Back when canals were being dredged and launch pads hastily erected, I'm sure there was some unavoidable habitat destruction. But today, Kennedy Space Center protects some of the last pristine coastal land in Florida from tourons and developers. I worry about the future of all animals, two legged and flippered, that tread lightly along this unique stretch on the spacecoast, as the shuttle winds down:
Since August of 1963, Merritt Island's National Wildlife Refuge has shared a common boundary with the John F. Kennedy Space Center on the east coast of Florida. Just south of launch pad 39A, manatees graze protected in a sanctuary in the northern end of Banana River. Between May and September, thousands of endangered sea turtles come ashore on this barrier island in the dark of night to lay their eggs. Merritt Island's strategic location along the Atlantic Flyway provides a resting and feeding place for thousands of wading birds, shorebirds, and songbirds. Diverse habitats that include brackish marshes, salt water estuaries, and hardwood hammocks provide homes to an amazing diversity of more than 500 species of wildlife. Today these 220 square miles are managed by the Dept. of the Interior as a National Wildlife Refuge and National Seashore.
- This flow chart sums up my new policy for debating or discussing a multitude of subjects with conservatives.
- A new rule kicks in for healthcare technology infrastructure today:
This new agency is aimed at slowing down the rapid rise of health-care costs. It is supposed to foster innovation in both caring for patients and processing their payments and claims.
- In our Georgian calendar, a hodge-podge of astronomical observations and religious rites handed down and adjusted over centuries, we celebrate the new year on Jan 1, and many cultures now follow suit. But a wide array of other first days of the year have been observed throughout the world and over time.