Florida Governor Ron DeSantis – Courtesy: Shutterstock – Image by YES Market Media Following significant political and public outcry, Gov. Ron DeSantis is rescinding his administration’s plans to add golf courses, pickleball courts, and 350-room hotels to Florida state parks, at least for the time being. DeSantis made his first comments since the state’s intentions
Governor of Florida at Ron DeSantis Press Conference – Courtesy: Shutterstock-Photo by YES Market Media Gov. Ron DeSantis’ plan to develop public parks with commercial endeavors, such as golf courses, pickleball courts, and massive hotels, is facing strong resistance from all political stripes. However, a major backer has stepped out, putting the plan on hold.
DeSantis signs balloon measure into law (not pictured) – Woman releasing balloons – Photo: Song_about_summer/Shutterstock.com On Monday, Governor DeSantis signed three measures into law, one of which forbade the purposeful release of balloons in Florida for events such as gender reveal parties. Florida residents are forbidden under CS/HB 321 from intentionally letting go of balloons,
Woman releasing balloons – Photo: Song_about_summer/Shutterstock.com Florida may soon impose fines for willfully launching a balloon into the sky if the state is successful in tightening its regulations around littering. It’s a component of a larger initiative that includes legislation in at least eight other states to safeguard wildlife, birds, dolphins, and turtles from ingesting
Skyway Fishing Pier – Courtesy: Shutterstock – Image by kesterhu ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – Between fishhooks and line entanglements, the Skyway Fishing Pier is the center of where several brown pelicans have sadly died. Previous cases of red tide wiped out the majority of the food source causing them to head to the pier for
Red Tide — Courtesy: Shutterstock — Alfred Rowan According to a new study, human activity and red tide have now been linked. Researchers linked blooms in Charlotte Harbor and its surrounding coastal areas to nitrogen flowing from Lake Okeechobee, the Caloosahatchee River, and areas upstream of the lake. Outbreaks of red tide are caused by
Manatee Eating Lettuce — Courtesy: Shutterstock — Mary-Kaitlyn Arnette The unprecedented human effort to save starving Florida manatees has so far provided the adorable marine mammals with over 25 tons of lettuce, officials said Wednesday. The round-tailed, snout-nosed animals that are popular with tourists and locals have suffered a major die-off. Their preferred seagrass food
IKEA Store — Courtesy: Shutterstock — Graeme Dawes Ingka Group, owner of IKEA furniture stores worldwide, has bought more land in the U.S. as part of a long-term goal and commitment to handle forest management responsibly. Ingka Group will plant seedlings of mainly longleaf pine on the 3,264 acres of land near Florida’s Apalachicola River
Manatees — Courtesy: Shutterstock — Image by: Lukasz Machowczyk In Florida, an ecological issue has led to the deaths of over 1,000 manatees. The slow-moving marine mammals graze on seagrass in shallow coastal areas, but a massive die-off of seagrass has left them with barely any food to eat. The lack of food is most
Climate Summit — Courtesy: Shutterstock — teerayuth oanwong Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer welcomed attendees to the 2021 Florida Energy & Climate Summit, held at the Florida Hotel & Conference Center in Sand Lake Road on Tuesday. This year, the summit is hosted by the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services Office of Energy and