Environmental Issues and Protection

Florida Community Trying to Keep Fracking and Drilling Away From Everglades

The Dan A. Hughes Company, an independent oil and gas exploration company headquartered in Beeville, Texas, apparently owns the mineral rights to an onshore oil reserve known as the Sunniland Trend, which stretches from Ft. Myers to Miami. And they fully intend on fracking the crap out of it. Accor ... More >>

Rick Scott's Cuts Dilute Water Laws

Hands Across the Sand: Enviros Against Offshore Oil, For Clean Energy, Hit the Beach Saturday

It started out in Florida in 2010, born out of revulsion at the prospect of oil rigs in the near offshore. That February, more than 10,000 concerned citizens just said "no," linking hands on dozens of beaches across the state, drawing a literal line in the sand. Mere months later, in the aftermath o ... More >>

DEP Secretary Herschel Vinyard Cleared of EPA Violations Thanks to Statute of Limitations

Environmental activists across Florida have been waiting more than two years for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to land a serious body blow against the state's enforcement branch. The question was whether Herschel Vinyard's place at the top of Florida's Department of Environmental Protecti ... More >>

Composting: It's Not About If but When and How (Part 1)

Food scraps are being wasted and filling up our landfills when they could be going to building soil and growing our food. Plants thrive on compost, and we have the technology to make composting easy and efficient, yet we choose not to. In my next two articles, I will explore composting, the lates ... More >>

Florida Fracking: Sen. Jeff Clemens Says Name Your Poison

Name yer poison. Especially if you're messing with chemicals that have the potential to contaminate Florida's groundwater supply. That's the intent of legislation filed by State Sen. Jeff Clemens, which would create a registry of chemicals used by companies fracking for oil in the Sunshine State. S ... More >>

Wall Flowers: LiveRoof's "Living" Green Wall System Could Turn Your Wall Into a Vegetable Garden

In the not-too-near-future, your next home or office lobby may not be painted, or even decorated with wall paper. It could be alive.Alive with plants, of course. But before we go planting gardens indoors, perhaps we should start with "living" exterior walls and roofs, first. Here, in South Florida, ... More >>

Keys Hospitals Submerged by Climate Change, Legislators Told

They were asked not to politicize the issue. And apparently, they succeeded. State legislators both Dem and GOP from throughout South Florida gathered this week to educate themselves (and the public, who can watch it here) on climate change, its impact on our region and what, if anything, can be don ... More >>

Promised Land Movie Review: For Matt Damon and Company, the Message is the Message

FPL Is Building Another Natural Gas Pipeline Underfoot

Did you know there are already two major pipelines underground that bring in natural gas from other states to our local power plants? There will be a third by 2017, and FPL is currently seeking "Requests for Proposals" from companies that want the job of building it. FPL says the two natural ga ... More >>

Mayan Beach Club Condo Complex Destroys Sand Dune in Fort Lauderdale Beach

The Mayan Beach Club has obliterated a 176-foot-long sand dune on Fort Lauderdale's beach that helped prevent beach erosion and provided a nesting place for endangered green sea turtles, because the it blocked the view of the ocean. The Florida Department of Environmental Protection apparently made ... More >>

Broward County to Consider a $3 Million Emergency Fix of Fort Lauderdale Beach Erosion

The Broward County Commission is considering an emergency fix to repair the sidewalks along A1A north of Sunrise Boulevard after Hurricane Sandy and ocean swells caused beach erosion that ultimately sucked portions of the street into the sea. The commission is looking for approval of $3 million for ... More >>

Chasing Ice a Beautiful Yet Sobering Documentary About the World's Rapidly Melting Ice Caps

Petition to Save Mayan Beach Sand Dune Racks Up Signatures; Will DEP Take Notice?

