According to the News-Press: "In the wake of Gov. Rick Scott's controversial hunting trip to a ranch in Texas, environmentalists are questioning the governor's appointment of two men associated with the ranch to the South Florida Water Management District's governing board. One of the state's leading environmental groups, however, defends the appointments. Scott's Feb. 15, 2013, hunting trip to King Ranch, which covers 825,000 acres in Texas, has generated publicity because it was partly paid for by the sugar industry — King Ranch owns 20,000 acres in South Florida, 12,500 acres of which is used for sugar cane."
Let Eric Draper - Head of Audubon - know what an idiot he is. Audubon, has become a pseudo environmental group, a shell of itself, since Eric became chief. Why would he support these stupid pals of Scott, entrusting them with our water supply.
As he did with DeLisi, Audubon's Draper defended Hutchcraft's appointment. "I not only supported Mitch: I nominated him," Draper said. "The water district has always had somebody who represents the agriculture community on the governing board. When Joe Collins resigned, we wanted somebody we'd worked with and had confidence in. Mitch really fit that bill.
"We'd worked with him on panther habitat conservation and found him to be really approachable, informed and moderate, as agriculture people go. When I've gone to him as a board member to ask him to vote for something, he's typically voted our way."
Make an investment in the environment: Give to Sierra Club or Friends of the Everglades. I wouldn't give a penny to Audubon. Even before the ouster of Dr. Mark Kraus, they have been a shell of themselves with Draper at the helm, he hasn't helped one bit. All he does is alienate other environmentalists doing his wacky own agenda that no one else agrees with.
Mark Kraus, Ph.D
Note: Gimleteye may not agree with me on this post.
The St. Joe company is being greenwashed courtesy of the Audubon Society. JOE and The National Audubon Society have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to create The Audubon Center at West Bay being designed as the gateway to the West Bay Preservation Area. The Joe Company recently had their groundbreaking ceremony for their new 75,000 acre airport which would service the mega-developments they want to create. From what appears to be a press release found on Pr-inside.com:
"JOE and Audubon are also seeking to join with progressive strategic partners to explore the feasibility of creating a world-class environmental educational venue," said Rummell. "This nature center would offer a unique opportunity for environmental organizations, corporations and citizens to build a consensus about how we can live, work and play in a greener world." Get me a barf bag.
Eric dismisses me, he treats me like a pillar: You know it is there because you have to walk around it. He has seen me dozens of times once in a room with half a dozen people for hours, but I am still just a pillar. I don't even get a nod. Too bad I don't have St. Joe tatooed to my forehead, I would get manly handshakes.
Want some idea of what goes on: Go to You Tube FPL’s River of Gas (at second counter 02:20, see what they say about Eric Draper). It is no wonder Draper tried to undermine these activists against FP&L, I heard they have someone from Florida Power and Light on the Audubon Board.
Speaking of Audubon’s Eric Draper, Washington Post’s Michael Grunwald, reported (in an article written June 26, 2002 about the Everglades):
"Critics such as Browder -- a former Audubon official -- accuse Audubon of shilling for a deeply flawed plan, providing cover to anti-environmental politicians to maintain a seat at a stacked negotiating table. Audubon officials say they are aware of the plan's shortcomings, but can address them more by working with project leaders than by accusing them of bad faith. Of all the groups in the coalition, Audubon has the most people, money and access to policymakers; Eric Draper, its lobbyist in Tallahassee, believes other groups resent its influence."
"People are going to criticize me for hanging out with Republicans and wearing a suit, but I have to be as good as the sugar industry's lobbyist," Draper said. "When you're the lead organization and you get stuff done, people get angry with you."
Barf bag again.
Later in the article Grunwald reported: “This spring, the tensions within Florida's environmental movement exploded after Audubon helped engineer a bill ensuring state bonds for Everglades restoration. The problem was that GOP legislators had tacked on language limiting the ability of citizen groups to block development permits. Audubon cut a deal to water down the permit language -- which will not affect Audubon -- but supported the overall bill. More than 100 local groups urged Gov. Jeb Bush to veto the compromise. He didn't, and many environmentalists blame Audubon.”
Yes, you might say this was 2002 but Draper is still there doing his thing in the present with St. Joe: "shilling" and "greenwashing"... the more things change, the more they stay the same.
Readers: Here is a definition of greenwashing because it is going to become more prevalent now that everyone is going green. It is a pejorative term that environmentalists and other critics use to describe the activity of giving a positive public image to putatively environmentally unsound practices. The term first arose in the early 1990s. Environmental groups that accept perks (nature centers for instance) for lending their name to companies doing un-environmental activities are greenwashing the offending company.
I think Audubon's Eric Draper gives himself away in this photo. His idol is Rick Scott. I couldn't muster that look for anyone except my husband. Well maybe for flying Spoonbills or Flamingos (I am a sucker for pink).
Shame on you for Green Washing Rick Scott Eric Draper. Do you really want him to be our next Senator?? Just stop it. Support and vote for Bill Nelson in the Senate. It is bad enough we have Marco Rubio do we need this charlatan too?
Look at the rest of them...not much love there except for Eric Draper. My expression would have been like the others: Blank.
Commissioner Daniella Levine Cava was there for Miami.
Commissioner Xavier Suarez was on the phone listening. I know because I was texting him.
I haven't been there in years but what a difference a few years make. They are going to a 4 day week and they are no longer the South Florida PLANNING Council. They are now the South Florida Regional Council and here is what they are about in regard to planning according to their website:
Dispute Resolution
The Council's Regional Dispute Resolution Process (RDRP) was adopted in response to the requirements of Chapter 186.509, Florida Statutes. The RDRP is designed to reconcile differences in planning, growth management, and other matters among local governments, regional agencies, and private interests. The RDRP endeavors to be a flexible process that will clearly identify and resolve problems as early as possible; utilize procedures in a low-to-high cost sequence, allow flexibility, provide for the appropriate involvement of affected parties, and provide as much process certainty as possible.
They have been cut off at the knees. I don't know why they meet anymore. Maybe I am too much of a pessimist but why is PLANNING out of their name?
Their job was reviewing Comprehensive Development Master Plans and you could go there to see them. You didn't have to go to the cities or Tallahassee.
