Environment Archives - WMNF 88.5 FM

This episode of Wide Awake America features meteorologist Andy Johnson sounding the alarm about a dangerous moment for the country. Climate change is driving faster, stronger, less predictable storms while political interference and budget cuts have gutted NOAA and the National Weather Service, shrinking staffing, reducing 24-hour coverage, and weakening the data and research that keep people safe. Andy explains how the nation’s forecasting system works as an interconnected “weather enterprise” and why undermining it leaves communities blind just as extreme weather accelerates. He outlines the real-world stakes for homeowners, the economic cost of ignoring science, and the urgent need for Congress to restore funding and protect the infrastructure that warns Americans when danger is coming.

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A University of Florida professor is warning that a popular mushroom sold in grocery stores, farmers, and gourmet markets is quietly invading forests across the country.

Florida forests could be at risk. 

Michelle Jusino is an assistant professor at the University of Florida’s School of Forest, Fisheries, and Geomatic Sciences.

Jusino co-designed a study on how human activities, such as buying, cultivating, and transporting mushrooms, can unintentionally introduce invasive species that disrupt ecosystems.

She says the spread of the golden oyster mushroom, although beautiful and edible, is very concerning. 

“When people are walking out of the woods with garbage bags, I mean, like, you know, like garbage bags, not just little shopping bags, but garbage bags full of this mushroom, you stop to think: What was there before that’s not there now? And what is this fungus doing to the system, to the woods, to other fungi?” Jusino told WMNF.

The mushroom is a wood-decay fungus and can weaken trees to the point of falling. 

Researchers say that in just a decade, it has made its way across more than 25 U.S. states. 

Jusino said the golden oyster mushrooms are not in the woods in Florida yet, and we should try to keep it that way. 

“We’re not saying don’t eat golden oyster mushroom, we’re not saying don’t cultivate golden oyster mushrooms. We’re just trying to raise awareness that this fungus, when it gets out, like it a compost pile, in a wood pile, etc. it can spread rather quickly. And it’s effects seem to be pretty destructive.” Jusino said.

She encourages those who may see one in the woods to report it.

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Exposure to lead poisoning can cause serious health problems, especially in kids aged 1 to 6. The Department of Health in Hillsborough County provides free blood lead screenings for children who might have been exposed to lead.

The FHD said parents should ask their provider to test their child’s blood for lead between the ages 12 and 36 months.

Claire Maher is their public information officer and she said the only way to know your child is being affected by lead poisoning, is to get tested.

Maher said the number one cause of lead poisoning in the U.S. comes from dust from lead-based paint. 

“If you have a home that might be built before 1978, it’s really important to make sure you get that inspected for lead by a certified professional because you want to make sure that your paint doesn’t have lead in it,” Maher said.

Children can also be exposed to their parents or families who work in construction or welding.

“It’s really important to change your clothes before you go home, to wash those clothes separately, to avoid that cross-contamination. And then you also want to make sure that you’re washing your hands before you care for your children,” Maher said.

There can be lead exposure in contaminated soil and in some children’s toys and jewelry.

Maher also recommends consistent mopping and using soapy water to clean dust from your home. This is to prevent any lead particles from entering your Child’s body if they put something in their mouth. 

Lead poisoning can cause serious health impacts.

“It can even slow growth and development, and it can cause some hearing and speech problems as well. Very high levels of lead poisoning in children can cause seizures, coma and even death,” Maher said.

Even low levels of lead exposure in children can result in damage to the brain and nervous system.

For more information on lead exposure visit the Florida Health website.

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Greening disease has devastated citrus in Florida, with the US Department of Agriculture reporting the disease reduced Florida citrus production by 75 percent.

But scientists at the University of Florida say a protein can help make some citrus more tolerant to the deadly disease. 

Eric Triplett is a professor at the University of Florida and co-lead author on a paper describing the research. 

He said that since the disease was first detected in Florida in 2005, citrus yields have declined by about 95 percent. 

“It’s been one of the most devastating crop diseases the United States has ever experienced,” Triplett told WMNF.

So, UF researchers, led by Zhonglin Mou, Ph.D., used genes from another plant and put them into Hamlin oranges. The genes code for a protein that helps the new plants, called NuCitrus. 

NuCitrus plants not only tolerate disease, but they also produce high-quality fruit. 

“I’m proud to say we’ll be able to keep the orange on our license plates; we should be fine for years to come,” Triplett said.

Now, they’re working to propagate lots of NuCitrus plants from the existing ones for large-scale field testing. 

“We think this is about a safe a way to make citrus tree more tolerant than you can imagine. And so far the field results, or symptomology, look very good.” Triplett said.

According to UF, approvals by the EPA and the Food and Drug Administration for commercial use are expected in less than two years.

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Two corals off the Florida coast are now functionally extinct after a 2023 heatwave, according to new research published in Science.

One researcher said he’s heartbroken at the loss and this is a start warning for the future of coral reefs. 

The staghorn and elkhorn corals look like the antlers of stags and elks. 

They are functionally extinct—meaning there are not enough of the species left to sustain themselves. 

