Pelican Island Audubon Society
Serving Indian River County since 1964
Category: President’s Hoot
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Stop John’s Island from drilling a wastewater effluent pipe under our struggling Lagoon
The President’s Hootby Richard H. Baker, Ph.D.March 2019 PIAS praises the county commission for banning human sewage sludge (also called ‘human poop’ or, euphemistically, ‘biosolids’). This treated solid material from south Florida utilities sewer plants was being deposited on agricultural lands around Blue Cypress Lake and eventually the Lagoon, causing cyanobacteria blooms with microcystin toxin…
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Some positive environmental ‘happenings’ as we start 2019
The President’s Hootby Richard H. Baker, Ph.D.February 2019 For 50 years, we have watched our county environment deteriorate. However, since then, PIAS and county voters made some progress by passing two bond issues one in 1992 for $26 million, and one in 2004 for $50 million. The county used matching funds from the state’s Amendment…
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100,000 Trees for Life
The President’s Hootby Richard H. Baker, Ph.D.October 2018 We sometimes take the oxygen we breathe for granted. The air we breath is mostly nitrogen (78%) but just 21% oxygen, with tiny amounts of other gases. From where does the earth get its oxygen? According to the National Geographic, 70% comes from microscopic plants in our…
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Year of the Bird – What can be done?
The President’s Hootby Richard H. Baker, Ph.D.September 2018 Just 100 years ago, Florida’s human population was about 900,000. Today it is estimated at 21 million. Any wonder that our bird species are declining? Since 1500, over 190 species of world’s birds have become extinct, and that rate is increasing. Approximately 1,469 of the world’s 10,966…