Environment

When nutrient levels – nutrients like phosphorus and nitrogen – are too high in Florida’s waterways, toxic algae blooms erupt damaging the ecosystem. The Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) has a bill moving through the legislature that would put the State in charge of the problem. But environmentalists worry the bill won’t help as much as it should. So a new amendment to the bill is piquing their interest.

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Ethanol would no longer be a required part of the fuel Florida motorists buy if a bill passed by the Florida House goes on to become law.  But such a law might not mean much if it’s overruled by federal regulation.

“This is the bill that removes and repeals Florida’s burdensome ethanol mandate,” said Rep. Matt Gaetz (R- Fort Walton Beach).

Well before the western cowboy, the founding of the United States, or even the Mayflower landing at Plymouth Rock, cracker cattle and cracker horses lived in Florida. Now the breed that almost went extinct in the 1960s is back on the rise.