Team Everglades-
Three politically powerful industries – tobacco, fossil fuels and sugar — have each had significant and detrimental impacts on Florida law, rules, and regulations for over 50 years. Hence the understood moniker “BIG.”
All three, guided by insatiable appetites to do what they please, when they please, have worked for decades to obscure facts and confuse the obvious. They each do it through a menagerie of highly paid consultants, former regulators, “experts” and politicians (some purposefully complicit, others unwittingly).
Tobacco’s stranglehold over Florida politics has waned, thanks to enormous lawsuits and settlement agreements. We see Big Oil’s political might in decline as well, as even Republican politicians are beginning to whisper the words “sea level rise” and “climate change.”
But the mack daddy of the three – Big Sugar – continues to have its way with far too many decision makers in Florida and Washington, D.C. An entire cottage industry of fakesters exists – from contrived “environmental” organizations and “news sources” to almost every lobbying and law firm in the Sunshine State doling out tens of millions of dollars each year to happy-to-accept-them politicians.
For decades, Floridians have been forced to deal with an entity so big and so dirty, it became nearly impossible for truth and science to win the day. And all of this for a crop that isn’t even considered a food and is subsidized by the American taxpayer and consumer.
THAT WAS THEN, THIS IS NOW
Millions of Floridians recognize the environmental and economic disaster caused from Big Sugar controlling and polluting our water. The larger and louder the numbers grow, the harder sugar’s machine works to stop us.
But, today, the control the sugar barons enjoyed for far too long is no longer guaranteed, as the confusion they work to sow about Everglades restoration has become much more obvious to millions of us.
Every single day, we work to bring more Floridians and more elected officials into the conversation. The beautiful, bright light of truth and science – coupled with toxic bacteria covering our waterways – are proving to be the best disinfectant.
We thank each of you for that and ask that you continue to stick with us!
URGENT CALL TO ACTION
The sugar industry is trying to hijack the public’s water — again. And this time, the public can stop them.
Another piece of the puzzle that is Everglades restoration is how the water in Lake Okeechobee is managed – and mismanaged. The Army Corps will be putting NEW RULES in place for the next decade or so. So, this is a very big deal. Big Sugar wins if the public is absent from the conversation. So, let them hear you ROAR. We make it quick and super easy!
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Toxic Lake: The Untold Story of Lake Okeechobee | The Weather Channel
Kait Parker and The Weather Channel spend 13 minutes explaining what the Everglades, Lake O and coastal estuaries are up against. In 2013, 2016, 2018 and now 2021, the hits to our local economies, jobs, wildlife, waterways, and human health have grown uglier.
Floridians need to roar – we make it quick and easy way to do it!
Is SWFL headed for a ‘toxic vise’? Health department warns of harmful algae blooms throughout region | News-Press
To be clear, this is a Big-Sugar-made disaster in waiting. And just like clockwork, get ready for “It’s not our fault!” ads beaming across your TV screens from the sugar barons. The dirtier and more toxic the water, the more robust their ad buy. So, will this be the year Floridians have had enough?
Blue-green algal blooms found sitting in Caloosahatchee | NBC-2
Toxic blooms are popping up early and throughout the watershed. So are the non-stop TV commercials from US Sugar and Florida Crystals.
Will 2018’s water nightmare return? Businesses, scientists and environmental advocates worry as harmful algae blooms spread
We’ll keep doing it, but Floridians should not have to beg their political class to put an end to this. We shouldn’t have to fight off the sugar industry’s manipulations, red herrings, and straw man arguments. We should not be forced to swallow one more drop.
The Everglades: What’s at Stake?
The sugar industry is amost singlehandedly destroying the Everglades, three nationally-important coastal estuaries and the drinking water supply for 9 million people. Today, Floridians are pushing back and taking a stand. What’s at stake? The very future of Florida. Join us.
Sobering update on conditions for the West Coast by Meteorologist Bryn Bennett
RED TIDE UPDATE – MAY 19: There are two areas of elevated karenia brevis (aka red tide) along the coast of SWFL. They both potentially have anthropogenic origins: Piney Point Phosphate Mine wastewater & Lake Okeechobee discharge.
Crocodiles can’t thrive when the water turns salty | Futurity
Crocodiles in the Everglades are struggling. Increased salinity in water that American crocodiles navigate influences their health, breeding behavior, and ultimately, survival, a new study shows. “By getting the freshwater right in the Everglades, everything else will fall into place.”
Point of View: Restore the Everglades to help stave off climate change | The Palm Beach Post
“The carbon sequestration capacity of this massive ecosystem is incredibly important in the fight against climate change, as well as reaching net-zero emissions, but it will only matter if we steward and restore the flow of clean freshwater back to the Everglades.” – Steve Davis, PhD, senior ecologist at the Everglades Foundation
Gladesmen continue long-running efforts to restore historic Everglades water flow
Floridians are fortunate to have people like Alligator Ron Bergeron working on their behalf for Everglades restoration and clean water. His love and passion for these wild places, coupled with his business acumen, make him one of our favorite SFWMD Governing Board members of all time!