|
|
|
SCCF is a founding sponsor of Eco-Voice
by the
Programs
|
SCCF Conservation Forum Keynoter Jan. 31.
In Blue Revolution, award-winning journalist Cynthia Barnett reports on the many ways one of the most water-rich nations on the planet has squandered its way to scarcity, and argues the best solution is also the simplest and least expensive: a water ethic for America.
From backyard waterfalls and grottoes in California to sinkholes swallowing chunks of Florida, Blue Revolution exposes how the nation's green craze largely missed water - the No. 1 environmental concern of most Americans. But the book is big on inspiration, too. Blue Revolution combines investigative reporting with solutions from around the nation and the globe. From San Antonio to Singapore, Barnett shows how local communities and entire nations have come together in a shared ethic to dramatically reduce consumption and live within their water means.
The first book to call for a national water ethic, Blue Revolution is also a powerful meditation on water and community in America.
|
 | Legends of Thlothlopopka-hatchee
Click Mark Renz photo for more pics |
|
Natural resources are Sunshine State's economic engine
As governor, I understand a healthy economy is dependent upon a healthy environment. Florida's residents and businesses rely on clean water, clean air and open spaces for tourism, commerce, agriculture and recreation. That's why protecting our natural resources through a stable regulatory environment is key to ensuring businesses are successful and future generations will be able to enjoy all that our state has to offer.
A stable regulatory environment does not mean lower environmental standards. It means that environmental policy will be governed by sound science, not politics or one-size-fits-all solutions. It means that our permit processes will be the same for Tampa residents and businesses as they are for those in Pensacola, Jacksonville or Key West, but also take into account our state's regional differences.
It also means that more of our dollars will be directed toward projects that actually benefit the environment instead of government bureaucracy, excessive salaries and benefits, and costly litigation.
Government regulatory agencies, such as the Department of Environmental Protection, are working hard to focus on customer service, timely permit decisions and compliance by sound rule development, writing clear and enforceable permits and by providing technical assistance and public education.
At the same time, willful violations of our environmental standards will not be tolerated. We will be just as vigilant about prosecuting bad actors as we are about helping businesses comply with the law.
The state of Florida should maintain its rights to protect our environment, and it should be done at a reasonable cost to taxpayers. We are a national leader in addressing pollution in our state's water bodies and have the most extensive monitoring and assessment program in the country. We know more about our water bodies than any federal agency or other state and are in a unique position to craft a solution that recognizes and respects the needs of our diverse landscape. We will continue to work cooperatively with our federal partners as we develop a state-led effort to restore and protect our rivers, lakes and streams.
Florida is committed to moving forward on important restoration projects like improving water quality in the Everglades. The state and federal governments have invested significant resources, yet we both recognize there is more work to do. We cannot continue to let costly, ongoing lawsuits derail our progress, which is why recently I put forward a strategy that puts the Everglades first. We can all agree that the Everglades ecosystem is the crown jewel of Florida, and it deserves our best efforts to resolve differences and deliver results.
Government should be held accountable at all times, and especially during economic downturns we should make sure we're spending taxpayer money wisely. Over the last five decades the state has acquired more than 4.2 million acres, including some of Florida's most critical conservation properties. However, now is the time to evaluate our inventory and ask ourselves if we have the right land in the right places.
Future land purchases should ensure clean water for future generations and protect our state's economic engines, such as military bases, estuaries and tourism destinations.
As we do with other state agencies, we will expect accountability budgeting from our water management districts, which means justifying every dollar we spend and bringing spending in line with revenues. Resources will be directed to ensuring the protection of Florida's water quality, water supply, flood control and natural systems.
The state's water management districts and the Department of Environmental Protection continue to employ some of the best environmental professionals in the country, and we will look to them to help identify creative, cost-saving solutions that do not impact the districts' core missions. In addition, we should look to public-private partnerships to help meet our water quantity and quality goals, while keeping land on the tax rolls and agriculture in business.
