Jan. 14, 2010
GAINESVILLE, FL.—
Despite thermometer readings the last two weeks, global warming might still be a problem.
Meteorologists have not seen these freezing temperatures in some regions of Florida since December of 1989, according to Accuweather.
Florida Municipal Electric Association Executive Director Barry Moline asserts one cold winter has no relevance to global warming whatsoever. He believes changes in climate can only be understood long term and are not reflected in day-to-day weather.
Climate change is a more appropriate term for the gradual changing of Earth’s temperatures, because the Earth is warming and cooling simultaneously in different regions, according to Moline.
He believes there will be times when certain parts of the world are going to be cooler or warmer than normal.
“Parts of the planet are warming, and parts of the planet are cooling,” Moline said. “It’s not warming at a breathtaking speed, but the average global temperature is rising slightly.”
Gainesville might see chilly nights, but climate change predictions take many years into consideration when determining changes in global temperature.
To predict climate change, scientists study the circulation of air and water on the planet. These are the same patterns used by meteorologists to predict next week’s weather.
Using this method, meteorologists have predicted that Gainesville will warm up to a high of 72 degrees Fahrenheit on Friday, according to the Weather Channel.
Combining observation and history, scientists have been able to study the global temperature trends and predict future conditions.
Moline believes that, in the long term, the temperature measurements are rising.
“There may be a lot of things going on, including sunspots, the development of more cities and the subsequent pumping of more carbon dioxide into the air.” Moline said. “Regardless, it looks like thermometers all over the globe are getting warmer.”
This hasn’t always been the case. According to Moline, scientists feared the Earth was cooling in the 1970s.
Centuries before humans built the first coal plant, the Earth had cycles of warming and cooling. This past decade has seen relatively flat global temperatures, but the melting polar ice caps show significant warming. Some scientists have predicted that the arctic will soon be ice-free in the summer, according to Moline.
He believes the bottom line is that it’s difficult to determine the impact of humans on the Earth’s climate.
According to David Zierden, the state climatologist at Florida State University, weather is a cycle, and these freezing temperatures are what to be expected once every 20 years.
He believes that these temperatures are well within the natural variability of the weather.
“We haven’t really seen any evidence of a warming climate in Florida, but this latest cold event can’t be blamed on climate change,” Zierden said. “Just because we had a cold winter, it doesn’t mean that global climate change has not been occurring.”
In Florida, agriculture has been damaged by the recent hard freezes. The natural and man-made variability in the climate has hurt many local farmers this winter, according to Jim Jones, a professor in the Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering at the University of Florida.
“Climate change happens every year,” Jones said. “The biggest effects are freezes like the one we are going through now, droughts, excess water damages crops and hurricane damage. Those are the main factors that influence climate induced change in agriculture.”
Feb. 22, 2010
GAINESVILLE, FL. –
Allison Kreiger Walsh had two eating disorders, and she’s not afraid to talk about her struggle.
The University of Florida graduate, who battled anorexia and bulimia for three and a half years, will share her story as part of UF’s National Eating Disorders Awareness Week, she said.
“Beauty and the Jock: Real People, Real Stories” will kick off the week at 8 p.m. on Feb. 22 in the Reitz Union Grand Ballroom.
National Eating Disorders Awareness Week is from Feb. 21 to Feb. 27.
Walsh, 26, and lacrosse player Patrick Bergstrom will share their experiences with eating disorders as co-speakers at the event, she said.
Walsh, a student at the Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University College of Law, graduated from UF with a degree in public relations. She served as a student senator and won the title of Miss University of Florida in 2002.
Her anorexia and bulimia began in high school. She sought help during her senior year.
By the time Walsh started college, her eating disorders were under control. Though she still looked to her counselors for advice, she was able to help other students with the disease.
Through the UF Student Health Care Center, Walsh was able to share her recovery story by speaking to students through outreach presentations.
She won the title of Miss Florida in 2006. Walsh now leads her own nonprofit, Helping Other People Eat. She is also the chair of the National Eating Disorders Association Junior Board.
Walsh met Bergstrom through her involvement in the association.
He will be the first male ever to speak at a UF National Eating Disorders Awareness Week event, according to Janis Mena, RD, nutritionist for GatorWell Health Promotion Services and an organizer of the week’s events.
In the United States, 10 million females and one million males have eating disorders such as anorexia or bulimia, according to Mena.
