www.CentralFloridaSierra.org

The Sierra Club is the nation's oldest and largest grassroots environmental organization, with over 700,000 members nationwide. These individuals are using grassroots activism and community action to protect America's environment, for our families, for our future.

We are part of the Florida Chapter of the National Sierra Club. Our group, the Central Florida Sierra Club, comprises over 2,100 members in Orange, Seminole, Lake and Osceola Counties. Our goal is to explore, enjoy, and protect the wild places of the earth. We now invite you to explore and enjoy our web presence. Thanks for visiting!

~ John Swingle, Executive Committee Chairman

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PUBLIC HEARING FLORIDA'S RETAIL BAGS REPORT

“More Protection, Less Process”
www.dep.state.fl.us
Public Meeting on Florida’s Retail Bags Report
Orlando City Hall, Council Chambers
400 South Orange Avenue
November 19, 2008
1:00pm – 5:00pm
This will be DEP’s first public meeting about the Legislature’s assignment to DEP to analyze and report on the necessity and efficacy of regulations for retail bags. The agenda will be finalized in the very near future and anyone who is already on our stakeholders email list will automatically receive notice at that time. If you would like to be on the list, simply send an email to This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it . You can also check our web site for updates at www.dep.state.fl.us/waste/retailbags/.
Last but not least, we encourage participation in our web forum about the retail bags at www.depflorida.com.
Florida Department of
Environmental Protection
Bob Martinez Center 2600 Blair Stone Road Tallahassee, Florida 32399-2400
Charlie Crist
Governor
Jeff Kottkamp Lt. Governor
Michael W. Sole
Secretary

New development doesn't add up!

Did you see this article in the Orlando Sentinel by Jane Healy?
Deseret development doesn't add up

You SHOULD see it - your County Commissioners will be discussing it this week.

Orange County Mayor Rich Crotty and the county commission Tuesday, are considering turning parts of Deseret Ranch in rural eastern Orange into 10,000 new homes. In her article, Jane Healy has three good questions for them to consider:

No. 1: What in the world are you thinking?

No 2: What exactly has happened to all the county's concerns about protecting the environment?

No 3: Are you really going to assume that mass transit will happen in that area?

Please follow the link above to read the rest of her important article.

2008-11 Newsletter

The Nov/Dec edition of the Sierran is available.

Click here to view the newsletter.

Please note: we are only permitted to post the non-political content of this newsletter on our website, so some content will not be visible.

Stop the High Rise in Lake Eola Park

The City of Orlando has plans to allow a developer to build an office building in Lake Eola Park where the Farmer's Market is held each Sunday. Please join us in asking the City NOT to destroy our beautiful park! There is a municipal planning board hearing October 21st at 8am. View this printable flyer for more information. And don't forget to SPREAD THE WORD!

Emergency Call to Action!

On Tuesday, October 28, the Orange County Board of Commissioners will meet to vote on a land use change to develop nearly 10,000 new homes in East Orange County near the Econlockhatchee River. In June, an advisory panel recommended rejecting this land use change, but made a stunning reversal of their decision on September 25th and voted 6-2 to recommend that the land use change be approved. This property is part of a habitat corridor critical for wildlife movement that extends from Lake Okeechobee up to Hal Scott Preserve. We need as many Sierra members to come to this meeting as possible or call the Board to voice their objections to this plan, which would irretrievably damage one of the last remaining pristine rivers in Florida.

2008 Endorsements are here!

The Sierra Club has made an endorsement in the 2008 Presidential race. Our Central Florida Group's hard-working Elections Committee has also made endorsements in several Central Florida national and state congressional races, as well as a few Soil and Water Board contests. However, federal election laws forbid us from listing our endorsements on our Central Florida Group website. For a list of candidates that have been endorsed in national contests, including the presidential race, go to http://www.sierraclub.org/politics/endorsements/index.asp .

If you are a local Sierra Club member, you will receive the November/December issue of our newsletter in a few weeks with endorsement information, including some state and local races that aren't listed on the national website. We realize that many of our members plan to vote early, so if you have questions about a specific race before you vote, please contact Cecilia Height at 407-657-9582 or This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it for information.

Florida #2 in Solar Energy?

Florida Power and Light Florida Power & Light Company just announced new solar energy projects that include the world’s largest photovoltaic solar plant and first “hybrid” energy center, coupling solar thermal technology with an existing combined-cycle generation unit.

“Pending regulatory approval, FPL will build 110 megawatts of solar power right here in the Sunshine State, making Florida No. 2 in the nation for solar energy,” FPL Group Chairman and CEO Lewis Hay, III announced today at the 2008 Florida Summit on Global Climate Change in Miami. “This is made possible in part by the strong support and determined leadership of Governor Crist and the Florida legislature, who crafted a progressive energy bill that put a supportive policy framework in place for solar power.”

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