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Audubon Florida Climate and Energy News Roundup Today we share news about the Supreme Court’s overturn of wetland protections, how curbside recycling makes climate sense, why sea walls are not the answer, and more.

Black-crowned Night Heron. Photo: Fred Widarsson

‘Devastating’ Supreme Court Decision Leaves Wetlands Unprotected From the National Audubon Society “The majority of the nation’s wetlands where many birds raise their young, congregate in winter, and rest during migration—and which filter out pollutants and buffer communities from flooding and storm surges—lost legal protections on Thursday in a Supreme Court ruling that significantly curtails the reach of the Clean Water Act… In the 5-4 majority opinion, conservative Justice Samuel Alito wrote that wetlands are covered by the law only if they have a ‘continuous surface connection’ to larger water bodies that are clearly regulated by the Clean Water Act.” Read the entire publication.

Curbside Recycling Turns Out to be a Surprisingly Good Climate Investment From Anthropocene “Many towns and cities in the U.S. have halted or scaled back their curbside recycling programs in an effort to reduce costs. But this is a misguided approach when it comes to fighting climate change, according to a new study... It’s true that collecting recyclables separately is almost always more expensive than simply sending all household garbage to the landfill. ‘The expense of collecting and separating bottles, cans and paper products exceeds the resale value of the recovered materials,’ the researchers report. But placed in larger context, the cost is relatively modest. ” Read the entire article.

Ford Electric Vehicle Owners to Get Access to Tesla Supercharger Network Starting Next Spring From WKMG News Channel 6 “All of Ford Motor Co.'s current and future electric vehicles will have access to about 12,000 Tesla Supercharger stations in the U.S. and Canada starting next spring… At first, Ford's current electric vehicles will need an adapter to hook into the Tesla stations, which have their own connector. But Ford will switch to Tesla's North American Charging Standard connector with its second-generation EVs starting in 2025, Farley said.” Read the entire article.

Clean Energy Installations in the US Fell Even as Global Green Energy Investment Reached a Record in 2022 From Yahoo News “Clean-energy installations in the U.S. fell in 2022 for the first time in five years despite global renewable energy investment reaching a record $495 billion last year. Meanwhile investment in solar energy is expected to outstrip that in oil for the first time this year, largely driven by the solar boom in China, the world’s leading investor in green energy... Renewables, however, were still the country’s dominant source of new power.” Read the entire article.

In Florida, Seawalls Are Not the Answer. Here’s Why. | Column From Tampa Bay Times “On the heels of Hurricane Ian, the Florida Legislature this year passed the Hurricane Restoration Reimbursement Grant Program. The program allocates $50 million to reimburse oceanfront property owners for the construction of seawalls in the name of coastal protection. Any beachfront parcel owner may apply for $150,000 with a 50/50 percent homeowner match to construct seawalls that protect private property… Make no mistake, the seawall grant program will harm Florida beaches and result in a patchwork of coastal hardening projects that will end with neighbors in litigation as new walls push storm impacts onto adjacent properties.” Read the entire article.

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