Florida’s natural environment is as fragile as it is breathtaking. Everyone knows that — though some choose to ignore it. You’d think by now we’d all be on the same page about how to treat our land, our air and our water. After all, environmental conservation is a worthwhile effort in its own rite. And for those inclined to look for a financial incentive, caring about the state’s delicate land and waterways benefits us all, whether it’s by keeping tourist attractions like beaches and springs vibrant or by protecting the air quality and thus reducing the demand on public health infrastructure.
Sadly, many policymakers at the federal, state and local levels don’t seem to see the value in protecting the environment these days. Instead they kowtow to monied interests instead of voters who have to live with the consequences of their decisions — especially now, when those appointed to head the federal agencies charged with protecting the environment seem dead set on the exact opposite.
Ahead of Earth Day, we wanted to bring you stories about some of Florida’s most pressing environmental issues, though we acknowledge that what we cover here is only a fraction of what’s out there. Some of these stories, like the great debate on fracking, you may know about already. Others, about the efforts to save Pasco County’s Serenova Preserve from being bisected by a road or the discovery of Florida panther kittens born outside of their normal habitat, are a little more obscure.
Some of these are stories about uphill battles the environmental community is fighting — like local pushes for more transportation options as alternatives to the region’s traffic-strangled roadways (like the ferry, maybe?) or changing the conversation on air pollution.
We’d like to fit all of Florida’s pressing environmental issues into the limited space we have within our pages: the bear hunt, shark finning, the Lake Okeechobee releases that cause harmful algae blooms, St. Petersburg’s sewage crisis. All of this and more, of course, is unraveling before the gradual onset of climate change.
And while we know reading these stories can be depressing, we hope that with this information comes renewed desire to act; to do what’s right on behalf of Florida’s air, land, water, flora and fauna, and to encourage others to do the same. And we hope you join us this weekend for St. Pete Earth Day on Saturday at Williams Park and on Sunday, also at Williams Park, for our vegetarian Bloody Mary competition at Veg Out!
—Kate Bradshaw
This article appears in Apr 20-27, 2017.