Nature and the Environment

FIU's Jason Leon Slays Giant Python Monster, Saves Humanity

When the mammoth snake creature, spawned in a time and land too unfathomable for words, began tightening its hold around Jason Leon's legs earlier this month in some back woods near Miami, he knew he had one chance. Jason Leon had to kill this motherfucker. And kill it good.

Seismic Airgun Testing Will Kill or Injure 138,500 Whales and Dolphins If Allowed

If companies are allowed to use seismic airgun testing to search for and study oil and gas deposits in the Atlantic Ocean, 138,500 whales and dolphins will be harmed or killed -- and that's according to the government's own estimate. In addition, thousands of animals could have their hearing impaire ... 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 >>

How to Cook Cicadas: A Guide to Eating Your Way Through the Invasion

All over the Northeast and South, people are preparing for the emergence of 13-year and 17-year cicadas. According to Mother Nature News, these loud but harmless creatures have been living underground since the mid-'90s, lying in wait for the opportunity to fly about and mate like crazy for two mo ... More >>

Great White Shark Caught Off Fort Lauderdale Shore

Scientists and oceanographers say great white sharks are a rarity in Florida. In related news: A fourth great white shark has been spotted in Florida waters since January. In this case, it was right in our backyard. See also: -Great White Sharks Spotted in Florida Waters -Fishermen Catch Great Whi ... More >>

Manatee Death Toll Has Already Surpassed 2012 Numbers

Manatees have been dying at a record pace in Florida this year, threatening their overall population. in just the first three months of 2013 alone, the number of sea cow deaths have already surpassed all of 2012. See also: -Manatees Dying Off Both Florida Coasts; Scientists Trying to Figure Ou ... More >>

Stranded Pygmy Whales Euthanized

And now for your bimonthly dose of bummer whale news: On Sunday, a whale and her calf had beached themselves at Jensen Beach, just north of Waveland Beach in St. Lucie County. Beachgoers spotted the whales in the water shortly before they beached themselves. The pair were identified as pygmy sper ... 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 >>

Bill Nelson Is In on the Python Hunt, Has Caught Zero Pythons So Far

With the Great Python Purge Challenge Hunt Thing 2013 well under way, it seems all kinds of folks are joining in to try to win themselves some cash for killing a python. One of those folks is apparently Sen. Bill Nelson himself. And, like pretty much everyone else involved in the hunt, he's ending ... More >>

2013 Python Challenge: Few Reptiles, Many TV Crews

The Great Burmese Python Challenge Is Set To Begin! We Took The Online Training Course So You Don't Have To

Catching a Burmese Python can be tricky. And then killing it is no simple matter. There are rules. Many, many rules. To kill the mighty Burmese Python, the untrained and knife-wielding explorer must be vigilant, brave, and apparently blood-thirsty. And -- most importantly -- must take a 15-minute ... More >>

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

Giant Sperm Whales And Other Weird Things Washed Ashore: 8-Foot Lego Men, Giant Eye Balls, And More!

Weird? Yes. But there's been weirder. A few days ago, the carcass of a 40-foot sperm whale -- open-mouthed and oozing -- beached along Deerfield Beach's shore, and the locals got all huffy and melodramatic over the remnants of this mammoth oceanic creature. Some local conservationists wanted to k ... More >>

The Great Burmese Python Challenge: How Many Can You Kill?

One month from now, something very unusual -- and very, very Florida -- will occur in the Everglades, representing a metaphoric clash of man and beast: the Burmese python challenge. Its requests are simple. Kill as many snakes as you can. No, no, no. Don't worry. You don't need a hunting license o ... More >>

Five of SeaWorld's Sordid Scandals: Whale Slaves, a "Surgically Opened" Scrotum, and More!

