December 7, 2024 Weekly Newsletter
Florida’s Legislative Organization Session: What to Expect in the Year Ahead
The Florida Legislature recently convened for its organizational session, a ceremonial one-day event where newly elected members are sworn in, and leadership positions are finalized. While heavy on pomp and light on immediate action, the session offered some clues about the state’s legislative priorities for the coming year.
Leadership Alignments and Governor’s Influence
Florida Senate President Ben Albritton wasted no time signaling his alignment with Governor Ron DeSantis, openly praising the governor’s taxpayer-funded campaigns against two recent constitutional amendments. These measures sought to overturn Florida’s abortion ban and legalize recreational marijuana. Despite the governor reportedly spending $20 million—partly from funds intended for opioid addiction programs—on anti-amendment advertising, Albritton defended the expenditures, showing little appetite for legislative oversight.
This early deference suggests a continuation of Tallahassee’s top-down leadership style, with DeSantis maintaining significant influence over the legislature’s agenda.
Policy Signals: Housing and Corporate Landlords
House Speaker Danny Perez, by contrast, made a noteworthy statement about housing. Perez highlighted concerns about the growing trend of private equity firms buying up single-family homes, an issue contributing to higher housing costs and more aggressive eviction practices. While specific policy solutions were not outlined, this acknowledgment could signal a potential focus on housing affordability in the upcoming session.
Abortion, Marijuana, and Voter Disconnect
Despite strong voter support—57% for the abortion-related amendment and over 55% for marijuana legalization—neither measure cleared Florida’s uniquely high 60% threshold for citizen driven constitutional changes. Albritton reaffirmed his commitment to maintaining Florida’s restrictive abortion laws and opposition to marijuana liberalization. This underscores a broader trend where the legislature often disregards the will of the voters, as seen in past amendments on land conservation and ex-felon voting rights.
Agriculture and Industry-Driven Initiatives
As a representative of Florida’s agricultural heartland, Albritton emphasized prioritizing farming and food supply issues. However, this focus may reignite debates over controversial industry practices, including water use for sugar cane irrigation and phosphogypsum—a radioactive byproduct from phosphate mining—being repurposed for road construction. These issues, tied to influential industries like Big Sugar and mining conglomerates, are expected to spark legislative battles in the coming months.
Occupational Licensing and Conservative Agendas
Perez also hinted at efforts to roll back occupational licensing requirements, framing them as barriers to economic opportunity. While controversial, this aligns with his background in conservative policy circles, such as the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC).
Looking Ahead
The organizational session set the stage for a legislature likely to maintain its status quo: heavily influenced by special interests and largely insulated from broader voter sentiment due to gerrymandered districts. Upcoming committee weeks will provide a clearer picture of legislative priorities, from affordability issues to industry incentives.
For now, expect a legislature that mirrors its recent history—focused on industry-aligned policies and a cautious approach to addressing voter-driven issues.
Our friends at Friends of the Everglades are calling for urgent action in response to a troubling announcement by the Army Corps of Engineers. Recently, the Corps revealed plans to begin months of damaging Lake Okeechobee discharges into the St. Lucie River, Caloosahatchee River, and Lake Worth Lagoon starting December 7, with no firm end date. These discharges could extend well into May.
This means nearly half a year of polluted water and legacy toxins flooding already fragile ecosystems. The environmental toll is clear, but so is the threat to public health and the water-dependent economies of our communities.
The discharges, recommended by the Corps’ new commander, Col. Brandon Bowman, are being justified as part of “Lake Okeechobee recovery.” However, even the Corps admits there’s no guarantee these actions will lower lake levels sufficiently to benefit the lake.
What we do know is this: the St. Lucie River, which should never receive water from Lake Okeechobee, will be hit hard, and the Caloosahatchee River will see dry-season flows pushed beyond the harm threshold. The result will be significant, predictable damage to ecosystems already suffering from storm impacts.
