Jacob OglesApril 17, 2020
A decade after BP oil spill, Kathy Castor and Francis Rooney say offshore drilling is still a threat
4min1065
Just 10 years after the BP spill, the Trump administration has its eyes on expansion.
Tag: Environment Florida
Jacob OglesApril 17, 2020
Danny McAuliffeJanuary 31, 2018
5min303
Bipartisan support for a statewide fracking ban doesn’t seem to carry any weight in the Legislature. Legislation filed by Treasure Coast Republican Rep. Kathleen Peters (HB 237) and Tampa Republican Sen. Dana Young (SB 462) would ban fracking — an oil and gas excavation method that involves stimulating wells with a mixture of water, sand and chemicals. […]
Mitch PerrySeptember 20, 2017
5min393
Hurricane Irma caused massive sewage overflows in Florida, prompting an environmental group to call on local communities to improve infrastructure to prevent that from happening again when the next big storm hits. “Hurricanes are a fact of life in Florida, but sewage in our streets and bays shouldn’t be,” said Jennifer Rubiello, state director of […]
Mitch PerryFebruary 2, 2017
4min368
Scott Pruitt is one step closer to being the next leader of the Environmental Protection Agency. On Thursday, Republicans on the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee voted 11-0 to confirm Pruitt, who serves as Oklahoma Attorney General. Democrats on the committee boycotted the vote. Pruitt, a climate change skeptic, was one of 14 attorneys general suing the EPA over […]
Mitch PerryJanuary 18, 2017
4min509
State Sen. Jack Latvala opposed a bill to regulate the use of fracking in the 2016 Session, and in the upcoming Session, he’ll support legislation that would do so again. “I’m where I was last year,” he said when asked about the controversial practice to extract natural gas and oil out of the ground. “I helped beat it last […]
Janelle Irwin TaylorOctober 14, 2015
5min218
Things are going to look a little silly outside of U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio’s Tampa office Wednesday evening as the work daywinds down. Environmental groups and supporters plan to gather at 5 p.m. in life vests and pool floaties to demand that Rubio be a climate leader, not denier. The event is planned in coordination […]
Janelle Irwin TaylorOctober 8, 2015
5min227
Florida is home to more registered boats than any other of the 28 states evaluated in a study released Thursday by the group Environment Florida. The “Summer Fun Index” compiled by the group’s research and policy center shows that more than 37 million people visit the Sunshine State’s waterways each year. “There’s nothing quite like […]
Janelle Irwin TaylorApril 1, 2015
5min180
The group Environment Florida has put a new face on the fight for clean water: beer. In order to draw increased attention to water-quality issues facing Floridians, the group held a clean water forum at 3 Daughters brewery in St. Peteresburg on Tuesday night. The evening’s keynote speaker was Jim Leonard, chemist and lab director […]
Janelle Irwin TaylorMarch 3, 2015
9min311
Progressive activists across the state are calling on the Florida Legislature to take up five key issues voted on by supporters of the group Progress Florida. During a rally Tuesday at Spa Beach near the downtown St. Pete Pier, about 20 activists announced their agenda, which includes increasing the minimum wage, expanding healthcare and Medicaid, […]
Mitch PerryFebruary 17, 2015
5min346
The pent-up demand among Floridians to have a solar power option is strong. If you doubt that, consider that just a month into announcing their campaign, Floridians for Solar Choice organizers have announced they already have gathered 100,000 signatures to get a constitutional amendment on the 2016 ballot, and say nearly 1,000 people have joined […]