Eric Draper
The dreaded Eric Draper form Audubon did a presentation on Amendment 1 and the problems Environmentalists are facing. He did a pretty good job on the need for the money to be spent as we voted for in the Amendment, like the sugar land we had a contract to buy for restoration.
Patricia Asseff from Hollywood (a governor appointee) should get the hell off the Council. She is a pave over Patty and has been on far too long. After Eric Draper spoke she totally missed the point. She said we don't need parks unless we get the money to run them. What about upkeep? -- This isn't about Parks lady. The woman next to her totally agreed with her. Gosh ladies what do you think the people in your cities want? You find the money for upkeep of your parks.
The land was supposed to be environmental land. Thomas Teets of the South Florida Water Management District had just finished saying we need more land for Everglades Restoration. She didn't understand a lick. I said in comments: You should all care that your constituents were betrayed that is the issue not upkeep. If you start using money for upkeep you will end up paying for soccer fields and other stuff. That is what they are already doing with the money in Tallahassee-- buying rice farms or something like that. I told them the big picture is that the money is not going towards what we voted for. The issue is not what to do with the land that we spend the money on.
According to the St. Pete Times, Ballot Question 4 asks us "to cut taxes for property owners who set aside vast swaths of land for conservation". Yes the ballot question has good aspects but the St. Joe Lobbyist pushed for it hard (bad sign). Florida Wildlife Federation says the (My word: 'undeserving') developers are already getting tax breaks so it doesn’t change much — they have already plopped cows on their property for an agriculture classification. Tax Watch likes 4 (saying the devil is in the details) and Eric Draper ("Green Washer" of the St. Joe Airport) likes it too.
Reported by Leary in the Times: “A coalition of environmental groups said it would advocate that lawmakers require landowners to commit to at least 10 years under the temporary conservation program.” Too bad this caveat wasn’t in place BEFORE the vote. I will hold my nose and vote "yes" on 4. Here is the St. Pete Times article on Question 4:
By Alex Leary Friday, October 17, 2008
TALLAHASSEE — Florida voters will be asked Nov. 4 to cut taxes for property owners who set aside vast swaths of land for conservation.
But tucked into an independent analysis of Amendment 4 is this small but jarring caveat that suggests the ballot measure might not be quite so simple:
"As with any proposal, the devil will be in the details," wrote Florida TaxWatch, a nonprofit policy group.
Among the unsettled details: Can an owner get a tax break, then develop the land once the real estate slump ends?
Amendment 4 has overwhelming support, including from TaxWatch and environmental groups. But some observers are mindful of past abuses with tax incentives — like parking a few cows on land to claim an agricultural or "greenbelt" land classification.
"The fear is that a developer will just hold land and get a tax break, then later develop the land," Kurt Wenner, TaxWatch's director of tax research, said in an interview Thursday.
The amendment has two parts. The first would eliminate all property taxes on land that is set aside in "perpetuity" and has distinct conservation attributes.
The second, and less noticed provision, would reduce property taxes for owners who agree to set aside their land for a shorter period of time. Property appraisers would have to assess the parcel based on "character of use," not its full potential.
That could be a great advantage to landowners such as St. Joe Co. The company's lobbyist was a key player in getting the measure on the ballot.
The details — including how long land would have to be conserved — would be up to the Legislature to decide.
"If anything, we think this is going to be less subject to abuse than greenbelt," said Eric Draper of Audubon of Florida, one of many groups promoting the amendment, which would need 60 percent voter approval.
The proposal has the potential to take millions of dollars of value off the tax rolls, particularly in rural counties, though how much is unknown.
A coalition of environmental groups said it would advocate that lawmakers require landowners to commit to at least 10 years under the temporary conservation program. It also wants the landowner to submit a yearly plan identifying the wildlife habitat and water resources. And it recommends that anyone who backs out early should be required to pay a penalty.
Similar protections and penalties would be sought for the permanent easement.
Preston Robertson, vice president of the Florida Wildlife Federation, says most of the land that would be transferred to the new program is already getting a tax break under an agricultural exemption.
Under Amendment 4, owners wouldn't have to go through the step of putting cows on the land or planting pine trees.
"If they want to keep the lower tax rate, they are going to do something that promotes conservation," Robertson said, adding that the new classification would be long term, not year to year like the agricultural classification.
"Now there could be cows on the land one year and a Wal-Mart the next," he said.
Robertson said the amendment was his idea. He owns an 81-acre farm in Gadsden County that he wants to put into a full conservation easement, but realized that would take a change in the Florida Constitution.
Robertson said he brought the idea to Brian Yablonski, who was a member of the state Taxation and Budget Reform Commission, which placed Amendment 4 and other measures on the ballot.
Yablonski is also a lobbyist for St. Joe Co., the largest private landowner in the state. Earlier this year, while the amendment was being discussed, Yablonski acknowledged the company could one day benefit but said he was pushing it for environmental groups.
A St. Joe spokesman did not return calls this week seeking comment.
Note to Commissioner Levine Cava: Getting somewhere at 9am on a Saturday -- You need to offer good food. I mean really good food. Did you know Hal Wanless had lox and bagels at his 9am event? Anyway, for the readers that don't need food to lure them to get up and get dressed, the Water Summit should be a good event to go to tomorrow. Levine Cava says:
"Why Water Matters" - will be a discussion about the connection between water and life in South Florida. Join me to hear from experts and community leaders on Everglades Restoration and the impact of Climate Change on our water resources. Come prepared for an interactive conversation on a topic that affects us all but we often take for granted.
Everglades Foundation Eric Eikenberg letter praising FPL, be sure to ask him why he signed on to this letter obviously written by the Audubon suck up extraordinaire Eric Draper:
In February Sunshine State News, partly funded by Big Sugar, quoted Florida Audubon's spokesperson Eric Draper in "Lake Okeechobee to Everglades Flowway Will Never Happen":
Sending water south from Lake Okeechobee to meander naturally through the Everglades -- the "flowway" endorsed by the Everglades Foundation as the only way -- "will never happen, it's pie in the sky," admitted one of Florida's leading voices on environmental policy.
Although Audubon is deeply involved in Everglades restoration, its role as the go-to political source for environmental compromise is controversial. Draper's statement landed with a dull thud especially among civic activists fighting the massive releases of toxic waters into the St. Lucie River and Caloosahatchee.
