Flagler County is teaming with the federal government to split the $100 million cost of dune renourishment in Flagler Beach, but the deal is fraught with uncertainties, and Flagler can only pay its first phase.
Environmental Protection
The Crisis Formerly Known as Climate Change: Wrong Re-Branding
The Guardian announced it was re-branding climate change, encouraging its writers and contributors to use more urgent terms like “climate crisis.” Here’s why this is very wrong.
Green New Deal Me In
The Green New Deal may have a hoaky name but at least it’s a beginning, an attempt to push back against a republic of insects and grass, inviting debate in the face of indefensible Republican inaction.
Palm Coast Wins 1st Place in National Mayor’s Challenge as Residents Pledge to Save 33 Million Gallons of Water
Palm Coast won first place in the 8th Annual Wyland National Mayor’s Challenge for Water Conservation for cities its size, with 8,022 Palm Coast residents pledging to cut water use by 33 million gallons over the next year.
Siding With Environmentalists, DeSantis Vetoes Bill Prohibiting Bans on Plastic Straws
In his first veto, Gov. Ron DeSantis on Friday rejected a bill that would have blocked local governments from banning plastic straws.
Florida Senate Passes Bill Prohibiting Local Governments From Regulating Plastic Straws
On a 24-15 vote, the Senate imposed a moratorium on plastic-straw bans, the latest example of the constant tug-of-war between the Legislature and cities and counties over local regulations.
Time is Running Out to Save Right Whales
The North Atlantic right whale is the most endangered whale in U.S. Atlantic waters, and entanglement in crab and lobster roping gear remains the biggest threat to the species’ survival.
10 Acres In, Wetlands Restoration Project Near Flagler Beach Is Still Kicking Up Turbid Opposition
Construction on the controversial $516,000 Flagler County Coastal Wetlands Restoration Project began on Feb. 13 on 100 acres of decades-old dragline ditches in the area of the Intracoastal Waterway, parallel to Gamble Rogers State Recreation Area and parts of Flagler Beach.
Seawalls and the Tyranny of Small Decisions
The seawall-construction project in Flagler Beach is problematic. Building living shorelines rather than concrete walls, is going to give us the best chance at ensuring a healthy beach for generations to come.
Palm Coast’s Disappearing Canopy
Development in Palm Coast is back at a pace not seen since before the Great Recession. Lots are getting leveled, canopies lost. New homes are great., but must 11,000 square foot lots be entirely leveled to make room for 2,000 square foot homes? It’s not either or.
Palm Coast Watering Restrictions for Daylight Saving Time
Watering restrictions during Daylight Saving Time begin March 10 and run through Nov. 2 in 2019. Here’s the landscape irrigation policy for Palm Coast, aligning with the restrictions issued by the St. Johns River Water Management District.
Silencing Home Rule: Sen. Travis Hutson’s Wrong Way On Single-Use Plastic Straws
The fact that the bill prohibits local governments from banning plastic straws will allow a serious and completely unnecessary pollutant to continue to injure sea life, litter beaches and infiltrate land and water.
Audubon Society’s David Ringer Is Keynote Speaker at Palm Coast’s Birds of a Feather Fest
National Audubon Society executive David Ringer, Audubon’s point man during the 2010 BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, speaks at Birds of a Feather Fest on Feb. 8.
Democratic Leaders Fail Their First Test on Climate
Youth activists who occupied the offices of Democratic leaders to demand a special congressional committee to plan for a Green New Deal were appeased and brushed off.
Flagler’s Beach ‘Renourishment’ Is Exorbitant Futility
Whether it’s the Corps of Engineers’ plan for 2.6 miles of Flagler Beach sands or Flagler County’s ongoing dune-rebuilding over 12 miles, there’s no money to sustain either, yet officials are mortgaging the county’s future on a blank check.
Many Questions Remain as County and City Approve $100 Million, 50-Year Beach-Protection Plan in Flagler Beach
Flagler County will be on the hook for nearly half the almost $100-million cost of the project over its 50-year span, with the federal government responsible for the rest.
Hurricane Season Shakes Up Florida
For the Third Year In a Row
Michael didn’t affect as large of an area in Florida as Hurricane Matthew, which ran up the East Coast in 2016, or Irma, which traveled the state from the Keys to Jacksonville in 2017.