In three days, more than 480 people have signed a petition to save the Mayan Beach Sand Dune in Fort Lauderdale from destruction. Spearheaded by the Sea Turtle Oversight Protection, the petition is the latest development in a battle between developers and environmentalists that has stretched fo ... More >>

Arctic Ice, Snow Melts At Alarming Rate; Romney Thinks Environment Is For Nerds

Toward the end of Mitt Romney's speech at the Republican National Convention in Tampa last month, the newly crowned candidate displayed in a single sentence his talent for sarcasm. "President Obama promised to slow the rise of the oceans and heal the planet," he said, then followed wi ... More >>

America's Fracking Gold Rush Portends the Greatest Environmental Disaster of a Generation

Broward Adopts Climate Change Plan; Dumbasses Think It's a U.N. Conspiracy

Broward has been out in front of the rest of the state, maybe the country, in terms of preparing for climate change and rising sea levels. The county commissioned a report showing that large parts of Lauderdale could be underwater 50 years from now. Over and over, experts say our low-lying areas are ... More >>

DEP Secretary Herschel Vinyard Says He Didn't Lie on Résumé; PEER Not Buying It

See also "EPA Wants to Know if DEP Secretary Herschel Vinyard Lied on His Résumé" and "PEER Blasts Herschel Vinyard for Trying to Water Down Pollution Permit Process" After nearly four months of waiting, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection finally responded to a ... More >>

DEP's Jeff Littlejohn Violating Federal Clean Water Act, Says PEER Complaint

Jeff Littlejohn, the No. 2 man at Florida's Department of Environmental Protection, is in violation of conflict-of-interest clauses contained within the federal Clean Water Act, according to a complaint filed with the Environmental Protection Agency.The complaint, submitted by Public Employees ... More >>

Missing Millionaire's Partner Speaks: John Amoruso Made Guma Aguiar Rich

John Amoruso, Geologist Who Made Guma Aguiar Rich, Recalls "Down-to-Earth Fellow"

See also: the latest on Aguiar's disappearance, and the lawsuit against Aguiar spurred by this natural-gas deal.In 2003, Texas geologist John Amoruso had a hunch that there was a lot of natural gas, and big money, in a previously unexplored geological area about midway between Houston and Dallas.It ... More >>

Florida Department of Environmental Protection Getting Weaker Under Rick Scott

Gov. Rick Scott appears on track to fulfill his vision of making the Florida Department of Environmental Protection a customer-service oriented rubber stamp that allows industry to dump on the environment with little worry.In 2011, there was a 28 percent drop in enforcement ... More >>

PEER Blasts Herschel Vinyard, DEP For Trying To Water Down Pollution Permit Process

The nonprofit Public Employees For Environmental Responsibility has been tearing up the Department of Environmental Protection with public-records request. First the left-leaning group, more commonly known as PEER, called into question whether DEP Secretary Herschel Vinyard ... More >>

EPA Wants to Know if Herschel Vinyard, Secretary of Florida's Department of Environmental Protection, Lied on his Resume

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is investigating whether Herschel Vinyard, secretary of Florida's Department of Environmental Protection, fabricated part of his resume and has asked Vinyard's counsel to clarify various discrepancies surrounding his employment history.It seems ... More >>

Free Market Florida, Mad at EPA Investigation Into Herschel Vinyard, Says EPA Should Investigate Itself

It didn't take long for the business community to come running to the defense of Herschel Vinyard.Free Market Florida, a self-described "unapologetic advocate for the principles of the free market," on Thursday issued a press release saying that the Environmental Protection Agency sho ... More >>

Give Mother Earth Some Sugar

If Climate Change Melts Greenland's Ice Sheet, Will South Florida Drown?

A giant sheet of ice that covers most of ​Greenland might be a serious problem for South Florida in a few hundred or few thousand years, give or take. A new study in Nature Climate Change warns that a 1.6 degree Celsius jump in global temperatures could completely melt&nbs ... More >>

Peace, Love, and Budweiser

Southwest Ranches Detention Center Site to Lose Existing Prison as a Neighbor

​For years, an argument in favor of building a CCA-run prison on a plot owned by Southwest Ranches (see our massive feature on the project in last week's issue) has been that it was already sandwiched between a county dump and a women's prison.Now, due to budget constraints, the state has announce ... More >>

FAU Study: Coping With Climate Change in Florida May Cost as Much as $1 Billion

randompixels.blogspot.comThat's not exactly a transportation "plan."​Not long after the Broward County Natural Resources Planning and Management Division released its report detailing how rising sea levels could cause major flooding across Fort Lauderdale, Florida Atlantic University has released ... More >>

