A roundup of news items related to climate change and other environmental issues in Florida:
2 more property insurance companies scaling back in Florida just 2 weeks into hurricane season | News4JAX
JACKSONVILLE – Two weeks into hurricane season, and two property insurance companies in Florida are scaling back policy coverage, citing their vulnerability to natural disasters like hurricanes and flood.
The Farmers Group and AIG made the announcement, and according to the insurance experts, it’s an indication that Florida’s insurance market is still very much in crisis.
Over the past 18 months in Florida, 16 property insurance companies have decided to stop writing new business to new homeowners in one form or the other.
Florida Gov. DeSantis signs bill on sea-level studies | News Service of Florida
TALLAHASSEE – Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed five bills Tuesday, including a measure that will expand the need for studies about sea-level rise when certain structures are built with state dollars.
Currently, governments must study potential sea-level rise impacts when state-financed projects are going up in coastal building zones.
But under the new law (HB 111), studies also will need to be conducted after July 1, 2024, on state-financed structures considered a “historical or cultural asset” in areas at risk of sea-level rise.
Ghost orchids: There’s 1,500 left in southern Florida, and numbers dwindling, groups say | News-Press
The flower is literally a thing of legends, the focal point of books and movies and the victim of ecological crimes.
Now several environmental groups plan to file suit against the federal government for failing to protect ghost orchid habitat.
“The ghost orchid cannot afford further delay,” said Jaclyn Lopez, director of the Jacobs Law Clinic for Democracy and the Environment at Stetson University. “Florida’s biodiversity faces so many threats ― from climate change to sprawl pressure ― the federal government needs to step up its game and prioritize protecting our vulnerable plants and animals.”
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.