Yesterday we told you about Jillian Thomas, the 8-year-old girl who was feeding dolphins at SeaWorld when one of the animals bit her arm. Don't worry; she was left with three dime-sized puncture wounds and an unbelievably cool anecdote for the rest of her life. While a dolphin biting an 8-year- ... 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

Dan Rather Jumps Into The Everglades' Burmese Python Problem (VIDEO)

See also "Feds Likely To Face Legal Battle Over Python Ban" and "JAVMA Probes Whether Burmese Pythons Are Mere Hype or Destructive Force"Want to see a guy get bit by a relatively huge and very pissed off Burmese python? Then keep reading because esteemed broadcast journalist Dan Rather has you ... More >>

Overfishing Deals Severe Blow To Local Economy, Pew Environment Group Says

Scientists tend to frame the consequences of overfishing in esoteric ecological terms that seem frightening but are difficult to comprehend. A new study commissioned by the Pew Environment Group, however, translates the consequences into dollars and cents, making it all too clear that ... More >>

Largest Burmese Python Found In Everglades Measures 17 Feet, Has 87 Eggs Inside

See also "Feds Likely To Face Face Legal Battle Over Burmese Python Ban" and "Are Burmese Pythons Slithering, Destructive Force?"The University of Florida announced a startling discovery Monday: A 17-foot-7-inch Burmese python had been pulled from the Everglades. The record-setting reptile weighed 1 ... More >>

Colony Collapse Disorder: Can BeesFree Save the World's Bees?

Back in 2006, researchers from the University of Florida described for the first time a cryptic phenomenon known as colony collapse disorder, through which massive amounts of worker bees vanished.The problem has since been documented around the world. Everyone from esteemed entomologists to armchair ... More >>

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

Center for Biological Diversity Demands Protection for Ten Florida Species

See also "U.S. Fish and Wildlife Faces Lawsuit For Not Protecting Ten Florida Species"The nonprofit Center for Biological Diversity has filed a massive petition with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service demanding that a total of 53 reptiles and amphibians be granted protection under the Endangered Spe ... More >>

Feds Likely To Face Legal Battle Over Burmese Python Ban

Most of us rejoiced earlier this year when Secretary of Interior Ken Salazar announced a new set of restrictions on the much loathed, much feared, much hyped Burmese python.  But six months after the feds announced a ban on the importation and interstate sale of Burmese pythons and th ... 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 >>

The World's Coral Reefs Are Being Decimated, All for a Few Gaudy Trinkets

Seven Florida Coral Species "Extremely Likely to go Extinct," Warns National Marine Fisheries

Florida's coral reefs have been on the decline for decades, and it looks like things could get a whole lot worse. Seven species of coral found in Florida and Caribbean waters "are extremely likely to go extinct" before the year 2100, and five of those species are the most "imperiled o ... More >>

If Manatees can Hear Boats, Why Don't They Move When One's Coming?

Last week, Sea World took in an approximately 1,700 pound manatee that had been bashed up by a speeding boat. It's the seventh sea cow taken in by the facility this year alone, and regulations to stop boats from hitting the sweet morons have been debated, sort of.A new study suggests, however, that ... More >>

JAVMA Probes Whether Burmese Pythons Are Mere Hype or Slithering Destructive Force

​Despite the string of national headlines, television specials, a federal ban, and grotesque photographs, it's becoming increasingly unclear whether Burmese pythons are permanently wrecking the Everglades or if they're just an overhyped nuisance. Earlier this year, scientists r ... More >>

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 >>

Expanding Snake Ban Could Cause Economic Woe, Feed Python Hype, Reptile Group Says

​Earlier this year, our cowboy-hat-wearing secretary of the interior, Ken Salazar, hosted a news conference in the Everglades to announce a federal ban on importing four species of snakes, including the much-loathed Burmese python. Now, a new proposal from Reps. Tom Rooney and Ted Deutch ... More >>

Horrible Ancient Animals

Hungry Hungry Pythons Decimate Mammal Populations in Everglades

​It's no secret that Burmese pythons have been wreaking havoc in the Everglades, but the extent of their destruction has been hard to grasp. A new study provides some of the first hard statistics on how these invasive reptiles are altering the food chain, and the numbers are downright scary.Betwee ... More >>

US is First Country In The World To Limit Catch for All Fish

​In a rare bipartisan effort to end overfishing, the US has agreed to impose annual catch limits on every species it manages -- that's 528 in all. The law was drafted by lawmakers and regional councils representing a mix of local interests. For South Florida, the new regulations mean fish such as ... More >>