Our state's natural resources are unparalleled. It's why people choose to live here, vacation here and bring their businesses here. In Florida, we don't have to choose between a healthy environment and a healthy economy. The two are inextricably linked, and as governor, I am working to ensure our resources are dedicated to the improvement of both.
Rick Scott is the governor of Florida. |
This week's Caloosahatchee Condition Report
.
Pulse releases averaging 490 - 515 cfs the past few weeks have not been effective in reducing salinity at Ft Myers below the 10 psu harm threshold. Salinities rose throughout the estuary the past week with surface salinity at Ft Myers ranging from 11.8 to 16.8 psu, salinity at Beautiful Island/I75 of 9.5 psu and the Franklin Lock (S79) salinity measuring 5.5 psu. The salinity at Ft Myers has exceeded the 30 day MFL moving average for the past 30 days establishing the 5th consecutive year of MFL exceedences.
As discussed on the call we ask that adaptive management strategies to be used to reduce salinities below the harm threshold of 10 psu at Fort Myers to provide conditions suitable for tapegrass recovery in the estuary.
Red tide is still present in very low concentrations at Lighthouse Beach on Sanibel and Lovers Key State Park in southern Lee County.The Lee County Health Department hasissued an advisory against harvesting and eating shellfish from local waters due to potential poisoning from red tide toxins.
Past reports and background information on Caloosahatchee conditions are available online at: http://www.sccf.org/content/201/Caloosahatchee-Condition-Reports.aspx
Thank you for yourconsideration.
On behalf of the West Coast Stakeholders
Rae Ann Wessel
Natural Resource Policy Director
Sanibel Captiva Conservation Foundation
|
 | The Godfather
Click Mark Renz photo for story and more pics
|
|
Natural Gas from Shale Not Suitable as "Bridge Fuel " May Worsen Climate Change
Cornell University
Far from being a "solution" to climate change, natural gas extracted from shale is a huge contributor of greenhouse gases when both methane and carbon dioxide are considered, according to a major new study by three Cornell University researchers.
The natural gas industry already accounts for almost a fifth (17 percent) of the total U.S. greenhouse gas emissions inventory, when analyzed using recently available new evidence. This percentage is predicted to grow to almost one quarter (23 percent) as shale gas continues to replace conventional natural gas.
Methane, which is a far more powerful greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide, is the culprit, according to the report.
The study Venting and Leaking of Methane from Shale Gas Development, is the work of professor Robert Howarth and Renee Santoro, researchers in the Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, Cornell University, and Anthony Ingraffea, a professor in the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Cornell.
The study follows up on the author's groundbreaking April 2011 paper, which provided the first comprehensivstudies also look at heat generation (the largest use) over both a 20- and 100-year time frame. The new paper emphasizes this 20-year time frame, and analyzes the U.S. national greenhouse gas inventory in that context.
The 20-year time frame is particularly important, the authors explain, because it may well be the timing for a "tipping point" for climate change if emissions are not brought under immediate control. The new paper builds on major new findings from the United Nations and from researchers at NASA published over the past six months, highlighting the urgent need to immediately reduce methane pollution globally.
Robert W. Howarth, David R. Atkinson professor,e analysis of greenhouse gas emissions from shale gas obtained by hydraulic fracturing, with a focus on methane emissions. Rather than understating the impact by looking only at shale gas used for electricity generation (just 30 percent of U.S. usage), the Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, Cornell University, said: "We believe the preponderance of evidence indicates shale gas has a larger greenhouse gas footprint than conventional gas, considered over any time scale. The greenhouse gas footprint of shale gas also exceeds that of oil or coal when considered at decadal time scales, no matter how the gas is used. We stand by the conclusion of our 2011 research: 'The large [greenhouse gas] footprint of shale gas undercuts the logic of its use as a bridging fuel over coming decades, if the goal is to reduce global warming.'"
