Manatee County Democratic Party

Welcome!

MDEC is a newly-forming chapter of the Democratic Environmental Caucus of Florida. We support local and state candidates, lawmakers, legislation, issues and businesses that preserve, protect and enhance Manatee County and Florida natural resources.

We are organized to

· Help elect environmentally responsible Democrats

· Monitor local and state environmental legislation

· Be a resource for information and technical/scientific expertise

· Encourage environmental stewardship at all levels of government

Become a Member

Beautiful Manatee County. We have much to lose. Join us in our efforts to elect leaders who will protect it.

We meet monthly on the third Thursday at 6 pm at Manatee County Democratic headquarters (check ManateeCountyDemocrats.com/events to confirm).

Hope to see you!

Manatee Democratic Environmental Caucus

Bob McCaa, President

mccaa_robert@hotmail.com

Jane Sellick, Vice President

sellickjane@gmail.com

Become a Member

JULY PROGRAMS

July 18, 6pm - “Florida’s Geology: The Perfect Storm”

Guest speaker, David Woodhouse, is a Registered Professional Geologist in Florida. For more than five decades he has worked as a hydrogeologist in the private sector as well as a consultant for the cleanup of hazardous waste sites to the EPA, COE, Justice Department, Nuclear Regulatory Commission, etc. David will explain how Florida's geologic history left us with a myriad of underlying fractured bedrock that forms the perfect storm for migration of nutrients and contaminants. We will discuss the correlation of algal blooms with fracture flow, types of contamination that have degraded the Floridian Aquifer and rivers, injection wells, and the serious deterioration in Florida’s quality of life.

Jul 25, 6pm - Eco Legislative Action committee

This group was formed to research and write policy positions, monitor legislation, monitor climate crisis, etc.

Special guest Russ Conn (Chair, Eco-Hillsborough)

Recent News

Florida may adopt limits on amount of toxins from blue-green algae blooms allowed in waterways

While the state and an environmental group agree this is a good idea, they disagree on how those regulations would be enforced.

Tampa Bay Times article 7/8/19 : By Craig Pittman:

Blue-green algae is popping up all over Florida this summer.

It's in the canals of Gulfport and the Intracoastal Waterway in Treasure Island. In Bradenton, the Manatee River has turned green from the stuff, which the mayor of Holmes Beach calls "gumbo." In Lake Okeechobee, toxins have hit a level three times what the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency deems safe. Meanwhile state officials have convened a Blue-Green Algae Task Force to figure out how to prevent such blooms in the future. So far they have concluded only that the state's current regulations, which rely largely on voluntary anti-pollution measures, don't work very well.

For full article: http://bit.ly/2YE8pwd

TECO Set to Convert Big Bend Power Plant from Coal to Gas, Not Solar

Next month the Florida Cabinet will consider granting approval to Tampa Electric Company to convert part of its Apollo Beach electric plant from coal to methane gas. But groups like the Sierra Club, Extinction Rebellion Tampa Bay and Organize Florida oppose converting to gas and think TECO should convert to solar energy generation instead.

"Environmental scientists and advocates say the utility isn’t moving quickly enough toward renewable energy. Instead, they say, Tampa Electric's increasing dependence on natural gas means it will be wedded to a major source of greenhouse gas emissions that, while cleaner than coal, significantly contribute to climate change." Read more at http://bit.ly/2WRUkyz