The abrupt cancellation of the state legislative session meant that barring a last minute intervention by Gov. Rick Scott -- as in, "Scott riding to rivers' rescue" -- there will be no let up in either toxic waters spewing into Florida waterways or the massing of protests by river activists that are setting state GOP leaders on edge.
Draper subsequently apologized to the river activists, but the damage was done. How? The legislative session is a fast-moving train. Audubon helped frame the debate over the use of Amendment 1 funds to purchase Big Sugar lands (ie. they would not be used) and set the stage for compromise: to bargain with polluters who control the legislature.
Sunshine State News, again:
"Participating with about 400 other Florida residents in a "clean water" rally at the base of the Old Capitol steps in Tallahassee, Draper said, "The sugar industry should see there's an additional need for land for reservoirs and they should agree to some of the land proposal," he said." (EOM, bold script)
What Draper was suggesting was that there was a fallback position from the 46,800 acre purchase. It is not clear who Audubon had consulted with, before making that point. Perhaps no one at all. Draper's suggestion to move away from the full purchase of the 46,8000 under option by the state from US Sugar fails to inform that the 46,800 acres was already a defeatist compromise from the 130,000 plus acres in the original deal struck between US Sugar and former Gov. Charlie Crist.
To understand the high stakes, watch a recent video by River Warriors upstream from Miami.
Why is the acquisition of US Sugar lands falling apart? Two answers.
From a cynical point of view, it is clear that all Big Sugar cares about is maximizing its profit for its shareholders. If that means destroying billions of dollars in real estate values and quality of life and forcing costly drinking water on millions of Floridians, so be it. Since the real estate markets rebounded from the Great Recession in 2008, Big Sugar is once again poised to create cities from exhausted farmland, where shareholders can make ten or one hundred times the return compared to growing sugarcane. That simply follows the Florida maxim that a farmer is just a real estate developer waiting for the right price.
An even more cynical view is that the US Sugar deal provided the grand opportunity for the top political players in the state to kick Gov. Charlie Crist out of office and to solidify their lock on a US Senate seat for Marco Rubio. Think that's an exaggeration? Both Jeb Bush and Rubio did Big Sugar's bidding in the early 2000's -- again, using the cover of Audubon of Florida -- to change state water law permitting pollution that violated earlier laws including the plan to restore the Everglades approved by Congress and the president only a few years earlier.
Back in February, Audubon could have made clear to Gov. Scott and legislators that there was no backing down on 1) buying ALL the 46,800 acres in the option to purchase US Sugar lands and 2) that whatever additional measures are necessary -- including eminent domain -- must be on the table in order to save Florida's rivers, estuaries and Everglades and 3) that the "take no money from sugar" pledge is a good place to start bringing equity back to Florida's Everglades.
Read the letter by scientists to Gov. Rick Scott sent last week, pleading the facts and the case for full purchase of the option to buy US Sugar lands that expires in early October. There is no time to lose. The floodgate for pollution are wide open by the US Army Corps of Engineers.
This eleventh-hour plea is to seek your leadership for the state of Florida to exercise the contract option to purchase 46,803 acres from U.S. Sugar south of Lake Okeechobee before October 12, 2015.
This is a time-limited opportunity, and the acquisition and subsequent utilization of this land to store and treat discharges from the lake will expand your legacy by providing benefits to roughly 50 percent of Florida residents.
Significant economic, environmental and water supply benefits include the following:
1. New jobs in restoration-project construction and management;
2. Creation of an emergency relief outlet to protect the integrity of the Herbert Hoover Dike during high lake stages, thereby increasing safety of residents and property adjacent to the lake;
3. Increased flow of lake water south into the remnant Everglades, and hence: more natural water flow into water-starved Everglades National Park and Florida Bay; recharge of drinking water aquifers of millions southeast Florida residents; and reduction of saltwater intrusion into wellfields.
4. Significant reduction of polluted lake discharges to the Caloosahatchee and St. Lucie rivers, estuaries and coastal waters, which would: restore ecological values to these ecosystems; restore jobs lost by lake discharges in the fishing (commercial and recreational), boating, and tourism industries; help rebuild lost real estate values for homes in the affected regions; and restoration of lost boating, fishing and swimming habitats.
Sufficient scientific and engineering justification exists for the acquisition and utilization to store and treat discharges from the lake.
The recent University of Florida Water institute report confirmed what every major evaluation has previously concluded: achieving substantial reduction in lake-triggered discharges to the estuaries and improvements for the dry-season Everglades will require upwards of 100,000 acres or more of additional land between the lake and the Everglades.
Funding is available. The State had the opportunity to purchase this land in October 2013 at $7,400 per acre, and the cost of delaying this acquisition is significant. South Florida Water Management District staff estimated the increase in cost to the public at between $150 million and $350 million.
The State has two available funding mechanisms: 1. direct cash purchase utilizing Amendment 1 funds, or 2. issuance of Certificate of Participation bonds. Either of these costs would fit well within your recently announced 20-year $5 billion Everglades initiative.
In summary, our request is for you to take a leadership role for the state of Florida to purchase the available option lands from U.S. Sugar before October 12, 2015.
The acquisition and subsequent utilization of this land to store and treat discharges from the lake will provide significant economic, environmental and water-supply benefits to millions of current and future Florida generations.
This action has scientific and engineering justification, and the state has available funding options. What is missing is leadership. For the sake of our people, economy and environment, please lead this effort to acquire the available land.
Respectfully,
Joseph L. Gilio (retired professional wetland scientist, founder and past president of Wetlands Management Inc.; 30 years experience)
Kenneth Ammons (president Ammon Water Resource Engineering, former deputy executive director of the South Florida Water Management District; 37 years experience)
Gary Goforth (founder and past president of Gary Goforth Inc., former chief consulting engineer for the South Florida Water Management District; 36 years experience)
Mark Perry (executive director of Florida Oceanographic Society, 36 years experience)
Thomas Van Lent (director of science and policy, The Everglades Foundation; 35 years Everglades experience)
Donald Wisdom (retired colonel, Army; U.S. Army Corps of Engineers district engineer for Jacksonville District (1975-78), consulting environmental engineer; 40 years experience)
If Mr. Eric Eikenberg, the Executive Director of an organization called The Everglades Foundation can characterize FPL and NextEra in the manner he did for the people of Hawaii, FPL has graduated from Master Obfuscator to Master Deceiver.
