MAKE 2008 A FLORIDA YEAR

The New Year brings with it ample opportunities to make resolutions and to ponder the road less traveled. There are the traditional resolutions to lose weight, get in shape, get more organized, and to manage time more effectively (all of which I have made for 2008 as well by the way). I want to propose, both to myself and to those reading this, that this year another resolution be considered and adopted. This year resolve to make 2008 a Florida Year.

And what is this “Florida Year” you ask? I propose that 2008 be a year in which all of us fall in love with, or renew our passion for, Florida. Florida history, Florida culture, Florida’s odd and eccentric ways and people, and most of all Florida’s great outdoors and wild places all offer opportunities to connect to the place that we live in and discover more about the world around us.

A sense of place grounds us to our communities, our families, and our region. Whether you’re a fifth generation Floridian as my wife is, or you just rolled across the Georgia border in search of sunshine and the Florida Dream, connecting to Florida offers adventure and an opportunity to find magic in what others merely see as backdrop or scenery.

In 2008 get out there. Get out on the rivers and bays, get out on the trails and dirt roads. Look for where the paved road ends and seek out places where you need a map or a trail guide to find your way home. There is something intoxicating about seeking out that next bend in the river, that next curve of the trail and seeing something new and never known to you before. When the road shifts from paved to dirt you are heading in the right direction.

We are blessed in the Tampa Bay region with numerous places to, from the pocket parks in Tampa along the Hillsborough River to the backcountry of Colt Creek State Park in Polk County, get out there and reconnect with Florida and with nature. Public lands are sacred treasures and they provide places of sanctuary for wildlife to live and places for us to nourish our souls. Open spots on the map, those amazing greenspaces devoid of roads, houses, malls, and development, should serve to draw us in to learn what is there and what we have been missing.

A Florida Year is a year of exploring, enjoying, and protecting all things Florida. Once you get out there and see the woods, the rivers, and the Gulf of Mexico the next step is to spend some time being a voice for places that have given so freely to those who seek them out. Naturalist and writer John Muir realized in 1892 that to get Californians to fall in love with the Sierra Nevada range he needed to get folks out there to climb the mountains and swim the creeks. Once they tasted the earth and saw the sunsets they would be connected to preserving those places. That realization led to the founding of the Sierra Club.

I hope to lose some weight this year, and I surely could be better organized. With that said my strongest and most important resolution is to fall in love again with Florida and the Gulf of Mexico, and to share this love and passion with others. We love what we know, and we work to protect what we love.

So, make 2008 a “Florida Year” and think about connections and place. Ponder the wonders of the Gulf of Mexico, and the magic of all things wild and free in Florida. Get out there and find the pathways that are in your heart, and under your feet. That is a resolution worth keeping.


Joe Murphy is the Florida Programs Coordinator for the Gulf Restoration Network.

THIS NATURE GIRL'S NOT IMPRESSED

GRN STAFF SUMMER BOOK REVIEW

A Joint Review of Nature Girl (a novel by Carl Hiaasen)

We are big fans of Carl Hiaasen and took up this book thinking it would be fun reading with an environmental message. I, Cyn, have to admit that I was somewhat disappointed. There is an environmental message of sorts – that far too many people who come to Florida simply don’t see the beauty of Florida’s coastal environment.

Joe guesses that the theme of the book played off the idea that some folks, no matter how hard others try to show them, just don’t get it. Florida is nothing to them but a quick buck, the next deal, or the chance to strike it rich. The land of sunshine sells and sells, but we all know what the cost of turning landscape into product has been.

However, most of the book is a story about a bi-polar woman, a greedy philandering telemarketer, and the former mistress of a famous killer who kayak the Ten Thousand Islands while being followed by an obsessed sexual harasser and alienated Seminole. The story line is essentially one of revenge and mayhem and the environmental message was subtle and easily missed.

With that said, perhaps Carl Hiassen will someday be successful in convince America that Florida is such a deranged, wild, and serially dangerous place that they should retire in Tennessee and vacation out west. These characters certainly advanced his case in that regard.

I have to say that I was disappointed. Although entertaining, it did not live up to my expectations.

Cyn Sarthou & Joe Murphy

Cyn Sarthou is GRN's Executive Director & Joe Murphy is GRN's Florida Program Coordinator

GOV. CLIMATE MOVES FLORIDA FORWARD IN EFFORTS TO ADDRESS CLIMATE CHANGE

In 1900 Florida’s population was roughly 500,00o people. Florida was the least populated state in the American South, and climate change issues mostly consisted of folks wanting it to be cooler in the summer. Today Florida will soon have 18 million residents, and roughly 70 million people come to Florida as tourists each year. By the time the 2010 Census is completed Florida will be the third largest state in the country. Whether we like it or not Florida has become a mega-trend state and we can offer leadership for the Gulf region, or we can set some continued bad examples for our neighbors.

Gov. Charlie Crist is a Florida boy. He grew up in St. Petersburg, and continues to boat and fish in the Gulf of Mexico. When he ran as a candidate for governor, Gov. Crist touted his pledge to be the “people’s governor” and enact policies that were good for Florida’s future. Thus far, at least with the issue of climate change, Gov. Crist has gone above and beyond what most Floridians expected from this first term governor.

