Our Neighborhood
Site Title

Earth


Keeping It Green

(There's No Planet B)

 Phosphate Risk
Florida's Phosphate Risk
 
 
  • Green Living Toolkit
    Essential Guide to Florida Suncoast Living

    GLTK/

    Apr. 15, 2022,-They break it down to show you the most effective solutions, curated especially for Sarasota and Manatee County residents.

    We connect you with local events and experts on energy, food, waste, water, and nature. The Toolkit is designed with options to meet you where you’re at, then help you level up to live smart and future-focused. Every step you take accrues personal and community benefits, now and for future generations.

  • The Right to Clean and Healthy Waters
    This is a #WatershedMoment

    FloridaCleanWater.org-It has become clear that the current system of water protection has failed; the state executive branch is not enforcing clean water legislation according to environmental laws, legislative intent and constitutional policy. Although a right to clean water already exists by statute, it defers too much to state executive agencies to guard against harm.

    Click now to learn what you can do.


  • Back Arrow

    Florida
    Environmental Action



    • Gulf Dead Zone

     


    • Sarasota Weather
    • The Issues

    Site Map
    Magnifying Glass

    Page Updated:
    May 8, 2023


     
    The Sink or
    Swim Newsletter


    Ecology Florida

    • Florida Coral Rescue
    Florida Fish and Wildlife
    Conservation Commission

    Aug. 31, 2021, (mfwc.com)-An unprecedented coral disease event has ravaged Florida’s reefs since 2014, causing mortality in more than 20 Caribbean coral species.

    The disease, known as stony coral tissue loss disease (SCTLD), began near Miami, Florida, and has since spread through the northern extent of Florida's Coral Reef in Martin County, south through the Florida Keys, west into the Marquesas, and is currently just inside the boundary of the Dry Tortugas National Park.

    Due to the rapid spread of the disease, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) in partnership with Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission(FWC), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) , and National Park Service (NPS), developed a coral disease response network consisting of 9 teams. One of these disease response teams is the Florida Coral Rescue Team led by FWC and NOAA Fisheries.


    • Save the Manatee
    Helping Malnourished Manatees

    (savethemanatee.org)-Save the Manatee Club is an award-winning national nonprofit 501(c)(3) and membership-based organization established in 1981 by renowned singer/songwriter, Jimmy Buffett, and former U.S. Senator, Bob Graham, when he was governor of Florida.

    Human activities are harming manatees, and only our compassion and action can protect them.

    Manatees are Florida’s official state marine mammal. They are listed as vulnerable at the international level by the IUCN World Conservation Union. They are listed as threatened at the federal level by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service and at the state level by the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC).


    Recent Florida News Stories (in the past 6 months)
    (Latest Stories First)

    • 

    • • Florida’s Climate Resilience Plan Is Real?
      Can It Be True?

      CT

      May 8, 2023 -If enacted, this bill will expand the requirements of Florida’s Sea-Level Impact Projection (SLIP) studies beyond the current coastal construction zone and into all areas threatened by current and projected sea level rise, not just in areas directly on the coast.

      >The Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) has come out in favor of Florida’s new legislation that advances the prioritization of climate resilience.

    • • Record-Breaking Rain In Fort Lauderdale
      Flooding and Airport Closure Results

      WaPo

      Apr. 13, 2023 - Record-breaking rain pounded Fort Lauderdale, Fla., and nearby areas late Wednesday, triggering what meteorologists called a one-in-a-thousand-year flood that stranded cars and closed the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood Airport.

      Several areas received 20 to 25 inches of rain, including 25.91 inches at the airport, according to the National Weather Service’s Miami office. By comparison, Fort Lauderdale’s previous record rainfall for a single day was 14.59 inches, set April 25, 1979.

    • • The Waves Are Disappearing
      Surfers Bear Witness to How Climate Change and Human Interventions Alter Coastlines

      NYT

      Apr. 10, 2023 -In the past few decades, surfers have watched as the coastline in North Florida has changed. The fast-acting effects of erosion, powerful storms and rising sea levels have become intimately familiar to them.

      That knowledge — unique to local surfers — has become indispensable to those who are forming a record of what was.

