News & Public Affairs

USF St. Pete, Dali Museum Celebrate Earth Day listen

04/21/10 Kate Bradshaw
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Tags: USF St. Petersburg, Earth Day, sistainability, environment, Dali Museum, Downtown St. Pete

Have you ever seen a teal bee? Their brilliant metallic bodies look like something out of a storybook. There were several on USF’s St. Pete campus today, thanks to Sarasota County agriculture expert Robert Kluson. He was on campus for a weeklong Earth Day Celebration, and said there was another place you can find the unusual-looking insects.

Kluson was one of several demonstrators set up on the freshly-minted greenspace at the heart of the campus. Briton Cleveland, president of the school’...

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Long Process of Repairing Tampa Bay Reservoir Continues. listen

04/19/10 Matthew Cimitile
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Tags: water, reservoir, environment, desalination

The Tampa Bay Water Board held a public meeting this morning in Pinellas County. They discussed the reservoir, and progress on its renovation.

Over three and a half years ago, the first cracks—measuring 1,900 feet—were discovered at the newly erected C.W. Bill Young Regional Reservoir in Hillsborough County. John Kennedy, a Tampa Bay Water engineer and project manager, said the cracks b...

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Offshore drilling opponents protest Gingrich listen

04/01/10 Matthew Cimitile
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Tags: oil drilling, environment, jobs, economy, beaches, Newt Gingrich, Bill Foster

Former Speaker and possible Presidential candidate Newt Gingrich hosted a jobs summit in St. Petersburg yesterday to promote ways lawmakers can create jobs now.

But his idea for more oil drilling was met by scores of protesters.

The jobs plan presented by Newt Gingrich at the American Solutions Real Jobs Summit was a conservative policy wish list: reduce government spending, balance the budget, lower taxes, and develop America’s energy supplies. T...

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Activists request Florida Forever funding statewide and at Sacred Lands listen

02/22/10 Seán Kinane
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Tags: Florida Forever, Sacred Lands, environment, Charlie Justice, Rick Kriseman, Janet Long, Karl Nurse

In his budget request for the current year, Florida Gov. Charlie Crist has included funding for the purchase of environmentally sensitive lands through a program called Florida Forever.

But it is uncertain whether the state’s legislature will resume funding the program.

Democratic state legislator Rick Kriseman, who represents parts of Pinellas County, says he ...

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Florida's aquatic problem with invasive species listen

01/15/10 Matthew Cimitile
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Tags: environment, Invasive, science, Fishery management

A broad coalition of groups from the Association of Fish and Wildlife agencies to Dow Agro-sciences is hosting a weeklong summit on invasive species in Washington D.C. The summit is part of the National Invasive Species Awareness Week that is hoping to bring the problem of invasives to the forefront. Aquatic invasives are disrupting Florida waters.

The lionfish is a spiny, venomous fish of contrasting red and white stripes that can grow to over a foot long. Nat...

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Two Billion Cars

01/11/10 Jon Butts
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Tags: Transportation, environment, sustainable living

Today’s special guest was Deborah Gordon, the co-author of the book Two Billion Cars - Driving toward Sustainability. Deborah is a transportation policy analyst who has worked with the National Commission on Energy Policy, the California Energy Commission, the Hewlett Foundation, and the Chinese government to develop policies for its burgeoning auto fleet. She has also served as the director of transportation and energy programs at the Union of Concerned Scientists, as a senior research sch...

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Could Tampa handle a hurricane like Katrina? listen

01/06/10 Joshua Lee Holton
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Tags: hurricane preparedness, hurricanes, environment

Today at The Tampa Bay Catostrophic Planning Summit, disaster experts from nine counties considered what would happen if the Tampa bay region were hit by a category 5 hurricane as harrowing as Katrina.

If Tampa sustained a category 5 hurricane, experts predict $250 billion in losses to property and infrastructure. Hurricane Phoenix may be a simulation, but Florida’s vulnerability to the worst effects of such a storm are very real. [The Tampa Bay Regional Planning Council](http://www.tbrpc....

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Fertilizer ban in Pinellas County listen

12/01/09 Mark Anderson
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Tags: pinellas, environment

The Pinellas County Board of Commissioners met today to discuss a proposed new ordinance aimed at reducing nitrogen levels in the Tampa Bay area. The Board voted to hold a public hearing on January 19th, and took a step toward strengthening the ordinance during the meeting.

Environmentalists are concerned that fertilizer runoff is a major contributor to pollution in Bay area waters. The proposal is centered around controlling fertilizer use during the rainy summer months. Fertilizer...

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Florida ranks third in nation for coal power plant pollution listen

11/24/09 Seán Kinane
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Tags: climate change, pollution, coal, power plants, environment

A new report released today lists Florida as the third worst state for power plant pollution.

The report by Environment Florida is called “America’s Biggest Polluters: Carbon Dioxide Emissions from Power Plants in 2007.”

Sarah Bucci is an associate with Environment Florida.

Environment Florida

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Water: A Global Crisis listen

11/06/09 Joshua Lee Holton
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Tags: water, water quality, oceans, environment

Water scarcity as a result of climate change could create global security issues. USF’s College of Public Health recently partnered with the Physicians for Social Responsibility and the Patel Center for Global Solutions for a panel discussion on water issues.

Disappearing sources of clean water have been a major concern for bay area residents. Aquatic biologist Thomas Crisman said salt water intrusion has contaminated freshwater aquifers.

According to a US geological survey, two-thir...

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