By Maryvonne Devensky 1) SABAL TRAIL PIPELINE —Since last fall, DIVESTING globally is a growing movement according to an article from December 12, 2016, by Damian Carrington. Here are some excerpts: “The value of investment funds committed to selling off fossil fuel assets has jumped to 5.2 TRILLIONS doubling in […]
By Whitey Markle LEGISLATIVE In view of the current political situation here in Florida and nationwide, we must begin to understand our governmental representative and we must begin to engage them with our positions on critical environmental issue. Most of them will listen, and we have concluded , over time, […]
By Whitey Markle NEW SSJ STRUCTURE UP AND RUNNING The Working Group structure is up and running. I am getting a lot of positive comments about the new structure. The Working Groups (North Florida, Tricounty, and Central) are able to flex with the issues at hand and the issues in these […]
Alachua County/Gainesville Residents: For the fourth year in a row, Senator Keith Perry is working to remove all accountability from our municipally-owned utility and to move it one big step closer to privatization. At the Legislative Delegation meeting on Jan. 30th, there were more than half a dozen people who spoke […]
By Maryvonne Devensky As you know we started a new working group in December 2016, to serve the needs of the northern counties: Hamilton, Lafayette, Suwannee, Baker, Union, Bradford, Columbia, Dixie, and Gilchrist, 9 counties that have a lot in common: beautiful rural settings of forests, meadows, wetlands, springs and […]
By Whitey Markle  “VICTORY†IN UNION COUNTY MINING ISSUE On January 17, the Union County Board of County Commissioners (B.O.C.C.) voted unanimously to extend the moratorium on mining for another year. The standing-room-only Union County Courtroom was packed with supporters of the moratorium extension. We hope the Union BOCC moves […]
By Whitey Markle State Legislative Configuration On a good note: State Senator Lauren Book, a Democrat, has been appointed Chair of the Florida Senate Conservation and Environmental Preservation Committee. Â Although she appears to have little environmental experience she is probably far more approachable than the former chair of that committee, […]
By Maryvonne Devenksy Hello everyone, As I am stepping down from being the Chair of the SSJ Sierra Group, I would like to share that I have learned a lot, met a lot of spirit minded people who like me want to preserve our natural resources. At times being Chair, […]
by Whitey Markle After serving 7 years as the Conservation Chair and Vice Chair, I’ve been elected Chair of the SSJ Group.  I certainly appreciate the EXCOM’s confidence in me and I hope we move forward through this rough time in American and Floridian environmental history. We have a big […]
By Whitey Markle Elusive Water Policy, Elusive Politicians In the last few months, I’ve had a chance to see the state water policy managers in action. We’ve been pressing the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) to assure the implementation of our water law via the Basin Management Action Plan […]