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U.S. Sugar partners with FAMU, Tuskegee University to study impact of sugar-cane farming in the Glades

U.S. Sugar is joining with two universities to study the impact of sugar-cane farming in the Glades area and analyze more sustainable farming techniques.

Florida A&M University (FAMU) and Tuskegee University will partner with U.S. Sugar on the project.

“I am proud to join hands with Tuskegee University and U.S. Sugar in this transformative partnership,” said Garlen D. Weston, FAMU’s Interim Dean of Agriculture.

“By uniting our expertise and resources, we reaffirm our commitment to fostering innovative, environmentally responsible agriculture in the Glades region and beyond. This collaboration exemplifies our dedication to understanding sustainable agricultural practices and underscores our unwavering commitment to the well-being of our communities. We are honored to be a part of this impactful endeavor.”

AdventHealth study aims to increase type 1 diabetes screening

AdventHealth researchers are seeking local participants for a study that will attempt to identify people with type 1 diabetes early in their disease.

Participants will come in for a single blood draw and paid up to $50 each in the study, sponsored by AdventHealth and the Florida Department of Health. If the person’s blood draw shows signs of diabetes, they will be referred to follow-up care.

The autoimmune disease occurs when a person’s body stops making insulin. It can lead to life-threatening conditions if untreated. Though less common than type 2 diabetes, it has risen in recent years, particularly in minority communities. It accounts for about 5-10% of diabetes cases nationally, affecting about 1.8 million people.

The project aims to increase screening and treatment access and establish a bank of biological samples meant to identify better indicators to predict the disease.

Ocean heat bleaches coral reefs in Florida, elsewhere

Ocean temperatures that have gone “crazy haywire” hot, especially in the Atlantic, are close to making the current global coral bleaching event the worst in history. It’s so bad that scientists are hoping for a few hurricanes to cool things off.

More than three-fifths — 62.9% — of the world’s coral reefs are badly hurting from a bleaching event that began last year and is continuing. That’s nearing the record of 65.7% in 2017, when from 2009 to 2017 about one-seventh of the world’s coral died, said Derek Manzello, coordinator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Coral Reef Watch Program.

When water gets too hot, coral, which are living creatures, bleach and sometimes die.

In the Atlantic, off the Florida coast and in the Caribbean, about 99.7% of the coral reefs have been hit with “very very severe’’ losses in staghorn and elkhorn species, Manzello said Thursday in NOAA’s monthly climate briefing. Sixty-two countries are seeing damaged coral, with Thailand shutting off a tourist-laden island to try to save the coral there.

How new federal limits on carbon emissions from gas and coal-fired plants impact Florida utilities

Power companies have new limits on the amount of carbon emissions coming from their plants. The federal regulations are meant to lessen the impacts of climate change.

The energy sector is the top emitter of greenhouse gases in the greater Tampa Bay region, according to a recent report by the Tampa Bay Regional Planning Council. It’s second nationally, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency reports.

Greenhouse gases trap heat into the atmosphere, causing global warming.

Now, existing coal and new natural gas-fired power plants that run more than 40% of the time will have to eliminate 90% of their carbon dioxide emissions.

The already existing coal plants will have until 2032 to meet the standard if they’re still planning on operating after 2039, and a similar rule for existing natural gas plants has been delayed.