Florida environmental and wildlife news for the week ending 9-18-09

FEATURED STORIES

Vast protection area urged for Florida panthers
By Paul Quinlan
Palm Beach Post
Environmentalists are pressing the federal government to declare 3 million acres of South Florida - an area twice the size of Delaware - critical habitat for the nearly extinct Florida panther.

Cabinet Halts Development Plan
By Joe Follick
Lakeland Ledger
In another sign that Florida's historic economic reliance on home building is continuing to ebb, Gov. Charlie Crist and the Florida Cabinet unanimously upheld a judge's decision to bar a housing development in Marion County.

Ocala development fight signals broader duel over Hometown Democracy
By Aaron Deslatte
Orlando Sentinel
With the state's housing market cratered and its population in decline, Gov. Charlie Crist and the Cabinet waded into the debate over Florida's development future Tuesday when they rejected an appeal from developers of a 400-acre project outside Ocala.

In the Age of Stupid, Coconut Creek Mayor Marilyn Gerber gets butterflies
By Gimleteye
Eye on Miami
A group of gritty citizens in Florida have organized a successful petition to put on the 2010 state-wide ballot an amendment to the state constitution called Florida Hometown Democracy. It is greatly feared by state business interests.


Overdevelopment is wiping out the critically endangered Florida panther.

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 9-18-09

A few questions for those who would drill for oil off of Florida's shores
By Bob Rackleff
St. Petersburg Times
The mysterious promoters of offshore oil drilling in Florida waters promise "A Breathtaking Economic Opportunity," in their words.

Four years after buying back oil lease, state considers allowing drilling
By Bruce Ritchie
FloridaEnvironments.com
Excerpt: Mark Ferrulo, an environmental activist who has fought offshore drilling in Florida efforts since 1991, said the dispute points to the influence that money is having in the current drilling debate. He is director of Progress Florida, which opposes drilling.


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.

Oil Drilling opposed by environmentalists, tourism officials and business owners (includes audio)
By Sean Kinane
WMNF Community Radio Tampa
A gigantic oil spill that has been occurring for more than three weeks off the coast of Australia is being used as a warning to Floridians against opening up the state’s coastline to offshore drilling.

Oil drilling means jobs and money, proponents say
By Craig Pittman
St. Petersburg Times
Related: Who's behind Florida Energy Associates?
They appeared in the spring, a secretive group trying to upend Florida's longtime ban on offshore drilling by promising millions of dollars and hundreds of jobs.

Oil-drilling debate gets stickier (includes video)
By Steve Nichols
Fox News Tampa Bay
Opponents of offshore drilling near Florida now have a strong argument from the Timor Sea. The same technology the oil industry touts as being virtually spill-proof is involved in a major incident between Australia and Indonesia.

Don't look now, but oil rigs in our future
By Douglas C. Lyons
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
It may not be the best public policy for a state that's made its reputation, and a considerable tourism industry, from its beaches. But it'll cement Florida's legacy as the laboratory for just about every right-wing political initiative under the sun.

Opponents of offshore drilling say lifting ban could have dire consequences
By Eileen Schulte
St. Petersburg Times
You'll never be able to eat fish from Tampa Bay or the Gulf of Mexico again if oil drilling is allowed within 10 miles of Florida's west coast.

West Atlas Oil Spill Advertises Danger of Drilling in Florida
News Blog
Audubon of Florida
Oil has been flowing from the West Atlas platform for three weeks.

Offshore oil drilling by the numbers
By Harlan Weikle
Tampa Bay Weekly
Three, six and 12 billion barrels are the various estimates of the oil reserves to be found off Florida’s Gulf coast; a mere drop in the bucket compared to the potential economic loss to Florida, say opponents of offshore drilling.

Offshore drilling poll doesn't quite add up
Editorial
Pensacola News Journal
Now here's a surprise: The state's chief business lobbying group conducts a poll on offshore drilling and finds that Floridians overwhelmingly support it, and therefore the Legislature — in a special session to be called on another issue — should act to expose Florida's coast.

Drilling threatens Florida's economic base
Editorial
Daytona Beach News-Journal
To hear them speak, some Florida lawmakers have drill bits for tongues.

Big Oil mixing money and politics in Tallahassee
Editorial
Miami Herald
The well-financed campaign to open Florida waters in the Gulf of Mexico to oil and gas drilling should be greeted with great skepticism by state residents and their representatives in the Legislature.

Oil drilling in state waters bad business
Editorial
Lake Wales News
After falling short of slipping through a bill to allow oil and gas drilling near Florida's coast earlier this year, legislative leaders are greasing the skids to get a similar bill considered during a possible special session in October or November.


Environmentalists fear oil is heading towards an area where whales breed. What might a similar spill do off Florida’s coast?

MORE GREEN NEWS

Year-long project aims to preserve coral in Miami-Dade waters
By Susana Montes-Delgado
Miami Herald
Related AP story: Massive coral protection plan approved
In their wet suits and masks, scientific divers carry oxygen tanks, underwater cameras, measuring tape, and about 50 pounds of equipment into Biscayne Bay to restore Miami-Dade's coral reefs.

