Death of whale near Key West highlights the dangers posed by plastics pollution and lost fishing gear
By Jon Paul “J.P.” Brooker, Ingrid Giskes and Nicholas Mallos, Ocean Conservancy In May, a 47-foot-long adult male sperm whale...
Miami leads the way in identifying sources of plastic in ocean. Now what?
By Jon Paul “J.P.” Brooker The connection between Miami and the ocean runs deep. The city’s economy and quality of...
Do these things to make Florida more resilient to rising waters and stronger storms
Jon Paul "J.P." Brooker These are particularly challenging times for Florida’s precious environment. We’ve lost more than 1,000 manatees in...
The Florida Legislature should provide the money to rescue and treat the state’s beleaguered manatees
By Jon Paul “J.P.” Brooker, Florida Conservation Florida’s manatee population is on the cusp of collapse, and we risk losing...
Florida Legislature should pass a bill that allows local governments to ban smoking on beaches and in parks
By Jon Paul “J.P.” Brooker, Florida Conservation There has never been a better time to protect Florida’s beaches from cigarette...
Floridians want our Everglades, oceans and coasts to be protected from oil-exploration pollution
By Jon Paul “J.P.’’ Brooker, Florida Conservation Oil and water don’t mix. That adage applies to protecting Florida’s precious ecosystems...
Florida Legislature can do even more to make Florida resilient to climate change and rising sea levels
By Jon Paul “J.P.” Brooker, Ocean Conservancy As the Florida Legislature begins to reconvene in Tallahassee for its January session,...
Florida’s manatees – and the state’s beleaguered environment – need help from governments at all levels
By Jon Paul “J.P.” Brooker, Florida Conservation for Ocean Conservancy In its Aug. 15 editorial, the Orlando Sentinel Editorial Board...
DeSantis should appoint a powerful statewide resilience officer who will tackle Florida’s growing climate challenges
By Jon Paul “J.P.” Brooker, Florida Conservation for Ocean Conservancy As Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) Secretary Noah Valenstein...
Piney Point is a symptom of a bigger issue in Florida: the lack of a statewide approach to cope with the climate crisis
By Jon Paul “J.P.” Brooker, Director of Florida Conservation for Ocean Conservancy While the Piney Point disaster seems to no...