May is National Bike Month, the time of the year when cyclists speak up about the need for more bike-friendly roads.

During the recent years, Miami cyclists have been gaining a powerful voice behind groups such as Emerge Miami, a network of bike enthusiasts who advocate for more road safety. One of their most famous events is the monthly Miami Critical Mass, in which cyclists orderly bike around town to raise awareness about the lack of biker rights in the city.

But don’t be intimidated. You don’t have to be a professional cyclist to join the group. Many of their members are just looking for more environmentally-friendly transportation options. Increasingly, Emerge Miami has also put together hip outings, including a bike prom a few months back, and regular graffiti tours (see event list below for the next one).
continue

Florida animal rights activists scored two big laws during the Florida legislative session, which ended last Friday. These two laws passed unanimously:

>Ban on exotic reptiles trade: A new law will prohibit the possession, import, sale or breeding of several large reptile species including the infamous Burmese python that has been troubling so much the local environmentalists.

>Horse protection: A new law will increase penalties for the unlawful killing of horses in Florida and strengthens restrictions on the consumption of horse meat. You might have heard the heartbreaking reports about horses being killed for their flesh across South Florida.

These three laws were also discussed but for different reasons didn’t pass.

>Protecting animals from sexual abuse: This law, which would make bestiality a crime in Florida, didn’t pass for the third year in a row. It made it to the House but didn’t come up for a vote before the session ended. You can email Sen. Nan Rich at rich.nan.web@flsenate.gov and ask her to reintroduce the bill next year.

>pay/neuter surcharge: This law would charge a $15 fee for every animal cruelty or animal control violation. The funds would then be used for spaying or neutering dogs and cats in the community. This law also didn’t make it to the floor of the House or the Senate before the session ended. You can email Sen. Nan Rich at rich.nan.web@flsenate.gov and Rep. Scott Randolph here ask them to reintroduce the bill next year.

>Greyhound racing: An amendment to remove the requirement that dog tracks conduct live racing in order to offer poker or slots died for technical reasons. Had it passed, it would have probably put an end to the cruel -and very unprofitable- greyhound racing business in Florida. You can e-mail Sen. Charlie Justice and encourage him to reintroduce the bill next year: justice.charlie.web@flsenate.gov.

For more information on Florida animal rights issues visit the Animal Rights Foundation of Florida at www.arff.org

Photo courtesy of brettmcbain

If your refrigerator is keeping you awake at night -and I don’t mean because of the munchies- it’s probably time to get a new one that will literally shut off at night.

You have no excuses now: Florida’s Energy Star Appliance Rebate program launches next Friday and over $17.5 million will be distributed in 66,000 rebates statewide on a first come, first served basis until April 25 or until the money runs out.

Get 20 percent rebates on freezers, clothes washers, refrigerators, dishwashers, gas tankless water heaters and room air conditioners. You can also get a $75 rebate if you submit proof of recycling.

The only catch is that all new appliances must qualify as Energy Star appliances. But because energy star appliances consume less energy, you’ll end up saving even more; an efficient refrigerator saves up to $100/ year in energy, so you get the idea.

Visit www.rebates.com/florida for more information.

Photo courtesy of gojeffrey

Don’t miss this rare opportunity to watch some of the best and latest food-related documentaries, which will be screened locally as part of the Earth Month film series Let’s Re-take our Plates, organized by Whole Foods.

I’m particularly excited about No Impact Man, the documentary based on the Brooklyn family that decided to reduce their waste to the minimum for a whole year (I couldn’t drop the book). Other films include Fast Food Nation, Food. Inc, What’s on Your Plate? and The Garden, all very politically-charged films making strong arguments against the state of the food industry.

Here is the schedule:

Fast Food Nation
4:45 p.m, April 17
Cinema Paradiso
503 SE 6th Street, Ft. Lauderdale
$7

King Corn/ Big River
2:30 p.m. April 17
Cinema Paradiso
503 SE 6th Street, Ft. Lauderdale
$7

Food Inc.
2 p.m., April 18
Cinema Paradiso
503 SE 6th Street, Ft. Lauderdale
$7

The Garden
12 p.m., April 18
Cinema Paradiso
503 SE 6th Street, Ft. Lauderdale
$7

Food Inc.
5 p.m., April 19
Cobb Theater
11701 Lake Victoria Gardens Avenue, Palm Beach Gardens
$5

