A roundup of news items related to climate change and other environmental issues in Florida:
Proposal to protect rare whales: Should ships slow down in Gulf of Mexico habitat? | Tampa Bay Times
Should ships in the Gulf of Mexico slow down while crossing the habitat of one of the rarest whales on earth?
That’s the question swirling around a new proposal to protect the roughly 50 Rice’s whales left in existence.
Scientists and ocean advocates say it’s a no-brainer: There’s evidence that boats have struck and killed the whales. A speed limit and nighttime shipping ban in and around the whales’ habitat would curb deaths, they say.
Florida’s vehicle fleet won’t go electric after Gov. DeSantis axes bill | Florida Politics
Florida government vehicles will remain hooked to the filling station, not the charging station.
Gov. Ron DeSantis vetoed a bill (SB 284) on Wednesday that sought to smooth the way for state agencies to incorporate electric vehicles into their fleets.
The measure was sponsored by Sen. Jason Brodeur, a Sanford Republican, and received only one nay vote, from Rep. Yvonne Hinson, a Gainesville Democrat.
Manatee deaths pile up in Southwest Florida: What’s causing that? | Fort Myers News-Press
It’s not been a good year for West Indian manatees, especially in Southwest Florida.
Also known as sea cows, these slow-moving marine mammals are dying in droves and boat kills, once again, are the leading cause.
With the halfway point of the year approaching, manatees are on pace to have the most watercraft deaths recorded by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, or FWC, in a given year over the past decade.
If you have any news items of note that you think we should include in our next roundup, please email The Invading Sea Editor Nathan Crabbe at ncrabbe@fau.edu. Sign up for The Invading Sea newsletter by visiting here.
