Take quick action when fig whitefly hits your neighborhood.
Don't hesitate or it may be too late. Be ready with solid information.

Watch a video on pesticide use and application, for the homeowner.

For alternatives to ficus download a list of ornamental plants. List gives size; plants tolerance to drought, salt and cold; if they bear fruit and description.

A full-page graphic by the Sun Sentinel is also packed with information.

More information is also available from the Florida Division of Plant Industry.

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New federal standards prompted by Hurricane Katrina's flooding of New Orleans will likely require costly repairs of South Florida's vast system of levees. That includes the East Coast Protection Levee that keeps the Everglades from flooding Broward, Miami-Dade and Palm Beach counties.

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Mosquitoes can be a real pain in South Florida. Look to one of our News Illustrated pages to help keep mosquitoes at bay, and summertime more enjoyable. The graphic includes information on:

• Mosquito repellents
• How to mosquito-proof your home
• Information on a powered bug trap, foggers & sprayers, insect zappers, ultrasound devices and citronella candles
• Tidbits on the mosquito

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So now that Gov. Charlie Crist has declared a state of emergency thanks to all the recent fires, rain dances may be necessary if conditions don't improve in South Florida or the rest of the state. I guess it's good the rainy (and hurricane) season are just a couple of weeks away, but who knows how much rainfall we'll get to improve our drought.

This map shows how many fires have occurred in Florida since January 1. The red flame icons indicate how many have burned since Saturday, May 9. Why May 9 you ask? We thought a week's worth of fires would be relevant to show you why there had been interstate closures in recent days.

I also made larger maps of the Naples and Palm Beach County areas, so you can see clearly how many fires we've had lately. Remember the Big Cypress fire? Check out its size and see why I-75 was shut down for so long.

If you're interested in seeing the latest conditions, check out the U.S. Forestry Division's site to see how many more fires are burning in the Sunshine State.

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Extremely dry conditions have contributed to the fires that closed Alligator Alley and could lead to more throughout the state. One of the main indicators of these conditions is the drought index map below. It is updated daily and can be found at can be found at the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.

HOW TO READ THE MAPS
601-800 Associated with severe drought. Live fuels burn actively, creating intense, deep burning fires.
401-600 Plant leaves, twigs, etc. (whole or decomposing) burn intensely.
201-400 Plant leaves, twigs, etc. (whole or decomposing) are drying and beginning to contribute to fire intensity.
0-200 Moisture levels are high and do not contribute significantly to fire intensity.

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Lions, tigers and bears oh my! Well, actually, just bears. You heard right, there are bears in Florida. Black bears that is. Check out the map to view the areas where Black bears hang out.

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Shipwrecks must be an awesome site to behold. They can be great places to find fish and other interesting sea creatures. Or if you've ever seen the movie "Fool's Gold," then you can imagine the thrill of finding sunken treasure within an old shipwreck.

I wouldn't know. I don't dive.

But if you do, check out this classic News Illustrated page showing the areas within South Florida that have shipwrecks. The page was done by Hiram Henriquez, former Sun Sentinel senior graphics reporter, back in April 2006.

If you'd like some more information on local diving, check out this cool site that lists a lot of local shops and diving links.

And if you do have any awesome dive stories, or found buried treasure, then let us know in the comment section below.

Happy diving!

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Although gas prices may be down, our dependence on fossil fuels and foreign oil is not going away. Only seven percent of the U.S. energy consumption comes from renewable sources. Only five percent of the renewable resources come from windv. When I first read the numbers I was really surprised how little wind contributed to the overall picture.

Besides the cost to build the turbine and occasional maintenance, the wind is free. But there are a lot of variables that go into making a successful wind farm. You can’t just stick one anywhere. Check out this weeks News Illustrated page to see some of the considerations and how it affects Florida’s wind chances.

Along with the logistics, there are some environmental concerns One concern is birds flying into the blades. After doing a little research I found out two things. Yes, birds do get chopped up in the blades, but it is more likely for a bird to die from flying into a building than a turbine.

		FOR MORE INFORMATION See my News Illustrated page in this Sunday's Sun-Sentinel.

