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🌎Are you up to the challenge?
Today’s how-to: Get active on Earth Day
The imminent impact of climate change in SoFlo is pretty well known at this point, and the news often hasn’t been that encouraging.
That doesn’t mean we should all bury our heads in the sand. Here are a few ways you can get involved on Earth Day — and every other day of the year.
>> Try the week-long Earth Week Challenge, a partnership between a dozen local organizations that encourages folks to give up meat for a day, support local environmental organizations, ditch plastic products, and much more. Sign the pledge here.
>> Check out the Ocean Conservancy’s beach cleanup at Virginia Key.
>> Get some tips from our guides on recycling in Miami-Dade, composting in Miami, and how to cut down on trashy behavior.
If you try out the Earth Week Challenge be sure to tag @thenewtropic in your Instagram posts! And if you have any other sustainable tips to share, just hit reply to this newsletter.
A green giveaway
Hey there, folks! Want to learn about how climate change is affecting our region and what you can do about it? We are giving away tickets to the two-day CLEO Institute Symposium this weekend to New Tropic members. The event features lectures and presentations by major names like climate scientist Michael Mann, Chad Frischmann, the vice president of Project Drawdown, and dozens of others.
Want to enter? Become a member and you’ll have a chance to win! And for just $10 a month you’ll also have the chance to enter other great giveaways, receive cool perks, and you’ll be supporting local journalism. That’s like a triple whammy!
What Miami is talking about
In recent years, ballot amendments have had a huge impact in Florida. The most recent example came last November when voters approved an amendment restoring voting rights to felons.
These amendments already require approval by 60 percent of voters. And, looking ahead to the 2020 elections, it could become tougher to get amendments on the ballot in the first place.
Republican lawmakers, who make up the majority of the state House, are close to approving a bill that would add several additional steps, starting at the petition and signature-gathering part of the process.
Some of the changes include bold lettering to indicate if the amendment will cost additional money, requiring organizations to note if petition signatures come from out-of-state residents, and requiring signature gatherers to be paid wages based on hours worked — not the number of signatures they collect.
Democrats, and other civic organizations, say the changes will negatively impact the signature-gathering process.
In other news…
The Southwest First Street bridge over the Miami River has needed upgrading for a while, and starting May 20 the 80-year-old drawbridge to Downtown Miami will be under construction for three years. There will be detours and alternate routes, but here’s a heads up if you wanna avoid that area altogether. (Miami Herald)
Amid fears that responding to the 2020 U.S. Census could cause problems for immigrants, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said last week that foreign-born residents shouldn’t be fearful. He stressed that it’s against federal law for a Census Bureau worker to reveal a census taker’s personal info to anyone, including law enforcement and agencies like Immigration and Customs Enforcement. (WLRN)
Virgin Trains has officially secured the funding to extend the line from West Palm Beach to Orlando. The company, once known as Brightline, successfully sold about $1.75 billion in bonds, and wants to begin construction “right away.” (Miami Herald)
That’s all for today
Make it a great Monday, Miami. We’ll see you tomorrow.
– The New Tropic