This is the mindset of environmentalist can you imagine one of them sitting on this commission. This is their upcoming agenda for their next meeting they are highly political I have gone to several meetings. Remember Arthur Marshall is conservation area 1 which has no Airboating. I just I wanted to share this with you I hope you all understand we need hunters and fishermen on this commission not environmentalist. In January I will be looking for your support to help us achieve this task. :shock:
THIS TUESDAY! Lets all give Gov. Charlie and all friends a big South
> Florida welcome, PBCEC style!
>
> The Palm Beach County Environmental Coalition is inviting all its
> members, allies and supporters to come out on the night of Tuesday
> August the 28th, from 7 to 10 pm to demonstrate our resolve in
> demanding that the governor and our other representatives present
> there revisit their decision on giving permits to the Florida Power
> and Light (FPL) corporation to build a monstrous 3300 megawatt power
> plant on the edge of the Everglades & And NOT use carbon emissions as
> an excuse to support dangerous nuclear power expansion.
>
> While our esteemed Governor Charlie Crist meets with friends and
> showcases his Humanitarian side at this evenings celebratory gala for
> the noble Save-A-Pet animal welfare institution, work continues at the
> site for FPL's proposed West County Energy Center, on the edge of the
> Everglades, next to one of the most sensitive wildlife preserves in
> the Everglades Bioregion, the Arthur R. Marshall Loxahatchee National
> Wildlife Refuge. This very work, that Charlie has seemingly given a
> 'thumb's up' to, is setting the foundation for the ruins of this
> northernmost slice of our national wetland treasure and all the
> endangered animals that live within it. We support saving pets, but
> shouldn't we want to save wild animals too?
>
> How could Governor Crist seriously propose to take on the issue of
> Global Warming, and then permits FPL to build a fossil fuel powered
> energy plant that will spew up to 12 million tons of CO2 into the air
> every year? How can the Governor question Global Warming yet not
> consider the dangers of nuclear power? He needs to be questioned on
> this!
>
> Yes Charlie, lets save all those unfortunate stray companion animals,
> lets save-a-pet, but how about if we also propose to save all those
> endangered Snail Kites in the Loxahatchee and all those drowning Polar
> Bears up there in the Artic Sea as well? Zero percent emissions are
> the only acceptable levels! Decentralized, clean renewables are the
> future?don't let nukes stand in our way!
>
> No West County Energy Center! No more toxic energy! No more Fossil
> Fuels, No more Nukes!! Stop Global Warming now!!
>
> Please be there at the Ritz Carlton in Manapalan on the night of
> August 28 between 7 to 10 pm.
> 100 S. Ocean Dr. Manalapan, Florida
>
> Call Chris at 561 541 7049 for details or directions
>
> -----------------------------------------------------------------------
> THIS MONDAY!!
> [This event is likely to be a corporate hoax and political schmooze
> fest of false, industry-driven energy solutions. Please join us in
> attending to speak on behalf of conservation, efficiency and clean,
> renewable, decentralized power. -PBCEC]
>
> The 2007 Alternative Energy Summit: Powering Florida's Energy Independence
> Congressman Tim Mahoney, Honorary Summit Chair
> The Jupiter Beach Resort
> August 27, 2007
>
> Academic, industry and public sector leaders have been working
> together in search of new solutions to problems that at one time
> seemed insurmountable. Dependence on energy from fossil fuels and the
> resulting impact on the environment is one such problem. Spurred on
> by gasoline prices hovering at all-time highs, innovative research and
> revolutionary ideas to solve the world's energy crisis are emerging at
> an increasing rate. With its multitude of alternative energy sources,
> Florida, America's 4th largest state, is well positioned to play an
> important role in developing solutions for the world's increasing
> energy needs. Now the time has come to develop a comprehensive and
> executable plan to meet this potential.