Gov. Crist recently hosted a Climate Change Summit in Miami, Florida. This summit could have been another string of photo ops with speeches and promises, and details to be discussed later in the backrooms of Tallahassee. Instead, Gov. Crist initiated bold and defining policies that place Florida in the ranks of states like California and Massachusetts in terms of commitment to stop climate change and implement a clean, sustainable energy policy. Gov. Crist is sometimes now referred to, with a great deal of respect and admiration, as Gov. Climate. The St. Petersburg Times recently profiled this transition and theorized as to what led the Governor, and Florida, to this historic occasion. The St. Petersburg Times also has reported on Gov. Crist’s leadership on these issues within the Republican Party and his commitment to be green in a red state.

As a native and life long Floridian it is somewhat novel for me to see this type of leadership coming from our state’s governor on environmental issues. We have had some good governors and some less than green governors in my lifetime, but few acted in such a bold and decisive manner on an issue of such global importance. If polling is any indication (and Gov. Crist’s approval ratings are through the roof) Floridians like and admire this boldness and believe action on climate change and energy policy is long overdue.

I believe that history will judge the vast majority of the initiatives set forth by Gov. Crist, and the climate change agreements with other states and even other countries he signed at the Climate Change Summit , to be a defining part of his legacy as Governor. The Daytona Beach News Journal pointed out recently that Governor Crist has inspired the state of Florida to consider a variety of steps we all might take to work to reduce climate change.

No plan is perfect, and truth be told I am profoundly concerned about the potential for nuclear energy to emerge as part of Florida’s “sustainable” energy future. As the St. Petersburg Times recently reported, other Floridians share this concern about nuclear energy’s resurgence in Florida. With that said we can celebrate the tremendous steps forward Gov. Crist has initiated while we continue to push for our vision of an energy future for Florida that relies on policies and technologies of the future, and not the incredibly expensive and failed technologies of the past.

Florida, like the rest of the Gulf Coast, has a lot to lose if we don’t get serious about climate change. Gov. Crist has moved Florida to the forefront of national and international efforts to fight global warming and offset climate change. Florida should be thankful that the “people’s governor” is also Gov. Climate. We continue to expect great things from Charlie Crist, and so far the future is so bright we gotta wear shades.

Joe Murphy is the Florida Programs Coordinator for the Gulf Restoration Network.

GRN STAFF SUMMER BOOK REVIEW:
PINHOOK: FINDING WHOLENESS IN A FRAGMENTED LAND BY JANISSE RAY

The third installment of the book review features a book by one of my favorite authors about the region and ecosystems from my childhood. It keeps with the Florida theme that Joe and Jeff began. This time however, we’re venturing beyond the Florida border to investigate the ecological similarity and connectedness between South Georgia and North Florida.

Hailing from Baxley, Georgia, Janisse Ray is an amazing author, dedicated environmental activist, and inspiring southern woman. In Pinhook, she takes us on a journey into a land she describes as “too deep for a human to wade in, too shallow for a boat to draw,” and “a place that holds the world together.” Located in North Florida, Pinhook Swamp connects Okenfenokee National Wildlife Refuge and Osceola National Forest.

The book wonderfully mixes ecology, history and culture into the exploration of the beautiful wilds of Florida. The reader journeys through the swamp fighting through smilax, green briar, blueberry, Virginia willow and passing by slash pines, pond pines, saw palmetto. In the drier areas encounters long leaf pine.

The reader gets to enjoy a taste of North Florida culture through Ray's conversations with locals hanging out at the Taylor Store. She also introduces the reader to people like Larry Harris, the biologist who first proposed the Pinhook Corridor and Larry Thompson who helped spur the formation of the POGO Coalition dedicated to protecting the Pinhook, Osceola, Greater Okefenokee (POGO) ecosystem.

Ray explains the threats that come from fragmenting ecosystems and helps the reader understand why wildlife corridors are essential. She explains that “for a corridor to be of utmost service, it should provide the accoutrements for a creature’s survival, not just conveyance. Corridors are not wild highways.” We cannot just set aside narrow passage ways for animals to move quickly across, but rather large swaths of land that can sustain populations as they journey across ecosystems.

What I love most about Pinhook, or perhaps the character of its author, is that it ends with a strong call to action. The final chapter “A Vision” calls for the protection of the remaining acres of Pinhook Swamp. Ray urges the reader to envision and work towards a world where Pinhook and all of our other wild lands are protected. The final pages of the book are resource pages containing the contact information for different environmental and conservation groups. A list of rare and imperiled species in the Okefenokee - Pinhook - Osceola Wildland Corridor.

I recommend Pinhook for people who want to learn more about our southern swamps and wetlands, the plants and animals that live in them, and the struggle to protect these unique and important ecosystems. I also highly recommend Janisse Ray’s first book, Ecology of a Cracker Childhood.

Stephanie Powell is the Outreach Associate for the GRN's Water Resources Program.