Eric Eikenberg wrote this on his school's website: "Growing up and being educated in a Christian environment has helped shape the man I am today. Godly teachers and administrators who demonstrated Christ’s love each and every day made an indelible impact on my life." You would think someone with such strong Christian values would not try to deceive Hawaiians about a utility. From Eric Draper of Audubon (the letter co-signer) it was no surprise. He always does stuff like this. (Genius)
We don’t see where he mentioned the Notice of Violation and fine issued by Miami-Dade County to FPL in October, 2015 for polluting the water outside of the Turkey Point Cooling Canal System (CCS), an official Industrial Waste Facility. Or the recent report of the radiological tracer tritium linking unnatural ammonia and phosphorus in Biscayne Bay to the CCS. Or the billion and a half dollars, and growing, it has collected from rate payers for new reactors which, please the Lord, will never be built. It appears that the Forces Of Energy Darkness in Florida and beyond have coalesced to create a united front of misinformation in the service of FPL's holding not only Florida as an energy hostage but it now has its sights on the lovely State of Hawaii. Adding The Everglades Foundation as an ally to its masterfully engineered fake environmental organizations like Consumers Smart Solar (and its deceptive ballot amendment), The Consumer Energy Alliance and FPL Solar Now, FPL is "movin' on up" the ladder of public and political manipulation toward bigger and better corporate audacity and totalitarianism.
How do the people on the street combat such self-serving action by an official monopoly? Does FPL’s franchise include total disregard for the best interests of our fragile ecosystem and the climatological events challenging the survival of the planet? If FPL cannot figure out how to produce energy without befouling our ecology, and reducing demand on the grid with decentralized production of renewable energy, it is time to put the contract up for bid to find companies which can; New York state has over twenty power companies many of which use only renewable energy. How long do we have to be bullied and controlled by NextEra/FPL and its Tallahassee and local lackeys? Can the electorate and constituents of the right be so uninformed and unaware of how they are being used to continue to send people to Tallahassee who really do not serve their best interests?
So, the masquerade continues: NextEra/FPL, The Everglades Foundation, co-signer of the letter Audubon's Eric Draper, the Republican Party and FPL’s phony baloney organizations and programs are fine, self-less, altruistic, leading and respected guardians and protectors of the environment and of trouble free energy. And I am Napoleon.
Barry J. White
President
Citizens Allied for Safe Energy, Inc./CASE - Miami
No more Carnival Center of the Performing Arts, I called Carniverous. So there you have it. No more front page reports of budget deficits until the $30 million gets drawn down. Nearly half is going to pay back the county. So it's $15 million, provided there are no strings attached.
But the gaping hole in the budget was only the outward manifestation of reality that could not find an audience. And $15 million isn't going to solve that problem. The Performing Arsht Center was built as though traffic considerations were no concern. Actually it is the other way around: because you can't get there and can't park easily, the Performing Arsht Center is of no consideration.
On this point I'll stop being a skeptic, if someone can explain how to get to the PAC from the north or south on game night for the Heat on that crappy little off ramp from 395 that funnels four lanes north and four lanes south on 95 down to two lanes. Throw a museum in, costing another few hundred million. Maybe most of Miami Dade County will just stay home.
But winning me over is going to require even more than fixing parking and traffic. You have to invest in local artists, arts and arts education in order to cultivate an audience for the arts. In this respect, the Performing Arsht Center is mainly good for donation bricks. Don't get me wrong: it's wonderful that the Cleveland Orchestra is in town for a month but filling those halls so that budget deficits aren't a permanent feature of the PAC meant applying a little creative thinking about building the constituency from the ground up.
To get really angry about the absence of creative thinking in Miami, you have to take a boat ride on the Miami River.
The context is the horrendous mess that Miami and elected leaders like Mayor Diaz, city and county commissioners allowed to be made of zoning for condominiums along the river. Jorge Perez, that civic leader, and the recent column by Rebecca Wakefield on Perez' Related Group, published in the Sunpost come to mind.
I hadn't been up the river in the past eighteen months or so until last weekend. What is most striking about the massive development that has occurred in those condos teetering toward foreclosure is the way in which the public space along the river was surrendered to private corporations.
The immediate point of complaint is how developers like Perez succeeded, through their land use lobbyists and attorneys like Greenberg Traurig, in erasing the setback for a public right of way to a strip about as wide as a piece of dental floss.
There is only one feature that separates Miami from Hampton News, Portsmouth, or Port Elizabeth: Biscayne Bay and the Miami River. The way that condo developers and their money have wrecked public access to the Miami River is the worst legacy of the building boom that no longer exists.
Put another way, the footprint of terrible development and zoning decisions will long outlast the current crop of politicians, insiders, and civic leaders. In this respect, the Performing Arsht Center will be a testament to misguided investment priorities for a very, very long time. Perhaps until sea-level rise.
I listened to donor Adrienne Arsht on WLRN last night, in a message to the people that came out garbled, "The next generation may be standing on my shoulders, but what I hope for is that every citizen of Miami Dade will give of their time and energy to the important causes like the arts, or medical issues." She didn't say anything about the environment.
Future generations may have to stand on this generation's shoulders because we have done nothing, really, to stop sea level rise as a result of man-made impacts of global warming.
It is a curious omission that Miami's civic leaders never mention the environment. Or environmental groups, that have been sinking under waves of public indifference in south Florida for a long time.
The Miami Herald writes a good story on Governor Charlie Crist and the environment, in advance of this weekend's Everglades Coalition conference, "the largest meeting of environmentalists in the state".
The comment that stands out belongs to Eric Draper, of Florida Audubon, who for some unfathomable reason is the go-to quote for the state's newspapers: "He's turned out to be way better than we ever thought", said Draper, the environmental leader who also embraced Governor Jeb Bush who in turn embraced Audubon and froze out every other environmental group in the state.
"Crist has opened doors that were shut to conservationists for several years after relations with Gov. Jeb Bush turned nearly as chilly as a Greenland glacier--largely over an overhaul of Everglades pollution standards." Ultimately, Mr. Draper and Audubon signed off on those standards. Is there any political status quo that Audubon will not embrace?
I'm sore on this point for some very good reasons, having to do with the continued rampant pollution of the Everglades and the failure of environmental groups to take a strong enough stand to penetrate the layers of public indifference thick as a tortoise shell.
The Governing Board is the final word on the conduct of the state of Florida with respect to the so-called restoration of the Everglades.
