Environment

Florida Man Almost Cooked and Ate Endangered Sea Turtle

By Chris Joseph Thu., Sep. 20 2012 at 11:53 AM
Categories: Environment
kemps sea turtle.jpg

A Tampa fisherman caught himself a turtle a few months ago, put it in a fresh-water tank, and kept it in his backyard. But his intent wasn't so much to make the little guy a pet but to totally make him into soup.

Turns out, the guy caught a Kemp's ridley sea turtle, which happens to be a rare and endangered turtle.

Florida Aquarium officials say the fisherman snagged the saltwater juvenile turtle back in May.

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Kemp's ridley sea turtle, Tampa
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Environment

DEP's Jeff Littlejohn Hammered Once Again By PEER

By Chris Sweeney Thu., Sep. 20 2012 at 5:00 AM
Categories: Environment
JeffLittleJohn.jpg
When Jeff Littlejohn walked into the number-two post at the Florida Department of Environmental Protection in March 2011, there was no way he could have foreseen the PR crapfest that was coming. And no group has been as relentless in exposing his industry-first approach to environmental protection and fueling the crapfest as Public Employes For Environmental Responsibility.

See also:
- DEP Brass Jeff Littlejohn's Parents Own Lobbying Firm With Questionable Clientele
-Herschel Vinyard Says He Didn't Lie On His Resume; PEER Not Buying It

This week, PEER put out a beautifully scathing review of a recent op-ed written by Littlejohn and said DEP was unable to provide necessary documentation to prove the veracity of Littlejohn's article.

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Department of Environmental Protection, Herschel Vinyard, Jeff Littlejohn, PEER
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Environment

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

By Chris Sweeney Tue., Sep. 18 2012 at 5:00 AM
Categories: Environment
RatherMedusa.jpeg
Krzysztof Piotrowski
Want to see a guy get bit by a relatively huge and very pissed-off Burmese python?

If so, keep reading, because esteemed broadcast journalist Dan Rather has you covered.

See Also:
- Feds Likely to Face Legal Battle Over Python Ban
- JAVMA Probes Whether Burmese Pythons Are Mere Hype or Destructive Force

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Burmese Pythons, Dan Rather, Everglades
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Environment

Kenneth Nolan Hits Panther While Riding Motorcycle, Sues Florida Department of Transportation

By Chris Sweeney Mon., Sep. 17 2012 at 5:00 AM
Categories: Environment
PantherPic.jpeg
MyFWC
See also "Urban Sprawl Kills Endangered Florida Panther"

Some lawsuits make you want to punch mankind's collective crotch and pray to the gods that the Mayans were right about the whole 2012 thing.

Case in point: Kenneth Nolan filed a suit in Broward County Court seeking $15,000 from the Florida Department of Transportation because he hit a panther while riding his motorcycle on Tamiami Trail.

How dare that endangered species hit Mr. Nolan's motorbike!

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Florida Panthers, FWC, Kenneth Nolan, Transcore
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Environment

Broward Adopts Climate Change Plan; Dumbasses Think It's a U.N. Conspiracy

By Stefan Kamph Thu., Sep. 13 2012 at 9:24 AM
Categories: Environment
south-beach-flooding2.jpg
Broward has been out in front of the rest of the state, maybe the country, in terms of preparing for climate change and rising sea levels. The county commissioned a report showing that large parts of Lauderdale could be underwater 50 years from now. Over and over, experts say our low-lying areas are facing a huge problem. So some officials are trying to form a plan for how to face rising tides and changing weather.

At the County Commission meeting Tuesday night, county leaders moved to recognize climate change as a deciding factor in how we build and live.

One person showed up in support. The rest of the public comments came from dumbasses, who stood up for every line item to rant about a government conspiracy.

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Broward County Commission, climate change, morons, Tea Party
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Environment

DEP Secretary Herschel Vinyard Says He Didn't Lie on Résumé; PEER Not Buying It

By Chris Sweeney Tue., Sep. 11 2012 at 6:00 AM
Categories: Environment
Hvinyard.jpeg
See also "EPA Wants to Know if DEP Secretary Herschel Vinyard Lied on His Résumé" and "PEER Blasts Herschel Vinyard for Trying to Water Down Pollution Permit Process" 

After nearly four months of waiting, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection finally responded to a federal inquiry into whether Secretary Herschel Vinyard lied on his résumé. 