She said it is important to get more males involved, because eating disorders affect them too. Awareness can also help males aid their significant others.
Bergstrom, 26, a graduate of Wesley College and a two-year academic all-conference lacrosse player, battled anorexia for four years. He founded I Chose to Live LLC, an outreach program based on athletic principles and recovery, according to Bergstrom.
Breaking the gender stereotype is exciting for Bergstrom. He thinks it’s a good way to let people know there are no boundaries with the illness. He said there are many males in trouble but they are afraid to talk about it, just like he was. He hopes to be a positive voice and destroy the stigma.
Walsh thinks that Bergstrom’s experience shows how eating disorders can affect males and athletes. She believes it is courageous of him to tell his story.
At the event, Walsh will tell her story from start to finish. She will explain how she adjusted to life after the eating disorder and how recovery is possible, she said.
“I want my message to transcend the normal student,” Walsh said. “I never thought I would still be doing this, but it’s a commitment for life.”
Other events of the awareness week include Lights of Hope and 9 Minutes of Nakedness.
March 6, 2010
GAINESVILLE, FL. –
More than 19 teams of golfers will hit the green on March 6 to raise scholarship money for at-risk kids in the Gainesville area.
AMIkids-Gainesville is still looking for more teams to enter its fifth-annual Golf Fore Kids golfing tournament, held at Ironwood Golf Course, according to Amy Griffin, chairwoman of the golf committee.
The nonprofit youth development program helps at-risk teenagers between the ages of 14 and 18, she said.
The year-round program provides rehabilitative and educational programs for community juvenile offenders, according to John Davidson, executive director of AMIkids-Gainesville.
He said the young adults generally attend the program for four to six months, and that 71 percent of the students have no further violations with the law after the program is completed.
AMIkids-Gainesville currently has 52 students enrolled, Davidson said.
Money raised at the golf tournament will become scholarships for the rehabilitated youth, motivating them to graduate high school and continue their education, according to Griffin.
Registration is $60 per person and $200 per team of four. The entry fee includes green fees, a bucket of range balls, refreshments and lunch catered by Chick-fil-A.
The number of teams already registered exceeds the total that competed in last year’s fundraiser, and Griffin said she is accepting registrations until the day of this year’s event.
She said no golfer will be turned away.
The golf tournament will feature a raffle. Prizes include a football signed by Urban Meyer and a football signed by the team.
The AMIkids-Gainesville school is in Micanopy, about 10 miles south of Gainesville, according to Griffin.
AMIkids-Gainesville, founded in 1991, relies on private donations to fund scholarships and maintain the organization’s ropes course, Griffin said.
The program is also funded by the Alachua County School Board, the Marion County School Board and Florida’s Department of Juvenile Justice.
The two school boards pay to educate those in the program, and the department pays the organization to enroll the teenagers and provide behavior modification, Davidson said.
He said behavior modification involves rewarding positive behavior while holding the young people accountable for negative behavior.
Davidson said most of the employees at AMIkids-Gainesville became involved in the organization because they had a passion for helping youth.
“Most of us were knuckleheads when we were kids,” Davidson said. “So we get it, and we know how to help.”
For more information on the golf tournament, visit http://amikids.org/Gainesville.aspx or contact Davidson at 352-258-8018.
Feb. 4, 2010
GAINESVILLE, FL.—
More than 1,200 volunteers will try to eradicate an invasive species in Gainesville on Saturday.
The City of Gainesville Nature Operations Division of the Department of Parks, Recreation and Cultural Affairs is hosting the 11th Annual Great Air Potato Roundup from 9 to 11 a.m.
Air potatoes are non-native vines that engulf native vegetation. The vines produce aerial tubers that look similar to a potato. These tubers fall to the ground and produce more vines, according to Morningside Nature Center’s marketing technician, Ludovica Weaver.
Morningside Nature Center is part of the City of Gainesville Nature Operations Division.
Since the first roundup, volunteers have removed more than 152,937 pounds of tubers from the area, Weaver said.
Volunteers will be dispersed throughout Gainesville to pick air potatoes and collect other varieties of exotic plants that threaten biodiversity in the area, according to Weaver.
She said volunteers will be assigned to about 27 sites throughout the city, including schools, nature parks and neighborhoods.
Site leaders will give volunteers an overview of the air potato and tips on how to find and identify them. They will also educate volunteers on the invasive nature of the tuber.