No Impact Man
7 p.m., April 19
Coral Gables Congregational Church
3010 De Soto Blvd., Coral Gables
$5

What’s on Your Plate?
5 p.m. April 20
Cobb Theater
11701 Lake Victoria Gardens Avenue, Palm Beach Gardens
$5

Fast Food Nation
5 p.m., April 21
Cobb Theater
11701 Lake Victoria Gardens Avenue, Palm Beach Gardens
$5

The Garden
8 p.m., April 21
Miami Beach Cinematheque
512 Espanola Way, Miami Beach
$10

End of the Line
5 p.m. April 22,
Cobb Theater
11701 Lake Victoria Gardens Avenue, Palm Beach Gardens
$5

Food Inc.
7:30 p.m., April 23
Temple Bet Shira
7500 SW 120th Street, Miami
$5

Visit the Let’s Re-take our Plates site for more information

Forget about paper or plastic.

Florida could be the first state to ban the two bags altogether if a plan released Thursday by the state’s Department of Environmental Protection is approved, reports the Orlando Sentinel.

The plan works by way of taxes and escalating fees, which will start at a nickel a bag and end at a quarter of a dollar in five years.

To get an idea of the size of the problem, get this: Floridians used more than 5 billion disposable plastic and paper bags in 2003 (the most recent numbers available), reports the Orlando Sentinel.

You might have heard a lot of plastic bag talk lately: It has been the topic of city and county meetings across the nation: San Francisco banned the bags a while ago, and Los Angeles joined this week with a similar law. The topic was also brought up during a recent Miami Beach Commission forum.

However, no state has passed such a measure yet, which means Florida could lead the effort. The legislature will consider the proposal as early as next spring.

What do you think? Do you think the government should get involved in this issue? How can we correct the general consumer behavior? Are you already carrying your own reusable bags?

Photo by eflon

Some good and bad news here: I got an e-mail today about a new sustainability report by FPL highlighting the company as a national leader in clean energy.

The report recognizes FPL as the number one producer of wind and solar power in the US, and goes on talking about how FPL plans to make Florida the second state in solar energy generation, how FPL generates more power from its wind farm than from its largest nuclear plant, and how FPL owns the largest wind farm in the world, located in Texas.

I was happy to hear this, not only because finally so much heat will be used for something other than attracting tourists (who consume and leave a lot of waste behind, but that should be another topic), but because I always felt that Florida was a little behind compared to other more energy efficient states.

Well, what does it matter now? Not even an hour later, breaking news about our favorite energy company pop up on the web again, this time pointing out how FPL is trying to expand its nuclear plants and not only pass on the costs to its customers- $67 million next year-, but -and this is the real bummer- how FPL told the Public Service Commission that nuclear power is key to Florida’s future energy plans.

“Nuclear power continues to be more economical than the latest state-of-the-art natural gas power plant. Our analysis indicates that the new nuclear units would save our customers more than $1 billion a year in fuel,” FPL spokesman Mayco Villafana told the Sun Sentinel.

Now I don’t know what to think. Was FPL’s sustainability report released a day before the hearings at the Public Service Commission intentionally? What do you think? Is the company trying to fool us?

The PSC hearings will continue Wednesday and Thursday, with a vote expected Oct. 16.

09/10/09 update: More disappointing news: Two top Public Service Commission staffers resigned yesterday and two others went on administrative leave after a Miami Herald investigation revealed that the employees had given their Blackberry codes to FPL’s lawyer, letting them text message eachother without leaving any paper trail. It seems that there will be new hires at FPL’s pr office.

Photo by afloresm

Some good and bad news here: I got an e-mail today about a new sustainability report by FPL highlighting the company as a national leader in clean energy.

The report recognizes FPL as the number one producer of wind and solar power in the US, and goes on talking about how FPL plans to make Florida the second state in solar energy generation, how FPL generates more power from its wind farm than from its largest nuclear plant, and how FPL owns the largest wind farm in the world, located in Texas.

I was happy to hear this, not only because finally so much heat will be used for something other than attracting tourists (who consume and leave a lot of waste behind, but that should be another topic), but because I always felt that Florida was a little behind compared to other more energy efficient states.

