Florida Water Quality
In a frightening 2009 article titled “Re-Engineering the Earth,” The Atlantic magazine predicted that as the impacts of climate change worsened, mankind would turn to technology for salvation. Perhaps we’ll pump pollutants into the sky, turning it a reddish-orange, to…
Because the system was designed to benefit Big Agriculture – at the expense of the northern estuaries It’s been a common refrain from angry citizens along the algae-clogged St. Lucie and Caloosahatchee estuaries for years: Send it south! And in…
When it comes to water quality issues, we’re always leery of putting too much faith in the Florida Legislature. Time after time, we’ve watched bad bills sail on through. Proposals like last year’s Senate Bill 1000 (which will allow citrus…
We hate to say, “We told you so.” But we told you so. For years, first as Bullsugar.org and now as VoteWater, we’ve advocated for two key points: We need more land south of Lake Okeechobee to store water and…
How safe is it to eat fish caught in Florida waters? And how big of a threat are toxic pollutants to Floridians’ health? If it was still 1992, we might be wearing mullets, listening to “Achy Breaky Heart” and assuming…
The widespread die-off of seagrass in Florida ought to be front-page news. And last fall it was, as Gannett’s Florida Today issued a blockbuster report on how seagrass appears to be receding in every coastal corner of Florida, at levels…
The 2022 general election has come and gone; how, ultimately, will it impact Florida’s troubled waters? We’ll find out soon enough. Two VoteWater endorsed candidates prevailed last night; Congressman Brian Mast won re-lection to his 21st District seat; in the…
At the sole gubernatorial debate between incumbent Republican and Democratic challenger Charlie Crist, clean water wasn’t on the agenda. No questions were asked about the environment; DeSantis briefly mentioned his contribution to Everglades restoration in his closing remarks. And that…
And now, flesh-eating bacteria. Media reports this week note that Florida has seen 65 Vibrio vulnificus so far this year; the bacteria can cause sepsis, intestinal infections and necrotizing fasciitis. It’s the highest number of cases ever recorded in Florida,…
Environmental concerns haven’t been high on the campaign agenda this year. Particularly at the state level, abortion and inflation take up a lot of bandwidth. At the federal level cultural and pocketbook issues also predominate. Our foundational cause, clean water…