William (Coty) Keller, Ph.D.

Updated October 24, 2023

William "Coty" Keller is an ecologist, working to conserve and restore the natural relationships among living things and the environment. He lives and works in Port Charlotte, Florida and Freeport, New York with his high school girlfriend (wife and jewelry creator) Marge.

Current Projects

· Teaching about the Climate Crisis with the Greater Long Beach Interfaith Association. Our aim is to empower people to reverse global warming. The program is titled This Fragile Earth, our Island Home and is closely related to Creation Care throughout Long Island, NY.

· Safeguarding and preserving the natural world, including water quality in and around Charlotte Harbor

· Lobbying congress to put a price on carbon by volunteer work with the local chapter of Citizens' Climate Lobby

· Eradicating invasive species from the mangroves in the Charlotte Harbor Preserve State Park

· Promoting action on global warming with Florida Veterans for Common Sense. This includes action to make Florida the real Sunshine State and advocating for a transformative Farm Bill.

· Abolishing Corporate Personhood by volunteer work with the Move To Amend coalition

About Keller’s Resume	Florida’s climate disasters: We get what we vote for If environmentalists voted in higher percentages, we could elect officials who make the US a global leader in climate mitigation. Check out this op-ed in The Invading Sea: Florida’s climate disasters: We get what we vote for Managing Nutrients to Save Charlotte County’s Estuaries and Economy The people and businesses of Charlotte County have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to preserve our economy, lifestyles, and property values – by managing and restoring our estuaries. Estuaries are those places in our waterways where fresh and saltwater meet, and which support most of the fish, birds, wildlife, and aesthetics our economy depends on. How we can commit to and begin restoring our estuaries is detailed in the full report: Managing Nutrients to Save Charlotte County’s Estuaries and Economy. Local Action Exciting and frightening happenings and issues in local communities – the City of Sarasota, and southwest Florida counties-Charlotte, Lee, and Collier Ecology Killer Heat in the United States The Union of Concerned Scientists have issued a report that shows graphically (with interactive maps) and dramatically, the staggering expansion of dangerous heat over the coming decades. This work highlights a stark choice: We can continue on our current path, where we fail to reduce emissions and extreme heat soars. Or we can take bold action now to dramatically reduce emissions and prevent the worst from becoming reality. Click here to read more about Killer Heat in the United States. For an analysis, with choices and their consequences of Killer Heat in Southwest Florida, click here. Killer Heat and the Fall Election, Click here Water Quality in Southwest Florida Trouble in paradise. Without immediate action at the local level, we are facing economic and lifestyle degradation. What hope looks like to a Bird The National Audubon Society is taking action on Climate Change in the wake of discovering that almost half of North American birds are likely to go extinct this century. That's right, Audubon predicts that over 300 of the continents 700 species will be endangered if we do not do something to reverse global warming. Click here to see what bird advocates can do to fight climate change.
Taking a hard look at Renewable Energy We are running out of time to act effectively on the climate crisis. Every minute, every ounce of personal and physical energy, every dollar is crucial in the race to keep global warming below 1.5^OC increase over preindustrial levels. With that in mind, we took a hard look at the adequacy of various so called “renewable energy.” · Click here to read the 5 minute version: You need to know the difference between ‘good’ renewable energy and ‘bad’ renewable energy. · If you have 15 minutes, please read the full report. Click here to go to If we want to reduce heat-trapping gases, we need to distinguish between beneficial and harmful ‘renewable energy.’ · If you prefer to read a pdf document, click here to see Reassessing the Allegiance to Renewable Energy, Considering the Needs to Adopt Zero Emission Energy and Restore Our Soil. Water Quality –It’s Not Just Nutrients: How Climate Change is Necessitating New Restoration Strategies Citizens' Climate Lobby “If you want to join the fight to save the planet, to save creation for your grandchildren, there is no more effective step you could take than becoming an active member of this group.” (James Hansen, (Author “Storms of our Grandchildren.” Former director NASA Goddard Institute)
