Valerie Vande Panne

We are all connected by the environment we share. The Earth is our home. This is the space where we share the environmental stories that caught our attention this week, in Florida and beyond.

Today Governor DeSantis signed the right to farm bill, which passed with overwhelming support in the legislature. Critics, such as the Sierra Club Florida, call it the “right to harm” bill while supporters say the bill is needed to protect agricultural operations.

Today (Wednesday) the City of Naples in partnership with the Naples Botanical Garden is replanting dunes at several beach access points near downtown Naples. Reide Corbett, executive director for East Carolina University's integrated coastal program, observes that often, the renourished beach will again wash away, either out to sea or down the coast.

Listen to author, investigative journalist and research director of US Right to Know Carey Gillam talk about capitalism, greed, the prioritization of profits over public health, and the long term, multi-generational impacts of chemicals and pesticides, and what you can do.

We are all connected by the environment we share. The Earth is our home. This is the space where we share the environmental stories that caught our attention this week, in Florida and beyond.

Lee County Solid Waste in partnership with Lee County Parks and Rec is hosting and Household Chemical Waste collection on Thursday April 22 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. in Lehigh Acres at Veterans Park Recreation Center, 55 Homestead Road South.

Just before Trump left office, the EPA approved the use of a systemic pesticide and known neurotoxin called aldicarb for use on orange and grapefruit groves in the state of Florida. But that federal approval required a subsequent state approval by the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. Today, that office denied Aldicarb's approval.

We are all connected by the environment we share. The Earth is our home. This is the space where we share the environmental stories that caught our attention this week, in Florida and beyond.

Watch a manatee give birth, courtesy Mote Marine Laboratory and Aquarium

On Tuesday April 13, the Collier County Board of Commissioners voted to join the Southwest Florida Regional Resiliency Compact, joining 13 other municipalities in Southwest Florida to increase climate resiliency.