Letters to Lawmakers: No Roads to Ruin Coalition Opposes SB 100

The below letter was sent by email to Senate President Wilton Simpson and members of the Senate Transportation Committee, including Senators Gayle Harrell, Keith Perry, Lori Berman, Randolph Bracy, George B. Gainer, Shevrin Jones, Ana Maria Rodriguez, and Tom A. Wright. Dear Senate Transportation Committee Members, The M-CORES toll roads

Senate Bill 88 Furthers Environmental Injustice

The comments below were given to the Senate Committee on Rules on March 4, 2021 by Executive Director Aliki Moncrief. We see SB 88 as a direct response to an environmental injustice caused by the burning of sugarcane fields. Plain and simple, this bill takes away the ability of everyday

Urge Your Legislators to Help Keep the Lights On!

No one should go without access to power and water during the middle of a pandemic. Thankfully, Rep. Carlos Guillermo Smith and Sen. Shevrin Jones have filed bills (HB 1435/SB 1860) to help Florida's families #KeepTheLightsOn. But they need our help. Urge your locally elected State House Representative and State

Letter to Lawmakers: Protect Our Water

The below letter and petition were delivered to 160 Florida state legislators on March, 1, 2021. The Protect Our Water petition collected a total of 2,040 signatures. Dear Senator/Representative:  It's no secret that water is the lifeblood of our state. Conservation Voters from across Florida have made it known time

Water Injustice in Florida

History books are written by those in power. The countless stories from the perspective of marginalized community members don’t always make it into history books and environmental justice was likely not a topic you learned about in school. Learning about these incidents of water injustice help us to better understand

Beach Wade-Ins Inspired Civil Rights Action

Imagine your favorite beach. The crash of waves, the sound of sea oats in the wind, the warm sun on bare skin. In the late 1940s through 1960s, the beach experience was not open for all but was instead limited to only White residents and visitors. Historically, Black Floridians were

Top 5 Florida Paddling Spots

Florida is a paddler’s paradise. Dipping a paddle in the water is one of the best ways to experience the watery wonders of our state. Florida boasts more than 1,000 freshwater springs; 7,700 lakes greater than 10 acres; 11 million acres of wetlands; and 27,561 linear miles of rivers and

Not in My Backyard: Systematic Racism and Redlining

It’s no coincidence that communities of color face harsher health burdens due to dirty air and water. From antebellum Reconstruction through the Jim Crow era, housing policy was designed to prevent Black residents from living in predominantly White neighborhoods. Land use decisions about where to locate polluting industries usually placed