Once again it is time for another spring issue of the Florida Journal of Environmental Health. Nothing says spring like flowers, but sadly, no one submitted an article about those. However, flowers are only as good as the soil they grow in and luckily, we do have an article about that, thanks to Eberhard Roeder and Kara Loewe. I, personally, am a sucker for anything about Myakka and I think you will like their work too.

Another sure sign of spring is birds courting, building their nests, and raising their young. Imagine for a moment that this was absent due to climate change; it would very much be a Silent Spring. Following in Rachel Carson’s footsteps, avian crusader Helen Lovell-Wayne brings us word of warblers and their plight as they face a shifting environment.

Finally, we have the next edition of Chris Green’s much acclaimed Waste to Energy series. FEHA’s very own International Correspondent diligently applies himself to ferreting out incredible alternative energy solutions for the perusal of our members. Chris reminds us that nations across the globe continue to labor under the tyrannical yoke of fossil fuels and that the situation could readily be improved by following the “squadrons of sea gulls.” See his latest in the Features section for all the details.

As a friendly reminder, we are always looking for content for our great Journal. If you have something to say, please send it my way. Seeing your name in print is highly rewarding and once you start writing, you may wonder why it took you so long to start! Have a very happy spring and see you in the summer.

As we approach the spring season, our AEM committee is working hard in making our next Annual Education Conference a major event. They are looking at the Destin Florida area with the white sandy beaches that are spectacular. These were once impacted by the drastic oil spills in Florida's Gulf Coast area, but now have recovered and need an economic boost from visitors to that area.  With that in mind, I exhort each member to contact one person and compassionately invite him to become a member and join FEHA at this event.

As Jean Shinoda Bolen once said "It feels as if everyone who acts compassionately, works to raise consciousness, to save the planet, to make a difference in some significant way is linked to everyone else who also does. ...Each person who follows his or her own light is a light in the web."

So follow our FEHA web and become a light in that web of accomplishments.

Climate change is one of leading factors causing the decline of migratory warbler populations. Climate change has caused a change in the timing of optimal food supply and predator abundance.  If the birds keep  laying eggs at the same time as they did evolutionarily they are not maximizing reproductive success.  According to Tingley et al. 2009 some bird species are starting to adapt to this new environment whereas others have not changed their behavior. Even birds that are showing signs of adaptation to this new environment are not changing fast enough to ensure the long term survival of the species. 

Why are soils important?

The drainfield is an important part of an onsite sewage treatment and disposal system because this is where the disposal takes place by allowing sewage to percolate through soil on the way to groundwater. Most of the treatment in a conventional onsite system also takes place in the drainfield. By installing the drainfield above the ground water table, air, sewage, microorganisms and soil can come into contact with each other, resulting in a product that is largely free of germs, smelly components and solids. An important consideration for the installation of the drainfield is dealing with the soil that is on the site. Some of the questions include the following: are the soils comprised of material that will support treatment or are the soils too coarse for treating sewage? How permeable or perking are the soils, so that the drainfields are big enough for the estimated sewage flow? Is the ground water table so close to the surface that the drainfields have to be raised in filled or mound systems? From a statewide perspective, a common question about drainfields is “What are the typical Florida soils encountered in onsite systems?”