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November 18, 2008

Download the News Illustrated page to read all the details. • Ethanol production in the U.S. • How does ethanol compare to gas in cost • Flexible fuel vehicles • History of Brazil and ethanol

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Lionfish are the first exotic saltwater fish to establish themselves in Florida and U.S. eastern coast waters. They have venomous spikes and will sting in defense. They don't pose much threat to humans other than their sting, which can be very painful, but they do pose a threat to other fish in their new environment.

Scientists are still working to figure out how much of an impact lionfish will have, but one recent study suggests that lionfish could drastically reduce other small prey fish populations in some areas by as much as 80%. One lionfish was even seen eating 20 small fish in 30 minutes.

On top of their large appetite, other fish are not familiar with this new fish and so far, it has few known predators. It is near the top of the food chain in its native waters, the Indian and Pacific oceans, and now in their new environments. Below are some videos showing just how dominating this fish can be.

This is video of a lionfish eating a small fish. They are known for using their fanned out fins to corner their prey. Watch as it blocks the fish from escaping.

This video is pretty cool. You can see in slow motion how its jaw expands to eat its prey.

Watch this potential lionfish predator check out the lionfish. You can tell he's checkin' the fish out and may think he's going to have a tasty meal, but the lionfish wins this battle without even breaking a sweat.

To learn more about lionfish and how they have spread, check out my News Illustrated page on the back of the Outlook section on Sunday.

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High rises are using their roof space as gardens, green space and landscape.

Here is a graphic that shows how the roofs are layered to enable greenary:

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I've always been interested in this topic. The amount of ice that is melting has surpassed predictions, several times. It just amazes me how quickly things are changing.

The ice in the Arctic has reached its lowest extent for 2008.

The orange line in the Arctic Ocean shows the normal edge of the ice extent, that is, the average from 1979 to 2000. The chart shows the reduction of ice extent so far this year, 2007 and average. The black cross in the center of the map is the north pole. To see the daily extent of sea ice and more information, check out the National Snow and Ice Data Center.

Comparing Sept. 2007 to Sept. 2008, ice melting opened the Northern Sea Route. The Northwest Passage has opened for the last two years. Read more about these passages.

Images courtesy of National Snow and Ice Data Center and United Nations Environment Programme.

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Coffins are stacked and readied for victims of the hurricane, near Belle Glade.
Courtesy of the Historical Society of Palm Beach

Eighty years ago, families witnessed unfathomable losses. The category 4 hurricane swept across South Florida killing and drowning an estimated 3,000 people.

The hurricane forced Lake Okeechobee to breach its shores. See an animation that shows the rise in lake levels and flooding, produced by the Tropical Prediction Center.

Take a look at photos from the hurricane's destruction provided by the National Weather Service of the following cities: Boca Raton, Delray Beach, Lake Worth, Palm Beach, West Palm Beach and Pompano Beach. Additional photos courtesy of Thomas Markham.

The 1928 Hurricane was the second worst natural disaster in the nation, followed only by the Galveston Hurricane of 1900, where 8,000 people were killed. Get information on some of the worst hurricanes and interactive graphics on their path at the National Hurricane Center.

UPDATE: Download the pdf of the News Illustrated page on the 1928 Hurricane. The hurricane took much of the area by surprise, see how 3,000 people died, the hurricane's strength, its destruction, and the Herbert Hoover dike, past and present.

There are memorials at several sites in Palm Beach County.

It is estimated that 75 percent of the victims were minority agricultural workers. The hurricane hit the rich farmland south of the lake. Many people were never found, covered in muck from flood waters or swept into the Everglades.

A stone marker was laid in memory of 69 victims in Woodlawn Cemetary,
West Palm Beach.

A historical marker locates 674 victims from Belle Glade, in West Palm Beach at Tamarind Avenue and 25th Street.

A stone marker lays at a mass grave in the Port Mayaca Cemetary which holds the remains of 1,600 victims.

At right, a memorial statue stands to the hurricane victims, located near the library in Belle Glade.
LIZ DOUP, Sun Sentinel file photo

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So, now that Hurricane Ike is barrelling towards Houston and the Texas coast, one has to wonder how many people are actually taking this storm seriously.