Anthony Ingraffea, Dwight C. Baum professor, School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Cornell University, said: "Can shale-gas methane emissions be reduced? Clearly yes, and proposed EPA regulations to require capture of gas at the time of well completions are an important step. Regulations are necessary to accomplish emission reductions, as economic considerations alone have not driven such reductions. And it may be extremely expensive to reduce leakage associated with aging infrastructure, particularly distribution pipelines in cities but also long-distance transmission pipelines, which are on average more than 50 years old in the U.S. Should society invest massive capital in such improvements for a bridge fuel that is to be used for only 20 to 30 years, or would the capital be better spent on constructing a smart electric grid and other technologies that move towards a truly green energy future?"
According to the report:
* The natural gas industry dominates methane emissions for the U.S., contributing 39 percent of the nation's total methane emissions.
* On an overall basis, methane makes up 44 percent of all greenhouse gas emissions when considered on the 20-year time frame after emission, including all gases and all human activities.
* The methane emissions from natural gas systems make up 17 percent of the entire man-made greenhouse gas emission inventory of the U.S., when viewed through the lens of the 20-year time frame.
* When viewed on the time scale of 100 years following emission, the importance of methane is substantially reduced, but the shorter time frame is critical, given possible tipping points in the global climate system over the coming few decades.
|
www.nwf.org America's Great Waters Coalition is an alliance of national, regional, state and local organizations working to protect, preserve and restore America's Great Waters. The Southwest Florida Watershed Council and Snook and Gamefish Foundation have joined the Coalition. |
Cape Coral Friends of Wildlife Meeting
Burrowing Owl Festival Feb. 25th |
 | Morning Crier
Limpkin -- Mark Renz photo
|
|
Big "O" Birding Festival
MARCH 28-31, 2012
Join us for the largest bird-themed event in South Central Florida, located on the Southwest shores of Lake Okeechobee, the state's largest lake. Wide vistas of blue skies, oak-canopied rivers, quaint small antique towns and farming communities offer visitors a taste of inland Florida. Some of the state's rarest plants and animals are found here including the Florida Grasshopper Sparrow, the Florida Scrub Jay and Florida panther.
The 4-day event in 2012 will have a new registration "roost:" Port LaBelle Inn. From there, we will explore Hendry and Glades counties which are home to more than 400 species of birds, including Wood Storks, Everglade Snail Kites, Limpkins, Swallow-tailed Kites, and Painted Buntings, who reside from October through April. An all-inclusive four-day festival pass is available. While the all-inclusive pass excludes accommodations, it does afford festival attendees four full days of programs and exclusive tours led by prestigious experts, birding activities, scheduled meals, and transportation to and from the guided tour sites including Lake Okeechobee. Early registration begins in November. Click or call for details: www.BigOBirdingFestival.com or 863-517-2136.
We will be offering field trips and workshops led by professional photographer John J. Lopinot, so mark your calendars now for March 28-31, 2012! |
Naples candidates don't all agree city is doing what it can to fix Naples Bay
By ERIC STAATS
NAPLES -Candidate pledges to restore Naples Bay are as much a part of Naples City Council campaigns as fundraisers and yard signs.
This year's crop of candidates say they too have the will to improve the bay's water quality and restore seagrass, mangroves and oysters, but they differ on whether the city is moving quickly enough to fix the city's No. 1 environmental challenge.
Mayor Bill Barnett, running for a council seat, Councilwoman Dee Sulick and former Councilwoman Penny Taylor say the poor economy and budget shortfalls are making progress necessarily slow.
Councilwoman Teresa Heitmann, though, said the city too often uses its budget woes as an excuse not to consider the cost-effectiveness of bolder action.
"I think we've made small increments (of progress)," Heitmann said. "I'm looking for a larger commitment."
Nobody has put a cost estimate on cleaning up Naples Bay and, even if money were no object, no miracle cure exists for Naples Bay's ills, Barnett said.
"I think the city is doing everything we possibly can," he said.
Naples Bay's problems stem from decades of abuse. Mangrove forests have been destroyed to make way for waterfront development. Seagrass beds and oyster bars have been dredged up.
Too much freshwater from the Golden Gate canal system, which drains 130 square miles of inland Collier County, upsets the bay's natural balance, chasing off marine life that once thrived there.
Closer to its shores, stormwater runoff is blamed for carrying pollutants into the bay, which doesn't meet state water quality standards for dissolved oxygen, copper and fecal coliform.
