Articles by: Gil Smart
At VoteWater, we fight for better policies and better policy-makers who stand up to special interests like Big Sugar. We educate voters to make informed choices at the ballot box. And we work to preserve the natural beauty of our waterways…
So there’s a little tiff going on between our friends in the conservation community and Big Sugar/Big Agriculture. It started, or at least accelerated, last week after four groups — the Everglades Foundation, Captains for Clean Water, the Sanibel-Captiva Conservation…
We’re keeping an eye on a proposal in Okeechobee County to build a stormwater treatment area, or STA, north of Lake Okeechobee along the C-38 Canal in the Lower Kissimmee Basin. The land, some 3,400 acres, is owned by a private company…
Here at VoteWater, we learned a new word last week: “Doomscrolling.” According to Wikipedia it means “spending an excessive amount of time reading large quantities of negative news online.” Guilty as charged. There’s never any shortage of unsettling news about…
Here at VoteWater we’re hip-deep in research for our “Dirty Money Project,” and we’ve noticed something interesting: Both sides — that is, Republicans and Democrats — take money from polluting special interests. But the amount they get coincides with the…
Another Florida legislative session is right around the corner, and you know what that means: More bad bills destined to result in dirtier water, more giveaways to special interests and good bills left stranded without sufficient support. It’s how we…
All is not well in the central Everglades. High water levels in the water conservation areas south of Lake Okeechobee and the Everglades Agricultural Area are flooding tree islands, and those dependent upon them — people, and creatures like deer…
Did you know that for all the money being spent on water quality projects in Florida, the state has no comprehensive, well-vetted list of which projects should get priority in terms of funding and start date? And wouldn’t it be…
Just when you think you’re being too cynical about Florida politics, you realize you aren’t being cynical enough. Tallahassee, the Florida capital, has no shortage of hacks and flacks, would-be “journalists” who’ll print anything for a buck. So we were…
New study based on flawed past studies could be used to justify permanent ban on fertilizer bans — leading to dirtier water One of the more dubious actions (and there were plenty) taken by the 2023 Florida Legislature and rubber-stamped…