In Pinellas County during Hurricane Hermine this summer more than a quarter-billion gallons of raw and partially treated wastewater was dumped into Tampa Bay and other natural areas. The causes were record rainfall coupled with reduced wastewater treatment capacity and miles of leaky pipes. Last month the Pinellas Legislative Delegation said it would consider proposing… Read more »
A property owner in Citrus County says part of her land was scarred by Sabal Trail pipeline construction Wednesday. Kathy Lane lives on five acres about midway between Crystal River and Dunnellon in a rural development called Mini Farms. Lane says her property owners association sold an easement for construction of the pipeline, but it… Read more »
This week there were protests around the world – and here in Florida – by people opposed to construction of the Dakota Access pipeline through tribal lands in North Dakota; but demonstrations against a compressed natural gas pipeline being built in Florida are getting less attention. That’s despite recent arrests of environmentalists protesting the Sabal Trail… Read more »
The Public Works Administrator of St. Petersburg insists that stormwater improvements over the next year will allow the city to be prepared for another rain event on the scale of Hurricane Hermine by next August; most of the city received more than ten inches of rain during that recent storm, causing more than 150 million… Read more »
A bill to regulate and study fracking in Florida was defeated earlier this year in the state Legislature; but environmentalists are still concerned about the fossil fuel extraction technique that uses fluids that dissolve rock. A Florida Fracking Summit will be held Wednesday in Ft. Myers on the campus of Florida Gulf Coast University. Jennifer… Read more »
A bus tour to draw awareness to the Everglades is in full swing through Florida. The #NowOrNeverglades Bus Tour hit the Tampa Bay area Friday. WMNF spoke by phone with Eric Eikenberg, Chief Executive Officer of the Everglades Foundation. Among other things, he talked about how the river of grass could benefit from the construction of a… Read more »
The Dakota Access Pipeline — the site of major protests and where journalist Amy Goodman had charges dismissed Monday — isn’t the only fossil fuel pipeline that’s drawing controversy; here in Florida, environmentalists are protesting against the Sabal Trail Pipeline. Our guest, Tim Martin, is with Florida Suncoast Sierra Club and helped to organize a protest… Read more »
Democratic Pinellas County Commissioner Charlie Justice is facing a challenge to his countywide seat from Republican Mike Mikurak; the two answered questions Thursday afternoon at a Suncoast Tiger Bay Club meeting in the Gateway area of Pinellas. Justice and Mikurak agreed on one issue – that the county should use bed tax money to help the… Read more »
http://sound.wmnf.org/sound/wmnf_160928_110617_radioactivityW1_189.MP3 By Rob Lorei On Radioactivity Wednesday we talked about the effects phosphate mining in West central Florida. Billions of tons of phosphogypsum- located in Hillsborough, Polk, Manatee, and Desoto counties-is strip mined and eventually used to make commercial. Last month, a giant sinkhole, opened up under a gypsum stact at a Polk County processing plant… Read more »
Florida Governor Rick Scott took a helicopter tour of the massive sinkhole on the property of Mosaic Company in eastern Polk County Tuesday; but a nearby resident says her family is sick and her well water has not yet been tested by Mosaic after the sinkhole dumped contaminated water into the aquifer. A sinkhole formed… Read more »
http://sound.wmnf.org/sound/wmnf_160926_110617_radioactivityM1_348.MP3 By Rob Lorei On Radioactivity Monday, we first listened back to the latest episode of Florida This Week, a political discussion show on local PBS station WEDU that is also hosted by Rob Lorei. In this episode, our panel of political experts and insiders discuss the hottest stories in Florida news and politics: Calls for… Read more »
St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Kriseman updated City Council Thursday about the massive dump of stormwater and partially treated and untreated sewage during Tropical Storm Hermine; Kriseman updated media Friday morning before an unrelated press conference. Listen: “The update is, as a result of last night’s meeting, we are, as quickly as we can, moving forward with… Read more »
http://sound.wmnf.org/sound/wmnf_160919_110618_radioactivityM1_348.MP3 By Rob Lorei On Radioactivity Monday we aired the latest episode of Florida this Week, a panel discussion show on state and local politics that is hosted by Rob Lorei on local PBS station WEDU. Among the topics this week: Calls for a federal investigation into Donald Trump’s donation to Pam Bondi’s campaign; The number of… Read more »
Executives from The Mosaic Company apologized Tuesday morning to Polk County residents for weeks of delays in notifying the public about a 45-foot-wide sinkhole that caused more than 200 million gallons of slightly radioactive water to drain into the aquifer. Walt Precourt, senior vice president of phosphates at Mosaic, told the Polk County Commission there are no… Read more »
http://sound.wmnf.org/sound/wmnf_160831_110618_radioactivityW1_189.MP3 On the first part of Radioactivity Wednesday we talked about storm preparedness, water conservation and safety during the approaching tropical storm with St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Kriseman. During the storm, Mayor Kriseman advised listeners to limit their water usage at home and avoid traveling, especially driving through flooded streets. then we took listener comments… Read more »
On Thursday the Manatee County Planning Commission recommended changes sought by the Mosaic Fertilizer company that could lead to more phosphate mining in the east end of the county; but during an all-day meeting sixteen members of the public spoke out against the changes and against phosphate mining in general. Debbie Mafera and her husband live… Read more »
We look at phosphate mining in Florida: what it’s used for, how it’s mined and its effects on the environment, water and public health. Listen to the full show here: The first half of the show is a presentation by Andy Mele. He’s vice chair of the Manatee-Sarasota Sierra Club group and spoke last week at the… Read more »
In July a wildfire on protected Egmont Key burned eighty acres of habitat; but an environmentalist says it may have actually benefited the wildlife on the island at the mouth of Tampa Bay. Dave Howard is director of Friends of the Tampa Bay National Wildlife Refuges. “A lightning strike occurred. And we lost about – or… Read more »
Photo by Brian Simms We are happy to be back after a two-week break….thanks to those who let us know you missed us….. We hope you enjoyed the convention coverage by Democracy Now! Less than 100 days to go… And it was a very historic moment for women. It is a milestone for there to… Read more »
There’s another medium-sized oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico region – this time it’s impacting water and wetlands in Barataria Bay, south of New Orleans. Scott Eustis is coastal wetlands specialist at Gulf Restoration Network and flew over the spill on Wednesday. WMNF News spoke with him by phone Thursday afternoon. Eustis says what he saw of… Read more »
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