Well, what does it matter now? Not even an hour later, breaking news about our favorite energy company pop up on the web again, this time pointing out how FPL is trying to expand its nuclear plants and not only pass on the costs to its customers- $67 million next year-, but -and this is the real bummer- how FPL told the Public Service Commission that nuclear power is key to Florida’s future energy plans.

“Nuclear power continues to be more economical than the latest state-of-the-art natural gas power plant. Our analysis indicates that the new nuclear units would save our customers more than $1 billion a year in fuel,” FPL spokesman Mayco Villafana told the Sun Sentinel.

Now I don’t know what to think. Was FPL’s sustainability report released a day before the hearings at the Public Service Commission intentionally? What do you think? Is the company trying to fool us?

The PSC hearings will continue Wednesday and Thursday, with a vote expected Oct. 16.

09/10/09 update: More disappointing news: Two top Public Service Commission staffers resigned yesterday and two others went on administrative leave after a Miami Herald investigation revealed that the employees had given their Blackberry codes to FPL’s lawyer, letting them text message eachother without leaving any paper trail. It seems that there will be new hires at FPL’s pr office.

Photo by afloresm

I recently visited Crandon Park’s Visitors and Nature Center, where they run a Sea Turtle Awareness Program. From July to September -the turtle nesting season is April through September- they have open nights where visitors can watch staff members release turtle hatchlings into the ocean.

These are hatchlings that didn’t break their egg when the other turtles in their nest did. Each nests contains an average of 100 eggs, and there are usually 10 or so turtles that are always left behind. The center takes care of them until they are ready for their journey into a huge seaweed patch in the Atlantic where sea turtles spend most of their adult life.

Unfortunately, with so many threats like storms, predators, fisheries and human-released garbage, only one in 1,000 turtles will complete a life cycle, explained our guide.

So why am I sharing all this? Because I just read how a new study warns that loggerhead turtles are at risk of extinction, in part due to commercial fishing. Turtles get trapped in fishing nets, and usually don’t make it out. This happens once or twice a day among fishing fleets, which can reduce the turtle population by thousands annually, the report says.

But there are also other mayor threats mentioned in the report: coastal development that disrupts nesting, such as erosion-control barriers and other structures that prevent mothers from nesting and bright lights that can disorient hatchlings.

The population along the shores of Florida, Georgia and Carolina are at the highest risk, the report concludes. Are you getting the point?

The good news is that the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, which conducted the report, is also in charge of regulating the fishing industry, and it’s expected to come up tougher turtle protection measures in February.

So here’s the deal: We have to do something before sea turtles become a rarity in Florida. Follow this link to Oceana’s Website and with just a few clicks, send an e-mail to the head of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Organization. It takes seconds, LITERALLY.

Turtle hatchling photo via Crandon Park
Adult turtle photo by Coda

The water war has started.

Cities throughout the tri-county area are competing for the Most Water Wiser title. Residents of 102 cities are invited to take the water pledge (it takes less than a minute) and let the challenge begin.

The prize? Bragging rights, of course, but also, residents of the winning city will be invited to the South Florida Living Green Fair, Nov. 14-15 for a chance to win an eco-friendly scooter.

So far, Aventura is leading the challenge, with Boca Raton and Cooper City in second and third place.

Why it’s worth taking the pledge: In one year, a person can save: 30,665 gallons of water and keep 75 water bottles out of landfills.

What city do you think is the most water-wiser? Are you doing anything to save water? We’d love to read your comments.

Photo by zone41

Ignoring the environmental impact of their decision, Palm Beach County commissioners voted today to allow development by Florida Crystals on what was former Everglades land. Development will create more jobs, they argued.

The commission voted to change its development rules and allow industrial uses on 318 acres south of South Bay owned by sugar giant Florida Crystals, the Sun Sentinel reports.

The land is part of the hundreds of thousands of acres of former Everglades that was drained to make way for agriculture.

Commissioners argued that the warehouses that Florida Crystals plans to operate will create new jobs, even if this could happen years from now.

This was not an issue for the Everglades Coalition and 1000 Friends of Florida and other environmental groups such as that showed up at the meeting, worried that this decision will open the door to more development in the region, which will get in the way of Everglades restoration.

The commissioners did require that future development be planned in coordination with the South Florida Water Management District to make sure it doesn’t interfere with Everglades restoration.

State regulators must still sign off on the proposal. Let’s hope they have a problem with it.

Photo by bafefootinfla1