OCEAN OUTFALL BILL PROVIDES RELIEF TO SOUTH FLORIDA CORAL REEFS AND WATER SUPPLY
On April 30, 2008, the Florida Legislature passed a bill to end a decade's old practice of dumping poorly treated sewage off Florida's southeast coast. The House of Representatives passed the Wastewater Disposal Bill (HB 7139), created earlier by the Senate (SB 1302), with just two days left in the session. (click here to read more)
Posted May 1, 2008
Key West Clean Up
On Saturday, March 29th, 2008, Key West-area dive shops held a reef clean-up. Charterboat crew and guests utilized their excursion on the water to make a difference by carefully remove debris and trash from the coral reef. (click here to read more)
Posted April 8, 2008
Celebrate the Year of the Coral Reef by getting involved. Join Reef Relief on Saturday March 29th as Key West dive charter businesses dedicate the day to a reef clean-up. (click here to read more)
Posted March 24, 2008
Coral Reefs brochure now available Keyswide & Online
Thanks to the support of American Express and Key West hoteliers Southernmost Hotel Collection, Blue Marlin Motel and Best Western Hibiscus Motel, an updated version of Reef Relief's educational brochure, Coral Reefs, is now available for visitors and residents throughout the Florida Keys.
"This is Reef Relief's key printed educational piece on why and how to protect coral reefs, with tips for divers, snorkelers, boaters and fishermen," noted Reef Relief's DeeVon Quirolo. "Volunteers and Reef Relief educators have recently distributed them to over one thousand locations throughout the Florida Keys including all hotels, motels, guesthouses, marinas, charterboats, educational facilities, visitor centers, chambers of commerce, and dive shops. If we missed you, contact us."
The educational piece is also sent all over the world in teacher kits, information packets and distributed at numerous special events throughout the year in the Keys and South Florida. In addition, it can be downloaded from www.reefrelief.org.
"These businesses made this educational effort possible and now everyone in the Keys will have an easy way to learn more about our endangered coral reefs," added Quirolo.
The brochure is provided to all interested and additional copies can be obtained by contacting Reef Relief at (305) 293-3100 or email to reef@reefrelief.org. (click here to download)
Conch Independence Celebration Book Signing & Party for the Reef Monday, April 21 at Reef Relief
Join us during Conch Republic Independence Celebration at the new Reef Relief Environmental Center in Key West on Monday, April 21 from 4-7pm. We'll be welcoming author Susan Nugent, who just published the book, Women Conserving the Florida Keys. (click here to read more)
Posted March 8, 2008
Sea life should not be on drugs (click here to read more)
Posted February 26, 2008
NPR: Map Reveals Extensive Damage to World's Oceans (click here to read/listen)
Posted February 23, 2008
Reef Relief Environmental Center Now Open and Volunteers Are Needed (click here to read more)
Posted January 27, 2008
Humans Have Caused Profound Changes In Caribbean Coral Reefs (click here to read more)
Posted January 17, 2008
Reef Rescue Documents Sewage Pollution of Coral Reefs (click here for presentation)
Posted January 15, 2008
COMMENTARY: Reefs in Peril
Scientist Nancy Knowlton says we can save these beautiful and unique marine ecosystems if we act quickly (click here to read more)
Posted January 15, 2008
Reef Relief Holiday Online Auction Raises $46,000 for Coral Reefs (click here to read more)
Posted December 28, 2007
Project SeaCAMEL: November 12 - 14
Online Underwater First! Live Broadcast Science Classes from the Aquarius Habitat! (click here to read more)
Posted November 13, 2007
Congress Approves Money, Protections for Coral Reef
Congress has added new protections and approved $8 million for the Florida Keys coral reef, which provides habitat for fish, a buffer from hurricanes and a visual wonder for divers. (click here to read more)
Posted November 1, 2007
Southernmost Beach Café Benefit for Reef Relief & Holiday Online Auction Sunday November 18th featuring Mile Marker 24 Band
Everyone is invited to a beach party at South Beach in Key West on Sunday, November 18th from 2-6 pm, featuring Howard Livingston and the Mile Marker 24 band. The Southernmost Beach Café, as it is now called, is newly renovated and under new management on the beach at the oceanside of Duval Street. (click here to read more)
Posted October 26, 2007
Solar Demonstration Project
Keys Energy Services, the local power supplier for the Lower Florida Keys, and Reef Relief entered into a memorandum of understanding to partner in the development of a solar demonstration project at the new Reef Relief Environmental Center in Key West. (click here to read more)
Posted October 12, 2007Letter to the Editor, Keynoter.com
Since our first written comments to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission in 1991, which have been presented at multiple successive meetings since, Reef Relief has registered its opposition to sport lobster days in the Keys. (click here to read more)
Posted October 6, 2007
Spirit Snorkeling of Marathon, Florida, cleans up!
