Here are our outings for September. Won't you join us?

• Sept. 12th: Family GPS scavenger hunt at Split Oak Preserve
• Sept. 13th: Bike & Picnic at Withlacoochee Trail
• Sept. 19: Bike Seminole State Forest

(click link for details)

The latest edition of the Central Florida Sierran is now available here: http://www.centralfloridasierra.org/uploads/2009_9_sierran.pdf.

In this issue:

• ExCom elections are coming up
• Tips for wildlife gardening
• Overfishing in the Florida Keys and the problem of "shifting baselines"
• Upcoming outings and programs
• ...and more!

WALKIN’ JIM STOLTZ Forever Wild: A Multimedia Celebration of Wilderness With One of America’s Most Unique Folksingers And Backcountry Travelers

One of America's most unique folksingers, Walkin' Jim Stoltz, on tour from the mountains of Montana, will bring his powerful multi-media show, Forever Wild, to the Sierra Club meeting at 7:00pm on November 18th. A stirring journey in song, slides, stories and poetry across the wide-open spaces and through the windows of time with a man who has walked over 23,000 miles through North American wildlands. Tickets are $8.00 per person, and a portion of the proceeds will benefit the Central FL Sierra Club.

Walkin' Jim gets his name from nearly 27,000 miles he has walked through the wild country of North America.  Carrying a guitar and writing his songs along the way, his lyrics express a great love for the wild places he knows so well.  The Forever Wild show combines live music with stunning, multi-image slides to create a celebration of the natural world.  He will be sharing images and songs from the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, his Yellowstone to Yukon walk, the Utah canyon country, the Northern Rockies, and wild places all across America.

To buy tickets, please send your check to: Central Fla. Sierra Box 1692, Maitland, FL 32751. Questions: Contact Mary-Slater at 407-481-4398 or This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

The Sierra Club is joining up with a number of other environmental organizations in an effort to pass critically important energy legislation and support the Obama Administration's recent rulings on cleaning up coal-powered industries.  As of this posting (August 12), the House has passed a good bill, the Clean Energy and Security Act, and after the summer recess the Senate will address the issue of energy.  In order to urge the Senate to pass a comparable bill that encourages green jobs, forces polluting industries to clean up their act, and provides assistance for families with making their homes more energy-efficient, the Sierra Club has started an effort called Climate Crossroads .

Unfortunately, right now the amount of public input against the energy bill is four times greater than the input for the bill.  The reason for this is that polluting industries and other groups who have a stake in preserving the status quo are paying huge amounts of money to influence this process.  Climate Crossroads is intended to reverse that trend.  It is a program that makes use of tools like phone banking and the internet's social networking features to help concerned activists make a difference on energy.  

Sierra Club will be doing a kayak trip to see biolumincescent creatures on the evening of August 22nd. There are no boat rentals so you must have your own kayak.  We will meet at 7:30pm from the boat ramp at Haulover Canal by Titusville. We hope to see some manatees before it gets too dark. However, as darkness increases, we should see the water sparkle of living light in the water created by bioluminescent creatures. We'll probley paddle until around 9:00pm depending on the weather and the bugs.

(for details, see below) 

Purchasing a specialty license tag is a great way to help Florida's environment in these tough budget times. For example, "Discover Florida's Oceans" tag sales have been used to fund a number of grants that support important environmental initiatives. (See our article on this program in the January/February 2008 Sierran in our newsletter archive.) For a list of grants from the "Discover Florida's Oceans", click below!

St. Johns River Eco-Heritage Boat Trip to Benefit Environmental Organization!

Join St. Johns Riverkeeper for a 2-day cruise along the St. Johns River between Palatka and Sanford, FL!  Each day, passengers enjoy spectacular scenery, delicious lunches, fascinating speakers and historical re-enactors. We will stop along the way to visit interesting and beautiful places, such as Hontoon Island, Mount Royal, and Silver Glen Springs.   Experience the true beauty and essence of the St. Johns River.  Learn about its history, flora and fauna from naturalists, authors, historians, storytellers, and a third generation native Floridian.

Orange County 2010 Budget

The Sierra Club Central Florida Group supports a 5 cent local option gax tax as a funding source for LYNX. Tell our elected officials this investment in public transportation will help build Central Florida's economic future, reduce fuel consumption, and reduce air pollution by providing an alternative to the automobile.  Read Commissioner Stewart's 2010 Budget Memorandum to view other local gas tax options. 

Contact Information

Email:  This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

Telephone: (407) 836-7370
Fax: (407) 836-7360
Postal Address:
County Mayor Richard Crotty
201 S. Rosalind Ave., 5th Floor
Orlando, FL  32801

2010 Budget Memorandum from Commissioner Stewart:

July 8, 2009

TO: Mayor Richard T. Crotty
                  &
 Board of County Commissioners

FROM: Commissioner Linda Stewart – District 4

REF:  Dedicated Funding Source for LYNX - Planning for 2010

It goes without saying that each of us wishes for a transportation system which would truly meet the needs of all who would use it and support our regional economy as well.  We have continually worked together to plan and deliver such a system, but for a myriad of reasons we have not achieved its implementation.  I would like to request a workshop to discuss options for funding resources and implement planning for transportation in Orange County.

Ocean conservationists Randy Repass and Sally-Christine Rodgers of West Marine and Oceana have asked bloggers and environmental groups to publicize the following open letter on ocean acidification.  The acidification of our oceans is occuring as carbon dioxide levels in our atmosphere rise, and CO2 is absorbed by the ocean water.  Ocean acidification is one aspect of global climate change that has remained under-publicized, but will have as tremendous an impact upon the Earth as air temperature rise in the future (a report on ocean acidification can be found here ).  Please read this letter, and take the time to use Oceana's quick e-mail feature at the end to send a message to your legislators about this important issue!

*************************

We are both lifelong boaters.  What we have learned from sailing across the Pacific over the past 6 years, and especially from scientists focused on marine conservation, is startling.  Whether you spend time on the water or not, Ocean Acidification affects all of us and is something we believe you will want to know about.

 

What would you do if you knew that many species of fish and other marine life in the ocean will be gone within 30 years if levels of C02 continue increasing at their present rate? We believe you would take action to stop this from happening, because informed people make informed choices. This letter is about what we can and must do together now to help solve a very serious but little-known problem, Ocean Acidification.

(continued below)