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“The removal of so many iconic, beautiful palm trees, including royal palms, will have a negative impact on our historic, cultural and economic brand,” Meiner wrote in an email. “Millions of tourists throughout the U.S. and the world annually visit Miami Beach and palm trees are an integral part of our brand. There are only a handful of tropical climates in the United States where palm trees can grow.”

The scientific world is stunned by research which backs an Aboriginal legend about how palm trees got to Central Australia. Several years ago Tasmanian ecologist David Bowman did DNA tests on palm seeds from the outback and near Darwin. The results led him to conclude the seeds were carried to the Central Desert by humans up to 30,000 years ago. Professor Bowman read an Aboriginal legend recorded in 1894 by pioneering German anthropologist and missionary Carl Strehlow, which was only recently translated, describing the "gods from the north" bringing the seeds to Palm Valley. Professor Bowman said he was amazed....

Scientists drilling deep into the edge of modern Antarctica have pulled up proof that palm trees once grew there. Analyses of pollen and spores and the remains of tiny creatures have given a climatic picture of the early Eocene period, about 53 million years ago. The study in Nature suggests Antarctic winter temperatures exceeded 10C, while summers may have reached 25C. Better knowledge of past "greenhouse" conditions will enhance guesses about the effects of increasing CO2 today. The early Eocene - often referred to as the Eocene greenhouse - has been a subject of increasing interest in recent years as...

ST PETERSBURG— An insect with a disgusting habit is killing palm trees in the Tampa Bay area and experts are worried the disease transmitted by the bugs will affect trees around the state. The first Florida sighting of Texas Phoenix Palm Decline was in 2005 in Manatee County. Since then, it's been detected in Hillsborough, Pinellas and Polk counties, although experts say Manatee County is still the hardest-hit area. According to University of Florida's Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, the disease is spread by a planthopper insect but the exact kind of bug isn't yet known. The insects pierce...

Boy Survives Falling Off Balcony After Bouncing Off Palm Trees A four-year-old boy had a lucky escape after falling from a 17th floor hotel balcony only to bounce off palm trees and land with minor injuries. By Paul Thompson 06 Jun 2010 Rescuers found Joey Williams still alive after he bounced off a cluster of palm trees and landed on a dirt surface near the hotel's swimming pool. Apart from surviving the 80ft fall he somehow managed to land between two pipes jutting up from the ground. Less than four hours after the fall at his hotel in Miami, Florida,...

A Few of FR's Finest....Every Day Free Republic made its debut in September, 1996, and the forum was added in early 1997.   Over 100,000 people have registered for posting privileges on Free Republic, and the forum is read daily by tens of thousands of concerned citizens and patriots from all around the country and the world. A Few of FR's Finest....Every Day was introduced on June 24, 2002. It's only a small room in JimRob's house where we can get to know one another a little better; salute and support our military and our leaders; pray for those in...