Earth First! Roadshow in South Florida this weekend: March 20 - Miami / March 21 - Jupiter / March 22 - Lake Worth

This just in from Palm Beach County Environmental Coalition, which has been on the front lines -- literally -- in the fight against FPL over the West County Energy Center and Barley Barber swamp, and has done some absolutely great demonstrations in front of the FPL headquarters in Juno ...

EARTH FIRST! ROADSHOW IN SOUTH FLORIDA THIS WEEKEND ...

3/20, Miami, FL
8:00pm Black Mangrove Collective
This event will include a presentation from Max Rameau of Take Back the Land
Location: 138 NW 37th Street, Miami
www.theblackmangrove.com

3/21, Jupiter FL,
Earth First! Benefit Show at Adam Barksdale’s place, with 14 bands, show starts at 4pm, EF! Roadshow will be tabling at event, doing our puppet show at 4pm and slideshow presentation at 7pm… donation $5-10
Location: 13926 157th Ct N, Jupiter Fl, 33478
For more details: www.earthfirstroadshow.wordpress.com

These two events on Friday and Saturday will be followed on Sunday with ...

Sunday March 22 at 7pm
Benefit Dinner and Theater at the Canew (collective house in LW)
822 North C Street, Lake Worth

Join us for a local foods dinner, activist theater and direct action slide show to benefit a great cause; the local Earth First! direct action movement and touring roadshow!

Making the connections between local sustainability and environmental action:
* local foods dinner - direct from our bountiful backyard garden
* tour of the garden, bee-hives, home-made solar panel and water systems
* exciting puppet theater & presentation by Earth First! about the U.S.radical environmental movement
* good company to boot!

Sliding scale donation from $10 - $20. Money will support the Earth First! direct action movement and roadshow. Wine and beer cash bar available.

Seating is limited, please R.S.V.P and let us know your meal preference (vegan, vegetarian, omnivore) evergladesearthfirst@gmail.com or 561-584-2644

PLEASE COME OUT TO ONE OF THESE EVENTS TO SHOW SUPPORT FOR AND NETWORK WITH THE ACTIVISTS AT EARTH FIRST! AND THE PALM BEACH COUNTY ENVIRONMENTAL COALITION.

FPL 30-year franchise agreement opposed by Martin County Commissioner

Kudos to Martin County Commissioner Sarah Heard (District 4) for standing up and questioning the merits of a proposed FPL franchise agreement that locks the county in to a 30-year deal ... and would pass the price tag along as a hidden cost to consumers.

In a guest column this week in the Scripps-Treasure Coast newspaper chain, Heard addressed Martin County's 30-year franchise agreement within the context of the local debate over how to solve temporary budget woes at the risk of imposing new long-term taxes. Commissioner Heard said she opposed imposing "hidden costs" on county residents and that one such measure she opposed is the proposed 30-year franchise fee with FPL.

In her column, Commissioner Heard explained:

Here’s how it works. For 30 years, Martin County agrees that FPL will provide our electricity.

What does Martin County get in exchange? Every year for the next 30, FPL will pay to Martin County a franchise fee equal to 5.9 percent of FPL revenues within all of unincorporated Martin County. This fee is being enthusiastically promoted by our county administrator and the majority of our county commissioners. Why? It will be used to plug the holes in our budget, the ones resulting from current shortfalls in impact and building fee collections, and gas and property tax collections.

How can FPL afford to rebate Martin County 5.9 percent each year? It’s simple. FPL will add a 5.9 percent new tax onto every bill they send you every month for the next 30 years.

This is a “gift” we cannot afford. We must not succumb to this lure of an easy short-term fix, which obligates all of us to another hidden hefty 30-year tax bill, in order to gloss over and solve our immediate and temporary budget problems.

I understand FPL officials’ motivation. They recognize that they will be making multimillion-dollar infrastructure improvements to provide energy to growing populations here. This fee provides them assurance that they will retain their market share. But, it is a hidden cost passed down to rate payers, who will not receive commensurate benefit from the additional taxes we will pay.

In making her position known, Commissioner Heard has joined an increasing number of local elected officials and community activists, most recently from South Daytona and Biscayne Park, who are questioning the terms of the FPL 30-year franchise agreements in their communities.

It takes real political courage to stand up to FPL on these local issues. We know that FPL channels a lot of money into the campaign coffers of those politicians who support it and to opponents of those elected officials and candidates who dare to oppose it. Commissioner Heard is to be applauded for her willingness to take on the energy giant over this "hidden cost" that would be passed along to her constituents. And, she deserves all our support!

Read the full text of Commissioner Heard's guest column, here.

Anti-FPL activist writes 'Open Letter' from jail

Panagioti Tsolkas, Palm Beach County activist incarcerated for protesting the West County Energy Center and sentenced to 60 days in jail "for defending my home from Florida Power and Light," has written an Open letter to people of the Everglades (and those who care about it), posted today at the Palm Beach County Environmental Coalition's site.

Since writing the letter, Tsolkas was released on a $5,000 appellate bond and after serving 16 days of the 60-day sentence is now awaiting an appeal to a higher court of the circuit court verdict against him and co-activist Lynn Purvis, who has opted to serve out her entire 30-day sentence.

Stop FPL has posted about the two activists' sentencing here and about the efforts to stop the environmental degradation caused by the West County Energy Center, here.

The latter post links to a lengthy story at Broward-Palm Beach New Times, here.

Meanwhile, Everglades Earth First! has called for a Week of Action in Solidarity with jailed activists, with details online here.

Activists jailed over FPL protest in Barley Barber Swamp

On Saturday, 17 Earth First! activists were arrested for entering the Barley Barber Swamp near Lake Okeechobee to demand the protection of Florida old growth ecosystems against the encroachment of FPL.

Everglades Earth First! has charged that aquifer pumping related to FPL's massive 3750 megaWatt Martin County power plant and adjacent 17-mile-long cooling pond are killing the 1,000-year old Cypress trees in Barley Barber, one of the few remaining old growth cypress swamps in the Southeast.

In a press statement, Earth First! noted that "several of the bald cypress trees in Barley Barber are over a thousand years old. They are the oldest in Florida and the entire Southeast region."

According to the press relase, posted online at the Eye on Miami blog:

"Following a five day standoff, six activists entered the swamp through a public waterway and chained themselves to trees. Eleven other activists were swept up by the police in a frivolous attempt to quell the protest. Currently, Everglades Earth First! is confronted with the immediate need to raise $18,000 to bail these courageous activists out of Martin County jail."

Local TV footage posted at Eye On Miami has also been posted on YouTube by Earth First!.

Additional coverage, along with photos and video footage of the 1,000-year old Cypress trees in Barley Barber are online at PlanetSave.com, here.

Activists say FPL is killing 1,000-year-old Cypress Trees

Palm Beach County activists are charging FPL with killing thousand-year-old cypress trees and trying to hide it in 455-acre Barley Barber swamp area, according to a Broward-Palm Beach New Times report.

Activists at Everglades Earth First, already battling FPL in court, says that FPL is pumping water so quickly from the area that the millenial trees are dying off at a rapid rate.

The paper quotes Everglades Earth First activist Russ McSpadden as saying:

"The FPL power plant sucks up water so fast from the aquifer that it is pulling the soil down below, leaving the roots of these ancient trees exposed. The whole place is collapsing."

FPL apparently purchased Barley Barber swamp in Martin County three decades ago and for years gave tours of the area known for its ancient cypress trees and abundant wildlife until closing down the swamp after the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

Read the full Broward-Palm Beach New Times story online here.