Communities on both Florida coasts are bracing for impact as they monitor the billions of gallons of water being discharged by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers from Lake Okeechobee since mid-February.
Thank you for saying fertiliser runoff from corporate farms is a major part of the problem. A lot of other news sources ignore that part because it is so political.
The Salton Sea in California was the same way. It was a playland for the people of Los angeles, a great place to go for the weekend or a week's vacation on the lake. Once the commercial farming started, the runoff killed everything in the lake! Now it's a dead Lake!
No, its more about people hiring landscapers who use the stuff by the ton on a daily basis....regulations need to be put in place. Farmers need it....a guy looking for the greenest lawn possible needs to go without it.
Guaranteed that Dixie Sugar will not be held responsible or contribute to the restoration. They are fighting every angle possible to prevent being shut down , and being held accountable for the destruction caused by runoff from cane fields.
Those sugar cane farms have been there forever, fertilizing the same ground over and over. Funny that its just been since they cleared up the waterways for boats to get through that we suddenly started to have problem! Those plants that they cleared out were using the fertilizer and cooling the water, but tourists boats are more impotant!
Wasn't that it was fertilizer runoff of nitrogen and phosphorus. Human sewer runoff on top of that. Canals built. Army corps of engineers are very poor environmental stewards. The cost to fix this is very high.
@@WindTurbineSyndrome you're so wrong with that statement. Its every agriculture industry north of the Alley that has bought and paid every good ol boy redneck politician in Tallahassee. Your not fooling anyone with that bait and switch argument.
The natural water level of Lake Okeechobee was 45 to 60 feet above sea level. This provided the hydrostatic force to push that water through the limestone, which filtered out the tannins, so that it was crystal clear when it emerged from the springs. (There were active springs all around Florida and even off the coast for sailors to drink.) Additionally, plants absorbed the nutrients as the water flowed in a sheet over the land toward the SW coast of Florida. Abundant fish, birds and other wildlife were supported. But they wanted dry land for housing development and for farming. Men arrogantly thought that they could do a better job of designing Nature, than God did. The Army Corp of Engineers cut the canals to rapidly drain Lake Okeechobee and the Everglades. The Kissimmee River was converted from a meandering filtration stream into a straight sewer pipe. Soil depth of the rich muck once was about 45 feet. The drained rich organic soil (muck) is digested by bacteria, so that it disappears as it is converted to carbon dioxide. Last I heard (decades ago), the soil level had less than 10 feet remaining. Turn it back over to Nature, the way we found it. It is going to happen anyway, once man does himself out of a home.
Tell me again how many years has this has been going on, when will you realize that they don’t really care about the environment they only care about the money,too much being spent and not enough into their pockets for a problem they don’t care about , this was a problem 40 years ago when I was a kid we called it canal water and when it came down the beach the fish left and if they really cared about this problem it would have been fixed a long time ago,when we complained or tried to do something about it we were pushed away saying your just fishermen what do you know about the environment ,your kids what do you know
They wonder why fish of all types are spinning themselves to death.. news says.. no problem 😮. They will say " climate change" so they don't have to take responsibility.. disgusting.
My buddy and I just spent 2 days canoeing and fishing the Everglades, didn’t catch a single fish. A local guide of 30 years told us no one has been catching fish with the poor water quality.
Brace yourself to wean off of Sugar then! Big Sugar is Subsidized by our gummit, and they Will raise their prices if any action is taken against them! Remember this, as you watch videos of the everglades, while eating a snickers bar.
You spelled Army Corp. of Engineers wrong. Your problem is the corrupt Army Corp. of Engineers. Many waterways they manage are being over run by Blue Green Algae. They destroyed the Snake River with Blue Green Algae.
The amount of issues that Florida faces are numerous from over fertilizing residential neighborhoods to keep green grass alive, real estate development, agriculture, phosphorous mining, roads, unnatural canals and finally the discharging of human waste into our rivers and estuaries creating dead zones for harvesting.