>
> On Monday, August 27, 2007 thought leaders who are developing
> solutions to energy problems will gather to explore the role that
> Florida will play in the dynamic field of alternative energy. The
> one-day conference will provide the public an opportunity to
> participate in an interactive dialogue on how the alternative energy
> industry can redefine the economic landscape. It will unite leaders
> from across the spectrum, including universities, business and
> government. Above all, it will galvanize the existing efforts to
> establish Florida as the geographical center in the Southeast for the
> development of alternative energy sources.
> Specifically, participants in the conference will discuss the
> alternative energy solutions being developed by Florida's research
> institutions; the alternative energy solutions currently available to
> consumers; the trends and hot areas for investment in alternative
> energy; and the possible funding opportunities resulting from
> potential state and federal legislation.
>
> The format of the summit will combine presentations by experts,
> workshops, panel sessions, and an interactive technology called eFORUM
> designed to collect instant feedback from summit participants and
> identify action steps and plans. Following the summit, a report will
> be published on-line to encourage and facilitate future action on the
> priorities agreed upon at the summit. These priorities include:
> ?Establishing Florida as the geographical center in the Southeast for
> the development of alternative energy sources;
> ?Creating an environment that stimulates innovation in the alternative
> energy field;
> ?Attracting, retaining and growing targeted businesses in the
> alternative energy field; and
> ?Promoting scientific advancements in the alternative energy field.
>
> The summit will be coordinated by the Public Forum Institute, an
> independent, nonpartisan, not-for-profit organization that has
> considerable experience with similar efforts. For further
> information, contact Brenden Chaney at 202 467-2778 or at
>
brenden@pfidc.org or visit
http://www.publicforuminstitute.org.
>
> -----------------------------------------------------
>
> [This letter was delivered to the FEC's Climate Change Advisory Group
> meeting in Dania Beach 8/23]
>
> AN OPEN LETTER TO THE FLORIDA ENERGY COMMISSION
>
> Our Governor has led a noble campaign to reduce greenhouse emissions
> in the state of Florida. Yet, there are some important elements to
> the dialogue around climate change that have yet to be given the
> attention they deserve. This letter is an effort to present
> perspectives from some community activists here in South Florida in
> hopes that they may influence the Florida Energy Commission's (FEC)
> decisions on Florida's energy future:
>
> 1) Stopping new carbon-heavy infrastructure must be the ultimate
> priority in efforts to avert climate change. Florida Power and Light
> (FPL) has presented us with a primary target in this:
>
> FPL has proposed building one of the country's largest fossil fuel
> power plants (gas/oil), the West County Energy Center (WCEC), in the
> Everglades Agricultural Area of Palm Beach County, on a 220 acre site
> less than 1,000 feet from the Arthur R. Marshall Loxahatchee National
> Wildlife Refuge. At its full capacity of 3300 MegaWatts, the WCEC
> would emit approximately 12 million tons of CO2, plus an additional
> 4,800 TONS of other hazardous emissions. In the midst of a globally
> recognized climate crisis, these emissions are unacceptable.
>
> It will require 34 miles of new high-pressure gas pipeline to be laid
> across sensitive wetland area, precariously crossing blasting rock
> mines, and tying our State to massive carbon-heavy fossil-fuel
> infrastructure.
>
> In a time of unprecedented drought, the WCEC will also use over 8.5
> billion gallons of water each year. The water used will not be
> cleaned and recycled back into the hydrologic cycle, it will be
> deep-well injected as wastewater?up to 21 million gallons wasted a
> day.
>
> This plant is not necessary. It is being built to accommodate over
> half a million new homes, despite the current housing market slump. It
> is an engine for unwanted sprawl. In a time when energy efficiency
> standards are being suggested as a response to climate change, with
> international scientists illustrating the need for up to 90% reduction
> in global carbon emissions, a project like this derails our entire
> effort at creating a real climate solution.
>
> Despite pending litigation concerning permits for the new power plant
> and pipeline, the WCEC is currently under construction. Yet this plant
> can be stopped immediately by legitimate revocation of their Final
> Certification by the Florida Governor and Cabinet.
>
> We ask that Florida Energy Commission's advisory group support local
> residents and environmentalists in asking for the immediate revocation
> of the WCEC final certification.