Compare this to Florida's reaction last week when Ike was threatening to hit our lovely beaches. Our attitude was a wait-and-see approach.

The Associated Press must have been wondering the same thing and did some graphics about it. The first is a poll, asking coastal residents (though they don't say where they're from) about how they feel towards hurricane evacutions.

The second is look at the average costs of evacuating from New Orleans when Gustav was coming two weeks ago. I thought it was relevant because you kind of get an idea of what a family of four faces when they hit the road.

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Haiti is in the middle of a major environmental disaster, not unlike Katrina when it hit New Orleans. Except, instead of a breach in levees, Hurricane Ike has left Haiti has to deal with runoff from the mountains which cause extreme flooding to the valleys and cities below.

Why is the runoff so bad? Consider this: Poor Haitians go into the mountains to harvest trees to make charcoal which is sold in the cities. Because there's no regulation, the trees disappear before you know it and now there's nothing to keep the ground soil from washing away.

In 2003, we did a series called Haiti, The Eroding Nation. Attached is a News Illustrated we did that describes the environmental problem in detail. And if you want more, you can see the multimedia project on The Edge here.

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Scientists are waiting in anticipation - one more day.

Plans are set for the Large Hadron Collider, a multibillion-dollar particle accelerator, to produce its first beam. It will be seven times more energetic than any previous machine. The collider will be used to search for signs of invisible "dark matter" and "dark energy" and undiscovered particles thought to give matter mass. Some people fear that the collider may destoy the world but the scientific community has assured us that it would never happen.

If you would like to follow the news on the event, or read about the final testing at CERN, the Europ0ean Organization for Nuclear Research.

We live in a fascinating time.

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The Navy along with the Coast Guard finished their surveillance test of the Florida Straits using a blimp. You might be wondering "what good is a slow moving blimp." Well, this was not just any blimp advertising your favorite energy drink. This was a custom fitted "Skyship 600," equipped with a special infrared camera, a powerful radar, two Porsche engines and a large gondola with enough room to fit special equipment.

The main advantage of the blimp is that it can remain airborne for extended periods of time which helps to save on fuel dollars. During its 6-week test the blimp produce great results and actually helped officials spot migrants on two different occasions.

The blimp could possibly be used to patrol the Straits and help protect the U.S. borders in the future.

You can download the News Illustrated page here.

Learn more about the blimp at Airship Management Services, Inc or check out airshipoperations.com.

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Looks like there are hurricanes lined up for South Florida as we head towards the season's peak. But it's nowhere as bad as the continuous hits we endured in 2005. Below is a chronological chart of all the storms that year.

Download the 2005 'cane News Illustrated and compare 2005's hectic hurricane season to 2008's so far.

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Here in Florida we take rip currents seriously.
Every year people die, from the young to the old, from Floridians to weekend visitors.

Before you hit our beaches please take a minute to learn about rip currents and tell your family. Then have a great time.

See an interactive on rip currents by the Sun Sentinel.
Read more information from NOAA.

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So you want a pet snake, huh? Well, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission expects you to know what you're getting yourself into. Below is the first page of the official questionnaire that you'll have to fill out to get a permit to own a python. Do you know the answers?

Find out why they are a problem in South Florida in our Snakes Gone Wild News Illustrated.

Download PDF here.

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UPDATE: The GFDL model has shifted west. You can see a newer animation here.

The GFDL forecast model is predicting Fay will make landfall over the Everglades and the eye will pass over South Florida. This is only one of several models used to predict the storm's path so Fay could still miss South Florida. But the images do provide insight to how the storm could look if it did hit us. Click the image to view an animation. When the page opens, hit the "FWD" button to start the animation.

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This cool map offered by the USGS lets you look anywhere in the country to see past and current oil and gas production. How rich (in oil) is your state?
TIP: For an interactive map, go to the pulldown box in the center of the page and select Choose Map Size.

Here's a look at South Florida.

UPDATE: Download my News Illustrated page to see where undiscovered oil and gas deposits stretch beneath South Florida into the Gulf of Mexico.