The roundup will end with a celebration festival at Citizens Park, 1100 NE 14th St., from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. There will be food, music, T-shirts and prizes for the volunteers.
Weaver said it is a good time to collect the tubers because the cold winter air kills the vines, making air potato collection a shorter process.
After the event, the air potatoes will be collected by Morningside Nature Center staff and sent to a landfill. They will be separated from waste and recyclables so that the tubers won’t sprout again, Weaver said.
She thinks limiting the amount of air potatoes is extremely important because the plant is so aggressive.
Eradicating the plant is also important because it helps to preserve the beauty of Gainesville, she said.
Weaver encourages citizens to research the invasive species and learn about what they can do to make a difference in their own community.
City of Gainesville Nature Operation Division’s recreation leader, Hollie Greer, thinks there will be many more roundups in the future.
“We are going to keep doing it until there are no more air potatoes here,” she said. “But there is no end in sight.”
She thinks raising awareness of the threats of invasive plants is one of the most important aspects of the roundup and views the event as an education opportunity for the community.
The roundup is sponsored by the Florida Exotic Pest Plant Council, Payne’s Prairie Chapter of the Florida Native Plant Society and other local businesses and organizations.
Though volunteer registration is closed for 2010, those interested can sign up in December for next year’s event.
Jan. 21, 2010
GAINESVILLE, FL.
It’s pageant season in Gainesville, and Miss Gainesville Scholarship Pageant Inc. is offering a new crown.
Women and girls in the area have the opportunity to compete in one pageant for a variety of titles, including Miss Gainesville, Miss Lake City, Miss Gainesville’s Outstanding Teen or Miss Lake City’s Outstanding Teen and now Miss Florida Gator.
This is the first year Miss Gainesville Scholarship Pageant, Inc., a nonprofit organization, will offer the title of Miss Florida Gator, a title previously bestowed by the University of Florida, according to Executive Director Merissa Amkraut.
After being asked to administer the crown, the organization stepped up to the plate to give another woman the opportunity to increase her scholastic earnings, Amkraut said.
The application deadline for each category is Jan. 31. The event, an official preliminary for the Miss America pageant, will crown all five titles on March 6.
Winners will earn cash scholarships, prizes and the opportunity to participate in the next Miss Florida and Miss Florida’s Outstanding Teen pageants. Amkraut said the event has awarded more than $6,000 in the past two years, and prizes include a media contract with Cox Communications, hair care, manicures, pedicures and tanning.
Contestants at the local level will be judged on a private interview, physical fitness, onstage question, talent and evening wear. All judges are certified Miss America judges.
Winners of the various titles will advance to the state level, where they have the opportunity to increase their scholarship winnings. The Miss America Organization is the largest scholarship provider for young women in the world, giving more than $45 million each year, she said. All money received must be used for educational expenses.
In order to participate, contestants must raise money for Miss America’s partner, Children’s Miracle Network. Winners take tours of Shands Children’s Hospital at UF and participate in Dance Marathon at UF, according to Amkraut.
She said the Miss Gainesville pageant has consistently been the top fundraiser for Children’s Miracle Network in the state, raising more than $12,000 since 2008.
The contestants get a lot out of the pageant, she said, and it is rewarding to see the girls and women compete and learn about themselves.
Laura Beard, the current Miss Gainesville, is a student at UF pursuing her Master of Science in management after graduating in December with a degree in piano performance. As Miss Gainesville, Beard won more than $2,000 in scholarship money in 2009.
Beard said the most important thing to remember when applying is that most individuals already possess the skills to compete, and there should be no excuse to not participate.
“Don’t let yourself be your biggest competition,” Beard said. “This is an opportunity for success and it can only be positive.”
Being Miss Gainesville has been an incredible growth experience for Beard. She placed in the top 15 at Miss Florida and won a non-finalist talent award for her piano performance.
Myrrhanda Jones, Miss Gainesville’s Outstanding Teen 2009, advanced to win the title of Miss Florida’s Outstanding Teen 2009. She then won second runner-up at the Miss America’s Outstanding Teen pageant.
The application is available on the organization’s Web site, http://www.missgainesville.com.
The pageant will be held on March 6 at Oak Hall School at 8009 SW 14th Ave. The event starts at 6 p.m., and tickets can be purchased in advance for $10. They are $15 at the door.
