Brevard County granted a permit to Florida Power and Light to heat their waters artificially, which is one possible interim solution (FPL Given Permission To Install Heaters For Manatees 2009).

The environmental ethical conflict is clear. On the one hand, power plants in Florida must become more environmentally sustainable, cleaner, and greener. The power plants that serve Florida's population must transition from outmoded technologies like coal and nuclear power to wind and solar power. On the other hand, power plants in Florida have been incidentally saving the manatees. The warm water surrounding the power plants has become the winter haven for manatees who might otherwise have died in waters too cold for their bodies to tolerate. Sudden changes to or closures of power plants would threaten manatee populations.

Saving the manatees and producing clean energy need not be conflicting interests. As power plants become more energy efficient, engineers and scientists...
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