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This venomous lionfish, native to the Indian Ocean and the South Pacific spilled into the Atlantic in 1992 and it has spread rapidly up the U.S. coast and into the Caribbean. It is 18 inches long and could certainly hold its own in an eating contest. That's the problem. This dangerous fish is eating up a lot of reef fish at a pretty quick pace. Mark Hixon, an Oregon State University marine ecology expert compared the invasion of lionfish to a plague of locusts. To control the invasion, researchers are trying to figure out what would eat it for breakfast - and lunch, and dinner. It's not the tastiest fish and even sharks steer clear. Surprisingly though, grouper will take the bait.

Check out the video below to see how quickly it attacks its prey.

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The Olympics is just around the corner. Athletes from around the world will test their skills in Beijing. But with all the excitement surrounding the games, China's relationship with Tibet has become a big issue. Protests have sprung up around the world and human rights leaders and journalists have been detained.

The News Illustrated takes a look at the history behind the conflict. You can download it here.

You can find out more at freetibet.org.

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Technology can come from anywhere.

The bombardier beetle‘s backside is being studied by scientist to advance spray technology and preserve the environment.

This tiny beetle can shoot super hot spray at up to 212 degrees Fahrenheit which will ward off any opposing enemy.

Learn more about the way this beetle defends itself at the National Academy of Sciences.

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UPDATE, TAKE TWO (April 1, 2009): Here is the map of the latest proposal to buy US Sugar land. You can get the story on the new deal here.

UPDATE: Here's the latest map illustrating Florida's plan to buy US Sugar and create a natural flow for water into the everglades. Get the full story.

Here's a couple graphics from our archives that relate to the recent story on the state purchasing land in the EAA.
Graphics locate government-owned property in the EAA and diagram the "River of Grass" through the Everglades.

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If you didn't see Sunday's New Illustrated page on hurricane buoys, you can download it here. The page explains how the buoys help forecasters predict storms by measuring air temperature, atmospheric pressure, wind speed, wind direction and wave data.

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Hurricane season starts Sunday. So with that in mind, this week's News Illustrated page in the Sun-Sentinel takes a look at weather buoys, which give us information to predict the weather. Sensors placed on the buoy help scientist measure air temperature, atmospheric pressure, wind speed, wind direction and wave data. These measurements help forecasters predict storms and, in turn, helps us prepare for them.

But weather buoys can also be use for lounging:

Also this Sunday, the Sun-Sentinel is chock-full of hurricane coverage, including our annual hurricane guide. Don't forget to pick it up.

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Mosquitoes can be a real pain in South Florida. Look to one of our News Illustrated pages to help keep mosquitoes at bay, and summertime more enjoyable. The graphic includes information on:

• Mosquito repellents
• How to mosquito-proof your home
• Information on a powered bug trap, foggers & sprayers, insect zappers, ultrasound devices and citronella candles
• Tidbits on the mosquito

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A "doomsday" vault built to withstand an earthquake or nuclear strike opened in February deep in the permafrost of an Arctic mountain, where it will protect millions of agriculture seeds from man-made and natural disasters. Cary Fowler, the Executive Director of the Global Crop Diversity Fund, holds seeds inside the vault. AP Photo/John McConnico

UPDATE: My News Illustrated page in Sunday's South Florida Sun-Sentinel had all the details. In case you missed it you can download the pdf.

The Svalbard Global Seed Vault has tons of information on the vault deep within Plataberget Mountain at Longyearbyen, Norway.

There are at least 113,075,986 seeds in the vault. For information on where they came from and a database on the type of seeds check the Seed Portal.

Well, I find this all amazing.
I hope you find it just as interesting.

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Tired of paying $3.93 at the pumps? Well, be glad you don't live in Alaska, where prices are almost $5 a gallon (yikes)!!! I know, I can't imagine paying that much, but then again I didn't think we'd be at $4 a gallon either. Check out the pump prices across the country with this handy AP graphic.

And if you're like me, you'd be wishing we had Wyoming prices. But since we don't, try to find the cheapest gas in your neighborhood by using the S-S gas watch (shameless plug!!) to do a ZIP code search. Good luck!

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NOAA cane out with their hurricane forecast today and said a weak La Nina and warmer than normal sea surface temperatures could contribute to a storm season with as many as 9 hurricanes.