He didn't, according to a letter from the DEP's legal team obtained by New Times. Rather, his employment history is just really hard to follow because it's muddled up by the complex world of mergers and acquisitions. 

But there's a problem, critics say. The company Vinyard is now claiming he worked for before coming to the DEP isn't listed on the résumé he submitted for the gig, nor is it mentioned in the questionnaire he submitted to Gov. Rick Scott's office as part of the application process.
 

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Department of Environmental Protection, Herschel Vinyard, Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility
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Environment

Study Shows Oxitec GM Mosquitoes Work: What It Means for a Florida Experiment

By Chris Sweeney Mon., Sep. 10 2012 at 2:00 PM
Categories: Environment
mosquitocover.jpg
See also "Genetically Modified Mosquitoes Glow Red and Self-Destruct; Can They Keep Away Disease?" and "Petition Against GM Mosquitoes in Key West Has Nearly 100,000 Signatures" 

Opposition to the potential release of Oxitec's genetically modified mosquitoes in Key West caught a head of steam this summer. A petition against the experiment garnered more than 100,000 signatures in a three-month span. News outlets portrayed Florida as a bastion of anti-GM activists while environmental groups accused Oxitec of carrying out clandestine studies and holding back data. 

But the British biotech finally looks poised to beat back some of the criticism. 


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Friends of the Earth, Michael Doyle, Mosquitoes, Oxitec
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Environment

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

By Chris Sweeney Thu., Sep. 6 2012 at 6:00 AM
Categories: Environment
overfishing.jpeg
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 South Florida has lost millions in revenue due to depleted fish species. 

Between 2005 and 2009, according to Pew, overfishing cost tens of millions of dollars in recreational fishing revenue across the southeastern United States. The group says that dwindling populations of species such as black sea bass and grouper have slowed bookings for charter boats, which in turn have cut sales at bait and tackle shops and hindered the tourism industry. 

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Fishing, FWC, Pew Environment Group
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Environment

Nova Professor Jose Lopez Turns to Kickstarter in Hopes of Finding Out What Killed the Sponges

By Chris Sweeney Mon., Sep. 3 2012 at 6:00 AM
Categories: Environment
JoseLopez.jpeg
See also "Florida Sponges Rebounding; What Killed Them Remains a Mystery" and "Mystery Sponge-Killing Disease Now Seen From Palm Beach to Florida Keys"

Earlier this year, giant red barrel sponges off the coast of Florida started dying. Scientists became concerned as reports of the disintegrating marine life rolled in from Palm Beach to the Keys.

What killed them remains a mystery. But now Nova Southeastern University marine biologist Jose Lopez is hoping to pinpoint the culprit. Doing so isn't going to be cheap, though, and Lopez has taken to the crowd-sourced funding site Kickstarter in hopes of raising $17,600.

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Coral Reefs, Jose Lopez, Nova Southeastern University, Palm Beach County Reef Rescue
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Environment

Sixteenth Dead Panther of 2012 Killed by Cat-on-Cat Aggression

By Chris Sweeney Thu., Aug. 30 2012 at 6:00 AM
Categories: Environment
panther.jpeg
Adorable and capable of killing you 
See also "Urban Sprawl Kills Endangered Florida Panthers"

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission this week recovered a "heavily scavenged" panther carcass, marking the 16th dead panther recorded by state officials this year. 

The endangered predator was found on a piece of private land in Hendry County, east of the Okaloacoochee Slough State Forest. FWC researchers determined that the cat was 10 months old and killed by another cat. 

As recently reported by New Times, 2012 has been a rough year on the iconic species. Although a panther killing another panther is defined as a natural cause of death, the frequency of these mortalities is likely to increase as habitat gives way to sprawl and the animals are forced to compete for fewer resources in tighter confines. 

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Department of Environmental Protection, Florida Panther, FWC
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