Tag: ecology

  • There Is No Once and For All Only More Once Agains

    There Is No Once and For All Only More Once Agains

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    Jon Tietz
    in ,

    by Dell deChant It is amusing in a grim Greek-tragic sort of way hearing Florida’s Governor and other public officials boast about ending the environmental threat of the Piney Point gypsum stack – once and for all. Those were the exact words of Noah Valenstein, Secretary of the Department of Environmental Protection, on April 13,…

  • Guest Column: Why Farmers Markets are Safer and More Convenient than Grocery Stores

    Guest Column: Why Farmers Markets are Safer and More Convenient than Grocery Stores

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    by

    Jon Tietz
    in

    BY JESSE HASKINS • AGRICULTURE LAW Buying groceries at a grocery store right now can be downright scary. Vulnerable groups, like the elderly, have good reason to be scared. Grocery stores have drawn especially large crowds, which may consist of people infected with the coronavirus. And grocery stores have plenty of potentially contaminated surface: grocery carts, tongs, self-serve…

  • Ecology Florida Announces New Vice President

    Ecology Florida Announces New Vice President

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    EcologyFlorida
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    Ecology Florida has elected Jesse Haskins to serve as vice president.  Jesse Haskins is an attorney who dedicated his law practice to strengthening our local food systems. He offers legal services to small scale agricultural enterprises. Jesse Haskins is excited about serving as vice president of Ecology Florida because of the organization’s emphasis on local food systems. Ecology…

  • Guest Column: Local Food, National Security

    Guest Column: Local Food, National Security

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    by

    EcologyFlorida
    in ,

    BY JESSE HASKINS • AGRICULTURE LAW Photo: American Phytopathological Society, Rye infected with ergot In 6th century B.C.E., the Assyrians, in modern day Iraq, poisoned enemy wells with rye ergot, a fungus disease. Imagine seeing a person suffering ergotism. The first victim of bioterrorism in recorded history may have felt a violent burning. “Holy fire” became the nickname…

  • 500 Million Plastic Straws a Day? Let’s Go With the Paper

    500 Million Plastic Straws a Day? Let’s Go With the Paper

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    by

    EcologyFlorida
    in ,

    Part I of a three-part series on plastics an Ecology Florida Editorial A trending ecological initiative is the contra-straw movement.  USA Today has a good short article on the “anti-straw movement,” and Fast Company has an article about cities that have banned or are considering banning the plastic drinking tubes.  As it pertains to Florida,…

  • University of Florida IFAS: Invasive Species Cost ‘Tens of Millions’, Seeks Help

    University of Florida IFAS: Invasive Species Cost ‘Tens of Millions’, Seeks Help

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    by

    EcologyFlorida
    in ,

    By Jack Payne A snake so voracious it can swallow a fully-grown deer prowls the Everglades. An insect’s arrival in Florida seemed innocuous enough until the discovery that it carries a fungus that kills avocado trees. A spiny newcomer to Florida is eating fish that could have been on your plate, and it is wreaking…

  • Rotarians Reflect on Culture of “Consumerism”

    Rotarians Reflect on Culture of “Consumerism”

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    by

    EcologyFlorida
    in

    We are a consumer society and it is bred into us from our earliest memories.  We get gifts from Grandma, toys from a jovial stranger at Christmas, acquisitions from stores with toys stacked to the ceiling.  From the moment we can talk, we learn to demand: “I want, I want, I want…”  It’s the American…

  • Florida Loquat Festival News – No. 15, February

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    EcologyFlorida
    in ,

    Florida Loquat News The Newsletter of The Florida Loquat Festival No. 15 February 2016 Celebrating Florida’s Urban Fruit An Ecology Florida/Friendship Farms & Fare Annual Event FLORIDA LOQUAT FESTIVAL ALMOST HERE! Fruit at Friendship Farms & Fare It is almost time for the annual celebration of our favorite fruit.  That’s right, the annual Florida Loquat…

  • Florida Loquat News – #14 January

    Florida Loquat News – #14 January

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    by

    EcologyFlorida
    in

    Florida Loquat News The Newsletter of The Florida Loquat Festival No. 14 January 2016 Celebrating Florida’s Urban Fruit An Ecology Florida/Friendship Farms & Fare Annual Event 2016 Florida Loquat Festival – March 26, 2016 – 9:00 AM – 2:00 PM, Frances Avenue Park. New Port Richey Mark Your Calendars This year’s Florida Loquat Festival will be Saturday March 26.…

  • From ‘Sustainable’ to ‘Regenerative:’ The Future of Food

    From ‘Sustainable’ to ‘Regenerative:’ The Future of Food

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    by

    EcologyFlorida
    in

    by André Leu and Ronnie Cummins edited by Marilynn deChant The U.S. Secretary of Agriculture wants “farmers and agricultural interests to come up with a single definition of sustainability in order to avoid confusing the public with various meanings of the term in food and production methods.” Is “sustainability” meaningless to consumers and the public?…