Animation of La Niña off the coast of South America Flashing will stop once loaded.

The blue areas off the coast of South America extending through the middle of the image are sea surface temperatures that indicate a La Niña. They are stronger in February and there appears to be a slight warming trend closer to the coast.

Sea surface temperatures
The images below compare temperatures for May 21 in 2008 and 2005, a record-setting hurricane season. While 2008 appears to have warm waters covering more area, 2005 had hotter temperatures in the Caribbean Sea. The images are produced daily by NOAA, so you can check on them at any time.

Also, check out Ken Kaye's Storm Center for regular updates on hurricane coverage.

For more information, click on the image above to see more animations or checkout NOAA's La Niña Web site.

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Since we are at the height of fire season, we thought we would give you another way to keep track of the smoldering state we call home.

The map shows current fires in red and fires from throughout the year in yellow. The USDA Forest Service creates these maps for the entire United States. They also provide maps of fires for various regions and some individual states like Florida.

We also have a Google map with active fires.

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Sea level is rising as ice at the poles melts, but will it cover part of South Florida? Who knows? The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency released maps that project the areas that could be affected. They show the elevations of lands close to sea level. The areas of land in red are the areas that would be covered with a 70 cm (about 2.3 feet) rise in sea level. According to the EPA, this is likely to happen in the next 120 years and has a 1% chance of happening in the next 60 years.

For additional information on sea level rise, check out these reports.

And to learn more about the melting ice in the Arctic, check out this News Illustrated page that ran a few Sundays ago. It talks about the conditions that led to the record breaking melting season last year.

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So how do firefighters battle a blaze in the wild, wild east?

See for yourself in this graphic we did last year when the rural communities in western Palm Beach County were faced with fire threat due to the drought. Firefighters adapt to the unique Florida terrain (by that I mean canals and lakes) to replenish water for fire trucks. What surprised me when I was doing my initial research is the use of bulldozers to create an area that the fire cannot jump. I always thought they either dug trenches or used drip torches.

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Maybe the satellites know.

The Satellite Services Division (SSD) collects data for many environmental uses. In this situation satellites use data to analyze fires, smoke plumes and fire potential across North and Central America.

To see the current status of fires and smoke check out the SSD: Fire Products page. The interactive map has many variables with the ability to zoom in and out of Canada, U.S. and Central America.

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A massive 7.8 earthquake struck China on Monday, possibly killing as many as 5,000 people. The quake hit at 2:28 EDT.

The U.S. Geological Survey monitors earthquakes around the world and offers detailed information. The maps are updated daily.

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This pair of images from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASAs Terra satellite use a combination of visible and infrared light to make floodwaters obvious. Water is blue or nearly black, vegetation is bright green, bare ground is tan, and clouds are white or light blue.

AP Photo/NASA

On the left: On April 15 (before the storm), rivers and lakes are sharply defined against a backdrop of vegetation and fallow agricultural land. The Irrawaddy River flows south through the left-hand side of the image. The wetlands near the shore are a deep blue green.

On the right: Cyclone Nargis came ashore across the Mouths of the Irrawaddy and followed the coastline northeast. The entire coastal plain is flooded in the May 5 image.

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Say what you will about global warming, but it is hard to deny the steady and fast loss of sea ice in the Arctic. These two images show sea ice extent at the end of the melting season in September. The top image is from 1979, the bottom image is from 2007.

Pretty big difference, huh? The 2007 melting season set a new record for melting, which isn't good, because sea ice plays an important role in regulating climate and providing a habitat for some pretty cool animals, like the narwhal. Even if you have no particular feelings towards blocks of ice, you've got to admit the narwhal is worth saving. I'm mean, come on - it's got a tooth that's longer than you are tall. Check out my News Illustrated page in the Outlook section on Sunday to find out why the ice is melting so fast and how it's affecting the people and animals living in the Arctic.

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With the rising price of rice and possible shortages, here is a look at rice production in the U.S. You can also find information about acreage and yield in the U.S. and by state on the United States Department of Agriculture website.

Soaring rice prices:

Also, here's a look at where rice is grown around the world.