Ms. Greene was shocked, that no one on the Governing Board had heard that EPA had analyzed the District's own data on pollution: "During the November 2005 sampling event approximately 27% of the Everglades marsh had a surface water phosphorus concentration greater than 10 parts per billion. However, during 2005 soil phosphorus exceeded 500 milligrams per kilogram (mg/kg), Florida’s definition of "impacted", in 24% of the Everglades, and it exceeded 400 mg/kg, CERP’s restoration goal, in 49% of the Everglades. These proportions are higher than the 16% and 34%, respectively, observed in 1995-1996."
10 parts per billion is, of course, the long fought-over phosphorous standard that Big Sugar fought and fought and fought, finally dragging along Audubon, the Florida legislature, and everyone else in a terrible compromise embraced by Governor Jeb Bush and the 2003 legislature that allowed for "mixing averages" and numerical hocus-pocus to substitute for hard, fast requirements.
There is a daily news clipping service in Florida, by Cate Communications. An industry coalition has taken out a banner ad that's appeared for the past month or so, "The Florida Senate: Courage Under Crisis". Courage? That's the laugh of the century in Florida.
As the legislative session stumbles to an end, the House and Senate have succeeded in distorting the will of the people beyond recognition. What these Republicans leaders have proven -- by failing to enact what the people expressed through Amendment 1 (that 1/3 of the documentary stamp tax on real estate transactions to be used to purchase environmentally sensitive lands) -- is that they are only concerned about their own security.
Alan Hays, Republican chair of the Senate Subcommittee on Appropriations, says that the state already owns too much land: more than 900,000 acres.
Hays' senate district encompasses agricultural lands that are spewing pollution into Lake Okeechobee (which must be why he is also on the Senate "environmental protection committee".) He asks the question, "How much is enough?" as if to dismiss the intent of voters last November. Apparently there is no one in the Senate with the courage to answer.
How is this for an answer, Senator Hays: the state will own "enough" land when every spring, every river and every community's real estate values and quality of life is protected from industry's right to pollute without adequate regulations.
The Florida state legislature interprets its work to depend, absolutely, on cultivating favor with powerful special interests like US Sugar, the Fanjul billionaires, and their proxies including Associated Industries of Florida and the Florida Chamber of Commerce.
First, they killed Growth Management in Florida; the accomplishment of bipartisan consensus over decades. "They", being business interests who are determined to plow condos and suburban subdivisions into every available parcel in Florida and use "regulations kill jobs" as their main excuse. Growth Management had turned into piñata for special interests, but instead of fixing it to make it serve the intent of voters, it was dismantled: either by inattention (Lawton Chiles, Charlie Crist) or outright acts of sabotage (Jeb Bush, Rick Scott). That was the will of the people?
In 2014 the people decided if the legislature wouldn't protect their communities from -- say -- water pollution caused by powerful Big Ag interests, they would authorize the creation of a dedicated source of funding, safe from its grubby little hands, to fund land acquisition to use as cleansing marshes for industry's pollution. 75 percent of Floridians approved, last November, exactly this provision; a funding source to -- say -- complete the land acquisition of Big Sugar lands agreed to in 2010 by US Sugar.
There is not a single elected official or Constitutional Amendment that garnered as much support as Amendment 1 by voters. But no. Your "courageous" elected legislature is in the process of stealing all that money, nearly a billion dollars, for their own projects.
Now that "anything goes", it is clear that everything in Florida is for sale; even values and principles that were once nailed down. They call it "COURAGE" from behind Tallahassee's very high walls.
Toxic algae, last week in St. Lucie estuary
Here is a photo of the St. Lucie River right now. Watch the video of toxic algae that is choking the hopes for a good quality of life, even for ordinary Republicans.
Who is culpable? Every incumbent in office who sinks deep in his or her plush chair in the House or Senate while letting the predatory practices of special interests tighten their grip on taxpayers' throats. That is what they call, "COURAGE".
Who is standing up for the people? NO ONE in elected office who takes money from Big Sugar. Voters are going to have to dig deep in their pockets and invest in candidates who will take the "no money from Big Sugar" pledge. Citizens will have to sue their own government in order to establish that the Florida legislature has violated the intent of Amendment 1.
The next time you vote, remember how you have been betrayed.
In their rejection, Hawaii's Public Service Commission questioned Next Era's:
...Commitment to 100 percent renewable energy, especially in light of its plan to convert power plants to liquefied natural gas andthe small amount of rooftop solar in use in Florida.
In my bill, FPL said that .1% of their energy is derived from solar.
Here is the "Erics" stupid letter, that did not fool the Hawaiians for a minute:
When I read the following OPED recently printed in a Hawaii newspaper, I was seriously confused. Either Florida Audubon and the Everglades Foundation were punk'd -- in which case the OPED represents a serious ethical breach for which an immediate disclaimer should be published -- or if the OPED was penned by Florida Audubon and Everglades Foundation, then it sets a record in groveling to special interests; in this particular case, the state's largest electric utility -- Florida Power and Light.
In Hawaii, FPL's parent company -- NextEra Energy, Inc. -- is pushing hard to complete an acquisition of that state's primary electric utility. The point of the editorial appears to be to alleviate the concern of Hawaiians by demonstrating a close -- even loving -- relationship between environmentalists and FPL. In fact, nothing could be further from the truth. That's the reason my first inclination was to read the OPED as a prank.
I am board president of Friends of the Everglades, founded by Marjory Stonemason Douglas in 1969. Our members and leadership were deeply involved with FPL when it sought licensing from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission for two nuclear reactors in the 1970's in one of the most flood prone and low-lying areas of the state, Homestead Florida. In particular, we advocated for a massive, 168 mile long cooling canal system to ensure what was to become a national park -- Biscayne National Park -- and thousands of acres of high quality wetlands would be protected. Without the cooling canal system, FPL would have turned its super-hot cooling water -- tens of millions of gallons per day -- directly into Biscayne National Park.
Decades later and the results are in: the FPL cooling canal system has failed. Audubon and the Everglades Foundation know the facts perfectly well: super saline water that FPL promised would be contained within the cooling system has not only turned vast expanses of the area surrounding FPL's Turkey Point into a wasteland, impacting the national park, it has also infiltrated the drinking water aquifer, jeopardizing drinking water supplies.