Feds, Florida anglers battle over red-snapper ban
By Ludmilla Lelis
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
Related: Anglers to feds: Bone up on red-snapper facts
On the docks at Ponce Inlet, the chance to hook a red snapper lures tourists to the Sea Spirit, a deep-sea party boat.

Navy facing whale battle
By Curtis Morgan
Bradenton Herald
Florida isn’t known for whale watching, but every winter the coastline offers a haven for endangered North Atlantic right whales.

Huge N. Brevard land deal pushes on
By Rick Neale
Florida Today
If approved, the Farmton Plan will designate more than 8,000 acres of northern Brevard County's serene forests, swamps and marshes as conservation land -- with no taxpayer purchase required.

Lawsuit coming if panthers aren’t protected, environmental groups say
By Eric Staats
Naples News
A courtroom could be the next stop for a push to designate millions of acres in South Florida as critical habitat for the endangered Florida panther.

Florida manatee deaths up this year; St. Marks River manatee latest local death
By Amanda Nalley
Tallahassee Democrat
No one knows how long she floated there, ribs broken, bobbing on her side, air escaping her lung and filling her body cavity.

Nokuse Plantation: Children will 'fall in love with nature'
By Kimberly White
Northwest Florida Daily News
Nature enthusiasts shrugged off the wet weather Saturday and hit the trail adjacent to the E.O. Wilson Biophilia Center.

Red cockaded woodpecker no longer found around Estero Bay
By Charlie Whitehead
Naples News
The red cockaded woodpecker is no longer endangered in the Estero Bay watershed.

Firm stand on 'need' for growth
Editorial
Daytona Beach News-Journal
Florida's governor and Cabinet withstood heavy statewide pressure by influential development and business interests to strike a blow Tuesday for responsible growth management.

Florida Cabinet should deny subdivision
Editorial
Miami Herald
In a recent case of David going up against Goliath, two Marion County residents fought successfully to stop a large subdivision from being built on 400 acres in the middle of horse country outside Ocala.

The power of one
Editorial
Gainesville Sun
A lone citizen’s challenge to a 2007 land use change approved in neighboring Marion County will be taken up today by Gov. Charlie Crist and the Florida Cabinet. It is a growth-management case of statewide significance.


Today the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council voted to protect what may be Earth's largest deepwater coral ecosystem off the coasts of North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and Florida.

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 9-11-09

FEATURED STORIES

Huge oil spill off Australia cited by opponents of drilling off Florida
By Craig Pittman
St. Petersburg Times
Related editorial: Don't let this come to Florida's shores
On Aug. 21, oil began bubbling out from an offshore rig about 90 miles from Australia's coast.

More anti-drilling editorials from Florida’s major daily newspapers:
Palm Beach Post: Advice for special session: Don't take up drilling...
Florida Today: Stop the stampede
Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Stop the oil rush
Gainesville Sun: The rush job


Montara (West Atlas) Blowout and Oil Spill, Western Australia, August 2009 (note: Florida Energy Associates has touted Australia's drilling technology in their efforts to open Florida's coast).

Senate President doubts special session for oil drilling
By Bruce Ritchie
FloridaEnvironments.com
Related: Associated Industries wants oil drilling on special session agenda
Senate President Jeff Atwater today said a special session of the Legislature in October is highly unlikely and he raised doubts about whether it should include consideration of lifting Florida's ban on offshore oil drilling.

Slow the rush to drill near Florida's beaches
By Eric Draper
Tallahassee Democrat
Gov. Charlie Crist recently set off speculation about adding oil drilling to the agenda for the upcoming special session of the Legislature. It was an unfortunate change of position, but not surprising for this governor who is campaigning for the U.S. Senate and appears to be leaving his own high-minded climate and energy agenda undone.

The mystery push for offshore oil
By David Guest
Tampa Tribune
News that "a secretive group of powerful legislators, business groups and Texas oil companies has been laying the groundwork" to open Florida's shores to oil and gas drilling should make all of us sit up and pay attention.

Not here and not now: the case against drilling
By Eric Ernst
Sarasota Herald-Tribune
A local environmental organization, ManaSota-88, has just released a position paper called "10 Reasons Not to Drill for Oil Offshore of Florida."

Former Florida Gov. Bob Graham tries to chill state GOP's ardor for oil
By Adam C. Smith
St. Petersburg Times
Former Florida Gov. and U.S. Sen. Bob Graham has watched the politics of offshore drilling flip 180 degrees in recent years.


Digitally mapped simulation of what the oil spill happening right now off Australia’s coast would look like if it happened from a drilling platform 80 miles from Florida’s coastline in the Gulf of Mexico.

MORE GREEN NEWS

Endangered Florida panthers feel the squeeze
By Alex Halperin
Christian Science Monitor
Related AP story: Another Fla. panther found dead on interstate
As southwest Florida struggles through the recession, the highly endangered Florida panther, which has lost much of its habitat to strip malls and gated communities, might have been expected to benefit from tough times.

Florida wildlife leaders consider using federal standards for imperiled species
By Kevin Spear
Orlando Sentinel
Related: Lightning-rod list of Florida's vanishing wildlife
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission will outline the details today of a third major overhaul in less two decades of the agency's troubled efforts to list species on the brink of extinction.