Ross Cunning is a research biologist at the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago and co-first author of the study. 

“To watch them, you know, nearly all of them, just, just die before our eyes in a matter of days to weeks was absolutely heartbreaking,” Cunning told WMNF.

He said corals support 25 percent of marine life. 

“That’s why we call coral reefs the rainforests of the sea. There’s so many animals that live there that depend on these corals to build that structure and that habitat. And you know, they support many fisheries, you know, that provide fish that we depend on for nutrition,” Cunning said.

Corals are considered the building blocks for reefs, which provide habitat for marine life. They also provide coastal protection, reducing wave energy from storms and surges. 

To stop the further extinction of corals, Cunning said we must solve the underlying problem: climate change. 

“Our warming planet is causing more frequent and more extreme heat waves, and we expect to see, you know, the next heat wave, maybe even worse than 2023.” Cunning said.

Cunning encouraged people to continue to have conversations about the effects of climate change, and for lawmakers to work to reduce greenhouse gas emissions as quickly as possible. 

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As the end of their franchise agreement with the City of Clearwater comes to a close at year’s end, Clearwater is contemplating dumping Duke Energy in favor of forming a municipal electric utility (MEU or MUNI). Saint Petersburg is paying close attention since its franchise agreement is also coming up for renewal next year. On October 22, MidPoint examined the issues around the possibility of  Clearwater moving to “dump Duke” and form an MEU with our guests, environmentalist Bryan Beckman, Chair of the Sierra Club Suncoast Executive Committee, Susan Glickman, Vice President for Policy and Partnerships for The CLEO Institute, an organization dedicated to climate education and advocacy, and Ritchie Floyd, Saint Petersburg City Council representative from District 8, a fervent activist, and member of the Democratic Socialists of America.

MidPoint contacted New Gen Strategies and Solutions, the consulting company hired by the City of Clearwater to conduct a feasibility study on forming a municipal electric utility. The NewGen report presented a very positive picture of the project, ultimately leading to reduced electric rates for consumers and more undergrounding of lines to provide better reliability and services.  NewGen declined to speak with us, but referred us back to the City of Clearwater. We contacted the City and tried to get someone from the City administration to join us to discuss the feasibility study, but we were told no one was available at our show time. We did not contact Duke because they have an extensive communications and PR department that assists them in getting their message out in the community, which the activists and advocates for the MEU lack. Duke also filed their own report with the City that suggested it is not feasible to move to an MEU because, among other reasons, Duke would refuse to sell the City its power infrastructure, and that would require the City to engage in a lengthy and costly eminent domain legal fight to gain access to the means to deliver electricity to Clearwater customers. Duke’s cost projections for developing an MEU were also about double what the NewGen consultants had projected.

On  September 29, 2025, the Clearwater City Council heard a discussion of the NewGen feasibility study from its consultants. At Item 4.3, the study is discussed in the Council meeting

The feasibility report from NewGen Strategies & Solutions, which analyzes the possibility of Clearwater leaving Duke Energy, can be viewed on the City of Clearwater’s official agenda and minutes website, Legistar. The document is titled “Clearwater Public Power Feasibility Report — NewGen.pdf”.

Navigate to the City of Clearwater’s Legistar portal.

The NewGen consultants relied heavily on the experience of the City of Winter Park, Florida, which formed an MEU some 20 years earlier.  While the process was difficult and there were obstacles, now, Winter Park points to its success in significantly reducing its residents’ electric bills and undergrounding 80% of its utility power lines. Pointing to that and other examples, the environmentalists on our show overwhelmingly favored the MEU, suggesting that, in addition to lowering electric costs, it would be more effective in setting and meeting climate goals and promoting more incentives and rebates to customers for retrofitting their homes for greater energy efficiency. Susan Glickman pointed out that the American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy (ACEEE) ranks utilities around the country on their efficiency programs. Out of 53 utilities, Duke Energy Florida is ranked 47.

Listen to the entire show here, or as a WMNF MidPoint podcast from Spotify or Apple Music.

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More than 500 non-native species have been reported in Florida, according to the Florida Fish and Widlife Conservation Commission. 

The FWC stood before a Senate subcommittee this month to justify a non-native species control budget that has almost doubled since 2022. 

Invasive species are non-native animals that cause harm to the environment.

In Florida, that includes lionfish, Burmese pythons, chameleons and more.  

FWC chief Conservation offer George Warthen faced questions about the severity of invasive species such as the Burmese Python, from senators including Republican Meg Weinberger. 

“Weinberger: Are pythons, is there anything that can kill a python in the Everglades or are they pretty much the ones killing everything?

Warthen: It’s likely once they are an adult, they’re an apex predator, they’re at the top of the food chain. You do see, it wouldn’t be unreasonable to see alligators, any species that would eat a large to moderate snake in Florida, but once they exceed that size, what we think of, what you see in the movies, a 20-foot python, there’s really not a predator for them out there.”

This summer, the participants in Florida Python Challenge removed almost 300 pythons.

Now the FWC planned for almost 6.3 million dollars to control the species for the 2025-26 year, a sharp jump from the 3.4 million in 2021-22. 