The historical record is clear: FPL has not been a good corporate citizen. It violated every consent agreement it made at Turkey Point -- memorialized in binding, legal compacts with the state of Florida -- with respect to protecting water quality and habitats around that nuclear facility. Data shows that FPL's stewardship of an endangered species, the American crocodile, that used the cooling canals for breeding has also failed. In 2015, the state of Florida literally walked away from its iron-clad commitments.
Moreover -- right now! -- FPL is spending millions of dollars to defeat a state ballot referendum sought by pro-solar activists who have spent many years fighting the utility at the Public Service Commission where rules and regulations have been distorted to protect the industry's interest in centralized power distribution. As a result, Florida is a laggard in the nation on solar installed at the consumer level despite marketing itself as "The Sunshine State".
Furthermore, FPL is seeking licenses from the NRC for two additional nuclear reactors, an effort speeded by "early cost recovery" through which FPL executives have profited despite public opposition. FPL has meddled in local city elections, using the heinous tactics including trying to smear an incumbent elected official, its most effective critic, as a pedophile. Its lobbyists steamrollered the local county commission, over the objection of environmentalists, in laying out its plan for new nuclear at Turkey Point. It has bought influence at the state level with massive political contributions. A quick review of FPL's filings with the SEC show that the words, "climate change" and "global warming" or "sea level rise", appear nowhere in its risk assessments for investors.
So, it is hard to know: did FPL's publicity department punk Florida Audubon and the Everglades Foundation, or, if the greens did surrender, what were its terms and if its terms were accepted, at what price?
Audubon & Everglades Fdn CEO's praise NextEra/FPL in Honolulu Star-Advertiser
NextEra Energy has been a partner in protecting Florida's environment
By Eric Draper and Eric Eikenberg
HONOLULU STAR-ADVERTISER
POSTED: Nov 22, 2015
Electric utility operations require lots of water, and the Everglades and other ecosystems need fresh water. So our organizations go out of the way to make sure that Florida utilities are efficient, thrifty with water and prioritize solar energy.
One utility that always listens to Everglades advocates -- in fact, they seek our guidance -- is NextEra and its subsidiary, Florida Power & Light.
Power plant siting and mitigation, replacing dirty plants with natural gas and solar, and making power lines safer and healthier for birds and pollinators are all areas where we have reached good decisions with NextEra.
When a large utility acquires a local electric company, it's natural to have questions and concerns. We hope sharing some of our experiences will help eliminate some of your concerns.
NextEra gives back to communities across Florida. It has been a leader in the state business community, but at the same time, recognizes that environmental regulations promote both the environment and good jobs.
Unlike many of its peers, NextEra has taken a national leadership role in supporting President Barack Obama's Clean Power Plan. We've worked with NextEra Energy to limit and phase out coal-fired power plants and to replace oil-fired plants with natural gas and solar.
And, here is the best part: When it modernizes or builds new plants to serve its customers, it wants our advice on how and where to build the plant -- even the solar energy fields.
Figuring out how to conserve water is a big challenge and one we are especially concerned with. That is why our organizations secured policy that capped new uses of water from the Everglades. Instead of opposing this, NextEra agreed that protecting the Everglades is important and developed a plan to use treated reclaimed wastewater instead.
Florida, like Hawaii, is facing a lot of growth. We are two of the nation's most beautiful and diverse states. You may be known for pineapples, and we may be known for oranges -- and a gulf and an ocean may separate us -- but we share a deep connection with the natural world. Our states are both blessed with beautiful climates, incredible ecology and wild treasures -- from iconic flora and fauna to breath-taking beaches that attract millions of visitors from around the world.
Our recommendation is to make sure you make your priorities clear and keep the communication lines open. A few years ago, we asked NextEra to look into moving the route for a natural gas pipeline to avoid habitat for an endangered sparrow.
"No problem," company executives said.
We also asked them to let us monitor threatened kestrels nesting in boxes on their power poles. Within weeks, our biologists were peeking into the nests. NextEra asked us for a plan to incorporate native species into the landscape for the manatee viewing center.
"Absolutely," we said.
NextEra Energy is a company that doesn't hesitate to tell it like it is. It is good at what it does, and it doesn't settle for shortcuts. It is a company you want on your side because you can count on it, and it will count on you to share your expertise with it.
NextEra Energy has been a valued collaborator and supporter of our organizations for many years. We hope Hawaii has the same experience.
The following press release from the Governor's Office last week is awful, given the track record. It is a wholesale re-writing of history.
WHAT THEY ARE SAYING…
Environmental Leaders Applaud Gov. Scott’s Commitment to the Everglades
Dan Kimball – U.S. Department of the Interior said, “I appreciate Governor Scott’s problem-solving approach as we continue to move ahead with our federal and state partnership, working together to achieve our restoration goals for Florida’s Everglades.”
Eric Eikenberg – Everglades Foundation said, “Governor Scott understands the importance of improving the Everglades ecosystem, which is evident not only with his water quality plan but also with his $130 million investment for improving America's Everglades.”
Pepe Fanjul, Jr. – Florida Crystals said, “There is no better testament of Gov. Scott’s leadership abilities than the fact he has been able to successfully kick-start Everglades restoration, including the financing and construction of important water projects."
Eric Draper – Audubon Florida said, “We are seeing real progress on the Everglades. Governor Scott deserves credit for following through on projects to get water clean and delivered to the natural system.”
Robert Coker – U.S. Sugar said, “Governor Scott’s budget recognizes the importance of working together to preserve, restore and maintain Florida’s Everglades and the communities it supports.”
Larry Kiker – Lee County Commission Chair said, "The Everglades restoration projects Governor Scott wants to fund in this year's budget will also help Southwest Florida by providing cleaner water down the Caloosahatchee River, the lifeblood of Lee County. I applaud the Governor's continued efforts to help Southwest Florida families."
Sarah Heard – Martin County Commission Chair said, "I applaud Governor Scott for his continued commitment to Everglades restoration and funding that will benefit the St. Lucie River and the Indian River Lagoon. This is an important step on the journey to restoring the Everglades, which will help improve water quality in Martin County."