>
> (The numbers used are based on FPL promotional material, Florida DEP
> permit applications, and the Recommended Order of an Administrative
> Law Judge.)
>
> 2) The inevitable side effect of fighting global warming is that it
> leaves the door open for other dangerous forms of energy to be seen as
> the solution. Already FPL is talking about expanding not just their
> Turkey Point nuclear plant, but also their Hutchinson Island nuclear
> plant here in South Florida.
>
> Nuclear energy is not a safe, nor clean, alternative to fossil fuel.
> There are numerous dangers associated with the disposal and potential
> mishandling of nuclear waste, not to mention the increased risk of
> cancer for persons living near these facilities.
>
> In 2003, the Radiation and Public Health Project released a study
> concerning the levels of Strontium-90 (Sr-90) found in deciduous teeth
> of people living near nuclear reactors. Sr-90 is a cancerous
> byproduct of nuclear fallout; it has been directly linked to multiple
> forms of otherwise rare cancer. The study found that "in each state
> analyzed [one of which was Florida], the average Sr-90 concentration
> is highest in counties situated closest to nuclear reactors."
>
> The energy industry went to great lengths to discredit this study,
> blaming Sr-90 on Chernobyl and nuclear weapons testing. But the study
> itself noted that this trend of increased Sr-90 levels "represents the
> first sustained increase since the early 1960's, before atmospheric
> weapons tests were banned." It also states that even though
> "[f]allout from the 1986 Chernobyl accident (including Sr-90) entered
> the US environment," levels of long-lived radionuclides "returned to
> pre-1986 levels within 3 years."
>
> Over the years the Saint Lucie plant has also steadily released "safe"
> levels of liquid tritium (radioactive hydrogen) into local waters. In
> August, 2006, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission reported that the St.
> Lucie plant even experienced a tritium leak. Tritium has been linked
> to five kinds of cancer as well as Down's Syndrome. New York
> residents filed a $2 billion lawsuit against the operators of a
> research reactor in Suffolk County saying that tritium made the
> community water supply undrinkable.
>
> The very same year as the FPL leak, the Saint Lucie County plant also
> exceeded the maximum power level allowed by the facility's operating
> license.
>
> 3) In February 2007, the American Council for an Energy-Efficient
> Economy (ACEEE) released a crucial study entitled "Potential for
> Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy to Meet Florida's Growing
> Energy Demands". This study outlined how Florida could use energy
> efficiency policies and renewable resources to offset the majority of
> the projected growth load for the next 15 years, simultaneously
> eliminating the need for more power plants and reducing consumer's
> electricity bills by over $7 billion by 2013. The study is undergoing
> some updates, yet thus far, it has been all but ignored by FPL and the
> energy industry as a whole. The ACEEE document offers a guiding light
> to the FEC's Climate Change Advisory Group. Please use it as such.
>
> The bottom line is, we do not need to sell out our environment and
> health by moving from one toxic energy source to another. Nuclear
> energy is just as unsafe as fossil fuel energy, and there are already
> viable alternatives outlined in the ACEEE report that will both reduce
> emissions and save consumers money. Shouldn't that be the direction
> that our environmental and climate-related policies take?
>
> Global warming is a grave and serious threat, but by allowing nuclear
> power to take the place of coal, oil and gas we are merely paving the
> way for a whole other set of problems. Please take these
> recommendations into consideration; they represent the voice of many
> concerned citizens. Join us in speaking against building new fossil
> fuel plants or expanding nuclear facilities, in favor of conservation,
> efficiency and renewable energy sources.
>
> [This letter was prepared by Project Awareness of St. Lucie/Martin
> Counties and the Palm Beach County Environmental Coalition (PBCEC)
The FAA received word that Governor Crist has filled the three FWC vacancies for Commission seats: Kathy Barco was reappointed; Kenneth Wright, an attorney with Shutts & Bowen and Ronnie Bergeron, Everglades/Big Cypress sportsman.