What about LOSOM? The new Lake Okeechobee System Operating Manual, implemented in August, was supposed to reduce harmful discharges, but it doesn’t eliminate them entirely. The Corps can initiate Lake Recovery Operations when the lake exceeds 17 feet, stays above 13 feet for 30 days in the summer, or if submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV) drops below 11,000 acres. With SAV currently under 4,000 acres, the Corps has the authority to act—but that doesn’t make it the right decision. Given the massive loss of seagrass in northern estuaries, this move is unreasonable and counterproductive.
Our friends at Friends of the Everglades are asking for your help. Tell Col. Bowman this decision is a mistake. Urge him to stop treating our estuaries like dumping grounds for polluted water. Speak up now by sending your message using the link below. Help remind the Corps that we’re united in protecting our waterways and won’t stand by as they’re destroyed.
Vero Beach boardwalk: Should Indian River County help with rebuilding costs? (TCPalm) - Indian River County should consider allocating funds, potentially from tourist tax revenues, to help rebuild Vero Beach's Humiston Park boardwalk, as it serves both local residents and tourists, highlighting the need for greater collaboration between city and county resources.
17th Street Bridge closure dates changing to later in December (TCPalm) - The 17th Street Bridge in Vero Beach, undergoing a $22.3 million rehabilitation project to address structural deficiencies, will close from midnight Dec. 9 to 5 a.m. Dec. 13, with traffic detoured via the Merrill P. Barber Bridge.
Why Manatees are Likely Not Florida Native (Environmental News Network) - Research suggests manatees, iconic to Florida's identity, may historically have been visitors from the Caribbean rather than permanent residents.
Students Building Robotic Manatee, Whale to Enhance Marine Research (Florida Tech News) - Students at Florida Tech are developing biomimetic robotic replicas of manatees and whales to study marine life in a noninvasive way by mimicking their natural movements and collecting environmental data.
Seagrasses Capture Carbon 35 Times Faster Than Tropical Rainforests. Scientists Are Working to Save Them (Inside Climate News) - Scientists are working to restore eelgrass meadows, which capture carbon 35 times faster than tropical rainforests, through methods like assisted migration and genetic analysis to combat threats from rising sea temperatures and pollution.
Why Are Global TemperaturesStaying So High After El Niño?
Even though the El Niño weather pattern ended back in May, global temperatures are still unusually high. Scientists are looking into why this is happening and if it’s connected to El Niño or something bigger, like climate change.
What We Know:
Early Heat Spike: Temperatures started rising months before El Niño reached its peak, which is very unusual.
Lingering Warmth: Normally, temperatures drop after El Niño fades, but this year, they’re staying high. This hasn’t happened in other recent strong El Niño events like 1997/1998 or 2015/2016.
Looking Back in Time: Data from 1940 onward shows this El Niño is unlike anything we’ve seen before. Even compared to smaller or moderate El Niño events, the current heat stands out.
What’s Normal for El Niño:
El Niño usually warms the planet by about 0.2°C to 0.4°C above average for a few months. Temperatures typically rise a couple of months after El Niño peaks and then cool off. That’s not happening this time.
Why This Matters:
This pattern might mean something bigger is happening, like long-term climate changes caused by human activity. We’ve seen a similar but smaller temperature spike after a 1958 El Niño, but nothing as extreme as this year’s heat.
What’s Next:
Scientists are watching to see if temperatures drop in the coming months. If they don’t, it could confirm that we’re seeing more than just the effects of El Niño—possibly a sign of how much our planet is warming.
Understanding these trends helps us prepare for the future and highlights the importance of tackling climate change.
Strategies for safe and equitable access to water: A catalyst for global peace and security (ScienceDaily) - Equitable and sustainable water management, guided by a seven-point strategy emphasizing collaboration, inclusivity, and resilience, can transform water into a catalyst for global peace and security by preventing conflicts and fostering cooperation.
Florida study shows intermittent irrigation cuts water use by 67% for strawberry growers (FreshPlaza) - Florida strawberry growers can reduce water use by up to 67% during transplant establishment without affecting yields by using an intermittent sprinkler irrigation method, which also showed potential yield increases for some varieties like 'Florida Brilliance.'
