Articles by: Gil Smart
Florida Bay had another bad week. This video of the latest fish kill was taken on Monday at the marina in Flamingo. Lake O had a bad week, too. As one expert reported: “When I see over 200 ppb [phosphorus] going out of STAs–five…
By Alan Farago Remember how Big Sugar said the problem in Florida’s estuaries was septic tanks adjacent to the Indian River? They say the same about the mercury problem in the Everglades and Florida waterways: it’s someone else’s fault. Not of…
By Allie Preston Michigan Health officials are up against manslaughter charges after knowingly withholding information from the public about contaminated water and potential effects on human health. Anybody else feel like they’re in the Twilight Zone? The ACLU says the…
The EAA reservoir “is not going to happen.” That’s what South Florida Water Management District WRAC member Newton Cook proclaimed at the June 8 SFWMD Governing Board meeting. Depending on what meeting you attended this week, Senate Bill 10 and the…
Americans pay billions to help sugar growers buy politicians. We should stop. The US sugar program is a sprawling, complex federal handout that too few people know about. As a result, it quietly skates by, largely unquestioned, leaving a trail of destruction…
And now for something completely different… SFWMD has the cure for “bad news” fatigue. It’s the python channel! All pythons, all the time. Research linking cyanobacteria to liver failure ignited a recent wave of alarm as more evidence surfaced connecting toxic…
People are dying. Researchers around the world are studying the link between toxins in cyanobacteria (blue-green algae) and serious, long-term health risks, and evidence is piling up connecting algae blooms to fatal diseases. TC Palm today covered a decade-long Ohio…
By Peter Girard No one has been a louder critic of SFWMD than Bullsugar. But the district and the Army Corps of Engineers have a legitimate success with the Kissimmee River project. By focusing on returning the river to its historic condition, letting…
Bud Jordan built a legacy of personal investment in Martin County. After watching US Sugar infiltrate and turn a local institution against itself, he walked away from a group he founded. But instead of a bitter lesson, Jordan’s work is…
Almost everyone in Martin County has been involved in helping Sen. Joe Negron pass SB10 to send water south and save our river and the Everglades. The Stuart News pointed out that David won a great battle against Goliath, but…