Forget the treetops a burrowing owl nests underground. Some use the dens of other animals. Look for these small owls in western states and southern Florida.
December 19, 2020
About 25 miles south of Miami, there’s a nuclear power plant perched on a low-lying ridge tucked between the swamp and the sea. Its two reactor facilities, built in 1972 and 1973, don’t exactly blend in: The drab, concrete cylinders squat above the blue waves of Biscayne Bay and the muted green expanse of the Everglades both delicate ecosystems protected as national parks. Thousands of crocodiles patrol an adjoining labyrinth of manmade cooling canals.
Dubbed Turkey Point, the plant powers nearly a million south Florida homes and has been humming along for nearly half a century. If all goes according to plan for Florida Power & Light (FPL), the plant’s owner, it’ll keep running at least until the early 2050s, remaining unchanged while an expected two feet of sea level rise slowly transform the surrounding landscape.