When asked, FWC chief Conservation officer George Warthen says that once non-native species get a foothold in the state, they have to shift to more costly measures to control them. 

“As we have more of these species that we talk about going into management, like the wild hog, and like iguanas have really reached for us now, it becomes much much more expensive than the prevention,” Warthen said.

Efforts include an app to report species, competitions to remove pythons and lionfish as well as partnerships with the University of Florida and University of Central Florida to track pythons. 

“Finding pythons is very very difficult, and I think we’re going to have to find non-human interactions, AI traps, and things that we hear are working out there are probably going to be some of our biggest helpers in the future,” Warthen said.

Warthen suggested that eradicating animals like the wild hog and burmese python may not ever be a reality, despite the efforts of wildlife managers.

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A rare coral bleaching event is going on now offshore of Fort Lauderdale and Dania Beach – and researchers at Nova Southeastern University are calling the findings troubling.

Research shows octocorals, which include species typically known for resilience against bleaching, are bleaching. 

These colonial animals help to support biodiversity by providing habitat for other marine life. 

Bleaching is a stress response where corals and other organisms become white because they lose their symbiotic algae.

Dr. Jose Lopez is a professor with NSU’s Halmos College of Arts and Sciences. 

He said the bleaching could be tied to rising ocean heat during the summer months. 

“Luckily for our area, we haven’t had many storms, but that also led to less circulation in the water. And that, that also could, together with the high temperatures, could have led to this bleaching.” Lopez said.

Hurricanes and tropical storms cool ocean waters, and researchers say this year’s quiet storm season may be what contributed to heat stress in the octocorals. 

This comes as a report from ‘Global Tipping Points’ shows coral reefs worldwide are nearing a tipping point of collapse due to climate change. 

NSU researchers are continuing to monitor the reefs closely to determine how the octocorals recover, or if this event signals a deeper, long-term impact on South Florida’s reef ecosystem

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According to the National Institutes of Health, a person can survive without water for only about 3 days. This indispensable resource plays an enormous role in each of our lives, and without it, we’d cease to exist.

Matthew Rihs is the Commuter Services Manager for the Florida Governmental Utility Authority (FGUA), which owns and operates close to 100 water and wastewater systems across the state. 

“Imagine a Day Without Water is a campaign for people and residents around the country, and especially in the Tampa Bay area, to understand where their water comes from, but also to understand that water is a very valuable, precious resource.”

“Water is important because it’s in almost everything that we have. We need it every day for our own personal health and well-being. And it’s really important to ensure we retain it because we have a limited resource of water and there’s only so much of it to go around,” said Rihs. 

The annual campaign is on Thursday, October 16th and is an initiative of The Value of Water program, staffed by the US Water Alliance. 

Personal well-being isn’t the only area that affected by the loss of water.

Rihs adds that a lack of this resource could be devastating for public health and safety, as it would limit the abilities of medical personnel and first responders during crises.

“As we’ve all experienced during a hurricane, you can be without the water services that are available, and how critical it is for everyday well-being as a society,” said Rihs. 

Farming and agriculture in the US would also be affected, as they use a considerable amount of ground and surface water. Without it, issues would arise for a range of industrial processes, support functions, and facility operations.

Along with the campaign, the FGUA also has a educational portal available on their website for anyone who would like to learn more about water preservation.

For more information on the campaign and what the FGUA is doing to help, visit thevalueofwater.org/imagineaday.

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Is Governor Ron DeSantis working with developers to help exploit a hurricane relief law? 

Jason Garcia is the publisher of Seeking Rents, a newsletter about Florida politics with a focus on how big business and other special interests influence public policy. 

He says yes. 

The law, Senate Bill 180, was promoted as hurricane recovery legislation but includes a provision barring cities and counties from enacting any development regulations deemed “more restrictive or burdensome.”

“So what you are seeing now is developers around the state are taking advantage of this provision by using it to both block new policies that they don’t like that some city and community commissioners are trying to enact or going back and trying to get policies that they opposed but lost on, and trying to get those retroactively dissolved using this law,” Garcia told WMNF.

And Garcia said Manatee County is ground zero for this – especially when it comes to wetland buffers.

Buffers mean that developers had to maintain a certain amount of undisturbed wetlands when building.

 It’s been a controversial issue in Manatee County, with many locals advocating for the buffers and developers against it.

 Commissioners had set a vote on it – 

“But when the time came when they scheduled this vote to restore these wetland buffers, developers and the DeSantis administration all invoked Senate Bill 180 to say, you cannot do this because you are now prohibited from doing anything that would make development more restrictive or burdensome, and requiring larger wetland buffers would be more restrictive or burdensome.

And that was serious enough that the county commission at the last minute canceled this vote on whether or not to restore these, because they were genuinely concerned that the governor, who has made, like, really aggressive use of his power to suspend local officials, invoking it and suspending local officials over policy disagreements, they were genuinely concerned that the governor would suspend them if they voted to protect more wetlands, because that would be a violation of Senate Bill 180,” Garcia said.

Garcia says this and other issues, not only in Manatee County, but statewide, bring up a larger question of home rule and local government power. 

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