A roundup of news items related to climate change and other environmental issues in Florida:
Gov. Ron DeSantis touts state’s manatee rescue efforts at news conference in Orange City | Daytona Beach News-Journal
Gov. Ron DeSantis stood before the old Florida backdrop at Blue Spring State Park in Orange City Tuesday and touted his record on environmental protection, including rescuing manatees.
DeSantis, back touring Florida communities instead of Iowa towns after a failed bid for the Republican nomination for president, charted the progress of manatees − the uniquely lovable “sea cows” with plant-based diets that travel the state’s rivers and springs in winter looking for warm water.
One of those havens is Blue Spring, an offshoot of the St. Johns River where the water temperature remains in the 70s year round.
Pollution taints even the most remote parts of Everglades, canoe journey reveals | South Florida Sun Sentinel
One hundred and twenty five years ago, explorer Hugh Willoughby became the first non-Native American to cross the southern Everglades from the Gulf of Mexico to the Atlantic. He traveled with a guide by canoe, and kept notes on water quality in his journal.
In 2022, a group of adventurers, including University of Florida scientist Tracie Baker, canoed the very same extremely remote 130-mile path. Along the way, Baker took much more sophisticated water tests at 12 sites spanning the width of the Everglades, from the Harney River at the Gulf of Mexico, to the Miami River.
Her goal was to not only compare water in 2022 with 1897, but to assess the intrusion of modern chemicals into some of the most remote wilderness in America.
A look at Gainesville’s climate policy, one year after appointing chief climate officer | WUFT
Composting, solar energy and the economy were all on the minds of Gainesville residents at a monthly Citizen Climate Advisory Committee meeting. Gainesville’s Chief Climate Officer, Dan Zhu, is in the process of using citizen input to create the city’s Climate Action Plan.
“We have to build food systems and food security into our plans,” Gainesville resident Nancy Deren said at a Jan. 29 meeting. Citizens were allowed a few minutes each to share their opinions, which all echoed fears of global climate change.
“This problem that we’re in … is CO2-induced global warming,” Tom Cunilio, a member of the Center of Sustainable Agroforestry, added.
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.
