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

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 Chair) 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

Image of springs with bird in foreground. Text overlay "Natural Resources Committee Meeting"
Event Date: 
10/26/2022 - 5:30pm

The October NR Committee meeting is canceled. The November and December meetings will likely be rescheduled to avoid conflicts with the holidays.

Attendees surround the Rivian R1T owned by a local resident.
News

The League of Women Voters of Alachua County, the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy and National Drive Electric Week invite you to join us for an electric vehicle demonstration (showroom only, no driving) event on Saturday, Nov. 19! We will have private and fleet vehicles on display at the public parking lot located immediately west of the GRU Administration Building and immediately north of the Rosa Parks Transfer Station (southwest corner of Southeast Fourth Avenue and Southeast Fourth Street).

Photo credit: MACOG
Attendees at Goshen First Fridays surround the Rivian R1T owned by a local resident (published in www.drivelectricweek.org)

Image of springs with bird in foreground. Text overlay "Natural Resources Committee Meeting"
Event Date: 
09/28/2022 - 5:30pm

Join the Natural Resources Committee to discuss and take action on issues related to natural resources in Alachua County.

Exclamation point inside a red triangle

Action Alerts

Please send a letter to the UAB, GRU, and City Commission and/or attend the meeting on March 9th to voice your opposition to GRU rebates to customers who buy/convert to gas appliances. These rebates promote the use of fossil gas and should be eliminated.

Climate Change pix from LWV Flikr site
News

Two major approaches to climate change are mitigation and adaptation. Although they complement each other, they differ distinctly in both method and rationale. Action needs to be taken now. With that in mind, the League of Women Voters of Alachua County focuses its advocacy on a transition to clean energy.

Image of springs with bird in foreground. Text overlay "Natural Resources Committee Meeting"
Event Date: 
06/22/2022 - 5:30pm

Join the Natural Resources Committee to discuss and take action on issues related to natural resources in Alachua County.

Climate Change pix from LWV Flikr site
News

In a recent New York Times article, climate scientist Katharine Hayhoe was quoted as saying, “Fear is useful to wake us up and make us pay attention. But if we don’t know what to do, it paralyzes us.”

Local actions, motivated and supported by individual and group advocacy, are part of the solution because timely, effective policies often occur first at the municipal level. Cities and counties throughout the U.S. have committed to reducing their greenhouse gas emissions, hired personnel dedicated to climate policy, created climate action plans and started successfully implementing these plans.

electric car on road lined with palm trees
News

On April 7, 2022, Dory Larsen of the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy (SACE) and their Electrify the South program presented “Roadmap to Electric Transportation: How Your League is Making a Difference” to the League of Women Voters (LWV) of Alachua County. LWVFL and SACE are partners in their Electrify the South program. Below is a summary of her presentation with a link to Dory's slides as well as other relevant resources.

LWVAC and SACE presentation announcement with photo of speaker
Event Date: 
04/07/2022 - 12:00pm

The LWVAC is partnering with Southern Alliance for Clean Energy's Electrify the South program to host a webinar on ways to engage and transform our transportation systems to electric.

Image of springs with bird in foreground. Text overlay "Natural Resources Committee Meeting"
Event Date: 
04/20/2022 - 5:30pm

Join the Natural Resources Committee to discuss and take action on issues related to natural resources in Alachua County.

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