Red Tide

Doing less for your lawn in the summertime can play a part in preserving Florida waters. June 1 through September 30, three areas of Southwest Florida are asking residents to give their fertilizer routines a summer vacation for the sake of water quality.

That humans contribute to making red tides stronger and last longer has been anecdotal. Now, researchers in Southwest Florida have explained that it's really true. Environmental researchers led by the University of Florida’s Center for Coastal Solutions documented the link after studying a decade of red tide data from the Caloosahatchee River, Charlotte Harbor, and the surrounding watersheds including the coasts of Charlotte and Lee counties. The findings are published in the June issue of Science of the Total Environment.

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.

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.

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.

The continuing toll of dead fish piling up on the city's shorelines has prompted St. Petersburg officials to ask the governor for help in combating red tide. That comes on top of of a similar request by one of the top Democratic contenders for governor.

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.

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.

During the 2021 Annual Florida Legislative Session, state lawmakers passed a pair of bills aimed at expanding protections for landowners. The measures, currently awaiting Governor Ron DeSantis’ signature, authorize property owners to file lawsuits against government entities over local land-use regulations, even if the property owners have no formal development plans that would be impacted.Smart-growth advocacy organizations like 1,000 Friends of Florida say the bills could serve as a weaponization of the Bert Harris Act that could prevent local governments from imposing smart-growth regulations that would undermine the state’s coastal resiliency efforts.We'll take a closer look and explore the current state of toxic red tide and blue-green algae blooms in Southwest Florida.

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.