Nathan Crabbe

The Everglades is an economic powerhouse that propels the 'Clean Water Economy' | The Invading Sea Economists have calculated that more than 3 million of us depend on the Everglades for our livelihoods.

Eric Eikenberg and Paul Hindsley of The Everglades Foundation write that the Everglades generates $31.5 billion in economic benefits every year: "The Everglades is an economic powerhouse that fuels much of the economy of South Florida and supports millions of jobs."

Boca Raton needs to improve infrastructure for cyclists  | The Invading Sea The city promises to incentivize bike-friendly businesses, but there is just a handful of protected bicycle lanes.

Stacey Balkan writes about improving infrastructure for cyclists in Boca Raton: "As a lifelong bicycle commuter and advocate for safe streets, my experience in Boca Raton has been sorely disappointing."

Why we’re traveling down the Amazon River before COP30  | The Invading Sea This journey is about seeing how the planet’s most vital climate frontline is faring before my generation is asked to fix it.

Rock Aboujaoude Jr. writes about journeying down the Amazon in advance of the U.N. climate conference: "We’re not tourists, we’re witnesses, documenting the Amazon’s changing climate and carrying those lessons to the world stage at COP30 in Belém, Brazil."

Clean energy is better for our kids – and our wallets. It’s time for Florida’s utilities to lead  | The Invading Sea By increasing investments in solar, utilities can hedge against economic risks and deliver more stable, affordable energy.

Lorna Perez of Moms Clean Air Force write about the benefits of clean energy for Florida children and families: "With our famous sunny skies, we’re an ideal place to expand solar power – an energy source that’s good for both our health and our wallets."

The climate’s emergency brake | The Invading Sea Slashing methane emissions could slow the runaway train of global warming long enough to get other emissions under control.

"Slashing methane is the climate’s emergency brake, which could slow the runaway train of warming long enough for us to get other greenhouse gas emissions under control," writes Daphne Wysham of Methane Action.

Florida’s Cabinet vastly overpaid for land the state didn’t need. Why? | The Invading Sea The state paid $83 million for 4 acres next to the city of Destin’s Norriego Point Beach park.

The Orlando Sentinel Editorial Board writes that “the state wildly overpaid” in spending $83 million for 4 acres in Destin that is “unlikely to be used as significant habitat” and “is situated in an area that is highly likely to flood" during hurricanes.

Why protecting Norriego Point, a jewel of the Emerald Coast, is worth every penny | The Invading Sea Thanks to state leadership and local lawmakers, this former condo site will be turned into public parkland on Destin’s waterfront.

Brandon Tucker of the Florida Landowners Association writes that the governor and Cabinet deserve credit for the recent purchase of land at Destin's Norriego Point: "We should celebrate the visionary leadership that values legacy over headlines."

Photo essay: Images of a changing Puerto Rico | The Invading Sea FAU Associate Professor of Anthropology Adriana María Garriga-López shares impressions of the island.

In this photo essay, FAU Associate Professor of Anthropology Adriana María Garriga-López shares her impressions and images of changes in Puerto Rico as sea levels rise and coastlines erode.

South Florida’s waste is the key to fueling its economy | The Invading Sea Cities are capturing methane from landfills and converting it into renewable natural gas that can power heavy-duty vehicles.

Jorge Herrera of Nopetro Energy writes about using methane captured from South Florida landfills to fuel heavy-duty vehicles: "This waste-to-fuel approach creates a circular system and turns a local liability into a local asset."

Conservation is the smartest investment Florida can make  | The Invading Sea When we conserve wetlands and mangroves, we’re protecting real estate, insurance markets and local economies.

Katy Saeger writes that conserving wetlands, mangroves and other natural infrastructure benefits Florida's economy: "Every dollar invested in natural infrastructure pays dividends — saving millions in storm recovery, property loss and insurance premiums."

Saving gopher tortoises means protecting their homes, not just moving them  | The Invading Sea The best thing we can do is preserve gopher tortoise burrows and the longleaf pine ecosystem supporting them.

Bonnie Jean Feldkamp writes about doing more to protect gopher tortoises than just relocating them from development sites: "Without federal protection for the species across its range, conservationists might be only moving the problem, not solving it."

Sustainable energy transition is being led by red states  | The Invading Sea Polling reveals pragmatic conservative attitudes on renewable energy when economics takes precedence over ideology.

Red states are leading the sustainable energy transition, Mark McNees writes: "Six of the 10 leading renewable energy states voted Republican in 2024, suggesting that resource availability and economic fundamentals, not ideology, drive deployment decisions."

Fireflies are disappearing, but homeowners can help save them  | The Invading Sea Habitat loss, the overuse of pesticides and light pollution are among the reason firefly populations are on the decline.

Firefly populations are on the decline due to threats such as habitat loss, pesticides, light pollution and climate change, Benjamin Coward writes, but homeowners can help save them: "Fireflies are an important part of our ecosystem and our own lives."

The rule of law is under attack in the Everglades. We’re fighting back | The Invading Sea The National Environmental Policy Act was ignored when the Everglades detention camp was built.

Eve Samples of Friends of the Everglades writes that the National Environmental Policy Act was ignored when a detention camp was built in the Everglades: "That’s ironic because the law came into being as the result of a government’s reckless insults to this very land."

Sustainability is the new sizzle for Florida’s retirement communities  | The Invading Sea Maintaining a thriving environment for wildlife as well as plant life can positively affect retirees.