Reminder From Broward County: Don't Mow Over Sea Cows

snuzzy.comDon't run over manatees with your spaceship either.​Due to new rules from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and the impending manatee season in Broward County, the Natural Resources Planning and Management Division would like to remind you not to slice up sea cows wit ... 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 >>

Tea Party Hates Manatees, Says Protecting Them Is "Against the Bible"

gatewaypundit.comManatees: Work of the devil.​Jesus apparently hated manatees, according to a new Tea Party platform circulating around Florida.Originating from the Citrus County Tea Party Patriots group, teabaggers are crying about the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's intent to place restrictions ... More >>

7-Foot Burmese Python Escapes in West Palm Beach

Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation CommissionThe 7-foot snake that was slithering around West Palm Beach​The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission isn't too happy with David T. Beckett after they say his 7-foot Burmese python escaped its enclosure and began wandering around res ... More >>

Sharks Attack; Fishermen and Scientists Battle

Burmese Pythons Not Going Anywhere

Courtesy, AP/Everglades Nat'l Park​At left, you'll find the single most interesting picture taken in Florida in the last five years. (Other than this one, I mean.) Pictured is a 13-foot Burmese Python which has bitten off more than it can chew -- except the python has dispensed with the biting, an ... More >>

Animal Rights Activists Ask Amerijet to Stop Shipping Monkeys

One of several injured monkeys photographed at a local research facility earlier this year.​Amerijet, the international cargo shipping corporation headquartered in Fort Lauderdale, is one of the few airlines that still transports research primates, specifically the ones used for controversial vivi ... More >>

Delray Man Chops Tail Off Beached Sperm Whale; Can You Eat That?

Photo: MicheleEve.comHogan tried to make off with this trophy from the whale that washed up in Delray Beach.​There are many fine restaurants in Delray Beach, but it seems one resident, Chris Hogan, prefers to see what the ocean surf is serving. This morning, it delivered an eight-foot sperm whale. ... More >>

A Night With Sea Turtle Hatchling Rescue in Fort Lauderdale

​Here is a heartbreaking video from YouTube, posted by an activist group known as Sea Turtle Oversight Protection. It's called "Ten Minutes in the Night of a Rescue Volunteer." The date of the clip is the evening of July 10, and a map shows the location where it was shot: on the sand behind the Sh ... More >>

Chillax, Bird-Watchers! Those Dead Shearwaters Are Not BP's Fault.

Flickr: Callocephalon PhotographyThis is what a shearwater looks like when it's alive.​For those fretting about the effect of the Gulf spill on seabirds, fret not for the greater shearwaters. Yes, some 35 of those majestic birds have been found dead along the South Florida coast, from Delray to C ... More >>

A Breeder's View on the Proposed Python Ban

Courtesy of Greg Bryant​Greg Bryant raises reticulated pythons, the longest snakes in the world. From the Retic Ranch in Delray Beach, he breeds animals that can grow to 20 feet and top 100 pounds and sells them around the world. His livelihood is now threatened by federal legislation, proposed la ... More >>

Record Number of Florida Panthers Killed By Vehicles Last Year

flickr.comA panther photographed in Palm Beach county last year.​One of the latest came at the end of December, on I-75 in western Broward county. It was a 110-pound male, crossing the highway around 1 a.m. Last year, 17 Florida panthers were killed by vehicles, according to the Florida Fish and W ... More >>

Manatees to Pythons: A Rough Weekend For Local Wildlife

Baby, it's cold outside.​Iguanas falling from the sky.Pythons slithering from the swamps and into suburban yards in search of warmth. It would make a great horror movie if it weren't true life. It's been so frigid in South Florida this week that 250 sea turtles in cold shock have already been pick ... More >>

It’s Artsy Being Green

Dolphin Experts Weigh In; Any Gorilla-Killers in Lake Worth Mayoral Race?

Dr. Rene Varela​ The local community of marine mammal experts is a relatively small one, so the Juice has been asking some high-level folks in the scientific community to weigh in on the recent controversy surrounding veterinarian Dr. Rene Varela, candidate for mayor of Lake Worth. One expert, wh ... More >>