Spirit Snorkeling of Marathon did a clean-up of trash on Money Island Saturday, Sept. 15th. The trash was left behind by campers. Great job, guys! (click here to see photos)
Posted September 25, 2007
The water at American beaches was unsafe for swimming a record number of days last year, according to the 17th annual beach water quality report released today by the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC). (click here to read more)
Posted September 3, 2007
American Samoa as Role Model for Responsibility
While hosting the recent US Coral Reef Task Force meeting in American Samoa, Governor Togiola Tulafono stated that the Government of American Samoa is committed to take its responsibility in addressing the adverse impacts of global warming and resulting climate change, and challenged the federal government, the public sector, and regional jurisdictions to do the same. (click here to read more)
Posted September 3, 2007
REEF RELIEF MOVES INTO NEW KEY WEST HEADQUARTERS AT KEY WEST HISTORIC SEAPORT
It's official! Reef Relief has moved to new headquarters behind the Conch Republic Seafood Company at the Historic Seaport in Key West! (click here to read more)
Posted August 6, 2007
New study links sewage and reef
A study funded by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has found evidence of human sewage contamination on a reef more than six miles off the Keys. (click here to read more)
Posted August 6, 2007
Comments of Dr. Goreau to US Coral Reef Task Force, February 12, 2007
In these short comments I very briefly focus on what
is already known about the extent and causes of reef
degradation in Southeast Florida, and what needs to be
done to clean up the water to protect the little that
is left. (click here to read more)
Posted July 31, 2007
'Reef doctor' is taking a big plunge
By Cammy Clark
Harold Hudson has logged more time underwater than many fish.Most of those thousands of hours in diving gear have been at the world's reefs, conducting groundbreaking research. But the 71-year-old biologist is best known for his pioneering work in reef restoration: repairing corals damaged by grounded ships, careless tourists, global warming, marine pollution and nature's wrath. (click here to read more)
Posted May 15, 2007
Coral Reef Conservation Amendment Act of 2007
The Bush administration delivered its proposal for coral reef conservation to Congress yesterday, urging legislators to enact greater latitude for the federal government to address reef health and the ability to prosecute ships that hurt reefs. (click here to read more)
Posted May 11, 2007
Reef Relief 20th Gala includes Honors, State of Reef Address, & more. (click here to read more)
Posted April 22, 2007
Reef Relief Dive Against Global Warming April 14 (click here to read more)
Posted April 22, 2007
Earth Day 2007: Time to extinguish the fires. (click here to read more)
Posted April 22, 2007
U.S. Censors Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change regarding impacts to coral reefs. (click here to read more)
Posted April 17, 2007
Oceans and Coasts Should be Top Priority for State of Florida
Groups Provide Ocean, Coastal Renewal Blueprint for Florida, Highlight Opportunity for State to Lead the Nation in Coastal Protection
Citing escalating problems with coastal pollution, red tide outbreaks, plummeting fish catches, unsustainable beach development, and loss of coral reefs and other marine habitats, over 160 coastal and ocean businesses, civic, outdoor, and conservation organizations have now endorsed a blueprint for protecting and preserving Florida's coastal environment and economy. It is the first time such a large number of diverse groups has joined together in the name of comprehensive ocean conservation for Florida. (click here for more information)
Florida's Coastal & Ocean Future: A Blueprint for Economic and Environmental Leadership: click here to read document
Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act Reauthorized
On January 12, 2007, the President signed the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Reauthorization Act of 2006 into law, strengthening the 1996 provisions and extending the Act until 2013. What follows are brief summaries of some of the key amendments and changes. (click here for more)
Representative Connie Mack Calls for Rigorous Research on Red Tides in Florida
Rep. Connie Mack IV introduced a bill in the U.S. House on Thursday that would authorize more than $90 million for research on red tide and other harmful algal blooms over a three-year period. (click here for more)
Posted March 21, 2007
Sign the petition to help save our coral reefs.
In honor of the International Year of the Reef in 2008, our friends at the Reef Check Foundation have issued an URGENT CALL TO ACTION represented in the International Declaration of Reef Rights, viewable here.
Please sign the document today and circulate widely!
Posted March 21, 2007
Send in Your Surveys!
As part of a study effort concerning the effectiveness of the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, all Reef Relief members were sent a survey from Manoj Shivlani, of the University of Miami. If you have already mailed back the survey, we thank you for your participation. If you have not had the opportunity to do so, and are a member of Reef Relief, may we please request that you complete and mail in the survey in the postage-paid envelop, as your feedback is essential for the success of the study. Please contact the survey team at (305) 421-4608 with any questions or to request another copy of the survey.
