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Greater Everglades Conservation Atlas: Fakahatchee Strand

Fakahatchee Strand hosts a diverse variety of ecosystems, from wet swamp prairies to dry hardwood hammocks and pine rock lands. Painter Margaret Tolbert captures the dramatic sweep of the prairie in December.
 
To View Video: 
via Greater Everglades Conservation Atlas: Fakahatchee Strand
- YouTube.

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Cinema Verde Environmental Film and Arts Festival returns | Gainesville.com

Peter Brown SUN article

Twenty-five films, eight days and one cause. Directors, artists, scientists and filmgoers will come together starting this weekend for Gainesville’s third annual Cinema Verde Environmental Film and Arts Festival.
via Cinema Verde Environmental Film and Arts Festival returns | Gainesville.com.

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Cinema Verde

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Cinema Verde 2012 will be held at Villa East, 301 N. Main St., Gainesville, FL. Plan to do dinner and a movie with us – food and beverages available from Celebrations Catering!
2012 Festival/Film schedule
2012 Film Trailers
VIP Passes and Tickets
Sponsorship Opportunities
Cinema Verde is a wonderful chance for us to celebrate the beautiful nature that is so [...]

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300,000 Organic Farmers Sue Monsanto in Federal Court: Decision on March 31st to Go to Trial | NationofChange

Lit­tle did Willie Nel­son know when he recorded “Crazy” years ago just how crazy it would be­come for our cher­ished fam­ily farm­ers in Amer­ica. Nel­son, Pres­i­dent of Farm Aid, has re­cently called for the na­tional Oc­cupy move­ment to de­clare an “Oc­cupy the Food Sys­tem” ac­tion.
Nel­son states, “Cor­po­rate con­trol of our food sys­tem [...]

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Where the GMOs Grow | The Fine Print

monsantoWEB

Organic farmers are trying their hardest to retain at least some portion of our food in its natural state, with DNA unmutilated. This isn’t the fight many are familiar with, or at least expecting.
In a way, this is the stereotypical “little guy vs. massive corporation” fight. But the “little guy” here includes more than just [...]

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Southern Environmental Law Center » Newsroom » 2012-02-14 Biomass Study

Portland 896

A new study of southeastern forests in the U.S. finds that in the long run, burning wood instead of fossil fuels to make electricity can reduce heat-trapping carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, but not soon enough to prevent worsening the conditions leading to global climate change. The study also shows that as the [...]

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Eat Local: California citrus

dekopon citrus

The California Report looks at the season’s bounty of citrus. I want to try some of those orange limes!
At this time of year, many Californians are buried in citrus. Trees in yards all over town are covered with ripe fruit. In the market, heaping piles of green, yellow and orange tempt us to buy more [...]

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California rep Capps defends the coast

Reporter Kitty Felde for the California Report:
House GOP leaders have postponed a vote on the $260 billion transportation bill until after the Presidents Day holiday. In the meantime, they’re breaking the bill into pieces, including one that uses oil and gas drilling to help pay for bridge and road repairs. Congresswoman Lois Capps of Santa [...]

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Are trees worth more living or dead? National Tree Benefit Calculator

tree canopy

What drew me to Gainesville? The lovely tree canopy and respect the city showed for its trees. Now they want to slash and burn these living lungs that clear our air and cool our breezes…. find out the value of trees in your neighborhood:
The Tree Benefit Calculator allows anyone to make a simple estimation of [...]

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Calif. seeks flexible power rules as wind expands | Reuters

Wind turbine generators are pictured in Desert Hot Springs

The California power grid wants to make sure it can keep electricity flowing as residents rely on a greater amount of wind and solar power and strict water rules force the shutdown of power plants along the coast in the next few years, the agency said.
California has the most ambitious plan of any state to [...]

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Wolf makes big tracks in California

The NY Times reports:
SAN FRANCISCO — On the Chinese calendar, this week ushers in the year of the dragon. But here, it feels a lot more like the year of the wolf.

Richard Cockle/The Oregonian, via Associated Press
John Stephenson, a biologist, measured the stride of the gray wolf known as OR7 in Crater Lake [...]

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Environmental goals are job creators

The East Bay Express figures out the jobs picture:
During a Republican presidential primary debate last June, Michele Bachmann lit into the Environmental Protection Agency, recommending it be renamed the “job-killing organization of America.” Her fellow contenders nodded in agreement, each explaining how shutting down the EPA, or at least instituting a moratorium on regulations, would [...]

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Green Drinks Feb. 1!

Greetings, Green Drinkers and Cinema Verde Fans!

We had a great January candidates forum at Blue Water Bay – thanks to Shawn Sheppard and Jason Fults, as well to all of you who joined us! And now it’s time for some more fun next week…

Green Drinks (www.gogreennation.org/category/green-drinks/) will be held 6 – [...]

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California steps up on air quality

Air quality California AP

JASON DEAREN  reports for the Associated Press

Auto dealers say California’s proposed rules to require carmakers to build more electric and other less-polluting hybrid cars and trucks by 2025 will cost consumers more money and will stifle the industry’s growth.
Consumer groups say customers might pay more for the vehicles but will save in lower fuel and [...]

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Rehabbed seals dive back into the sea

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The release is on the front page of the San Luis Obispo Tribune: I posted my own photos on my blog.
Rascal, a rare Guadalupe fur seal yearling, and Beige, a California sea lion juvenile, headed for the sea Wednesday at Leffingwell Landing in Cambria after being treated at The Marine Mammal Center in Sausalito.
Beige had [...]

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Turtles get critical protection

leatherback-turtle

The San Francisco Chronicle reports:
Federal regulators designated nearly 42,000 square miles of ocean along the West Coast as critical habitat for the Pacific leatherback turtle Friday, far less than originally proposed but still the largest protected area ever established in American waters.
The protected area is the first permanent safe haven in the waters of the [...]

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Building The Midnight’s New Edible Wall Garden | Gainesville Compost

midnight-garden-lights

By Chris Cano
Check out the Midnight garden, a canvas of “living art” powered by compost produced from the food waste of the Gainesville local restaurant community, including The Midnight’s fruit and vegetable scraps which we collect each week via bicycle.
via Building The Midnight’s New Edible Wall Garden [Photo Story] | Gainesville Compost.

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San Luis Obispo joins plastic bag ban

Plastic bag ban

Bob Cuddy reports in the SLO Tribune:
After a four-hour hearing that capped months of debate, the county’s little-known waste management board voted Wednesday evening to ban plastic shopping bags at most stores in San Luis Obispo County.
Unless blocked by litigation, which has already been threatened, or a referendum, retailers will not be permitted to distribute [...]

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SoCal Edison blocks renewable energy projects

Julie Cart of the Los Angeles Times reports:
January 9, 2012
Millions of dollars in renewable energy projects intended to provide power to facilities in California’s national parks and forests are sitting idle because of a years-long squabble with Southern California Edison.
A new $800,000 solar project at Death Valley National Park, photovoltaic panels at the state-of-the art [...]

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Florida bill would work against water conservation

Bruce Ritchie reports:
A bill filed by a Senate budget subcommittee chairman would prohibit the Public Service Commission from allowing private utilities to charge customers higher rates for using large amounts of  water.
SB 1244 appears aimed at Aqua Utilities Florida, the largest private water utility in Florida. But the bill is raising broader concerns among some [...]

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Local residents protect the environment from their elected officials

Catherine Ryan Hyde summarizes the struggle Cambria has had with its own governing body, the Community Services District, to protect the local environment. The area is legally protected by state and federal law, but the CSD board of directors has pursued invading it to build a desalination plant. The full text of her summary includes [...]

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