Florida Has Some of The Most Toxic Air Pollution In the Nation, Study Says

​Florida residents are the third-most at-risk among the 50 states from toxic emissions from coal and oil-fired power plants, according to a study released today.The report, from the Natural Resources Defense Council and Physicians for Social Responsibility, found that only Ohio and Pennsylvani ... More >>

Adam Hasner Thinks Being a Fringe Candidate Can Win Him a Senate Spot

Adam Hasner​Touting yourself as a lunatic has just become a political campaign strategy.Adam Hasner -- the former Florida House majority leader who represented parts of southern Palm Beach County and northern Broward County -- thinks acting like a right-wing extremist will get him elected to the U ... More >>

Celebrate Earth Day at Whole Foods Market in Coral Springs

Pugetsoundphotowalks via Creative CommonsDon't let your Earth Day be a total bummer. ​If you're having trouble getting the fam on board with your mission to go green, load up the Prius and shuttle everyone over to the Whole Foods Market of Coral Springs on Saturday afternoon to celebrate, among ot ... More >>

Is Global Warming to Blame for Florida's Cold Weather?

The Juice: Now frozen!​There's a serious disconnect in how we Americans think about weather. On the one hand, we love crazy weather stories and the intense, irrational panic they cause. On the other hand, we're absolutely unwilling to consider that those extreme weather patterns are a result of ou ... More >>

Congressman John Shimkus Suggests That God May Sink Florida, But That's Okay

God has mellowed since then.​Sometimes it helps to look abroad for one's news to capture the peculiar absurdities of American politics. Case in point: The Daily Mail, of the UK, yesterday ran an item discussing a potential chair of the US energy committee, Congressman John Shimkus (R - IL). For Sh ... More >>

EPA Investigates Link Between Cancer and Atrazine, the Chemical Behind the Cane

Flickr: parhessiastesSugar Cane: Harmless plant or serious accomplice?​These years have not been kind to the proverbial Floridian wallet: If Madoff didn't take your money, then Rothstein probably did, and good luck selling that 4-bedroom for more than the price of a Lego pirate ship. Now, Florida' ... More >>

The Hippies Have a Point

Activists Protest Scripps Plan for Briger Tonight in Palm Beach Gardens

Handfern: One of many species environmentalists hope to protect in the Briger Tract​Lake Worth environmental activist Panagioti Tsolkas was one of many locals who banded together five years ago to protest the Scripps Biotech development on Mecca Farms. Some of those same activists, including membe ... More >>

FPL Plant Deals Dirty on the Race Question, Activists Say

FPL's Riviera plant: Looks great from a distance​Environmental activists and some Riviera Beach residents are fed up with living with "one of the dirtiest power plants in the entire state of Florida," according to a news release from the Palm Beach County Environmental Coalition. The Coalition, a ... More >>

It’s Artsy Being Green

Going Green

Palm Beach Activists to Do Their Part to Make the Earth Move

FlickrWhat she said.​In advance of world leaders' December meeting in Copenhagen for a new climate treaty, Palm Beach County residents are heading to Atlantic Dunes Beach Park, where on Saturday October 24, they'll participate in a demonstration that's gone global.That day marks the International ... More >>

49 States Green With Envy Over Florida's Environmental Progress

Radio Green Earth: Making the world safer for tree frogs​Bet you thought South Florida was a lot more likely to win accolades for "best strip malls" or "extra egregious decimation of natural wildlife" than for anything much greener than development dollars. But it turns out Florida is among the to ... More >>

Captain Planet Is Retired; Now It’s up to You

Life is Better Down Where It's Wetter

Tree-huggers mobilize to stop FPL from building Everglades power plant

It’s Getting Hot in Here

Love Your Mother

This School May Cause Cancer

The stalled reconstruction of Deerfield Middle School has littered the campus with a carcinogen. So why are students still there?

A Natural Alliance

Buck Island Ranch is home to the threatened caracara, and it's a laboratory where ranchers and conservationists are learning to work together