Hurricane Irma churned over southwest Florida Sunday, leaving over half the state without power, causing at least five deaths and creating widespread flooding and destruction. While the storm has weakened since making landfall and avoided directly hitting Miami and Tampa, the National Hurricane Center still advises “life threatening” conditions along the Florida coastline. Despite Florida […]
By Marlene Cimons It was love at first sight for Richard and Robin Kinley. But it took a sunset to seal the deal. The Kinleys, both 59 and living in Atlanta, visited southwest Florida in January to look at Babcock Ranch, a planned community that could become the most sustainable town in America. https://twitter.com/EcoWatch/status/729277203851169792 expand=1] […]
Ninety-five false killer whales were stranded off the coast of Hog Key in Florida’s Everglades National Park over the weekend. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) wrote in a Facebook post this morning that 82 animals are now confirmed dead and 13 are unaccounted for. Earlier reports put the death toll at 81. https://twitter.com/NOAAFish_SERO/status/821063024467386368 […]
Researchers have discovered that bottlenose dolphins residing off the Florida Everglades have higher concentrations of mercury contamination than any other population of the mammals in the world. Contamination levels of mercury (T-Hg) in Lower Florida Keys (LFK) and the Florida Coastal Everglades (FCE) dolphinsScience Direct The study, published in the journal Environmental Pollution, examined the […]
The Saint Petersburg City Council formally approved on Monday the city’s commitment to transitioning to 100 percent clean, renewable energy. Saint Petersburg represents the first city in Florida and the 20th city in the country to make such a commitment. In a unanimous vote, the City Council Committee of the Whole allocated $250K of BP […]
The November supermoon has gained attention around the world for its beauty, but is also bringing high water to flood-prone regions from South Florida to Maine. Kevin Baird/Flickr The moon, which follows an elliptical orbit, is at its closest approach to the Earth since 1948. The full moon, in alignment with the Earth and sun, […]
Sen. Marco Rubio refused to acknowledge human-caused climate change at a Florida Senate debate Monday even as a foot of water inundated city streets and sewers throughout South Florida, driven by the annual king tide combined with rising seas. The king tide occurs when a full moon is aligned with the Earth and sun, exerting […]
Production of the official fruit of Florida continues to plummet as the first forecast from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) for the 2016-2017 growing season indicates a 14 percent drop in the state’s orange crop. On Wednesday, the USDA predicted farmers will have enough oranges to fill 70 million boxes for the season. Last […]
By John Hocevar In 1992, Hurricane Andrew ripped through southeast Florida, doing more than $26 billion in damage and killing at least 65 people. At the time, I was working on a masters degree in marine biology in southeast Florida; several of my close friends lost their homes during the storm. Our marine lab was […]