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Scientists at the Vulcan Project, have collected data to create a series of maps to illustrate CO2 emissions in the US.

The Project is funded by NASA and the Department of Energy under the North American Carbon Program (NACP). The Vulcan CO2 inventory is intended to add detail and scope to policy discussions and aid demographers and social scientists.

Detail map of carbon emissions for Florida taken from map below.

Map of carbon emissions for the United States.

Are we making progress? The news is mixed. The image below illustrates the change in emissions from 1998 to 2002. The West, North East and parts of Florida have decreased their CO2 levels while levels in the middle of the country have increased. Methodology.

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Animation of La Niña off the coast of South America Flashing will stop once loaded.

William Gray came out with his annual prediction today and said a weak La Nina could contribute to a storm season with as many as 15 named storms.

The blue areas off the coast of South America extending through the middle of the image are sea surface temperatures that indicate a La Niña. They are stronger in January, but there appears to be a slight warming trend closer to the coast.

For more information, click on the image above to see more animations or checkout NOAA's La Niña Web site.

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Wow. That was a bunch of rain last night. The image above is a composite of several NEXRAD radar stations that shows rainfall in inches. More is on the way, so try to stay dry.

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Noel's actual path superimposed on a 5-day forecast.

With the National Hurricane Center's push to extend their forecast to seven days, we decided to take a quick look at Noel, a tropical storm that threatened Florida last year. The track veers wildly at times, but it mostly stays within the forecast cone. Noel became a hurricane after passing over the Bahamas.

You can view the NHC's animation of Noel forecast maps or the report for the entire 2007 hurricane season.

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This is a News Illustrated page that was done last year. It looks at shark attacks in Florida and around the world. It also talks about who usually is attacked.

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Forecasters are warning of an intense hurricane season this year. So we thought we would offer you a look at sea surface temperatures, a contributor to hurricane formation and intensity.

The images below compare three years of records for March 31. While 2008 doesn't look bad yet, there is still plenty of time for oceans to heat up. The images are produced daily by NOAA, so you can check on them at any time.

Also, check out Ken Kaye's Storm Center for regular updates on hurricane coverage.

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Light pollution is most prevalent in urban areas across the U.S. Many parts of Florida are not good for people looking to catch a nice view of stars. Here's some information about where you'll find the most and least polluted areas in case you want to do some star gazing.

Here is another map that has details about where to check out the night sky, including detailed light pollution maps for areas all over Florida.

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Select this interactive graphic to see how mites damage plants.

These bugs spread like the wind, seriously; they hop on a gust. Officials want people to submit plant material and insects for testing to get a better idea on how they spread. Download a form to submit samples and read these directions. Mites or infested plant material must be placed in a container with rubbing alcohol. Treatment options are also available.

I know that a lot of you may worry that your trees/plants have mites. These unwelcome pests prefer palms, banana, gingers, heliconia and other flowering plants. A complete list is available. Additional information can be found at Florida Department of Agriculture & Consumer Affairs, Or in Broward County, call 954-370-3725 . In Palm Beach County, call 561-233-1700

To find out if red palm mites have been spotted in your area download the News Illustrated page.

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Photo illustration, photos by the United States Department of Agriculture, NASA

Well I just finished a page about a monstrous looking bug invading South Florida. The Raoiella indica Hirst, alias red palm mite, can’t physically take on Florida but can do major damage to 32 species of palm and various other plants. The Florida Department of Agriculture & Consumer Affairs, has basic info on this little monster.

Stop back by on Sunday for an interactive explainer of how the mites attack plants — and which plants you are likely to have in your garden. If you think you have the mites, we'll tell you how to send in plant samples for identification.

And don't forget to check out my page in Sunday’s edition of The Sun-Sentinel. It's on the back of the Outlook Section and it’s full of information you need to know. It also shows the mite up close. I mean REAL close.

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Here is a News Illustrated page that was done back in 2006 when there was an attack in the Intracoastal Waterway and "Crocodile Hunter" Steve Irwin died. It explains a lot of things about stingrays, like the stinger, body parts, size, etc. Hopefully it can give some insight into the animal that killed a tourist from Michigan Thursday morning in the Florida Keys.

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