    • • Florida Drought Gets Steadily Worse
      Wildfire Threat Grows Accordingly

      Apr. 7, 2023, (WLRN) -The threat of wildfires is growing in Florida over the coming weeks as more than half the state is experiencing severe to extreme drought conditions likely to persist until rainy season resumes around mid-May, state and federal officials said.

      The National Weather Service's Climate Prediction Center reported Thursday that 55% of Florida is in the severe to extreme drought category, with most of the rest of the state listed as “abnormally dry.” The driest conditions are in southwest Florida, the same region hammered by Hurricane Ian in September.

    • • Tampa Tree Cutters Will Pay the Price
      The Tree Cutting Business Will Be Fined $234,000

      BCL Logo

      Apr. 6, 2023 - The 2019 tree-clearing at the Life O’ Reilly mobile home park on Gandy Boulevard took down 28 trees, including nine large old oaks considered “grand” trees.

      The incident — which dismayed tree advocates and was called an “egregious violation” by Tampa Mayor Jane Castor — came on the heels of a new state law barring local governments from regulating tree removal.

    • • Update: Huricaine Ian's Destructive Path
      Here's an Update


      ICN

      Apr. 3, 2023 -Hurricane Ian caused $112.9 billion in damage and at least 156 deaths as it forged a path of destruction across Florida, the Caribbean and southeastern United States, according to a report released Monday by the National Hurricane Center.

      Sixty-six deaths, all in Florida, were attributed directly to the hurricane’s storm surge, inland flooding, high winds and other impacts in September 2022.

    • • Opinon: Everglades Reservoir is
      Critical to Florida Water Supply
      We All Need To Pitch In

      MH

      Mar. 30, 2023, by Eric Buermann - Our family, including my two daughters who are sixth-generation Miamians, cherishes the Everglades. Their great-great-great-grandfather, Rev. William Stanton, was the first Baptist minister in Miami. He preached in the late 1890s under a tent on the banks of the Miami River, where pristine waters then flowed from the Everglades into Biscayne Bay.

      Today, that clean water flow has been seriously impaired, jeopardizing not only the paradise residents and tourists enjoy, but also South Florida’s water supply.

    • • Manatee County: Water Protections Could Be Loosened
      Building Requirements Could Change

      Mar. 23, 2023, (FOX13 Tampa Bay) -As new homes go up in Manatee County, regulations currently impose up to a 50-foot buffer in certain areas near wetlands and watersheds. But...

    • • Surging Population, Rising Seas Could
      Lead to More of Florida Being Paved Over
      In Western Miami-Dade, Housing Developments Are Now Bordering Everglades Wetlands

      Mar. 23, 2023, (WLRN) -As Florida’s population swells to more than 26 million people and more land is lost to rising seas, about 1 million more undeveloped acres could be paved over in less than two decades, according to a new study released Wednesday by the University of Florida and 1000 Friends of Florida.

      Potentially hardest hit: large, intact rural lands that offer the best hope for saving wild Florida.
    • • Saying 'No' to Radioactive Roads
      But the Florida Legislature
      Could Say 'Yes'

      CBD

      Mar. 21, 2023 -“Disposing of” radioactive waste by using it to build roads is a horrifying concept. But that's exactly what two new bills propose to do, right here in Florida.

      Phosphogypsum is a highly toxic byproduct of the fertilizer-production process. Besides being radioactive, it contains a host of dangerous heavy metals. The fertilizer industry creates about 30 million tons of this toxic waste every year, storing much of it in Florida, where its improper management threatens water, air, and wildlife.

    • Back Arrow

    • • Fertilizer Industry Wants to Spread
      Its Radioactive, Toxic Waste Near You
      Florida Legislature’s Bill to Allow Phosphogypsum in Roads

      CBD

      Mar. 20, 2023 -Florida law makers just proposed two bills, Senate Bill 1258 and House Bill 1191, approving the use of radioactive waste called “phosphogypsum” in roads. The EPA currently prohibits using this toxic waste in roadway construction because it poses an unacceptable risk to public health, the environment and road construction workers.

      Click now to learn more, including just what is Phosphogypsum.

    • • The Seaweed Clump Nearly Double
      the Width of U.S. Floating at Sea
      Could it Impact Florida?

      Mar. 14, 2023, (Herald-Tribune) -A 5,000-mile-long seaweed raft — nearly double the width of the U.S. and visible from space — is not likely to come ashore in Sarasota or Manatee County, marine biologists say.

