➤ Despite the sugar companies’ lawsuit against the Army Corps of Engineers, the EAA Reservoir continues as scheduled. With the first construction contract awarded last week, it’s official. Everglades restoration – 1. Big Sugar – 0.
➤ The bad news: Red tide and Blue-green algae continue to flourish in the waters of Florida. Cyanobacteria covered most of Lake Okeechobee this year, threatening the coasts like a loaded gun. The good news: that toxic water was NOT released to the coasts, and as we head into the dry season, we are counting that as a win. Thank you, Army Corps.
➤ When they can’t argue the science, Big Sugar works to kill the messenger. Over the years we’ve heard some doozies. “The Trust just hates farmers!” and even, “They want that (sugar’s) land to develop themselves!” Of course, neither are true. A new one landed on our page recently, and it really made us LOL – so we just had to share it. Enjoy.
EVERGLADES CALL TO ACTION
A revolution of thinking must occur in our state, not with pitchforks, but with every lawmaker concerned about our water and our waterways. From the quality of our water to the quantity and the directional flow of water, protecting our most important resource is the pressing issue of our time.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
EAA reservoir: Army Corps awards first contract for project to curb Lake O releases | TC Palm
We have fought long and hard for this, and the time has finally come! The EAA Reservoir — the most critical piece of Everglades restoration — is being built as we speak.
“The $175 million contract will fund the final construction on three stormwater treatment areas over 6,500 acres. When completed in 2023, the marshes will begin to hold water being pumped in from Lake O to the north, cleaning it and sending it south to the Everglades.”
Lake O Fact Check: Big Sugar wants your water
Congressman Brian Mast does an outstanding job in just over two minutes explaing the sugar industry’s latest manuever to control the water that belongs to the public – all of us, including the Everglades – in these back-to-back Lake O Fact Checks. Take a listen.
SW Florida water experts breathe sigh of relief heading into dry season | NBC 2
“With the presence of red tide and blue-green algae, we’re lucky we avoided a water crisis in Southwest Florida this summer. But luck is not a strategy.” – Captains For Clean Water
Red tide experts: latest bloom an example of longer-lasting, stronger blooms | News-Press
“Although red tide naturally occurs in the eastern Gulf of Mexico, modern blooms are not natural as they’re fed by man-made nutrient sources like farming and urban development.”
What is Florida’s red tide, and where does it come from? | Fox 13 News
Toxic water in different parts of our state have different sources, but the vast majority is coming from corporate polluters and a complete lack of political will. Don’t be fooled by the “we’re studying it” or “we’re not 100 percent sure” excuses. We do know what and who is causing this. We know how dire things are. And we know all of this is fixable but none of this will fix itself.
Florida DOH water advisory: Toxic algae health warning issued for these Stuart-area waters | TC Palm
This is NOT manicured lawns. It’s not golf courses. It’s not Disney or faulty septic systems. This is agricultural pollution that continues to pour into Lake O and our waterways unabated. If anyone thinks a handful of us can fix this, they are wrong. This will take all Floridians to force change. This does not mean homeowners get a pass. They don’t. But the public is NOT the driver of these crises. Corporate agriculture, corporate polluters are.
Does Nature Have Rights? A Burgeoning Legal Movement Says Rivers, Forests and Wildlife Have Standing, Too | Inside Climate News
In Orange County, home to Disney in booming Orlando, the 2020 elections saw enormous voter turnout. Election night also told us what we intrinsically know – the public wants their water and waterways protected. On the ballot for Orange Co. voters was the concept of giving legal protections to our waterways. It garnered 89% of the vote. What more should Floridians be forced to do to ensure of lawmakers listen?