The Surfrider Foundation's South Florida chapter volunteers in a number of local efforts ranging from classroom educational programs, beach clean-ups, and social events to public awareness campaigns, lobbying efforts, and action alerts.
Our current efforts include:
The Reclamation Project
The SFL chapter is working with Miami artist Xavier Cortada and other volunteers and environmental organizations to create a major collaborative eco-art project on Miami Beach. Cortada, an artist who expresses numerous conservation and themes related to nature in his art, dramatized the destruction of the native mangrove forest with an installation consisting of over 2,500 mangrove seedlings in clear cups at South Florida's Art Basel art festival. The seedlings collected for the project were distributed to local businesses for a period of time and then were recollected and used to reforest a portion of Biscayne Bay. To learn more, click here.
Bal Harbour Beach Access Initiative:
The Surfrider Foundation SFL chapter is engaged in an effort to raise public awareness regarding an illegal beach closure in Bal Harbour. Our efforts have brought forward evidence of larger, illegal activities and we are working to correct the beach closure and hold the parties responsible for breaking the law accountable. To learn more, click here.
Federal Activism: Beach Preservation Act (HR2537 and S1506)
If passed, this bill will double the authorized funding levels for state beach grants which pay for state and local beach water quality monitoring programs. It also requires EPA to approve rapid water testing methods and will fund bacterial source tracking studies and beach pollution prevention efforts. For more information on this bill, click here. The Beach Protection Act is assigned to the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure. Our Congressmen, Mario Diaz-Balart, District 25, sits on this Committee. His support is critical to building bipartisan support and momentum for this bill so that it can move into the full committee and hopefully onto the full floor for a vote.
To write a letter to Representative Diaz-Balart, click here to print out and mail a sample letter. To participate in this Surfrider Action Alert via automated email, click here. Please remember that a personalized letter send via postal mail or a phone call is MUCH more effective than an automated email. Consider doing both! Send mail to: Congressman Mario Diaz-Balart: Miami District Office, 12851 SW 42nd Street Suite 131, Miami, FL, 33175 Telephone: (305) 225-6866. Fax: (305) 225-7432.
Support: Vote Solar Initiative
The Vote Solar Initiative is a non-profit organization with the mission of stopping global warming and increasing energy independence by bringing solar energy into the mainstream. To find out more about this initiative, visit www.votesolar.org. To see the letter sent to Governor Charlie Crist on behalf of Surfrider, click here.
Pledge to Stop Global Warming, led by the National Environmental Trust
Momentum is building across the nation and the concern to fight global warming has never been greater. Just a few weeks ago America’s Climate Security Act was introduced in a bi-partisan way to address climate change. Although the Bill needs strong improvements, it demonstrates that the U.S. is finally ready to start fighting global warming. Our own Senator Nelson has co-sponsored the Bill, and now more than ever we need Senator Mel Martinez to stand up on this critical issue. Over 600 handwritten letters have gone out to Senator Mel Martinez, urging him to support legislation that includes reducing global warming emissions 80% by the year 2050. With your help we can get 500 more letters in the upcoming weeks! Click here for a sample letter to print and mail to Senator Mel Martinez. For more information on this campaign, contact Melisa Stodieck at melisa@greencorps.org or (305) 604-0519.
Blue Water Task Force
The Blue Water Task Force (BWTF) is the Surfrider Foundation’s water quality monitoring, education and advocacy program. It is utilized by our Chapters and members to alert citizens and officials in their communities about water quality problems and to work toward solutions. BWTF has demonstrated success by raising public awareness of coastal water pollution levels and precipitating the establishment of state and local government water quality monitoring programs in many communities where the program has been implemented. Learn more here.
Waste Disposal and Water Management Monitoring
A study in April 2006 evaluated the status and efficacy of effluent management options for the six municipal water management facilities in Florida’s Palm Beach, Broward, and Miami-Dade
Counties that discharge secondarily treated wastewater through ocean outfalls. Urban water
requirements in this region are rising due to rapid population growth, while water supply
problems loom due to uncertainties in the time-phasing and funding of water resources
projects. Southeast Florida’s natural and artificial reef resources—some located near the
outfalls—provide habitat and protection for marine organisms and contribute over 61,000
jobs and $1.9 billion in yearly income for residents of the three counties. An underutilized
water management option in the region is water reuse, which could help Southeast Florida
meet its water requirements while decreasing or eliminating reliance on ocean outfalls. The
State has a reuse capacity of 1.2 BGD and expects to reclaim and reuse 65% of all domestic
wastewater by 2020, up from 40% today. The South Florida chapter is monitoring the progress of this goal. To read the 2006 study, click here.
Florida Aquifer, Our Watershed, Coral Reefs Presentation:
This presentation features Surfrider specialists who participate in academic sessions at local elementary schools. The 30-50 minute presentation includes video footage of the Florida aquifer system, the watershed cycle and how coastal beaches are affected by man-made changes, and the benefits and current threats to coral reef systems around the world. More details coming soon!
For more information on Surfrider SFL initiatives, e-mail miami@surfrider.org.
More Special Stuff Programs and Deals
The Surfrider Poster
Does anyone have access to a professional print shop or friends/family who own or work at a printing company? Surfrider South Florida is working on a poster project and we want to see if any printers would like to help us out with this. If you can help, e-mail matadormiami@bellsouth.net. This is the e-mail for more information on the project as well.
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