Priscilla Card Fuller writes about sustainability becoming a selling point for retirement communities in Florida: "Maintaining a thriving environment for wildlife as well as plant life can also positively affect residents in subtle ways."

In the name of storm recovery, a new law trampled smart-growth rules. Shut it down | The Invading Sea SB 180 crushes the ability of local leaders to make their communities more storm-resistant.

The Orlando Sentinel Editorial Board writes that a new Florida law that is supposed to aid in storm recovery actually "crushes the ability of local leaders to make their communities more storm-resistant" and undermines local growth-management decisions.

Pope Leo's call for climate action builds on past papal efforts | The Invading Sea The American-born pope emphasized that confronting climate change is a spiritual imperative and responsibility.

Joseph Bonasia writes that Pope Leo's comments "emphasizing that confronting climate change is a spiritual imperative and responsibility" were a "source of hope," signaling that the environment is becoming a Catholic Church focus with growing prominence.

The true cost of Florida’s bad land deal | The Invading Sea The state could have used $83 million dollars to buy thousands of acres of public land in endangered ecosystems.

Joe Murphy writes that the $83 million used by the state to buy 4 acres in Destin could have instead bought "thousands of acres of public land ... to connect and expand wildlife corridors and greenways in some of the most endangered ecosystems in Florida."

Just don't get flooded during a government shutdown | The Invading Sea You can’t buy federal flood insurance, renew a policy or increase coverage when the National Flood Insurance Program is closed.

West Palm Beach-based filmmaker Katie Carpenter writes about the impacts of both recent king tides and the government shutdown on Florida: "King tides during a government shutdown reveal to us how precarious our flood risk situation really is."

Outrage alone won’t fix Florida's home insurance crisis | The Invading Sea Florida cannot keep expanding development into the most storm-prone areas without expecting astronomical losses.

Former state Rep. Don Brown writes that Florida needs to address factors raising insurance costs like building codes and coastal development: "Florida cannot keep expanding development into the most storm-prone areas without expecting astronomical losses."

Alligator Alcatraz marks looming environmental crisis | The Invading Sea Paving over wildlands and bringing in staff and prisoners has an environmental impact in an already sensitive landscape

Victoria Machado writes that Alligator Alcatraz is a “a glaring environmental mistake” due to its impact on the Florida Everglades: “The last thing the Everglades needed was a detention center plopped down in the middle of it."

Stop EPA from rolling back environmental regulations | The Invading Sea The EPA is seeking to repeal the finding that provides the legal underpinning for limiting greenhouse gas emissions.

Retired U.S. Navy rear admiral William McQuilkin writes about the EPA seeking to repeal the basis for greenhouse gas regulations: "I am a sailor, not a scientist, but it just makes sense to protect humanity and all living things on this rapidly warming planet."

The sounds of extinction: Protect species before they’re silenced  | The Invading Sea Without action to safeguard the wonders of creation in Florida, we may one day look to the air and see nothing.

"Without clear, resolute action to cherish and safeguard the wonders of creation in Florida, we may one day look to the air and see nothing" Joe Murphy writes. "We can and must act to protect imperiled species."

Circular systems are the solution for Florida’s land and water  | The Invading Sea A circular system is a farming method that reuses resources, like recycling rainwater to irrigate fields.

Ed Chiles writes about how Gamble Creek Farms uses circular practices that reuse resources, like turning food scraps into compost or recycling rainwater to irrigate fields: "Circular systems can be the difference between red ink and resilience."

FAU Assistant Professor Dr. Carsten Grupstra discusses his research on heat-resistant corals. Read more on theinvadingsea.com

Clean energy is key to our next economic boom | The Invading Sea The Thriving Economy Project will develop solutions to rising energy costs, growing climate disasters and other challenges.

"Right here in the Sunshine State, I see proof that clean energy is key to our next economic boom," writes @usrepkathycastor.bsky.social, writing that expiring federal tax credits made possible more than $12 billion in such investments and led to over 12,000 new jobs.

Energy independence drives lower bills  | The Invading Sea Nearly 8 in 10 Floridians support expanding clean and varied energy sources like solar and nuclear power.

Zachary Colletti of Conservatives for Clean Energy – Florida writes that recent polling finds Florida voters "see solar and other alternatives as one of the clearest, most immediate ways to diversify our energy mix, strengthen the grid and reduce their financial strain."

Barefoot mailmen, Theodore Pratt, Carl Hiaasen and the ever-vanishing South Florida coast  | The Invading Sea Literary warfare can seem futile as the South Florida coast is developed, but literature has its own strength.

... and here is a piece written by Taylor Hagood that discusses the subject of his recent book, South Florida writer Theodore Pratt, as well as Carl Hiaasen’s writings on the Florida environment:

Theorizing Infrastructure: FAU students envision an eco-friendly future for South Florida | The Invading Sea The essays were written for a Ph.D. seminar at Florida Atlantic University entitled 'Theorizing Infrastructure.'

For those watching our “Plot Twists for the Planet: How Pop Culture Inspires Environmental Views" webinar, here is the collection of essays from Stacey Balkan and students in her “Theorizing Infrastructure” course that is mentioned during the discussion:

Register for The Invading Sea's virtual event about pop culture's influence on environmental views  | The Invading Sea Video of the panel discussion will be released Monday, Oct. 6, at 9 a.m. to kick off Florida Climate Week.

This is just a reminder that our online panel discussion, “Plot Twists for the Planet: How Pop Culture Inspires Environmental Views,” premieres today at 9 a.m. to kick off Florida Climate Week. For more information and a link to register, see below: