Subject: Dangerous saltwater bacteria called Vibrio Vulnificus Why am I talking about this now? Because there have been a significant number of news stories reporting a few deaths in Florida from Vibrio infections. Unfortunately many of the reports seem to be leaving out or de-emphasizing important facts, creating a scare. What is Vibrio Vulnificus? Vibrio […]
Archive | Environmental
Red Tide No Longer Present on Southwest Florida Beaches
The Red Tide that has been hanging around the southwest coast of Florida this winter has finally gone away, leaving clear waters behind and plenty of live fish to enjoy them. See all those green bubbles on the map above? Those indicate testing sites where the water tested clear of red tide. The white bubbles […]
Red Tide Visits Southwest Florida October 2012
Red tide is showing up on the beaches of southwest Florida and is bringing with it lots of dead fish and some respiratory irritation. You can keep up with the daily beach conditions by using the Mote Marine Laboratory beach condition report. The beach report has a Facebook page but has no recent activity and […]
Hard Evidence of Oil Contamination on Florida Panhandle Beaches in 2012
The Toxic Gulf, an article that appeared in the July Surfer Magazine, caught my attention. I haven’t been to the Florida panhandle beaches since the BP oil spill, but I’ve heard a lot about how the beaches are now “clean.” Quick & Dirty Executive Summary The Emerald Coast chapter of the Surfrider Foundation commissioned a […]
8/02/2012 Updates on St. Pete / Pinellas Beach Erosion From Tropical Storm Debby
A recent report by a local news channel is continuing to emphasize the erosional impacts of tropical storm Debby on the Pinellas County Gulf coastline. For anyone with a beach wedding planned or a beach vacation scheduled this summer/fall, these reports can be scary. The news reports are always accompanied by photographs and video that […]
Pinellas Beaches Temporary Health Advisory: High Levels of Bacteria in Gulf
UPDATE 7/20/2012: As a result of re-testing of the water at the beaches where advisories were put in place, the health advisories appear to have been discontinued at all of the beaches listed above. The initial tests were conducted July 16, 2012. The beaches that failed the health test were re-tested on July 19th and […]
Pinellas County Beaches Offer Recycling Opportunities to Beachgoers
Next time you visit the beach in Pinellas County, Florida, you might notice the trash cans out on the beach now have a recycling option for plastic and aluminum. (Glass containers are not allowed on the beach). This recycling effort started in July 2011. According to the St. Pete Times: Pinellas County announced…that beachgoers should […]
Bradenton Herald Sounds Alarm on Cuts to Beach Water Monitoring
The Bradenton Herald has just published an editorial chastising the state for cuts in beach water quality monitoring. Public health stands to be compromised by the state’s shortsighted decision to slash spending on the testing of water quality at dozens of beaches around Florida…Three of Manatee County’s 10 sampling stations will close–at popular beaches too. […]
Midway: The Trailer
On Midway Atoll, a remote island in the middle of the Pacific, photographer Chris Jordan is uncovering an environmental tragedy that is taking place in the bellies of Albatross. This is an important film that is currently in production. Lots more great stuff on Chris Jordan’s YouTube channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/journeytomidway Or, for more context, visit Chris […]
Love Your Florida State Parks? Tell Your Florida Leaders Why.
We all know that Florida has to tighten its budget, and we’ve been threatened with having some of our state park access taken away. Let’s encourage our leaders here in Florida to to look for solutions to keeping state parks open that don’t involve closures. How can we do that? Start here: Go to www.lovemystateparks.org […]