      University of South Florida physical oceanography assistant professor Brian Barnes estimates that this will be the biggest sargassum bloom on record, following an overall growth trend that's been documented since 2011. The increased presence of seaweed could impact boaters and potentially cause respiratory problems.

    • • Sarasota Bay Continues to Lose Seagrass Growth
      Manatees Depend Upon It

      Mar. 4, 2023, (Sarasota Herald-Tribune) -Seagrass acreage in Sarasota Bay dropped by 26% from 2016 to 2022, according to the head of the bay’s estuary preservation program.

      This new information comes from aerial maps the Southwest Florida Water Management District made of the bay’s seagrass meadows.

      The Sarasota Bay Estuary Program is able to learn about the health of the bay by tracking these plants. When water quality is poor, seagrasses die. Manatees, which rely on that vegetation for food, will then starve.

    • • Tampa Bay and Sarasota Beaches: Look Out!
      Red Tide
      - A Problem That Won't Go Away

      WUSF

      Feb. 15, 2023 -Large concentrations of red tide are continuing to be found at the mouth of Tampa Bay and along Sarasota County beaches.

      The latest survey by state environmental officials show red tide is still present in an area stretching from Fort DeSoto in Pinellas County to Anna Maria Island and Longboat Pass in Manatee County.

      And medium levels of the toxin continue to be found in Sarasota Bay and beaches ranging from Longboat Key to Siesta Key to beaches south of Venice.

    • •  The Florida Solar Bill of Rights
      It’s Time to Put the “Sun” Back in the Sunshine State!

      SOLAR UNITED NEIGHBORS, Dec. 16, 2021 -As residents of the Sunshine State, we call on our local and state officials to protect and encourage access to solar power for all Floridians, as well as to reform laws and policies that restrict our freedom to produce solar energy.

      Click now to read the list of those rights.

    • • Florida’s Polluted Springs Must Be Cleaned
      Appeal Court Says
      State Must Do More

      TampaBay10, Jan. 15, 2023 -Environmentalists working to reduce nitrate pollution in Florida’s freshwater springs declared victory Wednesday after the First District Court of Appeal ruled the Florida Department of Environmental Protection must take more action to clean the springs across the state.

      "This is the biggest legal win for Florida’s environment in recent memory," Ryan Smart, executive director of the Florida Springs Council, said. "This decision will have major implications on the Outstanding Florida Springs."

    • • This Florida Chemical Plant is the
      Biggest Greenhouse Gas Polluter in the State
      Turns Out That Laughing Gas is Not That Funny

      RE World

      Florida Phoenix, Dec. 1, 2022 -The story talks about the worst climate polluters. They included a coal-fired Alabama power plant that produces more carbon dioxide than any other U.S. facility, a Pennsylvania coal mine that produces more methane than anywhere else and – because there is always a Florida angle to every big story – this plant in the Panhandle.

      It’s a Florida nylon manufacturing plant, and it tops the rest of the country in emitting nitrous oxide, aka laughing gas.

      When it comes to the climate, laughing gas is no laughing matter.

    • • Expanding Tree Canopy and
      Environmental Stewardship in Broward County
      From the Lauderdale
      Lakes Garden Club

      NWF

      Nov. 10,-Broward County, Florida, is nestled in southeastern Florida, just north of Miami-Dade County with the Atlantic Ocean to the east and the Everglades to the west. It is Florida’s second-most populous county, has the 6th largest school district in the United States, and is home not only to diverse populations of wildlife, but also an active network of local elected officials, teachers, principals, park professionals, volunteers, scientists, and other community leaders striving to create more resilient places to live for people and wildlife.


    The Issues
    (click on any issue to get the whole story)

    • • Engarde, Swordfish!
      Swordfish Reduction Sends Rippling Fears

      HT Logo

      Aug. 27, 2022 -Swordfish and other sea creatures have used the Florida Straits and Gulf Stream for thousands of years, migrating with the warm current as it gathers in the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean Sea and then blasts up the East Coast and into the northern Atlantic Ocean.

      But things have changed in the Gulf Stream system. Waters have warmed, and the regional Gulf of Mexico-to-North Atlantic current has slowed, according to some scientific evidence. The data is not complete.

