A roundup of news items related to climate change and other environmental issues in Florida:
Volunteers, environmental leaders applaud recent Florida Wildlife Corridor expansion | WMNF
Over 20,000 acres were recently set aside to grow Florida’s Wildlife Corridor.
Gov. Ron DeSantis and the Florida Cabinet approved over $46 million in mid-March to allow for the expansion of five different preserved areas.
One of the areas that’s growing is the Wolfe Creek Forest and Blackwater River State Forest near Pensacola, which will receive just over 1,500 acres. Environmental leaders who advocated for the area’s expansion, and volunteers associated with the forests, said this effort will benefit wildlife and people.
As residents struggle with aftermath of storms, Broward schools’ damage hits $8 million | WLRN
The floods are not done with Broward County. On the back of last week’s historic deluge, three more inches of rain fell Monday — and flights were temporarily grounded again at Fort Lauderdale airport. As of Tuesday, inches of water and mud still covered some streets.
But schools, businesses and some government buildings are back open.
The flooding shut down Broward County Public Schools for two days, but the district was able to reopen Monday. District staff worked through the weekend to tear out drywall and mop up the floodwaters. According to the district, the flooding caused issues at a couple of dozen schools, but there were nine that took the brunt of the damage, all in Fort Lauderdale and Hollywood.
Winter Park ‘green’ banker fears ESG bill could shut him down | Orlando Sentinel
Central Florida banker Kenneth LaRoe has always considered himself an environmentalist. But it wasn’t until after he sold his first bank and took an extended road trip with his wife that he decided to open a bank dedicated to eco-friendly practices.
“At 50, I was wondering what I could do to help save the planet,” said LaRoe, who comes from a farming family in Eustis and until recently was a Republican. Inspired by Yvon Chouinard, the legendary mountain climber who founded the Patagonia company, LaRoe came up with the idea for First Green Bank.
Over the next nine years, he built up First Green Bank’s business and sold it to the Stuart-based Seacoast Bank, one of the largest community banks in Florida, for $115 million. LaRoe then came up with Climate First Bank, devoted to the principles of Environmental, Social and Governance, or ESG.
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.