Rare whales' safety pits U.S. Navy against environmentalists
By Curtis Morgan
Miami Herald
Florida isn't known for whale watching, but every winter the coastline offers a haven for endangered North Atlantic right whales.

Saving the shark that bit me
By Debbie Salamone
Bradenton Herald
Sharks rarely attack people. The odds of a shark bite are roughly one in every 11.5 million times a person visits a beach, according to the International Shark Attack File.

Miami Beach’s Sea Turtles Threatened by Its People
By Carmen Gentile
New York Times
Under the cloak of nightfall, dozens of freshly hatched sea turtles beat tiny flippers against the wet sands of Miami Beach, inching their way toward the ocean and a life aquatic.

Gopher tortoise could get protection under Endangered Species Act
By Eric Staats
Naples News
Gopher tortoises that crawl around dry scrubby habitat in Southwest Florida could be making a move under the Endangered Species Act.

Builders wary of more gopher tortoise protection
By Steve Patterson
Florida Times-Union
A federal agency is taking a fresh look at whether gopher tortoises need new protections that could have big impacts on development in Florida and Georgia.

State leaders clash over growth plans
By Charlie Whitehead
Naples News
With all the controversial changes in Florida growth management regulations in the past few years, the sharpest disagreement during a recent seminar in Fort Myers was over a change that hasn’t been made.

Trees or homes? Miami Corp. land use hinges on Volusia, Brevard OK
By Ludmilla Lelis
Orlando Sentinel
During the next 50 years, a new city of residential villages and business districts could be carved out of remote timberland in central Volusia and northern Brevard counties where Florida black bears and panthers still roam.

Catching On To Florida's Economic 'Ponzi Scheme'
By Diane Roberts
NPR
For the first time since World War II, Florida is losing population.

Mine expansion plan worries Everglades restorers
By Paul Quinlan
Palm Beach Post
South Florida water managers are raising concerns about a proposal to expand a rock mine that borders future Everglades restoration land.

Costs grow for Everglades reservoir left unfinished by sugar deal
By Andy Reid
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
Tack on another $12 million to the taxpayers' tab for the cost of a massive, unfinished reservoir rendered obsolete by a proposed half-billion-dollar Everglades-restoration land deal with U.S. Sugar Corp.

Florida's waterways must be a priority
By Joe Murphy, Gulf Restoration Network
St. Petersburg Times
Few things unite Floridians like water. We swim in it, fish in it, paddle over it, and rely on it for our very survival.

Filmmaker not content to watch Orange Lake wetlands die
By Jared Leone
St. Petersburg Times
Some make movies for the glitz and glamor of Hollywood. Terry Neal made his movie to save Orange Lake.

A contract with nature
By Tom Bayles
Sarasota Herald-Tribune
It has been nearly 60 years since the start of the great Florida building boom where those involved were more focused on the millions they were making rather than any damage they were doing to ecosystems.

Progress, FP&L argue for nuke cost recovery
By Bruce Ritchie
FloridaEnvironments.com
Witnesses for an environmental group and utilities wanting to build nuclear power plants sparred Tuesday before the Public Service Commission over the predicted costs of construction and how to pay for them.

Progress Energy, FPL nuclear costs face double challenge
By Kevin Spear
Orlando Sentinel
Environmental activists and the state advocate for utility customers plan to challenge Florida's two biggest power companies this week when the companies urge state regulators to let them continue charging for the early costs of nuclear plants not yet under construction.

2 Fla. PSC staffers resign as nuke plant weighed
By Bill Kaczor
The Associated Press
Two top Public Service Commission staffers resigned Tuesday and two others went on administrative leave as alleged ethics lapses again overshadowed a hearing on proposed rate increases - this time to pay for new nuclear power plants.

A toxic, exotic mess in the Everglades
Editorial
St. Petersburg Times
With the environmental focus on global warming and greenhouse gases, it's easy to forget that other pollutants continue to need regulatory attention.


Critically endangered Florida panther.

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 9-4-09

FEATURED STORIES

Is Florida better off with a shrinking population?
By Gimleteye
Eye on Miami
Related: Florida Hometown Democracy
A front page article in the Sunday New York Times addressed Florida's shrinking population.

Push for drilling off Florida's coast is well-oiled
By Mary Ellen Klas
St. Petersburg Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau
A secretive group of powerful legislators, business groups and Texas oil companies has been laying the groundwork since December to win legislative approval to open Florida waters to oil exploration and end the 20-year drilling moratorium.

Lawmakers wary about oil drilling talks in special session
The News Service of Florida
Palm Beach Post
Gov. Charlie Crist is fueling the hopes of groups that want to open Florida waters to offshore drilling while getting the state potentially billions of dollars from oil companies.

Crist the climate-change crusader is gone with the wind (power)
By Mike Thomas
Orlando Sentinel
Everything is a political calculation with Charlie Crist.

Group gives Florida D+ on water quality
By Bruce Ritchie
FloridaEnvironments.com
The Gulf Restoration Network today said Florida gets a D+ grade for its efforts to protect water quality, which was about the average grade for Gulf coast states.

Florida DEP, PEER tussle over carbon cap-and-trade
By Bruce Ritchie
FloridaEnvironments.com
Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility says Gov. Charlie Crist has abandoned carbon emissions cap-and-trading in his quest for a U.S. Senate seat, but a state Department of Environmental Protection response suggests it's all untrue.

