Thursday, September 18, 2008

Bicycle Caravan To Travel 18 Miles to Fight for Everglades

For Immediate Release September 18, 2008

Contacts: Brandon Block 561-932-4244, Ana Rodriguez 561-588-0287

Palm Beach County, FL-- Early on September 20th 2008, a group of young activists and bicycle enthusiasts will head out from Dixie Hwy in West Palm Beach to meet up with protesters in the Everglades, biking 18 miles to the site of a proposed FPL power plant. The protesting cyclists hope to highlight what they consider to be the illegal construction of the West County Energy Center, a gas/diesel power plant being built in the Everglades, next to the Arthur R. Marshal Loxahatchee Wildlife Refuge. Some will carry signs reading "Honk if you love the Everglades," "Save our Swamp," and "FPL is Criminal," others will be in costume.

The bicycle caravan will move up Southern Blvd from Dixie Hwy and join concerned citizens and activists from other groups near the site of the now famous February 18th protest where 26 activists were arrested. According to Russell McSpadden, a rally organizer and cyclist, "We are going to be huffing and puffing and sweating for the swamp, and we hope our message, that Florida Power and Light must halt all construction of the West County Energy Center pending a reevaluation of the site and a complete environmental impact statement will come across loud and clear."

According to Brandon Block, an activist and avid cyclist, "There can be no doubt that this 3,800 megawatt power plant, what will be the single largest fossil fuel plant in the entire county, will irrevocably damage the Everglades and cost taxpayers millions in restoration expenses. It is time for South Floridians to stand up and defend their natural spaces against corrupt profiteers. If this plant is built, South Florida will be shamed. The Everglades are as valuable to this country as the Grand Canyon or Niagara Falls, and is a far more unique ecosystem."

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