Tag: Florida
-
Gerrymandering Trial Awaits Judgment
Summary The Gerrymandering trial is over, and it is now up to Circuit Judge Terry Lewis to render a judgment in the case. Whatever his ruling, the impact of the actions prompting this trial have already been detrimental to fair elections, good legislation, and public trust in government. Although we have no way of knowing…
-
EDITORIAL: Gerrymandering Takes the Stand
The Biggest Trial in Florida That Few Are Following Summary One of the most important trials in recent Florida history is currently occurring in Tallahassee. Most Floridians are not following it very closely – if at all. The trial grows out of a suit contending that the design of Florida’s congressional districts violates the state’s…
-
EDITORIAL: New Toxins and GMOs Headed Our Way
New Toxins and New GMOs Headed Our Way: The Next Roundup for the GMO Corral Summary A new poison may soon be coming to an ecosystem near you. This is Dow Chemical’s Enlist Duo, a close relative to Monsanto’s aggressively marketed and wildly popular Roundup. Dow’s powerful herbicide is on the fast track to approval…
-
OPINION: Teachers Say VAM Evaluations Are Flawed
Teachers Say VAM Evaluations are Flawed Marc Yacht, MD, MPH Many of Florida’s public school teachers see little value in the value-added-model (VAM) teacher evaluation process that’s being used this year. Also labeled “value added analysis” or “value added assessment,” the evaluation tool is tied to student testing results. VAM assesses how one student’s scores…
-
EDITORIAL: Do the Math (but not the Science)!
Editorial Do the Math (but not the Science) There are at least 164 voucher-eligible schools in our state teaching Creationism, according to Brandon Haught’s recent op ed in the Tampa Bay Times. Haught is communications director for Florida Citizens for Science. He explains that FCS takes “a strong, determined stand for sound science education in…
-
FEATURE: Key West Votes “NO” to Sanctuary Dredging
Key West Votes NO to Sanctuary Dredging by Lynn-Marie Smith Residents of Florida are used to battling developers and businesses that threaten the environment and quality of life in their communities. Key West is certainly no exception. Even if the City Commission tries to pass laws to protect things of value here, some with deep pockets…
-
EDITORIAL: We Can Do Better Than California Broccoli
Happy New Year, 2013. Good news is not always easy to find in America’s Industrial food system. Recent articles highlighted in Ecology Florida News have focused on the relative scarcity of local farmers’ markets and CSAs in the state, knotty issues associated with GMOs, and a critique of the dominance of our food culture by…
-
EDITORIAL: Corporations are People and The Earth is the Center of the Universe
Citizens in a few select states are being inundated by advertisements and phone contacts (many of them robo-calls) on behalf of Presidential candidates. Florida is one of those states. They are called battleground states because the polls indicate that neither candidate has a significant lead – so there is a battle for voters’ support. Others…
-
The Birdhouse: from Club to Co-operative Food Distribution
As reported recently by Strolling of the Heifers, an organization focusing on local food issues, and covered in an Ecology Florida Feature, Florida is dead last among all states in local food systems. Since finding out Florida is one of the top five agriculture producing states in the Nation and living in one of the…
-
FEATURE STORY: Surprise! Florida Dead Last in 2012 Locavore Index
Well, maybe it is not such a surprise after all. In a new national assessment of local-sourced food opportunities, Florida comes in at the very bottom. The assessment was developed by Strolling of the Heifers, a Vermont-based sustainable food community, which is dedicated to protecting family farms and promoting locavorism. It is kind of a…