Articles by: Gil Smart
One down, one to go — and not in a good way. On May 24, after weeks of lobbying and email campaigns and public pleas by citizens and conservation groups seeking a veto, Gov. Ron DeSantis ignored it all and signed…
As we write this Gov. Ron DeSantis still hasn’t signed the state budget, nor has he vetoed line item 146 — which green-lights a one-year ban on new fertilizer ordinances while the University of Florida studies the matter. VoteWater has…
And so the 2023 Legislative Session has come to an end. Mercifully. Let’s be frank: It wasn’t a good year for clean water or Florida’s environment in general. While the Legislature did allot a record $1.1 billion for land acquisition…
Given the clout the sprawl industry wields in Florida, it’s hardly surprising the Florida Senate passed controversial Senate Bill 540 on April 19, over the objections of conservation groups (like VoteWater) and citizen advocates around Florida. The bill, which may…
In a frightening 2009 article titled “Re-Engineering the Earth,” The Atlantic magazine predicted that as the impacts of climate change worsened, mankind would turn to technology for salvation. Perhaps we’ll pump pollutants into the sky, turning it a reddish-orange, to…
Happy Holidays from VoteWater! Fighting for cleaner water in Florida is an uphill battle. It can be discouraging and infuriating. Our side doesn’t have the same money, the same number of lobbyists; the same influence in the capitol. But what…
The 2022 general election has come and gone; how, ultimately, will it impact Florida’s troubled waters? We’ll find out soon enough. Two VoteWater endorsed candidates prevailed last night; Congressman Brian Mast won re-lection to his 21st District seat; in the…
We’ve got an election coming up in two weeks. Do you know which campaigns are keeping it clean — and which campaigns are powered by “dirty money?” “Dirty money” means political contributions from special interests to candidates, or to political…
Environmental concerns haven’t been high on the campaign agenda this year. Particularly at the state level, abortion and inflation take up a lot of bandwidth. At the federal level cultural and pocketbook issues also predominate. Our foundational cause, clean water…
The environmental advocacy group VoteWater has released its 2022 General Election Voter Guide, designed to help voters in 15 Florida counties identify clean-water candidates. The guides, available at VoteWater.org/voter-guides, include endorsements for 11 candidates. Three of those endorsements were announced…