    • • Algae Blooms Are Killing Our Manatees
      Hundreds of Them Have Starved to Death

      Mar. 25, 2022, (ZME Science)-Nearly 1 in 10 died last year.

      A wildlife official in Florida said hundreds of manatees have starved to death along the state's east coast due to the algae blooms and contaminants that are killing seagrass resources they eat, The Associated Press reported.

    • • Coral Reef Monitoring & Assessment
      Coral Reefs Must Be
      Protected Against Bleaching

      October, 2021, (Mote Marine)-Coral bleaching is the corals’ loss of their symbiotic algae (zooxanthellae), which give them their color. Bleaching is a natural event that occurs to some extent annually in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary (FKNMS).

      Records show that coral bleaching has been occurring for many years in the Florida Keys and also indicate that the frequency and severity of these events has steadily increased since the 1980s. Large-scale mass coral bleaching events are driven by unusually warm sea temperatures and calm seas. The effects of these mass events are potentially devastating to ecosystems and the people who depend on them.

    • • History Of Phosphate Mining
      In Florida Fraught With Peril
      Accidents Like the Spill at the Piney
      Point Plant Fill the History Books

      Jun. 16, 2021, (WUSFPublic Media)-At the construction entrance to the Piney Point phosphate plant - off Buckeye Road in northern Manatee County, just south of the Hillsborough County line - the smell of phosphate and gypsum hangs heavy in the air.

      A bulldozer is busy pushing sand into a hole from which more than 200 million gallons of tainted water flowed into Tampa Bay. This isn't the first time this has happened. Accidents like this fill the history books in Florida, including two here at this very site.

    • • Hazardous Waste Mixed Into Roads
      Are Our Roads Not Getting
      Enough Radio-Activity?

      June 17, 2021 (Bradenton Times) -If you live next to a road, will you be living next to a hazardous waste site? Unfortunately, this may be a reality for many, especially here in Florida.

      The Environmental Protection AgencyThis is the radioactive waste product left over from the production of fertilizer, and Florida has a lot of it.

    • • Red Tide’s Impact on Humans
      Roskamp Institute Awarded
      Federal Grant to Study Red
      Tide’s Impact on Humans

      May 8, 2020 (floridadaily.com) - This week, U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan, R-Fla., praised the Roskamp Institute in Sarasota for winning a federal grant to study the possible connection between exposure to red tide and neurological disorders in humans.

      “Roskamp is one of the leading scientific research institutes in the nation and I’m thrilled they were able to secure funding to conduct this important review,” said Buchanan on Wednesday. “People need to know if exposure causes long-term damage. This grant of more than $400,000 will allow Roskamp to determine if human exposure to the red tide neurotoxin called brevetoxin causes brain impairment or other problems.”

      In particular, the institute will study why some people have mild reactions to red tide while others react more severely.

    • • Would You Like a Little Radon With That Home?
      Radon Gas and Florida's Development

      Aug. 11, 2019 (The Bradenton Times) -Radon is found in one out of every four Florida homes. Every citizen, whether they are aware of the problem or not, is affected. All exposure to radon is potentially harmful. Radon is an odorless, colorless, radioactive, gaseous element that results from the breaking down of radium.

      Numerous studies support the clear and simple fact that radon exposure is a serious public health hazard. Indeed, more is known about the adverse health effects of radon exposure than any other environmental pollutant. Indoor radon air pollution is the number one environmental pollutant in Florida.

    • • What To Do About Plastic's Affect on Martine Life?
      How Plastic is Harming
      Florida’s Marine Life, and
      What We Can Do About It

      By Joe Land (Greenpeace)- My passion for environmental conservation began when I was inspired by my 3rd-grade teacher to focus on my own interactions with the world around me, and to learn about the impact humans have on the Earth. I started the first Kids for Saving the Earth club in my hometown of New Albany, Indiana, where I became involved in sharing my enthusiasm for the natural beauty of the planet and in talking to people about the importance of protecting our only home. We worked on a recycling program and on stopping the use of Styrofoam in the school cafeteria.

      When I was 12, I took my first trip to Florida where I fell in love with the ocean and knew that’s where I belonged. When I first moved to Florida in the summer of 2007, I watched the release of sea turtle hatchlings, and I decided that I wanted to focus on their protection and coastal ecology. I became certified as an Advanced Florida Master Naturalist and Land Steward through the University of Florida; that program gave me the tools to understand and share the impact we have on Florida’s diverse marine and natural resources. Today I’m pursuing a degree in Marine and Environmental Science.