Report: Loggerhead Turtles at Risk of Extinction
The Associated Press
New York Times
It's a scene that scientists say is all too common: A commercial fishing boat pulls in a net full of shrimp or tuna and finds a loggerhead sea turtle mixed in with the catch.


Threatened loggerhead sea turtle.

MORE GREEN NEWS

Crist again distances himself from environmental movement (includes audio)
By Mitch E. Perry
WMNF Community Radio
Five states have asked U.S. Senate leaders to let them impose stricter limits on greenhouse gas emissions than would be permitted under the climate legislation working its way through Congress, saying both levels of regulation are necessary to fight global warming.

Now what? US Army Corps of Engineers must take sea-level rise into account
By Gimleteye
Eye on Miami
The US Army Corps of Engineers has played a central role in the unsustainable development of Florida.

Former U.S. Senators and Admiral: Climate Change Threatens National Security (includes audio)
By Gina Presson
Public News Service Florida
Three men who should know something about the matter are calling climate change a national security issue.

Groups urge House speaker to support lands program
By Bruce Ritchie
FloridaEnvironments.com
Environmentalists today met with House Speaker Larry Cretul to urge his support for Florida's conservation land-buying program, but the issue of using oil drilling revenue to buy land was not discussed.

Keep swimming with manatees; feds say it's OK
By Tom Palmer
Lakeland Ledger
The practice of swimming with manatees, which I really don't understand, will continue for now without additional restrictions, federal officials have decided, despite criticism of the idea.

Streams or ditches? DEP considers waterways reclassification
By Bruce Ritchie
FloridaEnvironments.com
Few people who drive along Franklin Boulevard east of the state Capitol notice a ditch between the lanes of traffic or realize it may have historical significance.

Forest of staghorn coral thrives
By Susan Cocking
Miami Herald
Dropping 12 feet below the ocean's surface less than a mile off Fort Lauderdale's beach-front towers, a diver might wonder if he or she somehow got magically transported to a remote coral reef in the Caribbean.

Wakulla industrial park owners want rule change to allow biomass
By Dave Hodges
Tallahassee Democrat
Two county commissions in the area will address the same topic Sept. 8 in communities where the outcome could be markedly different.

Florida's Public Service Commission probed amid FPL rate bid
By Mary Ellen Klas
Miami Herald/St. Petersburg Times Tallahassee Bureau
The state's top law enforcement agency is investigating the Public Service Commission on grounds that commissioners and staff members may have had improper relationships with the utilities they regulate.

Miami-Dade boasts Florida's first eco-friendly school
By Elaine De Valle
Miami Herald
Mariana Botero looks like the typical ninth-grader with blue nail polish and a dozen or so bracelets on each arm.

Hurricanes Add to the Stresses on Wildlife and Coastlines
By Patricia Behnke
FWC via Wakulla.com
More than one-half of the U.S. population lives within 50 miles of a coast. In Florida, 72 percent of the 18 million residents live or work in coastal areas, with approximately 12 million people living in Florida’s coastal counties.

Bill to drill hits too close to home
Editorial
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
Gov. Charlie Crist and state lawmakers think they've found a solution to Florida's ongoing revenue woes.

Why rush drilling bill?
Editorial
Orlando Sentinel
Winter Park's Dean Cannon drew richly deserved criticism in the spring for trying to rush a bill through the Legislature in its final hours that would rid the state of its offshore-drilling ban.

Oil spills still a threat
Editorial
Pensacola News Journal
One of the arguments made by those who favor offshore drilling for oil near Florida's coastline is that modern drilling equipment is so advanced, safe and effective that oil spills from rigs are virtually a thing of the past, so there's no real risk to Florida's beaches.


Montara (West Atlas) Blowout and Oil Spill, Western Australia, August 2009 (note: Florida Energy Associates has touted Australia's drilling technology in their efforts to open Florida's coast).

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 8-28-09

FEATURED STORIES

Senator Nelson: No drilling off Florida's coast (includes audio)
By Mitch E. Perry
WMNF Community Radio Tampa
Related: Sierra Club Report: Don’t Rig Our Coastal Economy
Senator Bill Nelson said today he will do whatever it takes to make sure a proposal to allow offshore drilling near Florida's coast is rejected in the Senate.

Sen. Landrieu's plan to export Louisiana's coastal destruction to Florida
By Sue Sturgis
Facing South
While Louisiana struggles to restore coastal wetlands ravaged in large part by decades of oil and gas drilling, its senior senator is leading the effort to lift the ban on drilling off Florida's Panhandle.

State Amendment 4 Opposition is The Pot Calling The Kettle Black
By Jill Elverton
Eye On Miami
I keep getting news releases from this young man, Ryan Houck, (who worked for U.S. Senator Martinez) of Floridians for Smarter Growth.

Florida's growth management boss fends off developers' criticism
By Michael Van Sickler
St. Petersburg Times
All summer, Tom Pelham has been Public Enemy No. 1 for developers unhappy with his interpretation of a law passed this year designed to ease regulation of growth.

