DRAINED

By Amy Green

WMFE and The Florida Center for Investigative Reporting 
In the final days of his administration, with the eyes of the world on Florida where the epic 2000 election recount was underway, President Bill Clinton quietly signed into law a plan to restore the Everglades. Twenty years and $17 billion later, the grandiose vision of reversing decades of environmental damage remains stuck in the swamp. In DRAINED, a podcast from WMFE and the Florida Center for Investigative Reporting, Amy Green wades into the controversy around one of the most ambitious environmental restoration efforts ever undertaken. From rivers of toxic slime to a mind-boggling plan to inject a giant bubble of freshwater a thousand feet underground, DRAINED examines the massive plan to restore the river of grass and poses the big question about the future of this natural wonder: Can it be saved? Listen here. 

Hurricane Season Collides With Pandemic As Communities Plan For Dual Emergencies

By Jim Bruggers and Amy Green
NPR and InsideClimate News 
Robin Rokobauer doesn't like to chance it. When there's a hurricane, she almost always evacuates.

Rokobauer lives in Cocoa Beach, Fla., on a barrier island between the Atlantic Ocean and the 153-mile-long Indian River Lagoon. Her mother is 93.

"She's got to have flushing toilets," Rokobauer says of her mother. "She's got to have fresh water. She's just got some physical needs that require that."

But this year Rokobauer is thinking hard about her hurricane plan. She is 65, and like her mother, she's considered at higher risk of serious complications from the coronavirus, which has claimed more than 100,000 American lives. Listen here. 

Orlando aims high with emissions cuts, despite uncertain path

By Amy Green
WMFE and InsideClimate News
ORLANDO, Fla. _ Environmentalists rejoiced when city commissioners voted unanimously to power every home and business here with 100 percent clean energy by 2050. Two and a half years later city leaders say they still aren’t sure how they are going to do it.

“We’re still learning and doing a deep dive into exactly when do we retire some plants and what do we replace those plants with, and all of that still is very much being analyzed,” said Chris Castro, the city’s director of sustainability and resilience.

Across Florida, uniquely prone to climate change, local governments are bracing for higher tides and fiercer hurricanes. Some like Miami Beach are installing pumps and raising roads. Others like Satellite Beach are moving critical infrastructure to higher ground. Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Republican elected with President Donald Trump’s endorsement, has appointed the state’s first chief resilience officer to help guide the efforts. The appointment came as part of a sweeping environmental reform by the new governor after toxic algae gripped the state in 2018, although some environmental groups point out the policy does nothing on the human-made emissions responsible for a warming world. Read the rest and listen here. 

Endangered Florida Grasshopper Sparrows Released Into The Wild Despite Concerns

By Amy Green
NPR
There are fewer than 80 Florida grasshopper sparrows left in the wild. As researchers release more into the wild, there's a fight brewing about whether that's the best plan to save them. Listen here.

Florida’s new governor brings a new approach to climate change

By Amy Green
Marketplace
Communities in Florida, one of the states most vulnerable to climate change, are grappling with erosion and loss of property. In a break from recent precedent, the state’s new governor, Ron DeSantis, is not only acknowledging climate change, but is willing to pay to help communities that are affected. Listen here. 

Concern And Worry As Recovery Of North America's Most Endangered Bird Moves Ahead

By Amy Green
WMFE
It’s a milestone in the effort to save North America’s most endangered bird: For the first time wildlife managers are releasing captive-raised Florida grasshopper sparrows in the wild.
They hope to augment the fast-dwindling population on the Central Florida prairie. But they are moving ahead despite strong opposition from some researchers who say the releases could harm the sparrows on the brink of extinction. Listen here. 

Trump Visit Comes As Floridians Ask, How Much Water Should Lake Okeechobee Hold?

By Amy Green
WMFE
President Donald Trump is visiting Lake Okeechobee on Friday. The trip to the troubled lake comes as top Republican leaders in the state say the president’s proposed spending on Everglades restoration is not enough. Lake Okeechobee is among the state’s most significant natural resources, and there’s debate after last year’s toxic algae over just how much water the lake should hold. Listen here.

One Year After Irma, Everglades City Struggles to Rebuild

State climate change denial leaves coastal communities on their own to face the risks.
By Amy Green
Florida Center for Investigative Reporting
This report, part of an FCIR series on climate change, was produced in partnership with WMFE, the NPR member station in Orlando. Click on the player below to hear a radio version.
EVERGLADES CITY – Three presidents have slept in Tina Collins’ home.
Her mint-colored cottage sheltered Franklin Roosevelt, Harry Truman, Dwight Eisenhower and other VIP guests to this frontier outpost of the southwest Florida wilderness, where the Barron River, Everglades and Gulf of Mexico converge. Read the full report and listen to the radio version here.