Energy Policy You need to know the difference between ‘good’ renewable energy and ‘bad’ renewable energy Click here to learn why we must focus on zero emission sources of energy such as wind, solar, geothermal, nuclear, and small hydro Carbon bombs will blow us thru 1.5^OC, unless defused Research just published in the journal Energy Policy and “revealed” by The Guardian make it clear that despite government’s pledges to take action to preserve a livable world, the oil and gas companies are proceeding with business as usual. Unless governments (including ours, because the US is the worst culprit) take quick action to defuse these bombs, all hope (for keeping global temperature from exceeding 1.5^OC above preindustrial levels) will be lost. Read more by clicking on Climate Bombs. The Sunshine State’s Legislature Must Step Up for Solar Energy Senate Bill 1024/House Bill 741 is a disaster to be rejected immediately; then we must move on to enact positive solar laws. See Solar Energy Under Attack in Florida, in The Invading Sea, and op-ed from Critical Times Jan-March 2022 edition. Solar is a key to preserving Life as we know it Florida needs to elect politicians who will require utilities to generalate 100% of electricity from non-emitting energy by 2030. The state of Florida is woefully behind in the use of solar electric power, which hurts citizens financially and increases the risks brought by more climate damage from generating electricity with fossil fuels. We know what state level policies are needed to make Florida the real sunshine state. The challenge is electing people who have the courage to buck special interests and do the right thing. See the op ed in The Invading Sea and the Port Charlotte Sun. Florida’s leaders need to halt the warming of the atmosphere, not just adapt to it. Lawmakers are beginning to talk about climate, but they are failing to address the daunting challenges needed to solve the crisis. This op-ed, part of the Invading Seas series, explains what Florida’s proper role, and its electrical power policy should be to meet the climate crisis. Electrical energy conservation and efficiency in Florida. The Southern Alliance for Clean Energy (SACE) has alerted the public that the Florida Public Service Commission (PSC), the agency that regulates the state's largest power companies, will be revising the state's energy efficiency rules very soon. This is important because Florida stinks when it comes to electric utility efficiency and energy conservation, which translates to lost customer energy savings and lost opportunity in the fight to reverse global warming. Read this open letter to the PSC to learn how Florida can get out of the basement (a score of 2 out of 20!) in this area. Fracking is perhaps the most abominable of energy practices. It involves injecting toxic chemical, together with an enormous amount of precious water into the earth for what? To mine more oil and gas that should be left in the ground. Florida Veterans for Common Sense has resolved to ban Fracking. FLVCS’s resolution explains the concepts involved and it makes perfect (sic) sense to outlaw all forms of Fracking. Nice pictures too. Click here. What does the 28^th Amendment have to do with Climate Change? – It’s all about leaving fossil fuels in the ground and corporate personhood. As Clean Power Plan is gutted, Congress must step in to price carbon- In its zeal to undo the legacy of our 44th president, the Trump administration is now undoing the future of our children and grandchildren by repealing the Clean Power Plan, a policy designed to reduce the heat-trapping emissions that make our climate more and more inhospitable. Those who cheer the EPA’s move should remember that President Obama initiated the Clean Power Plan in 2015 in the face of Congress’s inaction on climate change. Without effective legislation to combat climate change, a future president could just as easily go down the path of executive action and regulations again. The best answer here is for Congress to pass legislation putting the market to work on solving climate change. Energy Sources- How can we categorize the various energy sources and identify the costs that matter most? What public policies would help us achieve our goals? Paying the full price for our energy -We need to account for what economists call the "social costs" of old fashioned fossil fuels. The best way to do this is to put a price on carbon and return the money to households. Carbon Fee and Dividend is good for the economy and good for the climate Florida Power and Light is bragging about having half a million solar panels. But that is just a drop in the bucket compared to what is needed in the Sunshine State. Check out this op-ed to see we how we can REALLY harness clean power through free enterprise.

How To

Climate Change: What Do We Need to Do? It’s not going to be easy, but we can reverse global warming if we act boldly and act now. We know what it will take to achieve a stable climate. It’s more than driving an electric vehicle, putting solar on your roof and composting– but that’s part of it. This lecture described the general prescription for drawing down climate change and gave a list of the specific actions necessary by individual citizens, farms and businesses, communities, and governments.

How to take action on climate change in three ways: In your own realm, by influencing people and by nudging government to act. Click here to read Urgency and Action from the Florida Veterans for Common Sense.

How one middle class American Family reduced their carbon footprint by 40,000 pound a year and made money while doing it. See the 40,000 Pound Carbon Diet printed by the Electric Auto Association.

How to make Florida the Sunshine State. Florida is the state at the highest risk for the negative effects of climate change. Florida is therefore one of the ‘front lines’ for promoting awareness and a realistic understanding of the issue. So how can we achieve real reductions in emissions, while creating jobs, boosting the economy and having Florida become the real Sunshine State? See this Crew Commentary on This Spaceship Earth.

How to legalize democracy by abolishing corporate personhood.