Looking to catch up on some of Florida’s environmental news?

We’ve gathered a few of the stories our team is reading this month.

• On January 15, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration released its summary of 2019 climate conditions. One of the major findings? Last year was the second-warmest year on record.
• Last year was also the second-wettest year on record. And with wildfires, severe storms and floods, the U.S. experienced 14 different billion-dollar weather and climate disasters in 2019.
• A South Florida Real Estate survey found that climate change is the top concern among realtors and developers. But buyers aren’t fretting just yet.
• For the first time ever, the U.S. government has allocated funding to a federal agency for geoengineering research that assesses proposals to inject material into the stratosphere to affect climate and other climate interventions.
• A new study led by researchers at Boston University found the Gulf Coast has lost about 57 square miles of forest over the last 120 years due to rising sea levels.
• The Florida Department of Environmental Protection has rescheduled the next meeting of the Blue-Green Algae Task Force to provide more time to consider additional scientific information, synthesize existing research and gather public comment. It will instead be held at FAU Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute on Monday, March 16, 2020 at 9:00 a.m.
• University of Florida Health researchers are leading a study to investigate a potential correlation between the toxins that certain algae blooms produce and human diseases.
• The heat in the world’s oceans reached a record temperature in 2019 as the rate of heating accelerates.
• The Sierra Club gave Gov. DeSantis a D on its environmental report card. The group attributes the grade to failing to protect Florida’s springs and for authorizing new toll roads that threaten wildlife.
• The Florida Department of Environmental Protection is allowing a Texas company drill six exploratory gas and oil wells in the Apalachicola River basin.
• Conservation groups have filed a lawsuit against federal and state agencies for authorizing road-widening projects that threaten Florida panther habitat.
• The timeline for South Florida communities to prepare for sea level rise is speeding up as new projections show that the region is in for even higher sea levels by 2060.