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    Prescription Drugs Are Contaminating Florida’s Waterways

    Prescription Drugs Are Contaminating Florida’s Waterways

    On the southern coast of Florida, researchers have found prescription drugs in the waterways and marine life. When medications are flushed, poured down drains, or excreted into wastewater, they can contaminate local waterways. Outdated infrastructure has been unable to filter out these contaminants. Florida International University (FIU) and Bonefish & Tarpon Trust (BTT) conducted a […]

    Wildlife Experts Work to Save Starving Manatees as Dangerous Cold Snap Looms

    Wildlife Experts Work to Save Starving Manatees as Dangerous Cold Snap Looms

    As Florida braces for a cold snap, wildlife experts are concerned about the state’s struggling manatees.  Florida’s manatees are already starving because their preferred food, seagrass, is being smothered by algae encouraged by nutrient pollution. Arctic air approaching South Florida this weekend could put an even greater strain on the marine mammals.  “This is really […]

    Solar Farms Create Conflict for Endangered Florida Panthers, Scientists Find

    Solar Farms Create Conflict for Endangered Florida Panthers, Scientists Find

    As more places transition to cleaner energy, there’s another ecological issue at hand. What about the habitats impacted by building large renewable energy facilities? In Florida, utility-scale solar energy is important for reducing the carbon footprint of energy, but building these large-scale facilities of clean energy is also impacting the habitat of endangered Florida panthers.

    Florida Senators Push Anti-Solar Bill

    Florida Senators Push Anti-Solar Bill

    Sunshine State senators on Tuesday advanced a utility-backed bill to restrict residents’ ability to install solar panels on their homes. The bill, which would alter net metering rates so as to make installing solar panels less financially viable for Florida residents, is backed by Florida Power & Light (which wants to own all solar generation) […]

    Largest U.S. Power Company Is Lobbying Against Rooftop Solar

    Largest U.S. Power Company Is Lobbying Against Rooftop Solar

    Florida Power & Light, the largest energy company in the U.S., is pushing for policies that hurt the rooftop solar industry in Florida, an investigation by Floodlight and the Miami Herald found. The company is lobbying to weaken net metering policies, which allow homeowners and businesses with rooftop solar to sell unused power back to […]

    Florida to Try Feeding Starving Manatees, an Unprecedented Move

    Florida to Try Feeding Starving Manatees, an Unprecedented Move

    After long debate, officials in Florida have decided to test feeding wild manatees near Cape Canaveral. The move is unprecedented, as feeding wildlife is considered illegal. But with hundreds of manatees dying of starvation in 2021, wildlife conservationists are desperate to save these creatures. For weeks, state officials have been considering whether or not to […]

    Officials Consider Feeding Florida’s Starving Manatees

    Officials Consider Feeding Florida’s Starving Manatees

    Florida’s manatees are in trouble, so much trouble that wildlife officials are considering an unprecedented intervention — feeding them. It is currently illegal to feed manatees, which are protected by the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972, the Endangered Species Act of 1973 and the Florida Manatee Sanctuary Act of 1978. However, so many manatees […]