Climate Change

Strong El Nino could bring winter rains to southeast

By BRUCE RITCHIE FLORIDAENVIRONMENTS.COM The strong El Nino now underway is expected to bring heavy rains to the southeast in the upcoming winter but some drier weeks until then, Florida state climatologist David Zierden said Tuesday. El Nino refers to a climate pattern associated with high air pressure in the western Pacific Ocean and low […]

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Scientists question Scott’s commitment on climate after meeting

By BRUCE RITCHIE FLORIDAENVIRONMENTS.COM Scientists who met Tuesday with Gov. Rick Scott to explain the threat of climate change said the governor asked only modest questions while withholding comment on the issue. “He asked modest questions but he did not ask questions that reflected his understanding of the material,” Eckerd College Professor David Hastings said.

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Senate bill would scrap Florida’s climate program

A bill filed by Rep. Scott Plakon, R-Longwood, would eliminate Florida’s greenhouse gas emissions cap-and-trade program before one was ever adopted. Climate change and regulation of greenhouse gas emissions was a priority of Gov. Charlie Crist soon after he took office in 2007, but it dropped as a priority after 2008. Gov. Rick Scott, who

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