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Reynolds v. State of Florida Update

March 27, 2020 DReynolds

Over the last few years I have come to learn first-hand that the “wheels of justice” often truly do move slowly as they say. When seven of my friends and I filed our landmark environmental lawsuit against the State of Florida seeking climate justice in April 2018, I was “just” 18. And today, as I am pleased to share news that our first Hearing in the case has been scheduled for April 21^st, I am approaching 21.

Three judges assigned to our case and many motions by the State asking the Court to dismiss the suit later, the very first Hearing for Reynolds v. State of Florida is scheduled to take place by Zoom video conference at 1 PM. The delays and such aside holding it on April 21^st, just one day before the 50^th Anniversary of Earth Day (which takes place on April 22) is pretty poetic.

In October of last year we filed a motion adding allegations about recent ways Florida government’s officials have made the climate crisis worse. A Hearing on that motion was scheduled for January 8^th but two days before the Hearing, the Governor’s office stipulated to our request and the Hearing was cancelled. At that time the Court signed an order granting our motion and allowed us to supplement our briefing on the government’s pending motions to dismiss the case.

Don’t be fooled into thinking that the State, Governor DeSantis, Agricultural Commissioner Fried or other elected “leaders” are serious about putting a stop to the pollution that is killing our state’s natural resources and harming our citizens. Their actions speak far louder than the buzz words they use when speaking to voters. In fact, recent actions by both DeSantis and Fried make their and the State’s ongoing dedication to an energy system based on the fossil fuels that principally cause the pollution clear.

Governor DeSantis has recently certified a large scale fossil fuel based project at TECO’s Big Bend Facility. He’s also done little to nothing to take actual action on our climate change crisis or sea level rise. His appointment of Julia Nesheiwat as Florida’s first Chief Resilience Officer received much positive fanfare and made folks pause to think progress could be made yet, other than travel around the state for photo ops and feel good speeches, she did nothing what-so-ever before predictably moving on to serve President Trump as Homeland Security Advisor. And what has the Governor done since Nesheiwat left her role in Resiliency? Nothing. He’s not replaced anyone in the position. #SheepsClothing.

To some, Commissioner Fried seemed ideologically well positioned to lead a fight for change, yet has since gone so far as to call for an end to the energy efficiency conservation goal setting program and has openly supported an energy system powered by fossil fuels. Simply stated, if Commissioner Fried were truly serious about addressing Florida’s climate change crisis, then she should end her opposition to our lawsuit and join us. The fact that she continues to oppose our desire for change says far more than some political speech she might give that’s geared to getting votes ever could. #DisappointedButNotSurprised.

I want to again thank my brave young friends for their fortitude and passion. Thanks to Valholly, Luxia, Andres, Oscar, Oliver, Isaac, and Levi. I want everyone to know that the eight of us are in this for the long term. We know this will not be an easy fight, nor a fast one, but we also know it’s the most important issue that our generation will ever confront and how we fix the problem will define our time here on earth. I know that I speak for the other children when I say that if takes us a lifetime of litigation, then so be it. We will not rest until things truly change.

I also want to thank our amazing legal team for their passion and care. Listening to our concerns, often shared laced with anger and/or tears, can’t be easy but your support and guidance means more than I could ever say. So thanks to all of our lawyers and most especially Mitch, Andrea and Dick. You are more than our lawyers now, you are our friends and soldiers in our fight for what is just.

I look forward to our first day in court and celebrating this historic step while celebrating a historic Earth Day milestone at the same time. Just poetic in every way.

#RatherBeInCourt, Climate Change, Delaney Reynolds, Eco Warrior, Global Warming, Miami, Miamisearise.com, Our Children's Trust, Politics, Sea Level Rise, Sea Rise, The Sink or Swim Project, YouthVGov

Are Natural History Films Really Raising Environmental Awareness?

March 20, 2020 DReynolds

The following article first appeared on the Research Blog for Dr. Neil Hammerschlag’s Shark Research and Conservation (SRC) Lab website at the University of Miami’s Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science. To learn more about SRC, visit here: http://sharkresearch.rsmas.miami.edu/, or to learn more about the University’s marine science school, please click here: http://rsmas.miami.edu/.

By: Delaney Reynolds, SRC intern.

Films have influenced the way people perceive certain topics for decades. We all know and love the Jaws theme song, but soon after the movie’s release, mass hysteria broke out and a negative stigma has been associated with sharks ever since. Here at Shark Research and Conservation we, of course, know these apex predators are nothing to fear, but rather a respectable species that can provide us with a lot of information regarding environmental vitality. Thankfully, many others recognize this as well and social media platforms have played a very large role in dissipating the adverse reputation sharks have obtained. With social media ruling the world we live in today, are natural films and documentaries doing as well of a job at educating about conservation issues? Researchers at the University College Cork and University College Dublin set to find out.