      Click for the story and a slideshow.

    • • Legislative Environmental Considerations
      Florida Conservation Coalition Legislative Priority:
      Funding for Conservation Land Acquisition:

      Mar. 4, 2019  Florida Conservation Coalition


      • SB 944 Land Acquisition Trust Fund

      • SB 1256 Apalachicola Bay Area of Critical State Concern


      • SB 92 C-51 Reservoir Project

      To read all of the bills on this list, click now.
    • • The Legislature: Onsite Sewage Treatment
      Onsite Sewage Treatment and Disposal Systems

      Florida House of Representatives,-Directs DOH to identify certain information for onsite sewage treatment & disposal systems, update database of such systems, & submit report to Governor & Legislature

      Requires periodic inspection of such systems

      Directs DOH to administer onsite sewage treatment & disposal system inspection program & adopt rules; provides inspection requirements

      Provides exceptions; requires owners to pay costs of inspections & pump-outs; requires that inspections & pump-outs be performed by certain registered contractors

      Provides notice requirements; requires system disclosure summary for certain properties & acknowledgement of such disclosures by purchaser before or at execution of contract for sale.

    • • Public Notice: Florida Has Got Its Pollution
      Public Notice of Pollution

      -Protecting Florida's pristine environment is the Department of Environmental Protection's top priority. Pursuant to Section 403.077, F.S., the Department is establishing a method for regulated entities to submit Public Notices of Pollution for reportable releases. Additionally, the Department is making available to the public all Notices received to date as well as offering an e-mail subscription service for interested parties to be informed of Notices submitted for their area of interest.

      Reporting entities should be aware that, while submission of a Notice through this website complies with the requirements of Section 403.077, F.S., it does not relieve them of any obligation to report to the State Watch Office.

      Click for more from The Florida
      Dept of Environmental Protection
      .

    • • 6 Key Issues Facing Florida Environment
      Florida’s Environmental Challenges

      With leadership from the late Nathaniel Pryor Reed, Trouble in Paradise is the work product of deeply concerned members of the Florida environmental community who wish to help elected officials and candidates for office better understand six major statewide environmental issues impacting Florida’s natural resources and our residents’ quality of life. Reflecting that ‘one size does not fit all’ this report also identifies four of Florida’s many resource areas meriting specialized treatment.

    • • Sarasota To Go 100% Renewable
      Sarasota, Florida Commits
      to Transition to
      100% Renewable Energy

      June 19, 2017 - The Sarasota City Commission today adopted a goal of powering all of Sarasota with 100 percent clean, renewable energy by 2045. Sarasota joins St. Petersburg as the only two cities in the state of Florida to commit to transition to 100 percent clean and renewable energy.

    • • FPL: Solar Use Illegal During Outages
      Florida Power & Light
      Lobbyists Made It Illegal to
      Use Solar During Outages

      Sept. 18, 2017 - One thing has changed since 2005: solar. Many of the FPL customers who are living through dangerous heat without power now have solar panels on their roofs that could keep them going while FPL repairs its infrastructure. Except doing so is illegal, thanks to FPL's lobbyists, who literally ghost-wrote much of Florida's dreadful solar rules.


      Click now to shed some sunlight.
    • • Miami Rejects the 20-Foot Flood Wall
      But Still Must
      Combat Climate Change

      Miami Herald, Sep. 8, 2022 -Miami-Dade County’s hard “No” on the federal government’s proposal to build a 20-foot-tall coastal wall to combat flooding has paid off. The feds have agreed to re-examine that part of the Back Bay Coastal Storm Risk Management Study, and without any cost to the county.

      It was difficult to take the idea seriously from the start. Installing hulking, flood-protection walls up to 20 feet tall along the coast of Biscayne Bay would mean, in essence, exchanging the scenic water views that draw people to this area for the unappealing sight of concrete barriers.

    • • Avoid Hurricane Surge Flooding:
      KNOW YOUR ZONE!
      Know Your Flood Zone

      FloridaDisaster.org, - The greatest killer of people during hurricanes is storm surge – the dome of water pushed ashore by powerful hurricane winds. Entire buildings can be moved, and can cause more damage than the winds of a hurricane itself. Florida is extremely vulnerable to surge flooding because of its coastal and low-lying geography.