What clean water? Where? No safe tap water left in this country. Pfas, BPA, BPS, lead, antibiotics, and other prescription products that can not be filtered out.
Not just tap water. Even the clouds have contamination. How bad is it that distillation/evaporation doesn't even clean the water anymore. I'm old enough to remember when people said they didn't want plastics in the late '70s/early '80s... they came anyway. In the last 50 years we have done more damage to air and water than the 5,000 years before it combined
And progress came and took its toll And in the name of flood control They made their plans and they drained the land Now the glades are going dry And the last time I walked in the swamp I sat upon a Cypress stump I listened close and I heard the ghost of Osceola cry
Shouldn't the agriculture corporations that created the runoff which is causing red tide which and now forcing Florida to spend billions on this project, be the ones to pay for it?
Of course they should. That is how taxes work, both as mitigation and incentive for better behavior. These are not local farms growing strawberries, this is a multi billion dollar industry supplying sugar to markets across the nation. They don’t get a pass on their failing processes. The state can make the necessary changes in conjunction with industry’s efforts but ultimately, only the threat of fines and increased taxes will get the attention of corporations whose concern for the public is literally zero.
@@Surprise_Inspection What a ridiculous reply. I’m thinking you’re just a troll, despite your username. Maybe even some punk kid keyboard warrior. Anyone talking like that for real would be shut down hard.
@@artysanmobile dude he's not even trolling, he's supporting what I'm saying by playing the part of the politicians and lobbyists who would disagree with what I said.
Every candy bar, or spoonfuls of Sugar in coffee you consume, contributes to the fertilizer runoff. The Sugar Cane is so vast, they named "Evercane Road" after it!
I won't complain if sugar prices rise. Sometimes my 80yo mom complains about smaller food portions, ie candy or whatever, and i tell her maybe that's a good thing.
This is not the corps fault at all. This is the politicians that the sugar growers and other agricultural industries north of the Alley have bought, but this foolish citizenry keeps sending the good ol boys up there every election. Stop shooting yourselves in the foot every election by voting for this corrupt party that controls this state.
We RV'd near that lake for a few weeks back in the early 2000's and were not aware at how filthy that whole area was. When our reservation ran out we couldn't get out of that messy area fast enough. Between the stink from that lake and the sticky ash from burning off of the sugar cane fields you're constantly inundated with the results of polluting of the area. The only other places we've been that rival that spot were Beaumont Tx and the Salton Sea.
The wholesale destruction of Florida is happening so incredibly fast. It's sickening. Environmental collapse is imminent. Sad to see such a treasure laid to waste by soul-less wretches and cheap lifestyle fads. The end is near for all of us.
Big sugar not the only culprit, septic tanks a huge problem also, and so many houses built with them from Orlando, south to Broward County over the last 20 years.
Septic tank companies could switch over to being composting tank/system companies and get ahead of a change the world needs and lead the charge. Circulating educational content about composting systems to those folks who (stand to profit from) and could/would thereby jumpstart the changeover could help... I should get on that right now. :)
Big sugar is without a doubt the culprit, the fanjul family practically owns the water management district or at least all their board members so nothing will be done to solve this mess
I’m happy to see a focus on this enormous problem. The public is largely unaware of the root cause of what they only discover when both the Atlantic and Gulf coasts of their home communities are too dangerous to use. I’ve seen this effect and it is profoundly unfair for citizens to be paying a huge cost for what is essentially agriculture’s abuse of their resources. I have friends who ended up needing medical treatment due to this pollution 6 years ago. After living here since the 60s, it is a pretty bitter pill to swallow that the benefits of South Florida are no longer available while the many drawbacks only worsen. Solutions must come from the state but be paid for largely by the industry that is wholly responsible.
