A Call for Change: Local Environmentalist Shares Hope for Our Future
Larry Weiner would not describe himself as a poet. But as the current chair of the Executive Committee of Tampa Bay Watch, he felt compelled to pen verse that addressed climate change and inspired others to fight for the environment.
Weiner grew up in Miami and, after getting a bachelor’s in zoology from USF, he went to George Washington University for a master’s in environmental science with a marine biology focus.
“I was fortunate to work on a university research project that paid me to go diving in [Tampa Bay] every month to collect sediment samples,” he said. “I fell in love with the bay. I knew when I returned to this area that I wanted to get involved with a nonprofit that did environmental work focused on the Tampa Bay estuary.”
Weiner is now retired after 38 years as an environmental professional in the public and private sectors. He is currently serving on the advisory board for two investment funds managed by Directed Capital Resources. Prior to retiring, he was a managing director at Insurance Dispute Solutions LLC and Integrated Economic Solutions Corp. He also served a distinguished 18-year public service career as a senior executive at the U.S. Department of Energy and the Environmental Protection Agency in Washington, D.C.
After his company moved from Washington to St. Petersburg in 2001, Weiner was advised by his neighbor, Dr. Steve Updegraff, to contact Peter Clark, the president and founder of Tampa Bay Watch. He joined in 2004, also serving as former chair of the board.
“My interest in the [Tampa Bay Watch] mission is two-fold: We protect and restore critical marine habitats in the bay, utilizing the efforts of over 10,000 volunteers a year; and we teach environmental stewardship to thousands of children each year by getting their feet wet and hands dirty,” he said. “It is truly a community-based, grassroots organization. I am energized, gratified, and reassured to see dozens of people show up for our projects on a Saturday morning to do hard, sweaty manual labor. I always ask volunteers why they volunteer. The most common response is: ‘I want to make a difference.’”
According to Weiner, since its founding in 1993, Tampa Bay Watch has restored over 1.5 million square feet of shoreline, educated more than 42,000 students and teachers from over 150 schools, built a first-class facility (the Auer Marine Education Center on Tierra Verde), and opened a public-facing facility (the Discovery Center sponsored by the Milkey Family Foundation) on the St. Pete Pier. It has partnered with 21 restaurants so far to recycle over 311,000 pounds of oyster shells that otherwise would have ended up in the landfill.
“I am extremely proud of our education staff and the innovative programs they have created, especially for Title I schools and neurodivergent children. Our mobile education van takes our programs to schools that otherwise cannot come to our facilities,” he said. “There are so many kids who live a few miles from the bay but have never been on the water or have seen what is in the water. Opening their eyes to the wonders and importance of our Tampa Bay is both a necessity and a privilege.”
Married with one daughter, and living in Snell Isle, Weiner said, “Tampa Bay makes St. Pete very special to me. My wife, Yvonne, will frequently tell people, ‘My husband has been in love with Tampa Bay longer than he has been in love with me.’ We have been married for 38 years but my love for the bay goes back to the 1970s when I was studying marine biology at USF,” he laughed.
But Weiner’s passion for the environment isn’t concentrated in western Florida. He loves traveling to exotic and vulnerable areas to learn more about them. He visited the Amazon in 2006, the Galapagos Islands in 2019, Antarctica in 2023, and subarctic Canada in 2024.
“The impact of deforestation and pollution (cultural and environmental) was evident in the Amazon,” he said. “The flora and fauna of the Galapagos, especially the various species or tortoises, were still trying to recover from over 200 years of intense harvesting.” And “the Amazon River basin is being severely impacted by more extreme drought, floods, and fires that are disrupting the native communities and delicate ecosystems.”
Weiner elaborated about each location, all of which have seen the devastating effects of climate change. “The Galapagos Islands are being affected by rising sea levels, frequent and more intense El Niño events, and drier conditions…[In] Antarctica, where climate change is rapidly changing the landscape and ecosystem, the glaciers are melting from the bottom up and the sea ice is disappearing. The result is a decline in the shrimp-like krill population that forms the basis of the Antarctic food web.”
In Churchill, Canada, the “polar bear capital,” he said, he saw the effects in devastating detail. “The starving bears are waiting for the sea ice to form so they can go out and hunt for seals. The problem is the warming of the sea delays the formation of sea ice. The starving bears are forced to forage for food in the town and have become a nuisance. The town had to build a polar bear jail to house nuisance bears. Sadly, polar bears face a high risk of extinction by the end of the century due to climate change melting their sea ice habitat.”
Known for writing poems for special occasions like birthdays or anniversaries – as well as woodworking; you can find Big Weiner Twisted Walking Schticks on display at the Florida CraftArt gallery – Weiner took his worldly knowledge back home and put pen to paper.
“My poem on climate change was inspired by my trips, especially the trip to Antarctica, which was literally melting before my eyes,” he said. “I am not a poet but felt compelled to write as an outlet for my frustration, sadness, and disappointment in our species. My one hope is that my poem inspires those individuals with a fire in their bellies to both take and demand action.”
The Climate is Changing, Can We?
By Larry Weiner
Our good ship Earth is a vessel in peril,
If we don’t change course our journey won’t end well.
Our species suffers from being shortsighted,
Can we rise to the challenge and get our ship righted?
We should be our planet’s most ardent trustees,
Instead, we’ve become the invasive species.
Spewing CO2 into the atmosphere comes with a price,
And we are now victims of our own device.
The climate is changing in front our eyes,
Ignoring it will only hasten our demise.
Our role in this change is now undeniable,
Still far too many in power believe the data are unreliable.
Or they simply lack the courage to initiate change,
For fear they won’t be elected again.
Over population and over consumption,
Are a recipe for disaster and our certain destruction.
To fix the problem there is no easy solution,
It will require nothing short of a behavioral revolution.
People and nations must change their behavior,
We can’t afford to let our determination waiver.
Species like ours share an unenviable distinction,
Their inability to live in harmony with nature usually results in extinction.
The fate of our planet is in our hands,
We need courageous leaders who can meet the demands.
You are all ambassadors with powerful tools,
You can effect the necessary changes by voting out the fools.
There are many reasons to be optimistic,
As long as our species can be more altruistic.
We borrowed this planet from the future generations,
Returning it in good condition is our sacred obligation.
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