Influence of regulated water discharges on phytoplankton composition and biomass in a subtropical canal (ScienceDirect) - Regulated discharges from Lake Okeechobee into the C-43 Canal influence phytoplankton composition, with high discharges promoting cyanobacteria blooms and low discharges fostering diverse algal communities, highlighting the potential for discharge management to mitigate harmful algal blooms.
Feeding Grazing Cattle Seaweed Cuts Methane Emissions by Almost 40% (Environmental News Network) - Feeding grazing beef cattle a seaweed supplement reduces methane emissions by nearly 40%, offering a promising solution for more climate-friendly cattle farming without compromising animal health or weight.
States get $1.2B to build roads, highways with low-carbon materials (Canary Media) - The $1.2 billion in federal grants for roads and highways aims to promote the adoption of low-carbon construction materials by supporting emissions tracking, pilot programs, and sustainability benchmarks, potentially transforming public infrastructure projects while boosting innovation in carbon-reducing technologies.
Where did all the climate voters go? (Grist) - While climate change was not a top issue in the 2024 presidential election, increased voter concern about it influenced environmental ballot measures, boosted Democratic candidates in battleground states, and highlighted the need for bipartisan collaboration on sustainable climate progress.
Housing Trends Shift Across the East Coast
Florida's housing market is cooling as hurricanes, soaring insurance costs, and stricter safety regulations deter investors. Key areas like Fort Lauderdale, Miami, and Orlando have seen double-digit declines in investor purchases, with homes staying on the market 50% longer compared to last year.
New condo safety laws, introduced after the tragic Surfside collapse, are driving up costs, further discouraging buyers. Similar trends are evident in other metro areas, with Newark, NJ, seeing a 19.4% drop in investor purchases.
In contrast, cities like Las Vegas and Seattle are experiencing significant growth in investor interest, underscoring regional disparities in real estate dynamics.
Countdown to an Ice-Free Arctic: New Research Warns of Accelerated Timelines (Environmental News Network) - An ice-free Arctic summer, a critical indicator of climate change with far-reaching impacts on ecosystems and weather patterns, could occur as early as 2027 due to accelerating greenhouse gas emissions.
Accelerating Climate Modeling with Generative AI (Environmental News Network) - A new climate model integrating generative AI with physics data, called Spherical DYffusion, accelerates 100-year climate projections by running simulations 25 times faster than traditional methods, using GPU clusters instead of supercomputers.
Satellites Reveal a Greener Antarctic Peninsula (Environmental News Network) - Satellite data reveals a tenfold increase in vegetated land on the Antarctic Peninsula since 1986, as warming temperatures and shrinking glaciers enable plant life to expand, signaling significant ecological shifts in the region.
Can We Avert the Looming Food Crisis of Climate Change? (Environmental News Network) - Researchers developed a mathematical model to explore how rising carbon dioxide levels, increasing temperatures, and population growth affect crop yields, highlighting the need for mitigation strategies like temperature-tolerant crops to address the looming food crisis driven by climate change.
COP29 ended in an agreement that made the whole world unhappy (Grist) - COP29 concluded with a contentious climate finance deal committing wealthy nations to triple aid to $300 billion annually by 2035, but its reliance on loans, vague implementation mechanisms, and lack of sufficient support for vulnerable nations left both developed and developing countries dissatisfied, highlighting deep divisions and an urgent need for systemic change in global climate funding.
How the world gave up on 1.5 degrees (Grist) - The world’s failure to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius stems from an entrenched "overshoot" ideology that delays action by banking on unproven future technologies, compounded by the economic system’s dependence on fossil fuels, which prioritizes profit over meaningful climate solutions.
Want your voice to be heard? Use this link to easily contact elected officials—from your city council to the President. Your voice can make a real impact. While the IRNA may occasionally prompt you to contact specific officials about urgent issues, we keep this list handy for your convenience. Can't find who you're looking for? Just let us know; we're here to help connect you with the right people.
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