Rosy Disconnect Between District’s Wetlands Project and Opposition in Flagler Beach
St. Johns River Water Management District officials were largely self-congratulatory today as they discussed a wetlands restoration project that has drawn fierce opposition in Flagler Beach.
In Flagler Beach, Leery Opposition to St. Johns District’s Wetlands Restoration Is Unabated
Public opposition remains strong to a planned wetlands “restoration” project along the Intracoastal in south Flagler Beach, forcing the St. Johns Water Management District to decide whether to forego it or plow through.
Save Our Home: We Have 12 Years
There’s an urgent message of hope amid the latest climate report’s dire warning: We’ve got a little bit of time to save the only home planet we’ve got. And it’s going to take all of us to do it.
Fruehan Is No-Show as Mosquito Control District Raises Tax Rate 10% Above Rollback (Don’t Panic)
Florence Fruehan, the physician facing criminal charges and a member of the Flagler Mosquito Control District, was a no-show at today’s budget hearing of the district, as his mother was ailing.
Environmentalists Call Scott’s Call for Red-Tide Research a Campaign Stunt
The state has documented 115 manatee and 318 sea turtle deaths this year in regions suspected to be related to red tide, which stretches 145 miles.
In Big Win For Flagler Beach, U.S. Army Corps Awards $17.5 Million, Reviving Dunes Project
The unexpected infusion of $17.5 million into Flagler’s beach-rebuilding projects revives a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers plan that appeared dead in 2017.
Florida Angling Closer to More Restrictions On Shark-Fishing From Beaches and Piers
Calls to restrict or ban shark fishing from beaches, piers and bridges led the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission to direct staff to craft new rules.
Three Flagler County Rotary Clubs Join to Plant 220 Long Leaf Pine Trees Together
The project is in response to a call by Rotary International President Ian Risley for the organization to plant 1.2 million trees, one for each member of the international organization.
Opponents of Drilling Not Convinced Florida Is Off the Table. Nor Proponents.
Participants in competing press conferences after an open house on off-shore drilling agreed on one thing: the federal government’s claimed stance on a Florida exemption isn’t final.
Among Slew of Legislative Rules, A Proposal To Limit Local Authority on Environment
From fracking to tree-trimming to using close to $900 million from a voter-approved conservation fund, Florida lawmakers are lining up their wishes ahead of the 2018 session.
FPL Customers Will be Billed $176 Million For Pollution Cleanup Following Leak at Utility
All electricity customers in Flagler County are serviced by FPL and will see the cost, albeit modest, reflected in their bills even though the leak took place in South Florida.
How 2nd Grader at Old Kings Got Whole School District and 2 Other Counties To Go Green
Students boycotted the use of plastic trays on the way to convincing the administration to adopt more eco-friendly, biodegradable paperboard lunch trays that don’t harm oceans, as plastics do.
Doubling Down on Scott, GOP Senator
Asks for $100 Million For Florida Forever
Florida Forever in the past received as much as $300 million a year but for nearly a decade has fallen out of favor among lawmakers and been almost ignored by Gov. Scott.
Development and Disasters: A Deadly Combination Well Beyond Houston
Scientists warn of more and expanding “bull’s-eyes” as Americans build in parts of the country at ever greater risk because of climate change and severe weather.
Water Management District Offers $2,000 Grants to Teachers Promoting Water Protection
The St. Johns River Water Management District is accepting applications for its Blue School Grant Program of grants of up to $2,000 per teacher per school.
No Coal Resurgence Here: FPL Seeks to Shut Down Dirty-Energy Plant in Jacksonville
FPL says shutting down the coal-fired plant will save customers money and have environmental benefits, including a reduction of carbon-dioxide emissions.
Palm Coast’s Thames Envy Holds Weir-dest Ribbon-Cutting You’ve Ever Heard Of
There’s a ribbon-cutting for every imaginable non-event these days, and today Palm Coast cut the ribbon at a water-control structure called a “weir,” in the B-Section.
In Unprecedented Flagler Beach Town Hall, Old Kings Elementary Students Become All Stars of Ideas
Mayor Linda Provencher’s Kids Town Hall drew a standing-room-only crowd, almost the entire city commission and the city’s top staff for a lively hour of ideas and suggestions from Old Kings Elementary students.
