Natalie van Hoose

Climate experts say the most important step you can take to fight climate change is to talk about it. WEDU PBS does exactly that in a special Public Square program about West Central Florida. We take a clear-eyed view of the challenges our region faces and honor the grit and adaptability that define Floridians as we share the stories of local changemakers.

A feature film can generate 574,000 pounds of waste. Some studios and producers are trying to change that.
This year, Becky Casey mourned the retirement of one of NBCUniversal’s most versatile and under-celebrated stars: a set of faux rock walls originally constructed for beach scenes in the late-1990s sitcom Malibu, CA.

Lethal bronzing disease is decimating thousands of Florida's palm trees, native and nonnative species alike. One scientist is testing a surprising solution.

With stronger hurricanes, Florida's coral scientists are conducting more emergency evacuations. Keri O’Neil’s eyes were locked on National Weather Service updates as Hurricane Milton thundered across the Gulf of Mexico toward Florida. Still two days away from the coast, Milton was exploding in intensity, strengthening within hours from a Category 2 storm to a Category 5 monster.

Smalltooth sawfish develop their signature, long, tooth-lined snout while still in the womb. The needle-sharp teeth are encased in a specialized sheath that prevents the rays from cutting up their mother and siblings during gestation and birth. Now, scientists have gotten their first close-up look at this built-in pocket protector.

Nutrients from fertilizers and animal waste can move from Florida farms to waterways, fueling harmful algal blooms. But assessing farms’ nutrient pollution – and gauging the success of the state’s efforts to reduce it – remains a significant challenge.

For animals exploring new territory, taking risks is key to survival. But eating unfamiliar foods can be dicey, since they might contain new pathogens and parasites. One avian immune system, however, seems to have a way of rolling with the punches.

The controversial construction of a 950-mile train loop through Mexico's environmentally sensitive and culturally rich Yucatán Peninsula has set archaeologists scrambling to conduct as much research as they can before the rumble of bulldozers arrives.

Shortly after midnight on June 19, a team of about 30 scientists from Washington, D.C., and across the Southeast concluded a “bioblitz,” an intensive wildlife scavenger hunt, at the Smithsonian Marine Station in Fort Pierce. Over 10 days, the group collected and preserved more than 2,700 mud- and sand-dwelling animals from the Indian River Lagoon, considered by some scientists to be the most biodiverse estuary in the U.S.

On June 24, 2021, two-thirds of the Champlain Towers South building in Surfside, Florida, plummeted to the ground in seconds, killing 98 people. In the aftermath, a team of Florida judges and lawyers dedicated themselves to a single goal: to render justice as swiftly as possible to survivors and families of the victims.

This press release on how climate change is altering the delicate seasonal clock of North American songbirds was AAAS EurekAlert's second most-read news story of 2017, with nearly 500,000 views.

Scientists are "cautiously optimistic" that the critically endangered smalltooth sawfish is on the brink of a recovery after 20 years of federal protections.

Each year, millions of reef fish die of a grisly condition caused by surfacing from deep waters too quickly. A new program is training thousands of recreational anglers with equipment to release reef fish safely, helping protect fisheries along the Gulf Coast.

Redfish are big, brawny fighters and key contributors to Florida’s $13.8 billion recreational fishing industry. But redfish have a weak spot: They faithfully return to the same waters each year to spawn. This past fall, Hurricane Ian and red tide hit West Central Florida at a critical spawning time, delivering a one-two punch to a fish that is back in the conservation spotlight.

When Norman Beatty first witnessed people sleeping under mosquito nets in rural Arizona, he was stunned. And yet, some residents of remote areas in the U.S., including parts of Florida, use the nets in their homes each night – not to protect against mosquitoes, but kissing bugs, blood-sucking insects that can spread a potentially lethal disease known as Chagas.