With Governor and Legislators in Denial, This Tiny Florida Town Tries to Adapt to Climate Change

Yankeetown looks to natural environment for protection
By Amy Green
Florida Center for Investigative Reporting
This report, part of an FCIR series on climate change, was produced in partnership with WMFE, the NPR member station in Orlando.

YANKEETOWN, Florida – While Florida state government bans the terms “climate change” and “global warming” in official business, this coastal fishing village of about 500 people and more water than dry land is being swallowed by the sea with almost no public attention or concern. Read the full report and listen to a radio version here. 

On Florida Coasts, Ghost Forests Serve As Stark Sign Of Sea Level Rise

By Amy Green
WMFE
Among the starkest markers of sea level rise are what scientists describe as ghost forests, coastal thickets left in waste by creeping salt water.

Scientists say it’s happening now at a dramatic rate and are working to understand the ramifications for the landscape, wildlife and local community. Listen here.

Coastal area in Florida begins to plan for sea level rise

By Amy Green
Marketplace
Some 13 million coastal Americans are projected to be displaced by sea level rise by the century's end. As a peninsula, Florida is particularly vulnerable, but one city, Satellite Beach, is taking steps to plan ahead. Listen here.

Florida Battles With Tricky Removal Of Costly Muck In Indian River Lagoon

By Amy Green
NPR
In Florida, an effort is underway to remove more than million cubic feet of muck sullying the Indian River Lagoon, considered one of North America's most biologically diverse estuaries. It's a mess. Listen here.

RIVER OF GRASS, DYING OF THIRST: A WMFE, WLRN series examining the Everglades

By Amy Green and Kate Stein
WMFE and WLRN
The Everglades. One of the world’s most diverse ecosystems, where seagrass meets sawgrass and alligators live with apple snails.

Settlers came to the Everglades lured by promises of bountiful land for agriculture and development. They found “land by the gallon” -- a swamp covered with a slow-moving water sheet. But over time, the new Floridians drained the water and developed the land into railroads, farms and cities. They tamed “the monstropolous beast” known as Lake Okeechobee.

They intertwined Florida’s well-being with the Everglades’ well-being. 

Over the past century, it’s become clear we’re sending the Everglades towards destruction. Listen here.

Invasive Fern In Florida Threatens To Take Down More Than Just Trees

By Amy Green
NPR
LeRoy Rodgers spends plenty of time in the Florida Everglades — mainly in airboats. He works for the South Florida Water Management District.

On a recent day, he eases his boat alongside a tree island. He doesn't like some of the changes he's seen, so he pulls a pair of clippers from a bag and hops over the side.

Rodgers will need the clippers to cut a path through the Old World climbing fern that has almost swallowed the island. Listen here. 

'Last Gasp' To Save The Florida Grasshopper Sparrow From Extinction

By Amy Green

NPR
A tiny bird called the Florida grasshopper sparrow is on the brink of extinction. Fewer than 150 are believed to remain in the wild. Listen here.

Researchers Appear Close To A Remedy For Citrus Greening Disease

By Amy Green
NPR
Florida is known for its oranges and orange juice. For the past decade, a disease called greening has devastated the citrus crop there, and it has spread to other states. Now there's hope for a cure. Listen here.

BROKEN LAGOON: A WMFE series examining Florida's Indian River Lagoon

By Amy Green
WMFE
Residents, scientists and business owners along the Indian River Lagoon are wondering whether it has reached a tipping point after this spring’s stunning fish kill, the worst in modern history. Listen here.

Honey, Who Shrank The Alligators?

By Amy Green
NPR
In the Florida Everglades, the alligators are in trouble.

The reptiles are scrawny, weighing 80 percent of what they should. The alligators grow more slowly, reproduce less and die younger. Researchers are trying to figure out why this iconic species is in decline — and what it means for the Everglades. Listen here.

Florida Gulf Coast Mystery: Why Did The Birds On Seahorse Key Vanish?

By Amy Green
NPR
It used to be Seahorse Key was the largest bird colony on Florida's Gulf Coast, home to up to 20,000 nests. Now silence has replaced the din of noisy nesting birds and researchers are puzzled. Listen here.

Florida Sea Turtles Stage Amazing Comeback

By Amy Green
NPR
When scientists first started counting the nests of green sea turtles in one area in the 1980s, they found fewer than 40 nests. In their last check, they counted almost 12,000. Listen here.