Kylie Williams is the Spring 2025 Digital Managing Editor and a third-year journalism major. She has also worked as the enterprise editor and the environmental enterprise reporter. In her free time, she can be found reading, baking or watching reality TV with her cat.
I didn’t plan on saying goodbye to The Alligator. Not because I planned on working in our office of dust bunnies and back-breaking chairs forever, but because I didn’t think I earned it.
En comunidades alrededor de Gainesville, la idea de "cuidado de la creación", o la responsabilidad religiosa hacia el medio ambiente, se está volviendo cada vez más común. A medida que persiste la amenaza del cambio climático, las personas están utilizando la fe como punto de partida para la acción ambiental.
In communities around Gainesville, the idea of “creation care,” or a religious responsibility to the environment, is becoming increasingly common. As the threat of climate change persists, people are using faith as a launching point for environmental action.
The state is home to roughly 500 non-native species, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Florida’s subtropical climate, multiple ports of entry and rampant animal trade makes the state a global hotspot for invasives, the FWC reports. UF researchers are monitoring some of the most high-profile non-natives, especially those that could be harmful to Florida. However, some Floridians find benefits in their new neighbors, and have advocated for certain species to stay.
Since the 1990s, the companies responsible for the Cabbot Koppers Superfund site cleanup have been working to remove contaminants from the site and the surrounding Stephen Foster neighborhood. The hazardous chemicals from the site have raised concerns for Pearce and other residents, who worry about potential risks to human and environmental health. The future of the site is also in question, as remedial efforts are extending years longer than originally planned. The superfund site contains two properties: a charcoal and pine tar plant previously owned by Cabot Carbon, and a wood treatment facility operated by Koppers Inc. Activity at the site began in the early 1900s and lasted almost a century, with Koppers being the last to end operation in 2010.
The Climate Reality Project and local activists met Monday afternoon to hear an update on Gainesville’s climate action plan from Chief Climate Officer Dan Zhu. The city official outlined the plan and focused on two main aspects: adaptation and mitigation.
In Alachua County, more than 30,000 acres have been protected under similar land agreements. In January, the trust facilitated an agreement with a 550-acre dairy farm in Gilchrist County. The farm has been owned for multiple generations by the Watson family, who will receive $1.54 million through the easement.
In Alachua County, 11.1% of the population is food insecure, according to the Florida Department of Health. In the last decade, several urban farms have sprouted in an effort to combat local food insecurity. These community gardens also tackle other issues stemming from food insecurity, including educating citizens and addressing systemic inequality.
In 2021, Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a gaming compact with the Seminole Tribe of Florida. The compact provided the Seminole Tribe exclusive rights in running gambling activities on tribal lands. In exchange, the tribe agreed to give $2.5 billion of its revenue to the state for the first five years the compact is in place. Under SB 1638, 96% of these annual funds would go to Florida’s environmental resources.
Florida’s manatee population has struggled over the past few years, leading many petitioners to call for its re-entry to the endangered species list. In 2017, the manatee was reclassified from “endangered” to “threatened” by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Save the Manatee Club filed a joint petition in 2022 to put the Florida manatee back on the endangered species list.
Solutions by The State News
