News & Public Affairs
Florida environmentalists tell EPA to stand-by its water quality standards listen
01/17/13 Janelle IrwinWMNF Drive-Time News Thursday Listen to this entire show:
Tags: EPA, FDEP, water quality, numeric nutrient standards, nitrogen pollution, nutrient pollution, environment, DEP
The Environmental Protection Agency set new water quality standards in November that placed numeric limits on nutrient levels in Florida waterways. Environmentalists celebrated it as a win, but now the agency is considering yielding its rules to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection whose standards would not be as strict. 150 people from environmental groups across the state are gathering in downtown Tampa Thursday during a public information session to demand the EPA not let t...
Be the first to commentWood storks may not be so endangered anymore listen
12/18/12 Janelle IrwinWMNF Drive-Time News Tuesday Listen to this entire show:
Tags: wood stork, environment, wetlands, endangered species, Audubon Society, birds
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is proposing that the wood stork be upgraded from its status as an endangered species to just threatened. Dan Ashe, director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, announced plans to reclassify the species during a conference call this morning.
“Wood storks in the Southeastern U.S. no longer face imminent danger of extinction and that’s thanks to decades of conservation work across the region.”
Wood storks have been protected under the Endangered Spe...
Be the first to commentFirst zero net energy office opens in St. Pete; home to Florida Sierra Club listen
12/03/12 Janelle IrwinWMNF Drive-Time News Monday Listen to this entire show:
Tags: Green building, LEED certified, net zero, solar, energy efficient, environment, Sierra Club
St. Petersburg officials and environmentalists celebrated the opening of the city’s first commercial building that will make more energy than it uses today. The net zero energy office on Central Avenue near downtown is now home to the Sierra Club’s Florida headquarters. Bob Harrington, the residential director of sales for the company that provided some of the building’s technology, Bosch, said the use of photovoltaic solar panels could actually earn money.
Be the first to comment“Every community throughout th...
USF study adds to knowledge of how to control invasive species listen
10/11/12 Olivia KabatWMNF Drive-Time News Thursday Listen to this entire show:
Tags: invasive species, environment, USF, biology, science
University of South Florida researchers have studied one of the most commonly known invasive species in the world, house sparrows. They found behavioral and stress hormone patterns that could help control and prevent house sparrows and other invasive species from future invasions.
The study was published in the biological research journal, Proceedings of the Royal Society B. Andrea Liebl, a PhD candidate at USF, says in many cases invasive species are controlled after they’re already intr...
1 commentsConservationists want Florida wildlife to have its own corridor listen
10/09/12 Janelle IrwinWMNF Drive-Time News Tuesday Listen to this entire show:
Tags: Florida Wildlife Corridor, Carlton Ward Jr., environment, land preservation
Natural habitats in Florida are being threatened by development and road expansion. A group of conservationists are trying to establish a tract of protected land from the Everglades through Central Florida and north to Georgia to protect natural resources and wildlife. At an event at Stetson University College of Law today, Carlton Ward Junior explained what the Florida Wildlife Corridor could mean for Floridians.
The grandson of a rancher, Carlton Ward Jr. organized a 1,000 mile expedit...
Be the first to commentHealth foodies want labels on genetically modified foods listen
09/21/12 Janelle IrwinWMNF Drive-Time News Friday Listen to this entire show:
Tags: organic food, environment, Let Me Decide, GMO, genetically modified food, food
This month, French researchers said genetically modified corn may have caused tumors in laboratory rats. People concerned about genetically modified foods are launching a campaign for accurate labeling. At an event hosted by Food and Water Watch at a health food store in Tampa Thursday night, 40 people learned how they can persuade elected officials to introduce a law that requires labels on genetically engineered foods.
Kara Kaufman is the Tampa field director for the Let Me Decide Camp...
1 commentsResearchers witness spawning of male and female pillar coral for the first time in Florida listen
08/21/12 Olivia KabatWMNF Drive-Time News Tuesday Listen to this entire show:
Tags: environment, ocean, coral, Pillar Coral, FWC, coral spawning, Key Largo
On a recent dive near Key Largo, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation researchers witnessed a rare species of coral in the process of reproduction. This discovery marked the first documented sighting of male and female pillar coral spawning in the state of Florida.
Pillar coral are listed as threatened within the state of Florida. Kate Lunz, Associate Research Scientist for the Corals Program at the Florida Fish and Wildlife Research Institute says this finding confirms the presence of m...
Be the first to commentJanet Redman from SEEN talks about Rio+20 and the "green economy"
06/28/12 Mary GlenneyFrom A Woman's Point of View Listen to this entire show:
Tags: environment, regulations, Rio
Janet Redman, the co-director of the Sustainable Energy & Economy Network (SEEN) project at the Institute for Policy Studies (IPS), talks about the recent Rio+20 conference in Rio de Janeiro. She discussed aspects of the new green economy and her concerns of the "green-washing" of environmental solutions. She sees the agenda as being too corporately driven and with little hope of achieving sustainable development. She noted the recent Tropical Depression Debby and the damage to Florida in ...
Be the first to commentHow effective are Washington lobbyists at dismantling environmental regulation? listen
06/27/12 Seán KinaneWMNF Drive-Time News Wednesday Listen to this entire show:
Tags: environment, regulations, NRDC, Congress, lobbyists
Washington lobbyists are affecting regulatory legislation “in a huge way.” That’s the take of Bob Deans, associate director of communications for NRDC Action Fund.
His new book is called Reckless. The Political Assault on the American Environment.
Yesterday we aired the first half of our interview with Deans. In this second half, Deans speaks about lobbyists and about the Republican Pa...
Be the first to commentEnvironmentalist: tearing down regulations would hurt job growth listen
06/26/12 Seán KinaneWMNF Drive-Time News Tuesday Listen to this entire show:
Tags: environment, regulations, NRDC
A new book by a staff member of the Natural Resources Defense Council calls out the current Congress for its anti-regulatory obsession. Bob Deans is associate director of communications for NRDC Action Fund. His new book is called Reckless. The Political Assault on the American Environment.
Later this week on the WMNF Drive-Time News, we’ll...
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