On Presidents Day, Reef Relief in partnership with the City of Key West was joined by 21 volunteers including City Commissioner Tony Yaniz, who scoured Key West’s Little Hamaca Park. Volunteers removed 734 lbs of debris from Key West’s largest natural area. Among the debris collected were bottles, tires, plastic bags and a bike frame. This […]
In November the EPA accepted most of the numeric nutrient standards proposed by the Florida Department of the Environment for South Florida flowing waters, as well as for most estuaries, marine and coastal waters. The EPA decision ends a process that began in July 2008 when a coalition of environmental organizations sued the EPA in […]
Monday February 18, 2013 10:00 am – 1:00 pm Help cleanup one of Key West's great natural areas. Little Hamaca Park preserves mangroves and hardwood hammock communities bordering the Salt Ponds in southern Key West. Help protect our coastal home by cleaning up this local treasure. Meet at the gate of Little Hamaca Park off […]
7 February 2013, by Tom Marshall. http://planetearth.nerc.ac.uk The chemicals that give some corals their luminous pink and red colours also protect them from damage caused by too much sunlight, scientists have shown. The idea isn't altogether new, but this is the first conclusive evidence for it. Corals need light to survive, but too much can […]
ScienceDaily-Feb. 6, 2013 — Since the observations made by English naturalist Charles Darwin on the Galapagos Islands, researchers have been interested in how physical barriers, such as isolation on a particular island, can lead to the formation of new species through the process of natural selection. Natural selection is a process whereby heritable traits that […]
ACTION ALERT! Submit Comments to the EPA to Support Clean Water In Florida In November the EPA accepted most of the numeric nutrient standards proposed by the Florida Department of the Environment for South Florida flowing waters, as well as for most estuaries, marine and coastal waters. The EPA decision ends a process that began […]
www.cigwaste.org. 1. Trillions of cigarettes: 5.6 trillion cigarettes sold globally every year; 360 billion are sold annually in the United States. 2. Butt waste is everywhere: 99% of the 360 billion cigarettes sold have cellulose acetate (plastic) filters; at least one-third of those – 120 billion – are discarded into the environment. Washed into rivers, […]
What you've been waiting for, a long long list of ways you can reduce your plastic use. You probably know some already, but I hope that many of these ideas are new and do-able. Just think of the pacific garbage patch whenever you feel tempted to buy water, get a to-go cup or buy liquid […]
By David Shiffman, on January 28th, 2013 The least-impacted places in the ocean are mainly in the deep sea, but as fishing technology has improved, even seamounts, sponge gardens and deep-sea coral beds are no longer out of reach of our appetites for seafood. Bottom trawling, which involves dragging a heavy weighted net along the seabed, is […]
ScienceDaily. Jan. 29, 2013 — Coral reefs build their structures by both producing and accumulating calcium carbonate, and this is essential for the maintenance and continued vertical growth capacity of reefs. An international research team has discovered that the amount of new carbonate being added by Caribbean coral reefs is now significantly below rates measured […]