Journal 4: Florida and the Everglades Politics

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1. Think about how much Florida has changed over the years. Include the reading by Grunwald and Douglas. You also need to incorporate the first ten chapters of A Land Remembered by Patrick Smith.

    Florida has changed so much over the years for a number of reasons. The first being obviously that we have more people than ever before and are continuing to grow exponentially. Therefore, to accommodate for such people, we are forced to build-build-build.  Then once these people have houses, they have cars to drive along our roads which then need repairs which then employees more people for service jobs which turns into a seemingly infinite cycle of running out of room for the incoming crowds.  This forces developers and (hopefully) politicians to think smarter (and probably harder at the drastic expenses they rack up). Furthermore, in this cycle, the wealth, speed and ease with which information is spread encompasses more people than ever before. For example, a snow bird couple, although they spend 5 months down here, want just as equal a say in where a community's new landfill will be placed as a single family that lives here year round.  Then these people can quickly distribute and communicate these plans and laws to other people it may affect and those people throw their hats into the ring as well. Before you know it, you have too many cooks in the kitchen and every person is fighting to have their voice heard NOW and to justify why their opinion matters. While this can be good and bad, I believe it holds many law and policymakers much more accountable than they were before in the sense that if the growing public is uneasy or upset with their decisions, they can be blasted with the response almost instantaneously.  I feel as though it's getting more and more difficult to sweep things under the rug without at least one person finding out about it and blowing the whistle.

    A perfect example is Michael Grunwald's The Swamp because it perfectly presents politician's hypocrisy and closed door politics that went into wrapping up the CERP (Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan) in a nice bow and making it look like everyone was on board with doing the right thing. In the end, we find out that there was plenty of money talking (there still is and probably always will be), hypocrisy, political favors and the such to last a lifetime.  Furthermore, I believe that writings such as Marjory Douglas's River of Grass has helped the common man to recognize the significance of the Everglades in that it is to be appreciated, loved and protected.  Writings such as this help to educate people and have them open their eyes to their surroundings.  This awareness and wealth of information readily available is what I believe has changed the most in Florida because we are no longer allowed to act selfishly; we are to the point where if we do not play by the rules and promote respect, then there is anarchy. We are tasked with the calling of the speaking up for those that have no voices, and the Everglades is one of those. George Bush even says a powerful statement: "This is a model--not just for our country, but for projects around the world." What happened on behalf of the Everglades is not just a personal duty to our state, but it was the first time man took the steps to correct the mistakes that he himself has made in the past and attempted to rectify those missteps.

    As far as the A Land Remembered reference, I will be honest and say that I have not read it yet and will not even try to trick you into thinking I have.  I have too many other projects and assignments going on in other classes and plan to tackle that assignment this weekend in preparation for our Monday quiz. I apologize and accept the consequences.

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2. What do you make of the politics surrounding the Everglades? How much does it affect you?

    As I said in class, I personally get annoyed at all the politics surrounding the Everglades.  I believe the Everglades situation is a no brainer--do the right thing.  Any way you look at it, taking care of a national and global treasure and vital environmental system should be at the top of the list.  No economic, business or financial gain is as important as preserving the health and well being of not only the Everglades itself, but all the connections it embodies.  Again, as I've championed before, everything in nature is connected to one another and the health of one entity cannot be preserved while the destruction of another is permitted to take place.  From the dwindling biodiversity and the destruction of so many species of plants and animals to the absolute havoc wrecked on our planet's natural filtration system, there are so many benefits of preserving the Everglades that far outweigh the totality of the benefits of destroying them.

    There's a reason there is so much respect and care had for the National Parks out west and such--they're held in such a high esteem by both treehuggers and city slickers--so I don't see why it's any different when it comes to the Everglades.  Perhaps it's because we don't understand such a complex, intertwined system that is the River of Grass? Perhaps it's due to the 'inconvenience' that the Everglades takes up so much prime real estate in Florida? Perhaps it's just man's preconceived notion that he is at the top of the untouchable food chain? For whatever reason, that is why the Everglades has always been seen as the red-headed step child of the National Parks system politically--you don't see any congressman vouching for a commercial airport in the middle of the Grand Tetons, that's for sure. So why would it ever even be heard of that it's a possibility in the Everglades? I do not know.

    Even moreso for 'why the Everglades affects me', is that I live here. I'm not an out of state student that can return to my homestate when the water gets gross or we have a major drainage issue. I'm the one that can't escape the Red Tide or the destruction of the salt/fresh water barrier.  For selfish reasons, I don't want to live in a sloppy dump and the existence of the Everglades helps to clean that up.  Nature's best natural filtration system, the Everglades does a pretty good job of self regulating its water cleanliness. It's not a swamp, but a living, breathing river that should be allowed to act as so.  Water is a very powerful entity that is very difficult to control (just look at the past hurricane for proof).  Furthermore, the Everglades brings tourists to help fund our economy (much more than a strip mall or residential development would in place of the Everglades ever would) and keeps our state afloat. Whether the tourists are here to really get waist deep in the River of Grass and take an airboat ride OR to go to Sanibel, the Everglades controls both of these places.  Since the destruction of the Everglades, the effluent from Lake O has been severely damaged and results in a misdirection of water overwhelming other areas AND drying out the Everglades.  Without these attractions, Florida is just a hot, humid mess with some dirty water all around.

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