The City Council has passed fertilizer restrictions to keep nutrients out of the bay and banned copper sulfate, an algaecide used in some city lakes. The state later overturned the ban.
But after five years of water quality testing, a city report in 2011 showed little to no progress on lowering pollutant levels.
That prompted some council members to suggest that the city overhaul its approach, including abolishing the city's Natural Resources Department. None of the City Council candidates support that move, which they say would be counterproductive.
The candidates all back the city's ongoing study of how to improve the filtering capacity of the city's stormwater lakes and applaud the city's landmark 20-year plan to take water from the Golden Gate canal, pump it underground and use it for irrigation.
Councilwoman Dee Sulick also cites the city's recent exercise of setting five- , 10- and 20-year goals for improvements to Naples Bay.
"The time for lip service has stopped in this community," Sulick said. "It has been a priority for this council."
The pace of restoration might be slow, but finding the right solution and making it fiscally prudent also have to be priorities, she said.
"That's where the rubber meets the road," Sulick said.
Taylor agreed that the city doesn't have "a lot of extra money to throw" at the bay's problems.
"There's no quick fix here," Taylor said. "It didn't happen overnight."
Taylor said the slow pace is frustrating, but the city's approach eventually will pay dividends, she said.
"Things are going to move a little slower but we can't lose focus," she said.
Naples engineers are looking at the cost-effectiveness of dredging city lakes to store more water and treat it better. A report is due in March.
Barnett said he expects dredging will be too expensive and won't make enough difference to be worth the cost.
"I don't think we're going that route," Barnett said.
Heitmann, who said she welcomed the cost-benefit analysis on lake improvements, said the decision shouldn't be just about money.
"I don't think that's the way to address water quality issues," she said.
|
 | Bands on the run
Mark Renz photo
|
|
Florida Earth: FAU Jupiter - Introduction to Florida Module
www.floridaearth.org
Introduction to Florida Module
On Thursday and Friday, February 23rd and 24th, 2012, Florida Earth will hold the first session in the Florida Earth Module Series for 2012 at the FAU Jupiter Campus. The Introduction to Florida Module will have on Thursday discussions on the history of Florida as well as overviews of geography, geology, economy, demographics and environmental law. On Friday the Module will go into the field with a tour of Palm Beach Aggregates/the L-8 Reservoir Project and then a visit the FPL's West County Energy Center. CLE's for the Florida Bar and CEU's for engineers are pending approval for this educational experience. Registration is $200 and covers course costs and transportation during the field trip. Call the Florida Earth office at (561) 686-3688.
|
|
Support Eco-Voice
We need your financial support to keep going. Please make a donation today. Checks can be sent to:
Post Office Box 50161
Fort Myers, FL 33994
Eco-Voice, Inc. has 501c3 status. |
|
 Promote Your Event You too can promote your organization's upcoming event - complete with a link to your web site - for seven days, by sponsoring the Daily Digest with a donation of $25. Send your message, dates you want it to run, and logo to sponsorship@Eco-Voice.org. |
|
|
|
|
|
Sincerely,
Eco-Voice Moderator
Eco-Voice, Inc.
|
|
Eco-voice, Inc. is an independent, volunteer-run organization and provides this website as a public service. The opinions of those posting on this site are not necessarily those of the site managers or their sponsors.
License to solicit: A COPY OF THE OFFICIAL REGISTRATION AND FINANCIAL INFORMATION MAY BE OBTAINED FROM THE DIVISION OF CONSUMER SERVICES By CALLING TOLL-FREE (800-435-7352) WITHIN THE STATE. REGISTRATION DOES NOT IMPLY ENDORSEMENT, APPROVAL, OR RECOMMENDATION BY THE STATE.'' REGISTRATION# CH31394. " |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Post Online |
To post to the website: Email suggestions for posts to ecovoicemoderator@msn.com . Add dates and specific locations to your messages if appropriate, and they will display on the site map and calendar. If posting media material please include link to the original publication.
| | at Eco-Voice.org |
|
|
