Author name: bruce

Week three: Everglades deal reached; the passing of a Southern gentleman

Misc /

By BRUCE RITCHIE It was the third week of the Florida legislative session and the pace definitely picked up. Bills were moving through various committees while budget hearings were being held in the Senate. EVERGLADES The biggest news was that environmentalists and the sugar industry reached an agreement on legislation to fund Gov. Rick Scott’s […]

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Florida’s Legislature’s 2013 session starts slow, gains steam

Authors & Artists, Energy, Government /

BY BRUCE RITCHIE  Anyone interested in the environment couldn’t be blamed for skipping Tuesday’s opening session of the Legislature. But the week ended with a bang. Gov. Rick Scott’s “state of the state” speech on Tuesday contained no reference to the environment, energy or growth management. (See “Scott sounds re-election themes as 2013 session opens,”

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Author, friend who promotes ‘water ethic’ to speak in Tallahassee

Authors & Artists, Water /

By Bruce Ritchie FloridaEnvironments.com Cynthia Barnett, author of “Mirage” and “Blue Revolution”, is coming to Tallahassee on Feb. 28 to give a presentation on developing a water ethic. When she said she wanted me to help let people know, I couldn’t refuse. She has been my friend for more than 24 years and she introduced

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Is saying hi to a reporter taboo for government employees?

FDEP, Permitting, Water districts /

By Bruce Ritchie Floridaenvironments.com I didn’t see Connie Bersok at the Tallahassee airport art reception last April, but she sure saw me. And she made a beeline out of there. I know only because she told Florida Department of Environmental Protection investigators that during a recorded interview under oath on June 1. Bersok is a

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COMING SOON: Big renewable energy project that may never get built

Misc /

BY BRUCE RITCHIE FLORIDAENVIRONMENTS.COM Sometimes covering the environment and energy in Florida seems like the land of big promises and broken dreams. But I’ve decided that just comes with the beat. Witness this week when James Scrivener, CEO of National Solar Power, updated the Gadsden County Chamber of Commerce on his plans to build 400

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Supreme Court decision affects Apalachicola River and Gulf of Mexico

Conservation, Water, Water Supply /

There was another Supreme Court ruling this week that was important to a few million people, if not the world. Besides deciding on the Affordable Care Act, the Supreme Court announced Monday it was not taking up an appeals court decision on the Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint river system, according to The Florida Current. Alabama, Florida and Georgia

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Wildlife expedition holds scientific value even if biologist has regrets

Advocacy, Authors & Artists, Conservation, Land Acquisition /

By BRUCE RITCHIE Floridaenvironments.com Biologist Joe Guthrie sounds like he’s being too hard on himself for not taking more notes or recording data on his recent 1,000-mile trek with the Florida Wildlife Corridor Expedition. Guthrie and photographer Carlton Ward Jr., conservationist Mallory Lykes Dimmett and documentary filmmaker Elam Stoltzfus finished their journey April 22 in

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