Florida
Current Campaigns
Clean Water Action releases survey findings on curbside recycling and stormwater in St. Petersburg
On February 21, 2008, Clean Water Action released What a Waste! (pdf) a report on curbside recycling and stormwater issues in St. Petersburg. Close to 3,000 Clean Water Action members participated in our survey, indicating they want curbside recycling and would be willing to help pay for it. Our recommendations to the City are clear - establish a city-wide curbside recycling program now and work with groups like Clean Water Action to resolve stormwater issues in the City.
Get the full report (pdf, 1.6 MB)
You will need to have the Adobe Acrobat Reader properly installed to view PDF documents. You can get it free from Adobe.
You've Read the Results - Please Take Action Now!
Take action: Tell the St. Petersburg Mayor and City Council you want curbside recycling now. Personalize this email and tell them why curbside recycling is important to you.
Let's keep up the pressure on!
Clean Water Action Vows To Keep Holding The Line
Tell The Department of Community Affairs To Enforce Miami-Dade's Urban Development Boundary
On May 6th nine Miami-Dade County Commissioners approved two applications for commercial development outside the county's Urban Development Boundary (UDB) over objections from Mayor Alvarez, state and local planning experts and more than 5,000 Hold the Line activists and Clean Water Action members who wrote, called, e-mailed and attended public hearings. Instead of getting angry - Get Active!
Since many of the County Commissioners don't listen, we are looking to state officials to ask them to protect our quality of life, water supply, and the Everglades by enforcing Miami-Dade's UDB and denying the Lowe's Home Improvement Store and another retail center.
Lennar Corp. is now advancing a new project to pave wetlands with nearly 7,000 homes outside the UDB. These approvals tell developers that anything is for sale in Miami-Dade County - no matter what it costs citizens and the environment. We must Hold the Line!
Take Action: Create a personalized letter and let Florida Department of Community Affairs Director Charles Gauthier and Director Thomas Pelham know you want them to Hold The Line!
Clean Water Action Launches South Florida Campaign Outreach Program
Clean Water Action is pleased to announce the re-opening of our South Florida Campaign Outreach program. Our outreach staff will be reconnecting with our South Florida members and getting them involved in local, state, and national environmental and energy issues. The project will be based out of our North Miami office.
Interested in working with our outreach program?
Community organizers will be going door-to-door in communities primarily within Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach counties. Full and part-time positions are available; hours are 2:00 – 10:00 p.m., primarily Monday-Friday. Responsibilities include one-on-one communication, membership recruitment, and issue advocacy.
We are looking for candidates who work effectively in teams and independently, possess excellent oral communication skills, care about making a difference by being active within the community and want to win environmental and public health protections.
For more information, contact Cyra Gish at (305) 653-5134
Interns And Volunteers Wanted
Are you looking for a way to gain experience while giving back to your community? Do you need to beef up your resume? Do you have a son or daughter coming home for the summer from college and don't want them to have idle time? Then why not intern at Clean Water Action and make a real difference this year!
We are looking for positive attitudes, strong communication skills, and results-driven individuals to join us in political change to protect our water, public health, and future.
Positions available include: community organizing, election campaigns, media communication, research, policy analysis and more! We can design a program that meets your interests and needs as well!
For more information, contact Lauren Matchette at (305) 653-9101
Clean Water Action Files Federal Suit
Clean Water Action joined the Sierra Club and Gulf Restoration Network to file a federal lawsuit on October 1, 2007 against the Army Corps of Engineers and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for violations of federal environmental laws regarding the construction of the Cypress Creek Town Center in Pasco County.
The suit charges the Army Corps of Engineers with unlawfully permitting the construction of this site and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service with the unlawful issuance of a concurrence letter that the development will not adversely affect federally listed species.
Clean Water Action, the Sierra Club, and Gulf Restoration Network are seeking to overturn this permit to prevent devastating consequences to our water, wetlands, and wildlife of this area.
- Water - Stormwater discharge from the development will run directly into Cypress Creek, an "Outstanding Florida Water" and a major tributary of the Hillsborough River. Water consumption needed for this development will tax limited water supplies and pave groundwater recharge areas.
- Wetlands - Building requires the filling of tens of acres of wetlands, and existing wetlands will receive direct Stormwater discharge from the development.
- Wildlife - The land scheduled to be bulldozed contains habitat for three endangered species: the Wood Stork, the Eastern Indigo Snake, and the Florida Scrub Jay.
Efforts are underway by the Developers to move the court case from Washington, D.C. to Florida. CWA believes this is a precedent-setting case, national in scope, and does not just impact the Tampa Bay area. For more information, please contact Kathy Aterno either via e-mail or by phone at (813) 247-2150.
Be Water Wise - Ways to Save on Water
With 1,350 miles of coastline, the 700 mile wide Lake Okeechobee and 10 million acres of wetlands including the Everglades, Florida is known for its abundance of water. Yet, even with an average of 54 inches of rainfall a year, the sunshine state is still suffering from a severe drought that is only expected to worsen in 2008.
Add to this the 175 gallons of water the average Floridian uses each day -- about 65 more gallons per day than the average American.
It's time we all do our part to protect our most important natural resource. Here's how you and your family can make a real difference in just a few simple steps.
| Water Savings at home per person | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Activity | Week | Month | Year |
| Installing a dual flushing toilet | 21 gallons | 90 gallons | 1,095 gallons |
| Only run a full washing machine | 44 gallons | 189 gallons | 2,294 gallons |
| Install a low flow showerhead & shorten showers by 2 minutes | 46 gallons | 195 gallons | 2,373 gallons |
| Turning off the tap when hand washing dishes | 125 gallons | 535 gallons | 6,518 gallons |
| Reduce landscape watering by 20 minutes a week when you keep grass long and water during early morning hours | 200 gallons | 857 gallons | 10,428 gallons |
Clean Water Action And Save Our Canals Launch Joint Initiative To Combat Water Pollution
Clean Water Action has partnered with Save our Canals (SocS) on a new water pollution prevention project called the Water and Coastal Area Restoration and Maintenance project (WARM). WARM is an education and awareness campaign that seeks to combat water pollution by focusing on the issue of stormwater run-off.
The goals of the WARM project are to prevent trash and harmful toxins from entering local waterways, to educate community and policy-makers about stormwater run-off, and to promote practical methods of pollution prevention. Clean Water Action is concerned with the effects of stormwater run-off on our water quality.
Stormwater is a major carrier of non-point pollution sources like trash, oil, gasoline, coolants, pesticides, and fertilizers. When it rains, these pollutants are washed into storm drains and subsequently into our rivers, lakes, and oceans.
Clean Water Action and SocS will focus on pollution prevention through educational campaigns and promoting the use of stormwater filtration baskets. These baskets are placed inside storm drains and serve to block debris, sediment, and even chemicals from entering our waterways. WARM includes plans for a local community clean-up event and engaging the community in our storm drain stenciling campaign.
WARM Project Coming To City Of Tampa
At the October 4, 2007 Tampa City Council meeting, Council members voted in support of the City's Public Works and Utilities Department working with Clean Water Action and Save Our Canals to improve the City's stormwater management.
Council members listened to Clean Water Action's Florida Director, Kathy Aterno, and SocS' Marianne Cufone speak about the WARM project, including the benefits of filtration devices and the importance of stormwater run-off education. Clean Water Action and SocS will work with the City over the next several months and report back to the City Council by the end of the year.
Take Action: If you are interested in participating in WARM, please e-mail us.
