October 2023

One of the biggest issues for anyone interested in the changing climate and conservation is the ability to switch away from fossil fuels to more sustainable energy sources. Innovation today could help to create long term solutions for tomorrow, and Florida Power & Light Company (FPL) is striving to innovate through a pilot project aimed at making it possible to run a power plant using hydrogen, a clean fuel.

The unique pilot project, based in Okeechobee County, recently hit the vital milestone of actually producing hydrogen, and it combines state of the art technology with two natural resources available in abundance in Florida – sunlight in the form of solar power and water. The ultimate aim of FPL is to use the learning from the hydrogen pilot project to achieve the long term goal of decarbonizing its power-generation by 2045 at the latest.

We’re used to having to worry about flooding impacting on urban areas across Florida, with homes, businesses and even the streets themselves needing protection from the likes of ultra-heavy rainfall and storm surges. It’s tempting to assume that a predominantly aquatic environment such as the Everglades would be immune to such risks but that actually isn’t the case. This article looks at how South Florida Water Management District and Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission have asked the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to open water control structures along the Tamiami Trail in order to lower water levels which are flooding islands across the Everglades and denying the local wildlife the land they need to survive.  In many cases the animals have actually drowned, as the tree islands they call home have been swamped.

We’ve written about the restoration of Florida’s Everglades before now in the H2O Zone, but the focus has always tended to fall on the wildlife and the protection of the unique landscape of the Everglades. Just as important, however, is the key role which the Everglades play in the freshwater ecosystems which Floridians rely upon to supply their water for domestic use and irrigation. In simple terms, rain falling on the Everglades helps to fill the Biscayne Aquifer which sits beneath the ground, and from which 300 million gallons of freshwater are pumped daily. Restoring the Everglades means keeping this water flowing and protecting this natural resource from incursion by seawater and phosphorous-rich runoff, and the Florida International University plays a key role in those efforts.

We’ve already mentioned the proposed development of hydrogen power as a long term driver of decarbonization, but another solution which is already up and running and has a proven positive impact is solar power. Tapping into the power of the sun to generate electricity cheaply is a solution which is particularly appealing to Floridians, and this article looks at the role which local government is playing – across the United States – in making it easier for people to take advantage of the benefits of solar power. In Orange County, Florida, for example, local government teams up with Solar United Neighbors of Florida to facilitate a group purchase program, while the solar permitting process has been reduced to a single day, reviewers and inspectors receive specialized training and solar panels are installed on county buildings.

Working to conserve our natural landscape isn’t all about going back to nature. As several of the articles chosen this month illustrate, a grasp of the right cutting edge technology can play a key role in making it easier for people to play their part in areas such as fair conservation and smart planning. A clear example if this technological approach can be found in Orange County, where the ECO Resource of Orange County has just been launched. This web-based mapping platform sets out the data on a range of issues, from freshwater quality to parks and green spaces, enabling parties such as elected officials, planners, community advocates, landowners and local citizens to track those areas most impacted by environmental challenges and prioritize actions taken on the basis of the data. If you live in Orange County and want to take a look (or you’d like something similar in your bit of Florida) just click here.

All too often, the assumption is that protecting the environment means calling a virtual halt to commercial development, and in a vibrant economy such as Florida’s – with a booming population – that is never going to be regarded as a viable proposition. Much more likely to succeed is an approach which enables commercial developments to take place in a sustainable manner, and this article takes an in-depth look at how this could happen, from using green alternatives to concrete to building energy efficient buildings that use renewable power sources and focusing on zero emissions transit solutions. More far-reaching suggestions include the creation of ‘sponge cities’ – urban areas built to be able to sustain more rainfall – and affordable housing to cut down on commuting.

You may not automatically think of the military as playing a key role in combatting the impact of climate change, but the reality of the matter is that many coastal military bases are being threatened by flooding and erosion, with protections such as sea walls failing to cope. One possible solution is the creation of a ‘perfect’ reef constructed of a hybrid of concrete and coral. Scientists at the University of Miami have been amongst the experts spending the last 14 months working on this solution, which involves coral biologists working with aerospace engineers, manufacturers and hydrologists to make the hybrid reef a reality. The aim is for the hybrid reef to be able to reduce wave energy by up to 70%, and for the natural reef elements to grow over time around the concrete ‘skeleton’.

We’ve looked at the ways in which technology can be used to promote or even enable the cause of conservation, but even the best technology is worthless without the people willing to make use of it. The late Charles Dauray was the South Florida Water Management District governing board vice chair from 2007 to 2011 and as such was heavily involved in restoration plans for the Everglades and the Kissimmee River. He was a vocal promotor of setting in place long-term efforts to improve water quality and flood control around Lake Okeechobee and to restore Lake Trafford for the public’s benefit. His name and his belief that ‘Water is life’ now live on in the form of the newly established Charles Dauray Water School Scholarship. The scholarship will support graduate students in The Water School at Florida Gulf Coast University, helping to create the next generation of scientists fighting to preserve the environment and water supplies of Florida and beyond.