In 2016 the British Broadcasting Company (BBC) aired its wildly popular show Planet Earth 2 narrated by Sir David Attenborough. The show brought in over 12 million viewers (BBC News). By looking at the engagement on Twitter and Wikipedia between November 6^th to December 11^th, 2016 (when the show aired), a qualitative analysis was performed based on the show’s script, the animal species it mentioned, the screen time they each were given, and conservation themes. In total, 113 animal species were mentioned and classified as mammal, bird, reptile, amphibian, fish, and invertebrate (Fernandez-Bellon, Kane, 2019). It was also noted that each species was described in part based on their predator-prey interaction.

Figure 1: The proportion of taxonomic groups based on screen time and IUCN conservation status. The number of species is represented by circle size, colors represent the IUCN conservation categories, bars represent taxonomic groups and proportions, and changes in circle size represents differences in screen time (Source: Fernández‐Bellon et al. 2019).

Based on the qualitative analysis, it was found that mammals were overrepresented in the show, thus all other categories were underrepresented, and the screen time that was allocated to specific species based upon their IUCN categories did not discuss or reflect conservation priorities (Figure 1). As such, audience engagement was highest in response to the mammals on the show and animals with an IUCN “least concern” conservation status also dominated airtime.

Figure 2: Audience engagement for ten species that were featured in Planet Earth 2 from (a) Twitter and (b) Wikipedia. Twitter engagement was based on the number of times each species was mentioned under #PlanetEarth2 and Wikipedia engagement was based on the number of visits to each species’ specific page. Colors represent the IUCN conservation status, red shading in (b) represents the 6 weeks that Planet Earth 2 was aired, and the darker red band illustrates the specific episode each animal was highlighted in (Source: Fernández‐Bellon et al. 2019).

In total, 30,000 tweets were posted under #PlanetEarth2 during the broadcast of the show and it was evident that species screen time per episode had a significant impact on audience engagement. Only 6% of the entire script for the show was dedicated to conservation education, leading to 1% of tweets mentioned containing conservation themes (Figure 2a). Based on the Wikipedia analysis, 41% of the animal species highlighted in the show recorded a yearly peak in page visits during the episodes of their respective animal species and, again, screen time of animal species had a significant effect on engagement (Fernandez-Bellon, Kane, 2019). The more screen time an animal received, the more it was tweeted about or searched for.

Given the extreme success of nature films and documentaries, just like Planet Earth 2, they can be fantastic platforms to educate a large amount of people about different conservation and environmental issues. Unfortunately, Planet Earth 2 did not feature conservation themes nearly enough, but this study shows just how effective such a platform can be in informing an extensive audience and with environmental issues emerging as a key issue for our society, it will be crucial to include them. So, no, not all nature films are currently doing their job in raising environmental awareness

Works Cited:

Fernández‐Bellon, D, Kane, A. Natural history films raise species awareness—A big data approach. Conservation Letters. 2019;e12678. https://doi.org/10.1111/conl.12678

“Planet Earth II More Popular than X Factor with Young Viewers.” BBC News, BBC, 1 Dec. 2016, www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-38170406.

BBC, British Broadcasting Company, Climate Change, Delaney Reynolds, Dr. Hammerschlag, Global Warming, Miami, RSMAS, Shark Research and Conservation, SRC, University of Miami

The Ancient Reefs of Texas & New Mexico

March 13, 2020 DReynolds

I’m just back from another amazing scientific expedition with my colleagues and friends at the University of Miami. We spent a week in the field studying ancient reefs from the Paleozoic era (542 – 251 million years ago) in West Texas and New Mexico. It was an amazing learning experience filled with fantastic adventures to the El Capitan formation, McKittrick Canyon, Guadalupe Mountains National Park, Carlsbad Caverns National Park, Lincoln National Forest, White Sands National Park, Tularosa and Alamogordo.

My professor and longtime friend, climate and geologic scientist extraordinaire, Dr. Hal Wanless once told me that if I planned on being a scientist, it’s a good idea to start with earth science. Dr. Wanless is a wonderful teacher and an even better friend, it’s not too long ago that he was named one of Politico’s 50 Most Influential People (along with another friend of mine, Dr. Phil Stoddard). I remember reading a Rolling Stone magazine article about climate change five or six years ago that featured Dr. Wanless, calling him “Dr. Doom” over his grave predictions of what South Florida might become in a world of climate change and rising sea levels. Not only has he had a massive impact on my interest in our climate change crisis, but I can’t deny that he has also had an influence in my electing to select Geology as my second major. I sure am glad that he did.

My most recent expedition was led by the equally wonderful Dr. Jim Klaus, Dr. Don McNeill, and Dr. Alex Humphreys. As you will see from the pictures and video that I’m sharing, we had an amazing time. Whether admiring the El Capitan formation from a distance; hiking five miles through Guadalupe Mountains National Park while studying all sorts of carbonate formations; exploring the depths, stalagmites, stalactites, and columns of Carlsbad Caverns National Park; admiring the radiant sunset at White Sands National Park, extremely soft sand completely made of gypsum; or avoiding rattle snakes on voyages to summit mud mounds, the trip was an absolute blast.

Please enjoy the pictures (and video) below for just a small glimpse into our extremely fun and highly educational week.

El Capitan Formation, Texas