Judge: Water managers can borrow $650 million for U.S. Sugar deal
By Tony Doris
Palm Beach Post
Water managers' plans to buy a vast swath of sugar cane land for Everglades restoration got a boost today when a judge cleared them to borrow $650 million for the initial purchase.

Florida environmental projects rescued
By Jim Ash
Tallahassee Democrat
For the first time in 20 years, the governor and Cabinet on Tuesday approved a priority list for the nation's largest environmental land buying program without any new money to pay for it.

Future of Apalachicola Bay Hangs on Water Battle (audio story)
By Margie Menzel
WFSU Public Radio Tallahassee
The 19-year court battle among Florida, Georgia and Alabama over the river system they share has flared up again.


Coming to a beach near you? Joel Sandoval, a spill response worker with Miller Environmental, tosses a bag with sand and tar on top of more than a dozen other bags Tuesday, July 28, 2009, as he and other workers clean tar off Malaquite Beach in Corpus Christi, Texas.


MORE GREEN NEWS

Climate panel rejects scrapping energy test
By Bruce Ritchie
FloridaEnvironments.com
A state climate panel today rejected a commissioner's recommendation for Florida to replace its test for analyzing energy programs -- a test that environmentalists have argued is a barrier to conservation.

As loggerhead populations decline, group wants turtle on endangered list
By Kevin Lollar
Ft. Myers News-Press
A recent report states that most populations of loggerhead sea turtles worldwide, including those that nest on Southwest Florida beaches, are at risk of extinction.

Eliminate bottom longlines altogether
By Gary Appelson
Tallahassee Democrat
U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson has an excellent record of protecting Florida's marine resources and safeguarding our coasts from oil and gas development to sustain our unique environment, economy and way of life.

Is it finally time to drill for oil of Florida's coast?
Two views on the topic.
Florida Times-Union
Advocates for oil drilling off the coast of Florida appear to be gathering momentum as the state seeks much-needed revenue and more jobs.

State senator backs drilling off Gulf Coast
By Rick Neale
Florida Today
Florida lawmakers should open the Gulf Coast to offshore oil drilling to help fund schools, State Sen. Mike Haridopolos believes.

EPA Agrees to Set Limits on Florida Fertilizer and Waste Pollution (includes audio)
By Gina Presson
Public News Service Florida
The Environmental Protection Agency and environmental groups represented by Earthjustice have negotiated a deal to set limits on the amount of fertilizer and waste that can be released into Florida's waterways.

Environmental group wants to extend coral reef protection
By David Fleshler
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
An environmental group has petitioned the federal government to extend a coral protection zone 15 miles up the Palm Beach County coast, where it could interfere with plans to widen eroded beaches.

In the Florida Keys, staghorn, elkhorn coral making a comeback
By Curtis Morgan
Miami Herald
Every August or September on nights following a full moon, divers descend into the dark, warm waters off the Florida Keys to watch group sex -- a fascinating reproductive eruption known as the annual coral spawn.

Ag Commissioner Bronson pushes conservation easements
By Bruce Ritchie
FloridaEnvironments.com
Gov. Charlie Crist and the Cabinet on Tuesday approved a new conservation lands purchase list but only after Agriculture Commissioner Charles H. Bronson insisted that the elected panel also should approve a state work plan for buying land.

Drilling debate digs for real solutions
By Bill Cotterell
Tallahassee Democrat
The head of Florida's most powerful business group said Thursday a "radical left-wing fringe" of voters is stopping the state from cashing in on offshore oil drilling.

Pro-Drilling, Anti-Carbon Cap (audio story)
By Steve Newborn
WUSF Public Radio Tampa
A group calling themselves Energy Citizens held a rally that included a glossy video presentation, live music and Cuban sandwiches.

Political clout bolsters FPL push for rate increase
By Mary Ellen Klas
Miami Herald/St. Petersburg Times Tallahassee Bureau
Related: FPL chief says his $3.6 million pay is justified
Related: Sparks fly as FPL rate-increase hearing opens
When Florida's largest electric utility goes to state regulators Monday to ask for permission to dramatically raise rates, it will have recent history, powerful supporters and financial clout on its side.

Beaches Energy weighs nuclear energy option
By Caren Burmeister
Florida Times-Union
The Beaches-area electric utility could tap into the first nuclear power plant to be built in Florida since 1976 as part of a long-term plan to diversify energy resources and limit pollution and price fluctuations.

Citrus County residents plan protest of proposed nuclear plant
Staff Writer
St. Petersburg Times
Angered by Progress Energy Florida's proposed rate hikes, a group of Citrus County residents are taking their opposition of the utility to the streets and the media.


Editorial cartoon by Andy Marlette, Pensacola News Journal.

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 8-21-09

`
FEATURED STORIES

Fla. could run out of land-buying money by Oct. 1
By Bruce Ritchie
FloridaEnvironments.com
Related: Ranking system urged to save nation's largest land-buying program
Florida could be out of money for buying conservation lands by Oct. 1 unless new bonds are issued to allow purchases.

Fla. Governor's Moves Scrutinized for Clues to U.S. Climate Debate
By Alex Kaplun
New York Times
Florida Gov. Charlie Crist (R) is getting intense heat from his party's right wing over his support of climate legislation, fueling speculation that the popular politician may move away from "pro-green" positions that have been praised by top Democrats and environmentalists.

