Sarasota Audubon Society

Wade Matthews, longtime Sarasota Audubon conservation chair, provides a federal, state and local picture of what's happening on the conservation front:

Federal: Legislation to reduce carbon emissions that are the major cause of global warning, with predicted wildlife extinctions and eventual flooding of low-lying areas like Sarasota, is now being considered by he US Congress. Tough controls, including mandatory cap-and-trade laws on emissions from power plants and industries are essential to back up US efforts at an international convention in Copenhagen in December to convince big third-world polluters like China and India to join in an international system. Europe and Japan are already in the Kyoto Protocol, but that system needs improvement and worldwide compliance. You should emphasize in your messages mandatory cap-and-trade and incentives for increasing emissions controls, such as progressively higher mileage standards for vehicles.

State: Would-be oil drillers are pouring money and manpower into lobbying Florida legislators to sell leases and allow drilling in Gulf waters, under State control, specifically between 3 and 101/2 miles from our beaches. Lobbyists hold out the chimera of money, jobs, and decreasing oil imports, but the money would be minimal, experienced hands would be brought in from Texas and Louisiana instead of local hires, and import reduction would be years away and even then insignificant. In return, weï¿½d get oil slicks ( a big new one in Australia this month using the new methods), visual pollution, dead seabirds, and marine mammals, and a bit hit on tourism. Representative Fitzgerald is opposed, Holder seems to have switched to opposition from his earlier pro-drilling stance, but Senator Detert is undecided. She needs to hear from you, and the others should know how you feel.

Local: A couple of months ago the Sarasota County Commission by a one-vote margin (Thaxton and Patterson opposed) tried to weaken the 2050 Comprehensive Plane restrictions for Lakewood Ranch, but the State department of Community Affairs rejected the worst features of the attempted change. We testified against the proposed weakening and will do so again when it comes back before the Commission. Debate is ramping up on the Florida Hometown Democracy (FHD) amendment to the State Constitution that will be on the ballot in November, 2010 that would require a citizen vote as the final step in approving any change in the Comprehensive Plans of counties and municipalities around the State. Sarasota Audubon and many other environmental organizations around the State support FHD on the ground that overdevelopment harms birds and other wildlife and the citizens seem more aware of that than many developer-funded elected officials.

Who To Contact:

Senator Bill Nelson, http://billnelson.senate.gov/
Senator Goerge LeMieux, http://lemieux.senate.gov/
Congressman Vern Buchanan, http://buchanan.house.gov/contact
Senator Nancy Detert, detert.nancy.web@flsenate.gov
Keith Fitzgerald, keithfitzgerald@myfloridahouse.gov
Doug Holder, dougholder@myfloridahouse.gov

CONSERVATION