fbpx

Articles by: Gil Smart

Protests erupted on Florida's Treasure Coast over another toxic summer in 2019

Why Don’t Federal Water Policies Put People First?

June 20, 2018

Gil Smart was right: the pictures from Saturday’s rally on the Roosevelt Bridge could have been from any number of toxic algae summers on the St. Lucie. Same frustrations. Same fears. With giant toxic algae blooms on Lake Okeechobee two…

The St. Lucie River, Thursday, June 14th

Is Asking a Government Agency Not to Poison Us News? Yup.

June 14, 2018

This week a Florida lawmaker asked a government agency not to poison his constituents. This shouldn’t be news. It shouldn’t be unusual. But it is, and Eye On Miami explains why… Congressman Brian Mast Ventures Where Few Have Gone Before To…

Adam Putnam's links to toxic algae are no secret on the Treasure Coast

Adam Putnam: Florida’s Worst Choice for Clean Water

June 7, 2018

Few politicians have done more than Putnam to loot and pollute the State of Florida. From steering tens of millions of taxpayer dollars to his family’s businesses–and hundreds of millions to the sugarcane companies backing his run for governor–to gutting…

Scene from the Toxic Summer of 2016

Is Sugar Framing God for Our Water Crisis?

May 31, 2018

Finding a scapegoat to take the rap for a crisis is nothing new, but it takes moxie to throw God under the bus. Florida’s sugarcane industry makes it look easy. Lake Okeechobee is filling up fast. Discharges to the estuaries start…

Rep. Matt Caldwell changed his look to run for Florida Agriculture Commissioner

Who Would Defend the Right to Pollute?

May 24, 2018

The Right to Pollute is worth billions, especially the right to pollute a national park. That means there’s money to be made defending that right. Champions of pollution build careers and fortunes helping private industry destroy public places, and few…

The links between sugar policy and Florida's water are becoming widely known

Today’s Sugar Reform Vote Suddenly Became National News

May 17, 2018

Welcome to the sugar policy awakening of 2018! Today’s vote in the House means more than just refining an old government program. Not long ago few people paid attention to this giveaway tucked inside the Farm Bill. Today, with a…

AllianceForFairSugarPolicy.png

Sugar Policy Modernization is Good for the Everglades

May 12, 2018

The Alliance for Fair Sugar Policy is calling out sugar production in Florida for its role in polluting the greater Everglades ecosystem, costing taxpayers millions of dollars in restoration efforts. 

Florida's coastal waters share conditions that produced Chesapeake Bay dead zones

Ecology of a Dead Zone

May 10, 2018

Tony Friedrich never wanted to be an expert on how nutrient pollution strangles an estuary. But he never had a choice, either. He’s been studying the Chesapeake as long as he can remember, watching dead zones spread through one of…

Managing Florida's water for sugarcane production has been a disaster

Help! Sugar Reform Coming Up for Vote

May 3, 2018

Don’t underestimate the importance of Treasure Coast congressman Brian Mast’s pledge to support Sugar Program reform this week. It’s the latest confirmation that clean water politics are forcing lawmakers to confront the sugarcane industry’s impact on Florida. Until now, for…

Marco Rubio hugs Florida Crystals' Pepe Fanjul,

Will You Take Sugar Money? Voters are Asking.

April 26, 2018

Florida politics changed this week, quietly but profoundly. Candidates for governor have declared–on the record–whether they will accept donations from the sugarcane industry. That makes sugar money a statewide election issue in 2018, pushing two billionaire families and their sprawling businesses…

Archives