Activists criticize pro-oil rallies (includes audio)
By Mitch E. Perry
WMNF Community Radio Tampa
Next Thursday in Ybor City, a rally is being organized by Energy Citizens, a pro-oil, anti-cap-and-trade group.

Forget Russians; fear Texas oilmen
By Eric Draper
TC Palm
In the 1960s comedy “The Russians are Coming, the Russians are Coming,” coastal villagers and hapless sailors almost start a war as their imaginations get the best of them.

FWC invites public comments on endangered and threatened species listing changes
Staff Report
Foster Folly News
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) will hold a meeting for the public to comment on draft rules for the state’s imperiled species listing process.

Florida's utilities want to build, not conserve
By Stephen Smith
Tallahassee Democrat
Last week was a big one for Florida utilities in Tallahassee.

Sea turtle hatchlings get running start to a life full of peril
By Terry Tomalin
St. Petersburg Times
This evening, shortly after sunset, Jim Wilson plans to dig a hole in the sand and look for stragglers in nest No. 22.

So long, Gov. Green, vanishing in political smog
Editorial
Daytona Beach News-Journal
Two years ago, Gov. Charlie Crist looked more green than tanned. In a single day, he signed three executive orders that set Florida on an environmental course as progressive as California's.


Sea turtle hatchling looking to beat the odds.

MORE GREEN NEWS

Ruling on Longline Fishing Aids Turtles
By Cornelia Dean
New York Times
When a federal panel that regulates fishing in the Gulf of Mexico voted last week to limit the use of longlines to catch grouper because the lines can snag and drown threatened loggerhead sea turtles, no one was completely satisfied with the decision.

One Person’s Boondoggle, Another’s Necessity
By Michael Cooper
New York Times
The $14.7 million for a new airport on an Alaskan island that averages only 42 flights a month.

Land swap helps St. Johns River stay wild
By Kevin Spear
Orlando Sentinel
Authorities are on the verge of finally assembling a vast sanctuary along a Central Florida stretch of the biggest and most beleaguered river within the state.

We can protect turtles and fishermen
By Sen. Bill Nelson
Tallahassee Democrat
One of the things I've tried to do in the U.S Senate is to protect Florida's marine resources, upon which many livelihoods depend.

Lobbyist hisses: Give snakes fair shake
By Frank Cerabino
Palm Beach Post
For Andrew Wyatt, a fascination with snakes began when he was the son of an American serviceman stationed in India.

Crist checks out beach erosion in Destin
By Tom McLaughlin
Northwest Florida Daily News
Gov. Charlie Crist traveled to Destin Monday to survey damage done by Tropical Storm Claudette.

Gator hunters taunt protesters as season starts
By Jerome Burdi
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
"Gator meat tastes like chicken," and "Going to get a few of them right now" are some of the jeers tossed at a handful of alligator-hunt protesters holding signs that read: "If you respect them, protect them" and "Ban gator hunt."

Crist considers meeting with Ala., Ga. in water dispute
By Michael Peltier
News Service of Florida via FloridaEnvironments.com
Gov. Charlie Crist is mulling over dates to meet with his counterparts from Alabama and Georgia as leaders of the three neighboring states try to resolve a longstanding feud over how to divvy up water coming from Lake Lanier.

Regulators: FPL must reveal executives' salaries
By Mary Ellen Klas
Miami Herald/St. Petersburg Times Tallahassee Bureau
State regulators on Tuesday unanimously voted to force Florida Power & Light and Progress Energy to disclose how much they pay their top executives. FPL's response: We'll see you in court.

FPL says bills will go down
Staff Report
Sarasota Herald-Tribune
Florida Power and Light -- under attack for a proposed rate increase and with questions being raised about its executive compensation -- said that it expects its overall customer rates to drop about 8.3 percent in 2010.

Mercury In Fish Widespread (audio story)
By Trimmel Gomes
WFSU Public Radio Tallahassee
A federal study out Wednesday shows that mercury in fish is widespread across the country, and some of the highest levels of contamination are found right here in Florida.

Polluted policy
Editorial
St. Petersburg Times
Taxpayers in Florida and across the nation are spending billions of dollars to restore the Everglades.

Back on Everglades track
Editorial
Palm Beach Post
When it comes to restoring the Everglades, an agreement on science may be only as good as an agreement on finances.


Endangered wood storks and others in Everglades National Park.

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 8-14-09

FEATURED STORIES

Scientists: Development draining St. Johns springs
By Steve Patterson
Florida Times-Union
Some springs that feed the St. Johns River are producing less water, likely because of spreading development around them, a team of federal scientists has found.

Third proposal surfaces for pumping water for public use from St. Johns River
By Kevin Spear
Orlando Sentinel
Orange County and a half-dozen Central Florida cities are getting ready to spend $5 million to draw up what could become another controversial plan to pump water from the St. Johns River.


By Dana Summers, Orlando Sentinel.

U.S., Florida reach Everglades restoration deal
By Curtis Morgan
Miami Herald
Water managers and the White House signed a crucial contract Thursday that promises a much-needed infusion of federal dollars for the Everglades.

