The fundamental issue in Florida is WATER. Draining the Everglades dangerously undermined fresh water supply. Wet and dry season fluctuations, population increase and agriculture seriously strain fresh water availability.
The most endangered species really is the South Florida water supply
Florida is a very low-lying State, surrounded by seas. While blessed with copious rain in the wet season, it suffers regular and long dry spells.
For decades, enormous amounts of groundwater has been pumped out to provide drinking water, water for business and industrial processes, huge amounts for agricultural irrigation and for many other purposes.
That removal of groundwater has been much faster than rains could replenish it, which has resulted in continuous and pronounced lowering of the water table to the point of
sinkhole occurence.
When the water table drops below Sea Level, very salty ocean water seeps INLAND through porous underground, contaminating wells for fresh water supplies - virtually PERMANENTLY because -
Once this happens, it might take thousands of years, if ever, for natural cleansing of the contamination.
Government agencies have known that such contamination has been occurring for more than 20 years, where many thousands of domestic and municipal water wells near the ocean have become contaminated and rendered thus permanently unusable - brackish water requires further expensive treatment for salt removal.
Since water removal rates have even increased in recent decades, this indicates a CERTAINTY that MOST or ALL of municipal water wells in southern Florida will soon be PERMANENTLY contaminated, meaning that south Florida will then have NO feasible and reliable source of water for the millions of people and businesses in many hundreds of cities and towns.
"Unfilter: The truth about water in Florida " - by Cynthia Barnett (2005, Florida Trend).
"Toward a Water Ethic" - by Cynthia Barnett (June 3, 2011, St. Petersburg Times).
WATER FACTS
Mouse-over the pictures for enlargements
Water consumption :
Fresh aquifer-water withdrawals in FL
Fresh surface-water withdrawals
in Florida by category (USGS 2005)
Historical fresh-water withdrawals,
in Florida by category: from 1950 to 2005
(USGS)
Increasing population, total saline and
fresh water withdrawals
in Florida from 1950 to 2005 (USGS)
CIVILIZATIONS
- many perished ...
The SLIDE SHOW below shows some -
The impact of humans
Many people still hold stubbornly to a belief that nature's resources are unbounded, that the world's ecosystems are simply too large to be significantly impacted by the mere actions of humans. But in fact, man-made environmental catastrophes have occurred throughout human history, and have even caused the collapse of whole civilizations. Long before the boons of modern industry and technology, humans have wrought environmental destruction with much less. As a stark reminder of that lesson, here's a list of some ancient environmental catastrophes caused by people.
To see the TEXT caption for the slides, go to the 3rd TAB (the middle one) on left upper edge of the slide projector.
Which civilizations ?
Examples:
2) Anasazi (USA)
3) Nazca (Peru)
4) Minoans (Krete)
5) Sumerians
(Middle East)
6) Easter Island
(Pacific)
7) Disaster of the Dust Bowl
(USA in 1930)
NOTE the TABS on the Flash screen (left-top) - the middle one is for descriptive TEXT
IMPACTS of pollution
Make polluters pay ??
Human activities in and around the Everglades 1) alter the environment; 2) pollute; 3) threaten water supply 4) ruin fishery and turist industries
VIDEOS - w orth seeing:
CLICK these images (on the right here) for the original VIDEOS posted on different websites.
- then RETURN back to EvergladesHUB,
PLEASE -
Nutrient rich run-off flows down stream causing troubles.
Fish death and desertification due to pollution. Water management is crucially important for Florida and its population.
