Green Options » Everglades

Humans are Slowly and Steadily Destroying the Everglades and Amazon

Joshua S Hill — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 19:08:57 +0000

If it wasn’t bad enough that we seem to be pumping more and more in the way of greenhouse gasses into the atmosphere, we humans seem to be doing a pretty damn good job of eating away any chance of removing said emissions.

The latest comes in a one-two punch. First of all experts are labeling the fight to save the Florida Everglades as a “losing battle,” while Brazil’s Environment Minister is blaming upcoming elections and increasing food prices for another rise in Amazon deforestation.

So no matter which way you look at it, the simple fact of the matter is, humans are irreversibly stupid.

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Everglades National Park Approves Ambitious $23 Million Plan for Eco-Friendly Lodge

Levi Novey — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 12:03:22 +0000

Everglades National Park has obtained approval to proceed with a plan to redesign the most developed area of the park with an emphasis on promoting sustainability. Through building design, alternative energy, and improved transportation systems, the park area known as “Flamingo” will be reborn as an example for other parks to follow.

Flamingo is near the very bottom tip of Florida’s mainland, and in 2005, Hurricanes Katrina and Wilma landed a knock-out punch to what was until then a heavily visited area. Damage from the hurricanes effectively destroyed a dilapidated but popular lodge, its restaurant, and numerous other facilities– leaving virtually no place for park visitors to stay overnight in the park if not camping.

The park was pressured by numerous groups to rebuild overnight visitor facilities as soon as possible. After releasing several plans and receiving public comment, the park has selected a plan that blends sustainable ideas with creature comforts. I myself used to work as a park ranger in Flamingo, and I think the plan is brilliant. There’s only one catch: the park has no idea where to get the estimated $20-23 million it needs to bring the plan to fruition.

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Can We Love Oil and Be Green at the Same Time? Yes Say Republicans

Andrew Williams — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 19:31:55 +0000

Last week, Red Green and Blue assessed the green credentials of John McCain’s potential presidential running mate, Charlie Crist. As the Florida Governor signs a landmark multi-billion dollar deal to preserve the Everglades, we ask again, is it possible to love big oil and be green at the same time?

Earlier this month, Florida Governor Charlie Crist won a lot of friends in the oil industry by suggesting that he could live with oil-wells off the coast of Florida. In the same week he also gained support from environmentalists for brokering an agreement that will reclaim 300 square miles of the Everglades from sugar farming.

So why should we care? Well it just so happens that Crist is the Governor of a crucial swing-state in the upcoming presidential election, as well as being a contender for the Republican Vice-Presidential slot.

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Florida Hails Good News for Environment, Climate

Shirley Siluk Gregory — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 15:00:22 +0000

Florida’s got its share of environmental challenges — overdevelopment, water shortages, threatened coral reefs — and it’s definitely one of the top states likely to be hurt by climate change. On the other hand, those very challenges have spurred some good news recently on several fronts.

First, if you missed it, comes the news that the state and U.S. Sugar Corporation have struck a deal to eventually cease sugar-cane production on 187,000 acres of land (nearly 300 square miles) in south Florida. Under the plan, expected to be finalized by September, the state will pay the sugar company $1.75 billion for the land, which lies in the heart of Everglades territory. The transfer would take place in six years, during which U.S. Sugar will continue to grow on the land.

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Potential McCain Running Mate Florida Governor Charlie Crist Has Green Cred– Is it Deserved?

Levi Novey — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 04:25:26 +0000

Florida Governor Charlie Crist endorsed John McCain right before the Florida Republican primary. His endorsement might have been a significant factor in McCain winning the Florida primary, and subsequently the Republican nomination.

Speculation began immediately thereafter that Crist might make a great running mate for McCain, given his popularity in Florida, and his potential ability to swing the crucial electoral state toward McCain during the general election.

One reason why Crist is popular is because there is a public perception that he really cares about environmental issues, much more so than the typical governor or politician (Republican or Democrat). As Crist might become McCain’s running mate, it seems worthy of investigation as to whether or not the Governor’s green credibility is rightly deserved– especially after Crist’s reversal Tuesday on his position as to lifting the U.S. ban on drilling offshore for oil. Now he says we should do it.

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Fighting for the Everglades, Florida Conservation

Shirley Siluk Gregory — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 20:27:01 +0000

Let’s just forget about restoring the Everglades, OK? And all those hundreds of thousands of acres of natural lands that Florida has acquired over the years under the conservation-aimed Florida Forever program? Who needs ‘em? Tourists mostly come to the state for that mouse in Orlando anyway, and if the locals want nature, they can plant some palms in their backyards, right?

If that’s not how you feel — and I certainly don’t — now’s the time to send a message to your elected officials in Florida asking them to reconsider what could certainly be described as the political equivalent of cutting off your nose to spite your face: a plan to address the state’s legitimately serious financial troubles by allotting zero dollars — that’s ZERO — for the Florida Forever conservation program and Everglades restoration.

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Heat Waves, Drought and, Great, Now Giant Snakes

Shirley Siluk Gregory — Thu, 21 Feb 2008 22:14:39 +0000

You know those stories you hear regularly from South Florida about giant escaped pythons wolfing down pet poodles? Well, a changing climate in the U.S. means you might have to keep Fifi safe from roaming invasive snakes even if you live as far north as Norman, Oklahoma.

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) this week released new climate maps showing that Burmese pythons, an invasive species of snake now comfortably at home in the Everglades, could extend their range to as much as a third of the continental U.S. by 2100 as the climate warms.

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