Florida Audubon's OPED, published recently in a Hawaii, by Eric Draper was meant to put Hawaii at ease in the pending merger of Hawaii's electric utility with FPL. Draper, contrary to fact, claimed that FPL was a great corporate citizen. "One utility that always listens to Everglades advocates -- in fact, they seek our guidance -- is NextEra and its subsidiary, Florida Power & Light," dismissing with a few key strokes the decades of FPL's fighting environmentalists at every turn at its Turkey Point nuclear facility. Judging from the outcome, FPL never listens to Everglades advocates or does so only after investing hundreds of thousands of dollars to "tenderize" its opposition. There is another OPED in the Hawaii newspaper today, putting FPL in a different context:
Enough of my neighbors seem to think NextEra’s big claims for savings sound too good to be true that they keep asking: What is it that NextEra isn’t telling us?
Recent NextEra disclosures finally reveal what hasn’t been said: Billions of dollars in costs will likely be added to our electric bills.
On June 24th Gimleteye wrote "More Bullshit from Big Sugar." I had sent Gimleteye the post card I got from Big Sugar, touting their accomplishments, and Gimleteye wrote about it. I got the post card because I am a registered Republican. I have since got other post cards from Big Sugar, my spouse has not received any. They are obviously campaigning for Rick Scott, his picture is on the post card.
Eikenberg, chief executive officer of the Everglades Foundation, also said the bill addresses only one part of restoration efforts — water quality — and is far from the “final phase.”
“To put out a flier and say we are in the final stage of restoration is disingenuous and it’s a typical tactic that the sugar industry plays,’’ Eikenberg said.
Draper said the flier tells only “half of the story.”
Curtis Morgan goes on to report:
"The industry has significantly reduced its use of the damaging nutrient phosphorus, which harms native vegetation, but environmentalists contend farms should do more to reduce the volume of pollution that wash off fields after storms into South Florida’s canal system. They also argue that South Florida taxpayers, not the industry, have been stuck with the bulk of the clean-up costs through property taxes that support the South Florida Water Management District, which is managing the clean-up."
The offending post card, I since was mailed a second one. The card was sent to Republicans. I think this is the beginning of big sugar campaigning for RICK SCOTT. They couldn't give a damn on how we feel about them otherwise.
Back of the stupid big sugar post card, both environmentalists quoted take issue with the post card, thankfully as I thought them both total idiots for their quotes. Note Rick Scott is pictured.
When reading these pro and con editorials in the Miami Herald, you MUST educate yourself on who is writing them. I have no love lost with Eric Draper, as I feel he makes deals sometimes but Barney Bishop I totally disagree with on everything. He is not credible in my opinion. I have a file of 12 posts on him in the index at right. I would totally ignore his argument and listen to Draper on this one.
General Rule: When given the chance to vote on something: You should always take it. Second Rule: Never listen to Barney Bishop. He does not want to help people, only business and corporations, and he always does it in a cocky, nasty way which grates on me.
The Orlando Sentinel writes a fine story on the unfolding dynamic related to the anger of voters against uncontrolled growth and the state legislature.
We know so little about the performance of our state legislators when it comes to growth issues. The Herald only reports, when the legislators are vying for re-election and even, then, the editorial page never mentions their positions on growth.
The Herald gives the Dade legislative delegation a free pass on growth.
Read the Sentinel and ask, yourself, why this issue is not being reported in the Herald. OrlandoSentinel.com Florida's top planner tells legislators: Tackle sprawl or voters will
Aaron Deslatte Tallahassee Bureau
December 13, 2007
TALLAHASSEE
With a public fuming over congestion and sprawl, state planners and legislative leaders are again seeking ways to better manage Florida's growth.
But unlike years past -- when politicians and planners passed tough growth laws only to water them down afterward -- they're up against a possible public uprising.
Florida Department of Community Affairs Secretary Tom Pelham asked lawmakers Wednesday to consider sweeping changes to the state-review process that decides what gets built and where -- aimed squarely at the slow-growth Florida Hometown Democracy amendment that could go before voters next year.
That amendment, if approved by voters, would require public votes on any significant change to a community's comprehensive plan, its so-called "blueprint for growth." Developers have warned it would destroy their business.
Pelham called the Hometown amendment "draconian" but said its growing support showed a broad public discontent over growth that won't go away even if the amendment doesn't make the 2008 ballot.
He said his so-called Citizens' Planning Bill of Rights would include requiring supermajority votes before cities and counties can sign off on changes to local comprehensive plans, and cutting down on how often the growth maps can be changed each year.
Citizens "watch this process. They lose confidence," Pelham told the Senate Community Affairs Committee on Wednesday. "They think the plans are changed willy-nilly. They think the commissions are in the pockets of the developers."
Pelham said he also wants to significantly reduce state regulation of developments that offer "affordable housing," encourage urban development and discourage sprawl in rural areas. He told the committee, though, that final details are still being drafted.
It's part of a major effort to regain control over a growth-management process that many agree has become confounding -- and infuriating.
Though communities' comprehensive plans are supposed to provide a big-picture blueprint for how to grow, Florida governments amend those plans 12,000 times each year. In 2005, an all-time high of 208,000 permits for single-family, detached homes were issued, though that total fell to 146,000 last year and will likely drop again this year.
Places such as St. Pete Beach and Sarasota County already have made changes to mandate supermajority votes or referendums on big development projects.
"I think this is deep-seated and widespread," said Linda Chapin, the former Orange County mayor who heads the University of Central Florida's Metropolitan Center for Regional Studies and has talked to Pelham about his plans. "We have a lot of people talking about the things he is talking about."
Pelham was heralded by anti-sprawl groups when he accepted Gov. Charlie Crist's appointment last year to be Florida's top growth planner.
Considered one of the founding fathers of Florida's much-maligned growth-management law, Pelham helped implement the original act when he held the same job in the late 1980s. A development lawyer, he has earned acclaim through the years for criticizing the way lawmakers have gradually scaled back the act.
Last spring, he went toe-to-toe with Rep. Dean Cannon, R-Winter Park, over a bill Cannon pushed that waives some road-building requirements for urban areas. Crist signed the bill despite requests from environmental groups for a veto.
Now, Pelham is using his own clout -- and the threat of a constitutional amendment developers hate -- to prevail.
"He is using the threat of Hometown Democracy to motivate the Legislature to put citizens back in the process," said Eric Draper, with Audubon of Florida.
Even if the amendment's backers don't meet the Feb. 1 deadline to place it on the 2008 ballot, "this movement is likely to continue at the local level all over our state," Pelham told lawmakers.
