A roundup of news items related to climate change and other environmental issues in Florida:
Will Florida manatees be listed as an endangered species again? Feds to review data | Tampa Bay Times
In the wake of thousands of Florida manatee deaths in recent years, federal wildlife officials Wednesday announced they will launch a new scientific review to determine whether the animal should be reclassified as an endangered species.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in the coming months will round up manatee data and decide whether the West Indian manatee species should be given bolstered protections under the federal Endangered Species Act.
In 2017, federal wildlife officials down-listed manatees to a “threatened” species, a decision the agency claimed was based on improved population numbers. Many environmental advocacy groups have decried that decision as premature, especially after 1,100 animals died in 2021 from a human-caused seagrass famine.
Sarasota’s malaria scare brought new tactics in mosquito control | WUSF/Community News Collaborative
With seven documented cases of malaria reported in Sarasota County this year, the county’s Mosquito Management Services team spent the summer on high alert.
The cases were reported in May, June and July, prompted by mosquitos carrying the Plasmodium vivax infection.
Mosquito Management Services Manager Wade Brennan said the team increased its spray treatments in response to the outbreak, but dry weather in the first half of the summer also helped control the threat. Brennan said extra treatments focused on high-risk areas in North Sarasota.
Sunshine + hydrogen could equal cheaper energy for FPL customers, but not for another 10 years | Treasure Coast Newspapers
OKEECHOBEE COUNTY — FPL is taking the state’s two most abundant resources — sunshine and water — to create clean energy and save customers money.
But don’t check your electric bill just yet. Florida Power & Light Co. customers won’t see any reduction from this effort for about 10 years, and FPL doesn’t know how much it could save them.
FPL Tuesday unveiled a pilot program to test the feasibility of using hydrogen instead of natural gas to fuel power plants, the first of its kind in Florida. It’s based at the Cavendish NextGen Hydrogen Hub, part of the larger Okeechobee power plant.
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.