      To stay safe from surge flooding, if you live in a zone that has been ordered to evacuate, get out. The best way to be prepared for a hurricane storm surge is to know your evacuation zone and plan your destination and travel routes ahead of time.

      Flood Zone maps are available if you click now.

    • • How Florida’s Springs are Threatened
      The Amount of Water they
      Discharge are Threatened by Both
      Human Activities and Natural Factors.

      (Southwest Florida Water Management) -Increases in nutrients like nitrogen and phosphorus due to development in springsheds, excessive fertilizer use, wastewater treatment plant discharges and failing septic tanks.

      Excess nitrate levels in water can be harmful to aquatic insects, amphibians and fish. If algae have an unlimited source of nitrates, excess growth may occur. Large amounts of algae growth can cause reduced water clarity and extreme fluctuations in dissolved oxygen, which is stressful to aquatic life.

    • • Good Air in Florida? - Don't Count on It.
      Florida's Air Quality
      Shows Mixed Rankings for
      Ozone, Particle Pollution

      April 21, 2020 (FloridaTrend.com)-The American Lung Association’s 2020 “State of the Air” report found several cities earned mixed rankings for the nation’s most widespread air pollutants—ozone and particle pollution—both of which can be deadly. Gainesville, Lake City, Palm Bay, Melbourne, and Titusville were named on the cleanest cities list for short-term and year-round particle pollution after experiencing zero unhealthy air days.

      The Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville metro tied 14th in the nation for the cleanest city in the nation in year-round particle pollution ahead of the Gainesville-Lake City metro area which tied 23rd.

      However, Miami, Fort Lauderdale, St. Lucie, Orlando, Lakeland, Deltona, Tampa, St. Petersburg, and Clearwater all experienced more unhealthy air days of ozone in this year’s report.

    • • Sarasota County Sustainability
      Defining Sustainability as Satisfying Our
      Present Needs Without Compromising
      the Ability of Future Generations

      Dec. 16, 2020(Sarasota County)-Committed to environmental, social and economic sustainability. To achieve the balance necessary for a sustainable community, this means:

      • Replenish the resources we use or consume;
      • Ensure our values guide us into the future; and
      • Invest in our community to ensure future prosperity.

      This is a constantly evolving journey, with countless directions and possibilities. We invite you to join us on this journey, through your choices and actions and by encouraging others in the community. Together we can make a difference – today, and for future generations.


      Click now for their Sustainability page.
    • • Hey Florida Schools: Get the Lead Out
      Is There Any Excuse
      For Failing to Test
      For Lead in Our Schools?

      July 25, 2019 (mwfDailynews.com)-According to a statewide investigation conducted by WFTS-Tampa Bay late last year, 68% of Florida’s school districts do not test for lead in drinking water, or only partially test. Further, according to this same investigation, Gulf County’s public schools do not test for lead in the water, but, rather, rely on public utilities to perform such testing. However, as the recent public water debacle in Flint, Michigan has shown, and as reputable and independent experts have been warning for more than a decade, public utility testing for lead cannot be relied upon to protect our children’s health.

      Earlier this year, Florida Senator Janet Cruz sponsored a bill, SB 66, that would’ve added water filters in all of Florida’s older schools (including ours in Gulf County) to filter out lead particles from corroded pipes. As Ms. De La Vega’s recent Letter to the Editor pointed out, however, SB 66 failed in Florida’s 2019 legislative session. Admirably, in response to this temporary legislative setback, Senator Cruz has started a $250,000 fundraising effort to add water filters to Hillsborough County’s 136 schools.

    • • NEST - Neighborhood Env. Stewardship Team
      The Benefits of NEST

      (Sarasota County wateratlas) —The Sarasota County Neighborhood Environmental Stewardship Team, or NEST, promotes neighborhood involvement in environmentally-friendly projects to protect and restore our shared water resources. The NEST program operates at the neighborhood level to improve the community and our watershed resources.

      NEST projects focus on both education and hands-on activities like, watershed-friendly landscaping, pond, lake, and bay shoreline restoration, bioswales, rain gardens, pervious pavement and invasive plant removal.

