida's effort to build public support for the much-needed Florida Clean Energy Trust Fund:

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 3-20-09

FEATURED STORIES

Florida growth watchdog might lose fangs in legislative assault
By Kevin Spear
Orlando Sentinel
The watchdog agency that has overseen growth in Florida for decades could be dismantled as state lawmakers look for ways to cut the budget and revive an ailing construction industry.

Threat arises to dismantle agency controlling growth in state
By Lloyd Dunkelberger
Sarasota Herald-Tribune
A serious threat has emerged in the Legislature to dismantle the Department of Community Affairs, the agency that has for decades regulated growth in the state.

Environmentalists fight DCA Merger Plan
By Whitney Ray
Capitol News Service
A plan to merge the Department of Community Affairs with the Department of State to save money has environmentalists outraged.

We're dying from plague of vacant buildings, homes
By Mike Thomas
Orlando Sentinel
This is like watching an emphysema patient try to cure himself by smoking more.

State of the Birds Report 2009
StateoftheBirds.org
Related Lakeland Ledger article: Florida species prospects mixed in national bird study
Related statement from National Audubon Society: U.S. birds report sends environmental wake-up call
This report makes clear the need for urgent individual, collective and government action, and leaves little doubt that taking action can make a difference.


Editorial cartoon by Jim Morin, Miami Herald

MORE GREEN NEWS

$9 billion estimate for Everglades work has 'no credibility,' supporter of U.S. Sugar deal says
By Paul Quinlan
Palm Beach Post
Related: Water manager: Financial changes may allow involvement by Wall Street hedge fund manager in U.S. Sugar deal
Forget $3 billion, $4 billion or even $5 billion. It could cost the South Florida Water Management District as much as $9.1 billion to make use of the 180,000 acres of farmland that Gov. Charlie Crist has proposed buying from U.S. Sugar Corp. to save the Everglades, according to a consultant's report commissioned by opponents of the deal.

State defends its plan to buy U.S. Sugar land
By Kate Spinner
Sarasota Herald-Tribune
The battle over Gov. Charlie Crist's Everglades restoration legacy landed in court Monday, as the state defended its plan to purchase 180,000 acres of U.S. Sugar land from challenges by Florida Crystals, a Clewiston citizens group and the Miccosukee tribe.

Everglades visit reinforces Gov. Charlie Crist's stance for land deal
By Andy Reid
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
Darkening financial clouds over Gov. Charlie Crist's blockbuster Everglades land deal couldn't compete Friday with the vast number of birds the governor said he saw on a visit to the famed River of Grass.

State wildlife panel proposes ban on Fla.’s wild turtle trade
By David Fleshler
Bradenton Herald
A round-the-world trade in Florida’s wild turtles would be shut down under a proposal by the state wildlife commission to protect them from the demand for their meat in China, Vietnam and other Asian countries.

U.S. Navy to Put Endangered Whales at Risk Via Sonar
By Natural Resources Defense Council
Opposing Views
There's been a lot of press about the sighting of 11 North Atlantic right whales off the Florida coast.

Revamped springs bill passes committee
By Bruce Ritchie
Florida Environmental News
A bill that would require advanced septic systems and sewage treatment plants in counties with major springs was approved by a Senate committee on Tuesday.

Dancing in the Light of Florida
By Alan Farago
Counterpunch
Last weekend, the spiritual advisor to the Dalai Lama visited Florida, a state that does not lack for religious affiliations.

Controversial Mirasol project gets nod from Collier planning commission
By Eric Staats
Naples News
Environmental advocates lost a second vote Thursday on whether a controversial golf course community should be allowed in a flowway in northern Collier County.

DEP offers mid-week closures of 58 state parks
By Bruce Ritchie
Florida Environmental News
Visitors to 58 Florida state parks could see closed gates three days a week under a budget-cutting proposal requested by Senate leaders.

Homosassa Springs Wildlife State Park, where rare wild things live
By Barbara Behrendt
St. Pete Times
One recent, sunny day, a group of observers gathered around the newest exhibit at the Homosassa Springs Wildlife State Park.

March 21 is Save the Florida Panther Day
Wakulla.com
Florida Gov. Charlie Crist has issued a proclamation, extending greetings and best wishes to all who observe Save the Florida Panther Day March 21.

Proposed nuclear plant, funds spark protest
By Amanda Welch
Central Florida Future
Higher energy bills for Orlando Utilities Commission customers could help fund a controversial nuclear power plant, spurring demand for more public input by nuclear energy opponents.

The Sunshine State Is Going Solar
By Armando J. Olivera and Debbie Harrison
Tampa Tribune
A power company CEO and the head of a leading environmental organization will never agree on everything, but on one essential element of Florida's future we are absolutely united: the need to bring more solar energy to the state.

Lakeland utility first in Florida to use purchase agreements for solar power
By Asjylyn Loder
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
When it comes to solar power, it isn't the sunshine holding Florida back. It's the money.

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"