The nitrogen creates algae blooms in heat that kill all oxygen in water. The phosphorus sinks to bottom and costs the sea bed destroying life on bottom.
i remember when there was water hyacnith all over -the water was pretty clean and didnt remember algae blooms then-seems one could produce hyacinth that is sterile-aka cant reproduce and stock it into areas to help clean the water-say those retention ponds south of big sugar-maybe not a total solution but one that could contribute
The money spent on Draining a swamp (FL) to build infrastructure with nature reclaiming with rising sea levels is a unique learning experience. Humanity is slowly learning to respect Nature as the planet's elder.
Lol you people are dumb. You what 10, 20. There isn't any sea level rise this is a really old problem caused by the army Corp of engineers. Nothing to do with climate change what so ever
I used to boat the Calusahatchee River and barrier islands. It just got too nasty. My wife couldn’t go within a mile of the water because it made it hard to breathe.
The Everglades being a natural sponge to clean water and protect the ocean now needs help from those that poisoned it. How about the sugar companies don’t past the bill for the cleanup? Isn’t the tax payer paying for their mess just socialism for the rich?
What about Corporate Agriculture ? Will there be changes forced on fertilization techniques or timing? All this money spent downstream after the water is already polluted.
Funny how parts of Florida flood from heavy rain for months on end while at the same time other parts of Florida get not a drop of rain during the same period. There's plenty of high and dry areas here in parts of central Florida. Too bad that water can't be sent up to saturate those wide-open areas most often affected by drought and where the water table is lowest, rather than dump it into the ocean where then no one can even go near the beaches due to the stench.
You were the only one who brought him up! I don’t see him mentioned in these comments, except for you mentioning him. You just gave power to him, congratulations!
The Everglades should never have been altered in the first place. That said a lot of the land that the people live on and complain about wouldn't be where they are without the change. Now it's being altered to fix the screw up. It won't be without consequences I'm sure.
Big Sugar always will get their way. You wont understand this comment unless youve lived by the lake. Dixie Sugar Corp has wayy to much influence, they've been the largest single handed poluters of Florida lived in okeechobee for 52 years, not a fricking thing changes. Politicians dont care about the environment, just money
Oh man this can become very bad very fast. They are making steps in the right direction, but the harm won't stop until the restoration is complete, unfortunately.
Born and raised in Vero Beach FL in 86. This is not the 1st time you the "core engineer's" have failed us. Step up and make a difference. Also the people of earth. Do we really need all the waste we produce? Let's all check ourselves and make a clean place to grow, love, live. Not one person can do all things, but every person can do one thing, together we CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE. Respect yourself and respect where you live.
Do you measure it yourself? Or is it just a special gift being from stuart provides? Im curious as to what being from stuart makes you able to determine the amount of discharge? Im against this crap also but those kinds of bs comments don't help with anything. Work to force the sugar growers to shut down. Work to stop the phosphorus industry from selling pollutants to our agriculture industry. Stop the phosphorus mining that pollutes the water. But most of all, stop voting for greedy politicians that the moment they get to Tallahassee become silent employees of those industries. This is all the result of good ol boy politics and corruption.
If everyone knew how many 1000's of gallons of Roundup was used in that lake by the FWC every year, then you'd know where the pollution comes from. FWC has boats with 2 - 50 gallon containers for daily usage.
No one is talking about the water that feeds the lake 🤦🏻♂️ The lake is polluted because of the water from the north. Why not deal with the incoming pollution before it gets to the lake….
You're being ridiculous. Sugar cane is not poisonous sugar. It's actually better than high fructose corn syrup. The issue is water contaminated by fertilizer and pesticides.
@@BkNy02how can you defend that industry polluting the water with their fertilizers, not to mention the other agriculture industries north of the alley. Your being ridicules
Took time and money to F it up. The Army Corps of Engineers unbroken circle/cluster F!!! continues. What a F’ing JOKE. I knew it was 60 years ago but…the $. Disgusting