Crist, Cabinet okay Progress Energy's nuclear power plant in Levy County
By Shannon Colavecchio
St. Petersburg Times
The governor and Cabinet on Tuesday approved Progress Energy's controversial proposal to build a nuclear plant in Levy County, the first such plant approved in Florida in 33 years.

Crist averts GOP heat, tables climate summit
By Michael C. Bender
Palm Beach Post
Gov. Charlie Crist's plans for a third high-profile climate summit have been indefinitely postponed as the Republican weighs the political cost of the event's expensive price tag.

Lehigh Acres: Florida's lesson in unregulated growth
By Kris Hundley
St. Petersburg Times
Hoping to jump start the economy, Florida lawmakers have eased the rules on developers.

Commercial sustainability in North Florida requires collaborative effort
By Will Brown
Tallahassee Democrat
There may be an “I” in sustainability, but the term is certainly not something that can be done by individuals alone or on an isolated basis.


St. Johns River near Blue Spring State Park.

MORE GREEN NEWS

Florida to unveil rules for listing imperiled species
Staff Report
Tampa Tribune
The state will unveil draft rules Monday night for listing imperiled species.

The Future of Florida Bay
By Alan Farago
Counterpunch
Can Florida Bay be restored? Yes.

Florida, federal government declare truce in Everglades money war
By Paul Quinlan
Palm Beach Post
After eight years of wrangling, the state and federal government have come to terms on how to split the multibillion-dollar cost of restoring the Everglades, clearing the way for the money that President Obama has pledged to the effort.

Gov. Crist still upbeat on Everglades deal
By Michael Peltier
Naples News
Despite legal challenges that may stall the project, Gov. Charlie Crist continues to support the $536 million plan with U.S. Sugar Corp. to buy 73,000 acres in the Everglades.

Environmentalists call for more green jobs in Florida (includes audio)
By Mitch E. Perry
WMNF Community Radio Tampa
Although health care is the raging issue in Washington and across the country, U.S. Senators are also likely to take up climate change when they return from the August recess next month.

Nuclear Plant Protest
By Whitney Ray
Capitol News Service
For the first time in 33 years, the state cabinet approved plans to build a nuclear power plant.

Off-Shore Drilling: Opportunity or Mistake?
By Heather Biance
WCTV CBS News Tallahassee
Floridians guzzle 10.4 billion gallons of gas and diesel each year, making the Sunshine State the third largest consumer in the nation.

Enviros, utility reps clash over RIM test
By Bruce Ritchie
FloridaEnvironments.com
Representatives of utilities and environmental groups disagreed today on whether the Florida Public Service Commission now is required to use a new test to analyze utility conservation programs.

Florida lawmakers could force ban of Burmese pythons
By Catherine Dolinski
Tampa Tribune
Lawmakers may force the state Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission to ban sales of Burmese pythons and other dangerous reptiles if the agency fails to act on its own.

U.S. regulators cut longline grouper fleet by 50%
By Stephen Nohlgren
St. Petersburg Times
Federal regulators decided Thursday to cut Florida's longline grouper fleet in half to protect loggerhead turtles.

Cockaded woodpeckers need your help
By Terry Pelican
Pensacola News Journal
Liz Langston is looking out for a few of our feathered friends.

Nesting numbers continue to decline for loggerhead sea turtle
By Whitney Bryen
Naples News
At 6:30 a.m., the sand on Vanderbilt Beach is void of yesterday’s footprints and sand castles as the sun rises over downtown Naples to the south.

Sea Turtle Workshop (includes video)
Georgia is preparing to step up its offensive in the long-running battle with its neighbors over federal water rights by focusing on Florida's environmental record and dredging up a 150-year-old ruling that could give Alabama less control of a key river, Gov. Sonny Perdue said last week.


Limpkin on the St. Johns River near Blue Spring State Park.

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 8-7-09

FEATURED STORIES

Florida Bay's ecology on the brink of collapse
By Brian Skoloff
The Associated Press
Boat captain Tad Burke looks out over Florida Bay and sees an ecosystem that's dying as politicians, land owners and environmentalists bicker.

Pipeline Leak in Gulf: Oil Spills Do Happen
Staff Report
Lakeland Ledger
Some 63,000 gallons of crude leaked from a cracked oil pipeline 30 miles off the Louisiana coast late last month.

Chance at $2.3B a year spurs Florida politicos to rethink oil-rig opposition
By Aaron Deslatte
Orlando Sentinel
Congress is offering Florida potentially billions of dollars in royalties if the state bows to the growing clamor to expand oil and natural gas exploration in the Gulf of Mexico.

Both Major Candidates for Florida Governor Oppose Offshore Drilling (audio story)
By Tom Flanagan
WFSU Public Radio Tallahassee
Neither the Democratic nor Republican candidates for Florida governor seem impressed by the growing clamor for oil and gas drilling off the state's coast.

Charlie Crist cooling on climate change
By Marc Caputo
Miami Herald/St. Petersburg Times Tallahassee Bureau
Gov. Charlie Crist is cooling to global warming.

Judge to decide next step for U.S. Sugar land deal
By Curtis Morgan
Miami Herald
Water managers once hoped their plan to borrow as much as $2.2 billion for Gov. Charlie Crist's land deal with U.S. Sugar would breeze through judicial approval, setting aside just three hours for the hearing seven months ago.

