August 20th, 2010 at 12:40pm
University of Georgia scientists have written a report disputing the
estimate put out by the Joint Information Center - a collaboration
between the federal government and B-P - that only 25 percent of the
spilled oil remains in the Gulf. Marine Sciences professor Samantha
Joye says one major misconception is that the oil that has dissolved into
water is gone.
She says the amount biodegraded and the rate of biodegradation are
simply not known.
Read the rest of “Researchers: “Not So Fast” on Disappearing Oil in Gulf” »
August 12th, 2010 at 11:08am
Next week is the tenth anniversary of the one of the worst oil spills ever to hit Florida beaches and, while Congress debates a response to the ongoing BP oil disaster, the National Wildlife Federation (NWF)has released a report detailing a decade of serious oil spills, fires, leaks and loss of life that have affected every state.
Read the rest of “Report Reveals BP Disaster Part of Industry Pattern” »
July 23rd, 2010 at 2:48pm
On Sunday, July 11, the Army Corps of Engineers began another 10 day period of increased water releases from Lake Okeechobee. This follows a period of reduced volume releases from July 1-11.
Read the rest of “More water from Lake O” »
July 19th, 2010 at 11:26am
Approximately 70 local business owners gathered in Pink Shell’s Lido Room last Thursday evening to hear a presentation given by the law firm Searcy, Denney, Scarola, Barnhart and Shipley concerning the BP claims process. The Greater Fort Myers Beach Chamber of Commerce’s lawfirm – Knott, Consoer, Ebelini, Hart & Swett – invited the east coast firm because of their vast experience handling mass tort cases.
Read the rest of “Pink Shell Hosts Seminar on Oil Claims” »
July 13th, 2010 at 3:34pm
This Wednesday (tomorrow), the South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD) Governing Board will be under attack from protestors opposed to the U.S. Sugar land purchase. The U.S. Sugar purchase, also known as the River of Grass project, is the seminal project that will reduce excess lake flows to the Caloosahatchee and represents the most meaningful opportunity for restoration of the greater Everglades.
No other project provides the fundamental solutions for restoration: water storage, reduction in lake flows to the estuaries, water quality treatment and rehydration of the Everglades, Florida Bay and Biscayne Bay. In fact, the U.S. Sugar land purchase represents the first opportunity in 80 years – since the dike was constructed — to restore flows south out of Lake Okeechobee through the Everglades Agricultural Area, as they once flowed, to the Everglades and Florida Bay.
The benefits are enormous.
- Restoration of hydrology and habitat
- Replacement of some of the lost water storage and treatment potential
- Reduction in excess flows to the Caloosahatchee and St. Lucie
- Recapture freshwater flows to the Everglades, Florida Bay and Biscayne Bay.
Meaningful estuary protection and Everglades restoration cannot be achieved without recapturing a portion of the historic Everglades for storage and treatment.
Speak out and make your support of this landmark restoration opportunity heard. Email the Governing Board by clicking here to send your message of support or write your own and send it with the subject line “Support Everglades Restoration & U.S. Sugar Land Purchase.”
July 9th, 2010 at 2:23pm
Ed. Note: The Mosaic Company mine mentioned in the lawsuit below is located at the headwaters of the Peace River, a body of water that empties into Charlotte Harbor and flows into Estero Bay. Anything that adversely affects this water system ultimately flows downstream, potentially causing the destruction of our fragile back bay ecosystem. The Board of Lee County Commissioners has also frequently sent letters in opposition to the expansion of phosphate mining on the Peace River, most recently to the the Department of Community Affairs asking that an areawide environmental impact assessment be performed before a permit is granted to DeSoto County for a proposed 26,000 phosphate mining overlay district.
On June 30, the Sierra Club, Inc., ManaSota-88, Inc. and People for Protecting Peace River, Inc. (3PR) announced that they have filed a complaint and request for a temporary restraining order and preliminary and permanent injunction in Federal Court in Jacksonville, FL against the US Army Corps of Engineers to challenge a permit issued by the Corps to the Mosaic Company for the South Fort Meade Mine extension permit. The permit would allow strip mining up to 80 feet deep on 7,687 acres in Hardee County, Florida. The challenged permit would allow the destruction of 534 acres of native wetlands and 10.7 miles of streams that include the headwaters of the Peace River and the Charlotte Harbor estuary - which is designated an Aquatic Resource of National Importance (ARNI) by USEPA.
Read the rest of “Conservation Organizations File Suit Against Phosphate Mine” »
July 2nd, 2010 at 2:28pm
With all the oil spewing into the Gulf of Mexico and the pictures all over the television and the Internet of Louisiana beaches and marshes covered in icky red goo, many islanders and visitors alike are understandably terrified that one day our beach could resemble those already hit. However, I discovered this week that the liklihood of that happening is very low. In fact, mainly due to our geographic location, many scientists are saying that the most we’ll ever see are a couple of tarballs here and there – and maybe not even that.
Read the rest of ““Forbidden Zone” Likely to Keep Oil Away From our Coast” »
July 1st, 2010 at 4:05pm
On Thursday, July 1, 2010, the Corps will began a new, 10-day low level pulse release from the Lake to both the Caloosahatchee and St. Lucie estuaries. Flows to the Caloosahatchee are to drop from an average 3,000 cfs to an average of 450 cfs. You read that right, it is July 1 – our wet season — and the Corps is reducing lake releases. While the break in damaging flows is welcome news, it is very odd timing. The summer wet season is usually the time of year that our flows are the highest and most damaging but this year’s weather patterns have been pretty odd as well.
Read the rest of “Army Corps Begin Lower Releases From Lake Okeechobee” »
July 1st, 2010 at 3:54pm
For everyone that has been posting such wonderful comments, I deeply apologize for my inattention to this blog in the last 18 months and promise to begin posting fresh material from now on. My only excuse is that I got promoted to Associate Editor at the independent paper that signs my paycheck, and my workload increased as well. However, I am now settled into my new position and want to renew my commitment to things that matter a great deal to me personally, such as this blog : )
October 25th, 2008 at 3:20pm
Most people will agree that the water quality surrounding our Island has been beautiful lately. The Back Bay is clear, our beaches are relatively free of red tide, and fish swim freely in the Caloosahatchee River. But we have been lucky. Barring a couple of releases due to Tropical Storm Fay, we have been spared the onslaught of pollution-laden fresh water from Lake Okeechobee because of a light hurricane season. Many Islanders can recall the stinky, brown water and its accompanying red tide that occurred just a couple of years ago following the storm seasons of 2004 -2005.
The public outcry from that situation drew initiatives from the state government. To that end, the South Florida Water Management District, coordinating with the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services and Florida Department of Environmental Protection, have compiled a Caloosahatchee River Watershed Protection Plan. The draft of that plan is available online, and there will be a hearing so that the public can comment on the plan on October 27.
Read the rest of “Public Input Sought for Critical Watershed Plan” »
