A roundup of news items related to climate change and other environmental issues in Florida:
Hurricane Idalia forms, sets sights on Florida’s Gulf coast | Tampa Bay Times
Hurricane Idalia formed overnight and is likely to become a dangerous major hurricane before making landfall along Florida’s west coast on Wednesday, according to the National Hurricane Center.
Much of Florida’s west coast, including Tampa Bay, is under a hurricane warning and a storm surge warning, the hurricane center said Tuesday in its 5 a.m. update. Forecasters said there is danger of a life-threatening storm surge along portions of the gulf coast, including Tampa Bay and the Big Bend region of Florida.
“Confidence is increasing in an extremely dangerous major hurricane making landfall Wednesday along the west coast of Big Bend region of Florida,” the hurricane center update said.
Rally in Orlando calls harsh heat inside state-run prisons a ‘crisis’ | Orlando Sentinel
The growing movement demanding a state-wide solution to what prison reform activists are calling a heat crisis within Florida’s carceral system gained traction this year, with prison officials and lawmakers alike acknowledging the problem and taking steps to address it.
But despite those efforts, little was accomplished.
On Saturday, a group of about two dozen people rallied together in front of Orlando’s City Hall to demand that the situation be taken more seriously amid one of the hottest summers of Florida’s history.
Rescuing ‘wild Florida’ – by saving cattle ranches | Christian Science Monitor
Some days Wes Carlton wants to turn off his phone. The calls from developers wanting to buy pieces of his four large cattle ranches in central and south Florida roll in almost constantly.
“Imagine you have something your grandmother gave you,” he says, “something precious and dear to your heart, and people are calling you all the time asking, ‘Can I buy it? Can I buy it?’ It’s like, ‘Quit calling me.’”
A fourth-generation cattle rancher, Mr. Carlton is a firm advocate for the Florida beef industry. He and his family have won awards for good environmental stewardship of their land. He has no plans to sell it off. But he understands the pressure that virtually all Florida ranchers are under from developers and why many ranchers choose to sell.
If you have any news items of note that you think we should include in our next roundup, please email The Invading Sea Editor Nathan Crabbe at ncrabbe@fau.edu. Sign up for The Invading Sea newsletter by visiting here.
