Environment

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Florida's Coral Reefs Are In Trouble. Here's A New $160 Million Plan To Save Them

WLRN 91.3 FM | By Alex Harris

Published August 2, 2019 at 12:28 PM EDT

The odds are stacked against Florida’s coral reefs.

A mysterious disease is devastating them. So is climate change, which warms and acidifies ocean waters. Development and pollution don’t help much, either.

Landmark federal legislation to help corals expired in 2000, and a new billintroduced Friday by Florida’s Republican senators would revive it.

The Restoring Resilient Reefs Act of 2019 was sponsored in the senate by Marco Rubio and Rick Scott as well as Hawaii’s Democratic Sens. Brian Schatz and Mazie Hirono and in the house by Reps. Darren Soto (D-FL) andJenniffer González-Colón (R-PR). They introduced it the day before Congress’ August recess, so no one has a chance to consider the bill until Congress resumes in September.

Read more from our news partner, Florida Keys News.