Natural Resources

Natural Resources

Mission

Florida's Natural ResourcesAdvocacy and education in support of expedited, just and effective policies and actions to mitigate and adapt to the effects of climate change and thereby restore and protect our area’s land, water, and air.

Leadership

Co-Chair: info [at] lwv-alachua.org (Roberta Gastmeyer)

Co-Chair: info [at] lwv-alachua.org (Jay Rosenbek)

Ongoing Activities

  • Advocating with City Commission for hiring a Climate Officer and creation of a publicly available dashboard of the City’s goals, actions, and deadlines for reaching net-zero carbon emissions by 2045
  • Similar advocacy with Alachua County Commission
  • Advocating for an end to GRU’s natural gas subsidies and extension of gas pipelines
  • Study of University of Florida’s proposed natural gas plant
  • Active monitoring of City and County Commission, Utility Advisory Board, Citizens Climate Action Committee meetings, including joint and subcommittee meetings and advocacy where appropriate
  • Active monitoring of environmental bills introduced into the State of Florida legislative session and advocacy where appropriate
  • Meet with local political leaders and attend League Lobby Days in Tallahassee
  • Advocacy for electrification of transportation
  • Advocacy for GRU to create new revenue streams and end reliance on expanding natural gas use

Recent Successes

Active Collaborations

  • League of Women Voters of Florida (LWVFL) Natural Resources Committee, all NR Committee Chairs statewide participate
  • NR Regional Working Group, a subgroup of especially zealous NR chairs in the state
  • North Central Florida Climate Action Team, a group of local environmental activists
  • NAACP Environmental and Climate Justice Committee, a subcommittee of NAACP dedicated to clean air and water and healthy food
  • Suwannee-St. Johns Sierra Club

How You Can Help

  • Join the League of Women Voters of Alachua County
  • Join the Natural Resources Committee and attend our monthly meetings
  • Volunteer to attend local policy meetings and summarize deliberations
  • Be part of our periodic letter-writing campaigns
  • Contribute Letters to the Editor of The Gainesville Sun
  • Show up

Meetings

Meetings are typically held by Zoom on the 4th Wednesday of each month. Check the calendar for specific dates. Contact the info [at] lwv-alachua.org (Committee Co-Chairs) for more information
Committee Contact
Contact Name: 
Roberta Gastmeyer and Jay Rosenbek
League to which this content belongs: 
Alachua County

All Posts Related to this Committee

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Action Alerts

The LWVFL Natural Resources Action Team is requesting Florida League members demand Gov. DeSantis veto the following bills that would negatively impact Florida's environment and our communities:

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Event Date: 
May 13 2023 09:00 am to 03:00 pm
Event location: 

Grow Hub

LWV of Alachua County is joining LWVFL in supporting the Florida Right to Clean Water campaign (RTCW), which is a constitutional amendment to clarify our priorities and a civil action to enforce our right to clean and healthy waters.

gas stove
News

UPDATED: 05/05/23: On March 9th, the gas rebate issue finally went before the City Commission. GRU presented their reasons for wanting to retain the rebate program and Utility Advisory Board (UAB) chair Barry Jacobson gave excellent rebuttals to their arguments. However, the commission decided to take no action so the rebate program will remain in place for now and we do not expect any changes to the program in the near future. In addition, market forces are aligned against future home gas use and, while it will take longer than we would like, we believe the gas rebate program will eventually die from attrition.

On May 11, we expect the commission will hear a presentation from GRU on gas infrastructure plans and their reasons for continued expansion of gas pipelines in western Alachua County. We are against adding more gas infrastructure for the same reasons we are against the rebate program and will be redirecting our efforts toward preventing this expansion. Additionally, given that federal policy and market forces are currently running counter to the use of residential use of natural gas, investing in more gas infrastructure makes no financial sense for GRU.

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News

In this April 30th article, Gainesville Commissioner Bryan Eastman calls out the lies, misdirection, and falsehoods of the GRU Takeover Bill and provides sources for his information.

He covers the following often-cited falsehoods:

Image of springs with bird in foreground. Text overlay "Natural Resources Committee Meeting"
Event Date: 
May 24 2023 05:30 pm

Unfortunately, the May meeting is canceled. We'll meet again in the fall.

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News
by Janice Garry, LWV of Alachua County President

published 4/24/23

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News

Proposed legislation threatens the climate goals of Gainesville Regional Utilities

By David Hastings, Suwannee St Johns Sierra Club

April 25, 2023

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Action Alerts

04/22/23: Three bad bills are headed to the House floor on Monday (April 24, 2023). Tell your legislator to oppose them!

Three women at LWV table with red table cloth
Event Date: 
Apr 18 2023 09:00 am to 01:00 pm
Event location: 

Santa Fe College

LWV of Alachua County is joining LWVFL in supporting the Florida Right to Clean Water campaign (RTCW), which is a constitutional amendment to clarify our priorities and a civil action to enforce our right to clean and healthy waters.

Three women at LWV table with red table cloth
Event Date: 
Apr 22 2023 09:00 am to 01:00 pm
Event location: 

Albert "Ray" Massey Westside Park

LWV of Alachua County is joining LWVFL in supporting the Florida Right to Clean Water campaign (RTCW), which is a constitutional amendment to clarify our priorities and a civil action to enforce our right to clean and healthy waters.

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