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Barack Obama and Rick Scott may not have that much in common politically, but both the president’s and the governor’s recently proposed budgets had one similarity: lots of money for the restoration of the Florida Everglades. Last month Scott set aside $150 million in his budget for the Everglades as…
In the lab, the genetically modified mosquito larvae glow green and red to help researchers track them. The bugs’ DNA has been tweaked with a killer gene that will wipe out the next generation of blood-suckers before they can latch onto humans. Millions of the scientifically created bugs are released…
The fight over an endangered patch of native pine rocklands has sparked a planned rally at the site of the two highly controversial development projects — a proposed Walmart and the theme park Miami Wilds. “We’ll do two for the price of one,” says Matthew Schwartz, executive director of the…
Across the country, strong resistance has cropped up against the oil extraction process known as fracking, or hydraulic fracturing. Even a single fracking job requires a staggering amount of water, as well as an abundance of toxic chemicals. Some evidence suggests the “fracking fluid” that has to be injected deep…
This hasn’t been the easiest season to be a Miami Heat fan. The Heat are in danger of heading into their Christmas Day match-up against LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers as a sub-.500 team. The fact is, the Heat are a middling Eastern Conference team at the moment with…
The developers aren’t giving up yet. Earlier this week, Ram Realty Services, the West Palm Beach-based developer behind the proposed Coral Reef Commons project — highly controversial because it would develop critically endangered pine rockland habitat — met with U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) officials and agreed to submit…
In this week’s Miami New Times, we profile 30 of the most interesting characters in town, with portraits of each from photographer Stian Roenning. See the entire Miami New Times People Issue here. When he was a 9-year-old Boy Scout, Jeff Ransom and his fellow troop members got lost in…
In this week’s Miami New Times, we profile 30 of the most interesting characters in town, with portraits of each from photographer Stian Roenning. See the entire Miami New Times People Issue here. After 45 years of poisoning the mostly black residents of West Coconut Grove, the incinerator Old Smokey…
Hurricane season ends on November 30, but for Floridians it seems like it didn’t even begin this year. In fact, it will be the ninth straight year in a row that a hurricane hasn’t made landfall in Florida. That’s the longest stretch in recorded history, more than doubling the previous…
Oh, the Everglades. Our noble river of grass. Our beautiful, unique ecosystem. Oh, the ways in which we have totally screwed it over. No, seriously. We’ve made our alligators the size of Kate Moss. We’ve turned some birds gay, and we keep releasing all sorts of stupid pets into it…
The alligators of the Everglades are wasting away. Literally. Scientists have noticed for decades that gators in South Florida have become increasingly smaller than those found in central and north Florida, and things haven’t gotten better. CBS News reports that the habitat now supports about half the population scientists expect…
After weeks of wrangling, a park protest, and the recent involvement of an attorney, the infamous Merrie Christmas Park toxic soil pile is finally on its way out thanks to funding promised by an anonymous donor. “I’m pretty sure it’ll happen in the next day or two,” Commissioner Marc Sarnoff…
Call it a split decision. The latest legal skirmish over the Deep Dredge devolved into an all-day court battle over contracts and language yesterday. Despite the dredge drudgery, however, environmentalists emerged from federal court claiming important concessions in their ongoing battle against the Army Corps of Engineers, including almost half…
Everyone knows that adult fish can produce sounds, right? Well, maybe not, but trust us, they do. But earlier this month, a team from the University of Miami’s Rosenstiel School became the first ever — ever! — to document that fish larvae, also known as baby fish, can also make…
Seemingly every discussion of Miami’s recent development boom includes someone sneering, “Yeah, and all those condo lobbies will be underwater in 100 years.” And every discussion of the potentially devastating effects of global warming on South Florida comes with someone quipping, “And yet they keep building towers down there.” But…
After days of flyers, signatures, and rising passion among neighbors who want a massive pile of toxic soil removed from Merrie Christmas Park in Coconut Grove, city officials at a hearing last night argued in favor of a much cheaper plan to cover the toxic soil with two feet of…
Nowadays, the city of Miami Beach finds parts of itself underwater about eight times a year. In fact, a “King Tide,” during which flooding is usually the worst, is expected for tomorrow. Right now that’s a pain in the butt, but according to a new study by the Union of…
The deep dredge could be in very deep trouble. Miami’s most controversial public works project has been under the microscope in recent months as environmentalists have complained the dredge is killing precious coral colonies. This morning, however, those same environmentalists are filing a request for an emergency injunction that could…
Last fall, Miami leaders finally admitted they’d known for years that the long-shuttered Old Smokey trash incinerator in Coconut Grove had poisoned the earth with toxic ash. But they’ve also insisted contamination is contained within a 4.5-acre, fenced-off facility. However, new reports obtained by New Times contradict that claim, revealing…
Listen up, kids. Next time you think science is boring, consider how Thaddeus McRae spent two years of his life: namely, chasing squirrels around the University of Miami campus with a remote-controlled cat on wheels and gliders painted to look like hawks. “We had some very interesting interactions,” McRae tells…
Next Saturday the R.Y.P.E. Community Garden in Buena Vista will host en event. It’s a goodbye party — the garden will soon be demolished so a parking lot can be built in its place. “Pave paradise to put up a parking lot. Sooo sorry,” wrote Atiya Guianese on the event’s…