Abnormally Dry Conditions Prompt Call for More Water Conservation in Palm Coast and Flagler
Because of the new Water Shortage Warning Order, the city reminds citizens of some water restrictions, as well as offer tips for reducing water use during this time of potential prolonged drought.
From Inside Charred Aftermath of Last Week’s 435-Acre Fire, A Cautionary Warning of Season Ahead
In a tour of the forest partly charred in last week’s fire south of Bunnell, Florida Forest Service officials cautioned of a fire season ahead they expect will be more active because of drought and higher temperatures.
2016 Sets Global Heat Record For 3rd Straight Year, Raising Alarms of Irreparable Threats
Central Florida felt the heat: Orlando’s temperature average for 2016 was 1.80 degrees above normal in 2016. From late November through December, it was 5, 6 and 7 degrees above normal day after day.
Why a Seawall in Flagler Beach Could Harm Sea Turtles and Violate the Law
Flagler Beach’s situation on the ground has changed enough between Hurricane Matthew and recent findings about sea turtles that state transportation department construction plans should be rethought in light of those developments, argues Chad Boda.
Palm Coast’s Annual Christmas Tree and Electronics Recycling Event Set for Saturday
Recycle your tree and get a a free three-gallon evergreen tree in exchange at the city’s Utility Fuel Depot at 22 Utility Drive off Old Kings Road in Palm Coast, from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday.
Trump and the Climate: His Hot Air on Warming Is Far From the Greatest Threat
Trump, who has called climate change a hoax, has frightened many with his embrace of fossil fuels. What’s truly scary, scientists and others say, is how much larger the problem is than one American president.
Twelve Counties Get Money to Reduce Conflicts With Bears, But Flagler Is Not On the List
Volusia and Putnam counties will receive a combined $98,000. Flagler County will receive no grant. The announcement came six months after the Fish and Wildlife commission voted against holding a bear hunt this year.
FWC Honors Steve Wayne as 2016 Investigator of the Year
The annual award honors a Fish and Wildlife Conservation investigator whose efforts show outstanding performance and achievement among investigators, including captive wildlife cases, overt and covert investigations, surveillance, and wildlife trafficking.
Hikers, Campers, and the Limits of Leave No Trace
Leave No Trace seems to extend only to the easily visible: trash, toilet paper, bodily functions, and so forth. Anything you can’t see with the naked eye — like sweat, detergent, sunblock, mosquito repellent, pesticides, and other chemicals — seems to get a pass.
Court Deals Blow to FPL’s Already Leaky Nuclear Power Plans at Turkey Point
An appeals court Wednesday overturned a decision by Gov. Rick Scott and the state Cabinet that could have helped clear the way for Florida Power & Light to add two nuclear reactors in Miami-Dade County.
Claiming “Robust” Bear Population, Florida Wildlife Commission Targets Another Hunt
The commission in October 2015 held its first bear hunt in more than two decades as a means to slow the increase of black bears in the state and to reduce dangerous interactions between bears and humans. But the hunt was highly controversial, with opponents protesting in various parts of the state.
County Explores Big-Idea Energy Savings, But Through Long-Term Wedding With Contractor
Flagler County government is looking to go greener with its energy consumption, but some of those ideas may not be possible without wedding government to a single private contractor for a decade and a half or more.
In a Decisive Shift, Palm Coast Will Oppose Fracking On and Offshore, Citing Environment
Abandoning its silence and tacit nod to fracking, the Palm Coast City Council will forcefully oppose hydraulic fracturing in a resolution, citing water and environmental protection.
Flagler’s Sensitive Land Acquisition Panel Cool to 116-Acre Pitch Along Lake Disston
John A. Kern is proposing to sell the 116 acres along Lake Disston for $2.8 million (14 times the assessed value), but without an additional 20 acres the the Flagler county committee wants in the deal if it’s to keep pursuing the proposal.
On Marineland’s 75th Anniversary, Celebration of More Than Dolphins or a Storied Past
Marineland’s 75th anniversary celebrates past, present and future, highlighting the town’s continued ecological and cultural importance beyond dolphin adventures, which nevertheless play a large role in the town’s identity.