The Everglades are an important feature to not only Florida, but the entire world. Marjory Stoneman Douglas wrote, "There are no other everglades in the entire world." The Everglades is an important wetlands area home to many filter feeders which purify the water as it enters the underground aquifers. It is home to many unique aquatic birds, amphibians, and the endangered Florida Panther.
This reading was entirely about the three way tug of war between the government, ecology, and economy. A classic example is when gas prices rose, we considered drilling for oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge of Alaska. Drilling for oil in one of our few national sanctuaries would only solve the short term economic issue of high gas prices. When economic crises hits people search for immediate answers. Often, the ecological impacts are not realized until we destroy another conservation land, accidentally ignite the polluted Cuyahoga river, or have another oil spill like the Exxon Valdez in Prince William Sound, Alaska or the 2010 BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. I own a book by Rachel Carson called "Silent Spring". Rachel Carson tells about the accumulation of DDT in the biological system of animals and how it led to a silent spring which was once full of the chirps from birds. DDT accumulation in the birds led to improperly calcified eggs and a decrease in the bird population. The building of FGCU is another example of the three way tug of war. Environmentalists protest the building of the school, but many saw it as a chance for southwest Florida to grow economically, so government officials and big money step in and make the choices.
Page 85-86 of colloquium reader
" Sugar growers, home builders, water utilities, and Florida's other economic interests were all determined to make sure CERP did not favor nature over people...the Seminoles ran a $500-million-a-year gaming business as well as cattle and citrus operations, and the Miccosukees had just opened their own casino overlooking the Everglades."
I dream of a day when the world can create a "land ethic" when people stop arguing over their share of economic interest. In the past, Dixie Crystals sugar cane farmers have dumped fertilizers into the Everglades, changing water flow patterns and negatively impacting filter feeder organisms. Phosphate mining is another huge industry in Florida that destroys natural land. Even native American tribes don't want to lose their economic worth. Until people unite and quit making policies I think we're making no progress towards effective environmental protection and conservation. People must develop a sense of respect for the land they live on and quit seeing it as a resource to be owned and abused. However, I do understand the importance of government and economy. Many of our National parks we're made possible through government funding. So without that, there would be no Yellowstone National Park etc.. The government is also responsible for passing laws like the Clean Air Act and Clean Water Act, which led to the formation of the Environmental Protection Agency. So there is a place for government intervention, but does passing laws and approving CERP really help protect the environment? No, environmental protection can only come from a society that is not thinking about the Earth as a resource from which man is separate, but a land which we are an integral part of. I agree with Graham who, "wanted to restore the Everglades because it was singular, because it distinguished south Florida from other sprawling concentrations of tract homes, strip malls, CVS, and KFC." We must give the land emotional value and not just economical value.
Page 101 of colloquium reader
"Would politicians and engineers begin to consider the needs of birds, bears, and bays in addition to the needs of man, or would water continue to flow uphill toward money?"
Again, money is the issue. People compete for their share of money instead of thinking about long term sustainability and environmental impact. In order for sustainability to work politicians, engineers, farmers, fishermen, and all people must unite and come together. The land needs healing and when we are so divided it seems impossible to accomplish.
Page 100 of colloquium reader
"The twentieth century had been an era of mess-making; the twenty-first century could be a time to clean up the mess."
It upsets me to know I was born into a period responsible for cleaning up a mess made by previous generations. A heavy burden was dropped onto my generations shoulders. I do think a lot of people my age, or at least many of the people I've met, care about protecting our world for the future. That being said, I would love to leave the next generations after me with less of a mess and I think we are capable of doing it. Sometimes I feel like I was born 100 years too late. There has been so much development in technology in the past 100 years and I blame the majority of my stress on that alone. If my generation continues down the path of previous generations we are only repeating past mistakes.
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