• Oceans

Red Tide Rolls Into Florida Again

• climate change
• Florida
• red tide
• runoff

The red tide that plagued the West Coast of Florida for more than a year in 2017-18 is back again, and that means no swimming and increased respiratory problems for residents in the Naples-Fort Myers-Sarasota area, not to mention negative impacts to local businesses.  According to CNN, scientists say it is difficult to predict where the tide is heading next, or how long it will last, but the last one — which lasted 16 months — was devastating.

Why This Matters:  Climate change and runoff from agriculture and development are the culprits and this toxic algae problem seems to be a problem that is here to stay.  Locals are worried about their health, wildlife like fish and dolphins, and whether their businesses can survive if this outbreak lasts for long.  In the past, red tides happened but they lasted only a week or two — but the previous one lasted 16 months.

• Land

A “Sand Crisis” Looms in the United States

• beaches
• Florida
• sand

Rising sea levels, as well as stronger hurricanes, are washing sand off of our beaches. Replacing sand is a lot harder than it sounds and comes with a heavy environmental cost.

• Climate Change

Sea Level Rise in Florida Threatens Hundreds of Native American Sacred Sites

• Florida
• native cultural sites
• sea level rise

The Florida Panhandle contains hundreds of archeological sites that reveal the lives and culture of the earliest Americans who used stone tools and hunted to subsist and represent a time period of over 2,000 years of occupation, but many of them are at grave risk due to sea-level rise due to climate change.

Why This Matters:  Native American sacred sites in the West are better known, but these sites are also important and not contained on federal land where they can be preserved and protected.  Once they are submerged, they will be gone for good.

• Climate Change

What’s the Matter with Florida?

• climate change
• Florida
• sea level rise

By Scott Nuzum Over the summer, I returned to my hometown of Venice, Florida for the first time in five years. As I prepared for my trip, I was excited by the prospect of revisiting old haunts, reconnecting with old friends, and reminiscing about my childhood spent exploring the area’s coastal waters. But I also […]

• Weather

Dorian Heading Toward Puerto Rico, Expected to Become a Hurricane

• Flooding
• Florida
• hurricane
• Hurricane Dorian
• Puerto Rico
• rain
• wind

Tropical Storm Dorian, a “compact” storm that is expected to be upgraded to a Category 1 hurricane by the time it passes the Dominican Republic and to impact Puerto Rico by tonight or early tomorrow, according to CNN.  CNN also reported that a team of over 200 people from nearly 30 different fire departments in South Florida were deployed to the Caribbean and Puerto Rico on Monday, according to CNN affiliate WPLG-TV. 

• Politics

Miami on Front Lines of Climate Emergency, But Will Dems Get the Chance to Address It?

• climate change
• debate
• Flooding
• Florida
• Miami
• storm surge

Given that the Democratic Party denies the need for a debate dedicated to the topic of climate change, the location of the first Democratic debate — Miami — is ironic, to say the least.  No other American city is feeling the brunt of climate change on a daily basis the way that Miami is — from fires in the Everglades (yes – you are reading that correctly) to record-breaking heat (this past Sunday) to daily flooding to hundreds of million dollars in upgrades to infrastructure, Miamians are already dealing with the climate crisis.  But will the candidates get to discuss this important issue beyond the basics of support or opposition for the Green New Deal and re-entry into the Paris Agreement?  That is THE question.

• Weather

Panama City Prepares for the Worst

• building codes
• Florida
• Hurricane Michael
• Hurricanes
• panhandle

June 1st marked the beginning of hurricane season, which for many Florida residents has returned far too quickly as they’re still struggling to recover from last season. In Panama City, FL residents are preparing for the worst, as last year brought Hurricane Michael and the near destruction of their town. After the disastrous impact of […]

• Water

CDC to study health risks resulting from Florida’s toxic algal blooms

• Florida
• Lake Okeechobee
• nitrate pollution
• toxic algae

Last summer’s toxic algal blooms in Florida both originating in the ocean (red tide) as well as Lake Okeechobee (blue-green blooms) cost millions of dollars in economic losses and killed thousands of fish, turtles and other marine and aquatic animals. These blooms are also harmful to human health but we don’t fully understand the extent […]

• Climate Change

South Florida’s contest for climate solutions

• Florida
• king tides
• Miami
• sea level rise
• South Florida
• sunny day flooding

South Florida tops the list for most at-risk regions to climate change in the United States. Sea level rise means that an increasing amount of coastal properties are coming under threat and South Florida’s lawmakers are scrambling to find solutions, even holding a contest to do so. As Forbes reported, “the City of North Miami, […]

• Politics

As President Trump Perpetuates Falsehoods About Disaster Aid, the Fed Prepares For Climate

• climate change
• disaster funding
• Florida
• Hurricane Michael
• Puerto Rico

Last night the President went to Panama City, Florida ostensibly to deliver disaster aid to a part of the state that was nearly wiped off the map thanks to Hurricane Michael last fall.  He also toured Tyndall Air Force Base that was completely destroyed by the hurricane.  Both areas are struggling to rebuild while federal disaster relief funds remain tied up in Congress due to the President’s refusal to agree to additional disaster relief for Puerto Rico in the same disaster relief package. 

• Health

Extreme heat in South Florida hurts the most vulnerable

• climate change
• extreme heat
• Florida
• heat stroke
• public health

For years, that discussion had been dominated the impacts of rising sea levels. Now, the state’s medical community is sounding the alarm about the health risks associated with rising temperatures. Whether it’s a longer allergy season, air quality issues or mosquito-borne illnesses, heat is already making people sicker, they say, and the nearly 60% of Miami residents who live paycheck to paycheck could be the most in danger.

• Animals

Thousands of cane toads invade South Florida

• cane toads
• Florida
• invasive species

Staggering numbers of toxic bufo toads, or cane toads as they’re commonly known, have invaded Palm Beach Gardens, Florida much to the dismay of the town’s 55,000 residents.