Posted February 21, 2007
Eight Climate Disasters on the Seven Seas by David Helvarg of Blue Frontier Campaign (and Reef Relief board member) reprinted from BLUE NOTES
The latest report of the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change tells us there's a more than 90 percent certainty that human generated gasses are responsible for the Global Warming we're experiencing.(click here for more)
Posted February 21, 2007
Pixlit Productions and Reef Relief Release Threatened Coral Reefs-- a New Online Coral Reef Course: Learn more about Coral Reefs
PixLit, a provider of high quality online video programs for teachers and students, and Reef Relief have partnered to produce what might be considered one of today's most comprehensive online learning tools on coral reefs. (click here for more)
Posted February 21, 2007
Miami Geologist Says Global Warming is Real
Global warming is already impacting the Southwest Florida coast, said University of Miami geologist Harold Wanless, and local coastlines could still rise between two or three feet in the next century if global carbon dioxide levels stop rising. (click here for more)
Posted February 25, 2007
Information about Offshore Oil Drilling legislation (click here)
Happy 2007
First of all, even though January is nearly over already, we wish everyone a wonderful, prosperous 2007. (click here for more)
Posted February 1, 2007
Florida's Coastal & Ocean Coalition Plans for New Florida Leadership
Florida's leading conservation organizations gathered in Tallahassee recently to formalize a coalition that has been working together to improve the state's environmental protection. (click here for more information)
Posted January 7, 2007
Keys fear disaster if Cuba taps nearby oil
By Mike Williams
Palm Beach Post-Cox News Service
Monday, January 01, 2007
KEY LARGO - The pelicans gather each afternoon, cute, gawky and hungry. They flap and flop awkwardly among the mangrove roots as Juan Leon, a worker at the Florida Keys Wild Bird Center, tosses them fish to supplement their natural diet. (click here for more information)
Sewage plant agrees to quit dumping waste near reef
By Antigone Barton
Palm Beach Post Staff Writer
Friday, December 15, 2006
DELRAY BEACH � A sewage treatment plant sending an average of 13 million gallons of partly treated wastewater into the sea each day will discontinue the practice within the next few years, board members of the utility decided unanimously Thursday. (click here for more information)
Good News on Everglades Pollution
A long standing challenge to the state's practise of pumping agricultural runoff into Lake Okeechobee has resulted in a finding that the Clean Water Act does apply and that transfers without permits will no longer be allowed. (click here for more information)
Top Florida Official Admits Pollution Link to Algae Blooms
E-mail to Governor Bush Contradicts Repeated Public Denials of Connection
Washington, DC Florida’s Environmental Secretary confirmed the link between water pollution and “the exponential growth” of algal blooms in an email she sent to Governor Jeb Bush, released today by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER). (click here for more information)
David Helvarg, president of Blue Frontier Campaign and a Reef Relief board member wrote The Crocodile Saver that appeared in the LA Times on 9/6/06:
“THREE MONTHS ago, I stepped on a sea urchin in Hawaii, and my foot still hurts some. That's hardly comparable to the sadly ironic death of "Crocodile Hunter" Steve Irwin, killed by the barb of a stingray, one of the ocean's more benign creatures, while snorkeling on the Great Barrier Reef. Click here to read the complete article.
Posted on September 12, 2006
Reef Relief Vice President Dorothy Lee Witwer has editorial published in the September 1, 2006, edition of the Christian Science Monitor:
“Clean oceans should concern inland and coastal dwellers I was pleased to read your Aug. 23 editorial, "Bummer beaches and other ocean woes," about the environmental problems in the oceans because a large number of people are unaware of this subject. It is a problem like global warming that has crept up on us because of population growth and the way we live. (click here for more information)
Posted on September 12, 2006
Florida Coral Battered by Hurricanes and Disease
“In the azure waters of Florida's remote Dry Tortugas National Park, corals have been toppled by hurricanes and blighted by disease and a
phenomenon known as bleaching.
Eight hurricanes in two years and a plague of disease that swept the Caribbean recently have damaged the colorful, thick carpets of open-water
coral reefs in the 100-square-mile (260-sq-km) park off Florida's southwest coast.”
Posted on July 6, 2006
Public Comments on 4d Rule on Rule to List Elkhorn and Staghorn corals to the Endangered Species as “Threatened”
“We submit these additional comments with respect to the development of the 4(d) rule to identify potential activities that may adversely affect the species as well as reiterating our earlier recommendations as to critical habitat... ”
Posted on June 3, 2006
U.S. Gets a D+ on Ocean Policy Reform Nation’s Oceans and Coasts Key to Competiveness
“Opportunities still abound for fundamental changes to protect and restore our nation's oceans and coasts, according to the bipartisan Joint Ocean Commission Initiative . . . ”
Posted on March 12, 2006
Scientists examine the decline of Florida Bay
“Twenty years after it began its downward spiral, the debate still rages about what is causing big problems in Florida Bay. . . ”
Posted on February 27, 2006
Reef defenders in Bahamas sue over mega-resort
“The calm, turquoise waters off this sleepy island have long lured visitors seeking shelter from storms, but a San Francisco development company's ambitious plan to build a gated community for well-heeled golfers . . .”
Posted on February 27, 2006