    • • Phosphate Mining in Florida
      Threatens Water & Wildlife
      Significant Threats to
      Water and Wildlife

      Center for Biodiversity -Processed phosphates — little-discussed but widely spread throughout the food chain — pose a serious threat to our environment. Phosphate rock mining, along with the inorganic fertilizers and animal feed supplements for which phosphate is mined, pollute our air, contaminate our water and destroy invaluable wildlife habitat. -Especially in Florida.

      Because in fact, the state of Florida is home to the majority of phosphate-mining operations in the United States — and the United States is the world's third-leading producer of phosphate rock. Thus it's not all that surprising that Florida hosts the world's largest phosphate strip mine —100,000 acres wide.

    • • Florida Environmental Issues
      Florida Environmental Issues

      Click now for a free PDF download addressing three of the key environmental issues that South Florida is challenged with today.

    • • Florida Offshore Drilling is a No-No
      10 Reasons Not to Drill for Oil Offshore of Florida

      -This reminder from Manasota-88 warns of the ten reasons not to drill for off-shore oil.

    • About Manatee County Flood Zones
      Manatee County Flood
      Zone Information Tool

      My Manatee County - Based on recent studies of the area, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has proposed updates to the County's flood zones. Depending on whether your flood zone has changed, your flood insurance may be affected. Search your address to find information regarding potential changes in flood zone for a property. Some information may take a moment to load.

      FEMA also has a viewer for map changes, you can find the tool and instructions for its use on FEMA's Community Flood Hazard page.

    • • Florida Slime Tracker
      Track That Slime Crime

      Florida's waterways are plagued by slime caused by fertilizer, sewage and animal manure. Click now for an interactive map allowing you to view photographs of the muck, in the areas shown on the map.

    • • Watershed Excursion
      Take the Excursion

      View a slideshow of the Springs Coast waterways, brought to you by Southwest Florida Water Management District

    Back Arrow


    Sarasota Weather and Climate Analysis Reports:
    Click on a month below for that report.

    >

    Year

    Jan

    Feb

    Mar

    Apr

    May

    Jun

    Jul

    Aug

    Sep

    Oct

    Nov

    Dec

    2020

                    Sep Oct Nov Dec

    2021

    Jan

    Feb
    No Data

    Mar

    Apr
    No Data

    May
    No Data

    June-July Aug Sep OctNov Dec

    2022

    Jan Feb Mar Apr-May< Jun-July Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

    2023

    Jan Feb Feb                

    • Experiencing Climate Change in Sarasota Florida

    • A Tale of Four Graphs
    Roy Wysnewski Graphs It Out

    ATOFG

    A Tale of Four Graphs utilizes three classic climatology graphs plus a Sarasota, Florida average temperature graph to weave a compelling scenario that describes Sarasota\'s rapidly changing climate. Specific climate change causes and effects (impacts) are identified and discussed in detail. The alarming rise in temperature experienced during the past decade is highlighted

    Click now for more information.
    • The Truth About Climate Change
        • Roy Wysnewski's July Letter to the Editor

    • Sarasota Climate Change Report (Local Study)
    • Plenty of Great Weather
  • Important Florida Links
  • Solar in the Sunshine State
  • Sarasota Solar Co-op
  • Florida Asbestos
  •    
      

    Watching Out For the Environment

  • Or Are We?

  • • Protect the Florida Panther   
    (PowerPoint is Required to See Information)

    Back Arrow





    Important Florida Links


    Asbestos is a proven human
    carcinogen, and all forms of
    asbestos can cause cancer.
    • Read All About It

    • Florida is not Alone
    • Why is Asbestos Used
    in Power Plants?


    Asbestos Exposure Treatment
    Name
    Power Source
    Location
    (County)
    Owner
    Output (Mw)
    Homes
    Powered
    When
    Built
    • Anclote Oil-Fired
    Holiday

    (Pinellas)
    Duke
    Energy

    (Formerly Progress Energy)
    1,011 893 1974
    • Ft. Myers Natural Gas
    Ft. Meyers

    (Lee)
    Florida Power
    & Light
    540   Modernized 2002
    • Gannon
    (Culbreth-Bayside)
    Natural Gas
    Tampa Bay Teco Energy 1,800   1999
    Turkey Point Nuclear
    Fort Pierce (St. Lucie) FPL 2754 Nearly All in South Florida 1967
               

    Back Arrow