2010 archive

Florida on Saturday was reopening state waters near Pensacola that were closed to fishing because of the BP oil spill, Gov. Charlie Crist said late Friday. Waters along the 23-mile stretch of coast had been closed since June 13 when oil was washing ashore at beaches in Escambia County. Fishing was allowed only for catch-and-release. […]

Three Florida House members traveled to Washington, D.C. this week to urge Florida’s congressional delegation to fight proposed federal water quality standards for waterways within the state. The U. S. Environmental Protection Agency earlier this year proposed specific limits for nitrogen, phosphorus and other nutrients to replace a state narrative standard that environmentalists said is

Attorney General Bill McCollum said Friday that as governor he will promote nuclear, biomass and “clean coal” to diversify Florida’s energy supply, and that solar, wind and ocean energy should have to compete in the private sector to bring costs down. The Republican candidate for governor joins the growing list of candidates for statewide office

Conceptual rendering of American Renewables proposed plant in Gainesville Groups and individuals opposed to biomass energy plants announced Thursday they are taking steps to block a proposed plant in Gainesville while opposing federal legislation dealing with renewable energy. Agriculture Commissioner Charles Bronson, Gov. Charlie Crist and some environmental groups say using wood, crops or garbage

While criticizing media coverage that he says raises doubts about the safety of Gulf seafood, Agriculture Commissioner Charles Bronson on Thursday also revealed that he has asked BP to pay $59 million over the next 10 years to test affected seafood for oil and chemical dispersants. Bronson submitted the request along with a seafood testing

More then 100 days after the Deepwater Horizon oil rig exploded and sank off the Louisiana coast, a University of Florida study shows that the disaster is creating real estate market uncertainties far from affected counties along the Panhandle. The gushing BP well was capped on July 15 and work to kill the well is

Democratic gubernatorial hopeful and Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink released an energy plan on Tuesday that offered broad support for new renewable energy policies while banking on an increase of federal economic stimulus dollars to grow clean energy jobs in Florida. Sink released the 10-page plan at a news conference in Miami. The BP oil

The lead group fighting the proposed “Hometown Democracy” amendment collected $4.7 million between April 1 and July 16 compared to $138,573 for the group that put the measure on the ballot in November. Amendment 4 would require voter approval of changes by cities and counties to comprehensive land use plans. Supporters say the amendment is

Scattered tar balls continued to wash up along the Florida Panhandle coast on Monday but federal and state officials said there appeared to be much less oil in Gulf waters from the formerly spewing BP oil well. The well off the Louisiana coast has remained capped since July 15 after gushing since an explosion and

University of South Florida researchers have confirmed that two subsea clouds of micro oil droplets found in May were from the BP oil spill. Their findings suggest that the oil spilled between April 20 and July 15 raises the possibility that the spill poses a threat to fish and sea life off the Florida coast