Study points to carbon-capture benefits of Florida public lands
By Bruce Ritchie
FloridaEnvironments.com
Florida's state parks, forests and other public lands some day could pay millions of dollars to the state annually for the carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases that are captured and stored in plants and soils, according to a recent study.

Navy Does FL Right Whales a Wrong (includes audio)
By Glen Gardner
Public News Service Florida
Groups in Florida committed to protecting the North Atlantic right whale say the Navy has made an end run around environmental protections in announcing construction of its Undersea Warfare Training Range off the Florida and Georgia coasts.

DEP requests approval of Levy Co. nuke plan
By Bruce Ritchie
FloridaEnvironments.com
Take action: August 11th Tallahassee meeting info from Southern Alliance for Clean Energy
The Florida Department of Environmental Protection is asking the governor and Cabinet to approve Progress Energy's site application to build a nuclear power plant on 3,105 acres in Levy County.


From nature coast to nuclear coast: groups working to oppose Progress Energy’s Levy County nuclear plant include Southern Alliance for Clean Energy, Nuclear Information and Resource Service, the Green Party of Florida and NoNuke.org.

MORE GREEN NEWS

Burmese Python Hunt Extended
By Whitney Ray
Capitol News Service
Related: Governor visits FWC
The open season on Burmese pythons is being extended past its October 31st end date.

Neither Sink nor McCollum endorse Crist climate goals
By Bruce Ritchie
FloridaEnvironments.com
With CFO Alex Sink and Attorney General Bill McCollum ahead early as the leading candidates for governor, neither is being specific on whether they would keep the state's greenhouse gas reduction goals put in place by Gov. Charlie Crist.

Clyde Butcher continues to capture mystique of the Everglades
By Jeff Klinkenberg
St. Petersburg Times
As much as I love Clyde Butcher's Everglades photographs, I think I love watching him take a photograph even more.

Panther killed on I-75
By Eric Staats
Naples News
A Florida panther was struck by a semitrailer and killed overnight near mile marker 90 on Interstate 75 in Collier County, the Florida Highway Patrol reported.

Brazen Young Panther Killed a Long Way From Home
By Lisa Rab
Broward New Times
​Males. When they're young and brash, trying to mark their territory and impress girls, there's no telling what they'll do. Run off to Georgia, even, and get themselves killed.

Rough year for turtle hatchlings
By Kate Spinner
Sarasota Herald-Tribune
Dozens of sea turtle nests are hatching now, but street and residential lights are drawing hundreds of them away from the water, according Mote Marine Laboratory.

Anglers Divided Over New Florida License Program
By Damien Cave
New York Times
One of the few things Eddy Corea enjoys since being laid off 18 months ago is fishing from the shore.

Scientists searching for elusive largetooth sawfish
By Neil Johnson
Tampa Tribune
Scientists will spend the next three months looking for what may be a phantom with fins.

State parks feeling budget cuts
By Amanda Nalley
Tallahassee Democrat
Stabilizing the Lake Overstreet trails at Maclay Gardens State Park is high on the park's priority list for maintenance requests. The estimated cost: $30,000.

Experts reduce hurricane season forecast
By Eliot Kleinberg
Palm Beach Post
El Niño's emergence has led the Colorado State University team of William Gray and Phil Klotzbach to reduce their forecast for this hurricane season.

Dispute over Everglades funding finally settled
By Curtis Morgan
Miami Herald
After eight years of bickering, the state and the federal government have finally shaken hands on how to split the massive bill to restore the Everglades.

Public needs a voice in land-use changes
By Daniel Shoer Roth
Miami Herald
The epic battle waged by Lowe's to build a superstore on land protected by Miami-Dade's Urban Development Boundary ended last week when Gov. Charlie Crist and the Florida Cabinet voted against the home-improvement chain.

The truth about Florida Hometown Democracy
By George Niemann
Hernando Today
The person on the street, pretty much anywhere in Florida, will attest to the fact that we all have seen the way we live change significantly as a result of Florida's booming growth.

Offshore drilling risks offset rewards
By Roland Loog
Gainesville Sun
Related editorial: Messy business
With our economy facing many challenges, offshore oil drilling has become an increasingly important topic for Floridians.

The Gulf and the 10th Amendment (audio story)
By James Call
WFSU Public Radio Tallahassee
Pressure is growing to allow drilling off Florida's Gulf coast.

Push back on drill push
Editorial
Palm Beach Post
The bill is labeled "The Domestic Energy Security Act of 2009," but the more accurate name would be "The Help Louisiana and Alaska at the Expense of Florida Act of 2009."

Nothing slick about spills
Editorial
Sarasota Herald-Tribune
Some 63,000 gallons of crude leaked from a cracked oil pipeline 30 miles off the Louisiana coast last weekend.

Keep Florida safe from offshore drilling
Editorial
Miami Herald
When the Florida House of Representatives this spring passed a bill to allow oil and gas drilling three miles off Florida's coast, Senate President Jeff Atwater called the measure ``dead in the water,'' and it went nowhere.


Endangered wood stork soaring above Fred George Basin, June 2009.

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"