"What this movement indicates is growing citizen dissatisfaction with the way we're dealing with growth-and-development issues."
Ross Burnaman, a Tallahassee lawyer who worked at DCA under Pelham in the 1980s, co-founded the Hometown Democracy movement and said he has little faith lawmakers will listen to Pelham.
"I don't trust the Legislature," he said. "Since 1985, the Legislature's done nothing but butcher a good piece of legislation."
Many veterans of Tallahassee's past growth fights agree -- and they also don't know whether any legislation will appease the public's anger over what they see is unregulated growth.
"There's a general frustration by people who come down to the county-commission meeting to speak about something they think is important, then get three minutes at midnight," said Wade Hopping, a longtime Tallahassee lobbyist for developers.
"They end up feeling like it's not a fair deal. That's going to be a hard thing to fix."
Aaron Deslatte can be reached at adeslatte@orlandosentinel.com
*Steer more growth to urban areas by easing or removing state requirements that developers ensure sufficient new-road capacity to handle more traffic.
*Require more public notice before local governments can change their comprehensive plans, their "blueprints for growth."
*Let cities and counties change their comprehensive plans less often -- and require a supermajority vote to approve the changes.
South Florida Regional (they dropped the word Planning from their name) Council meets July 6th (about 11). They took planning out of the name officially on July 1st.
Interesting discussion item:
Americas' Dream Mall
Program Report and Activities that should interest us all:
Thomas M. Teets
A. Everglades Restoration Speaker Thomas M. Teets - office of Everglades Policy and coordination for the South Florida Water Management District.
B. Amendment 1 - (land buying funds we all voted for) Speaker Eric Draper - Audubon of Florida.
Agenda items of Interest to me
County Commissioners Daniella Levine Cava and Xavier Suarez are Miami Dade Appointees on the Council.
Be there if you can 3440 Hollywood Blvd. Suite 140. It starts at 10:30 but I don't see them getting to the good items till at least an hour later. This is the only State of Florida entity down here. It does a regional review of projects (3 counties participate). There has to be some public comment time although it was not on the agenda. The public hardly ever goes to this monthly meeting. If you want to ask about time call Phone 954-985-4416. I heard the whole meeting is only about two hours.
The US Treasury is drawing the line on taxpayer bailouts, depending if a particular supplicant is part of the economic web that represents "systemic risk".
So, Citigroup is "too big to fail" today. Who can forget only a few years ago the experts judged gigantism to "disperse risk", or, that the experts now evaluating what represents systemic risk also judged the late, great asset bubbles to be acceptable. A decade ago I worked at a division of Citigroup; it was the failure of a senior manager to adequately explain the risks inherent in mortgage backed securities that triggered my personal systemic risk about the retail side of wealth management.
I was curious about securitized debt tied to housing because the suburban landscape of Florida didn't add up. Environmentalists have always groused about "hidden subsidies" of sprawl; the inadequate infrastructure, badly planned schools and wetlands protection. What environmentalists failed to do was extend those overt hidden subsidies to the covert ones, concealed in tranches of mortgage backed securities and insurance derivatives tied to them.
To give credit where credit is due, environmentalists can't be necessarily faulted for failing to pick up the trail of crumbs leading from devastated ecosystems to production home builders to local and state legislatures and Congress, to the White House and Wall Street. For the most part, environmentalists have been running from one leak in the dike to another, throwing up sandbags against the force of wealth creation based on securitization.
It is now clear that the entire formula for economic growth based on the housing asset bubble depended on mispricing risk. The curtain has been pulled back from trillions earned by Wall Street and its supply chain. Our economic and environmental crises are identical twins.
The same mispricing of risk is at work in a report headed to the Florida Public Service Commission, to Florida's Governor Charlie Crist and the Legislature on the cost of energy alternatives ("Solar power costlier for Florida than nuclear power, report finds", The Miami Herald, Nov. 26, 2008).
A representative of the environment-- Eric Draper, deputy director of Florida Audubon, is quoted by The Miami Herald saying he "wishes he had more time to read the document." His comment suggests that complexity needs more time to unwind. The report's conclusion: that solar is considerably more costly than new nuclear power and natural gas.
I haven't read the report; but the notion of "complexity" defying understanding has a very familiar ring. (Hit read more) Figuring out the relative cost of renewables is largely a matter of assessing risk; the order of calculations at the heart of what dragged the world economy into a chasm. What financial managers did-- from former Fed Chief Alan Greenspan to former Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin-- was to wrap themselves and everyone around them in an invisible cloak of complexity. That is how my branch manager, eight years ago, rebuffed questions about mortgage backed securities-- suggesting, 'Don't worry. We know how to calculate risk.'
Let's cut to the chase: there are only two relevant questions about pricing alternative energy; first, what is the cost of not converting from fossil fuels as soon as possible, and second, what is the cost of disposing radioactive fuels from nuclear power? The answer in the first case is unlimited risk. In the second case is too expensive to calculate.
The new arithmetic of bailouts, now said to total more than $7 trillion, attempts to zero out the risk to our economy from miscalculations by Wall Street and its supply chain. When it comes to assessing future risk in energy policies, no one should embrace bad choices because the arithmetic is too hard to understand. Been there, done that.
It is hard to believe that Gov. Rick Scott could be a worse friend to the Everglades than Jeb Bush, the last Republican to hold the office of Florida governor. But it's true. We wrote last week about the terrible deal under consideration by the Cabinet at the insistence of Big Sugar; a deal that puts key steps in Everglades restoration further from the public reach by unnecessarily adding cost to taxpayers. What a sad legacy for Scott et al., but it is really just a continuation of the political meddling and influence peddling that takes billionaires and their profits, first. This sugar addiction has got to stop. (BTW, if you want to read about the trail of tears in the Dominican Republic, which hosts some of those billionaires, pick up the books by Junot Diaz. He doesn't write about Big Sugar and the billionaires, but he should.) A great OPED from the Keys ...
The Florida Cabinet kowtowed to Big Sugar Wednesday over strong objections from environmental watchdogs.
By unanimous vote, the Cabinet -- Gov. Rick Scott, Attorney General Pam Bondi, Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam and Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater -- agreed to extend leases for 30 years on 13,000 acres of state-owned land now used by Florida Crystals and A. Duda and Sons to grow sugar cane.
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