DeSantis On Florida's Environment: So Far, Some Task Forces, And Lots And Lots And Lots Of Talk

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After so many years of environmental degradation, the pace of reform feels painfully slow. Some of Florida's most cherished ecosystems have reached a tipping point, including the Caloosahatchee and St. Lucie rivers, Lake Okeechobee, the Everglades and the state's freshwater springs. The Gulf of Mexico continues to grapple with red tide blooms, which are naturally occurring but exacerbated by man-made pollution.

There's reason to feel hopeful about an eventual reduction in harmful Lake Okeechobee discharges to the estuaries, thanks to a planned reservoir south of the lake. But we must simultaneously curtail pollution from fertilizer, herbicides and human waste.

“This is a reckoning for the state," said Dr. Aaron Bernstein, co-director of The Center for Climate, Health and the Global Environment at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.

The state's Blue-Green Algae Task Force has some early recommendations on how to improve public health responses to toxic algae. They include:

Conducting studies to address acute and chronic health effects of exposure to algal toxins.

Creation by DEP and the Department of Health of "a transparent and consistent communication plan to inform the public about the potential health impacts associated with exposure to algae and/or algal toxins."

Lawmakers and DeSantis should advance those reasonable suggestions. Otherwise, they will collect dust on a shelf, like so many recommendations of past task forces.

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https://www.news-press.com/story/opinion/2019/10/11/after-toxic-algae-crisis-florida-faces-environmental-reckoning/3924187002/

[sharedvalues]

1. DeSantis stole his election. He's illegitimate

He stole it with Republican-Standard voter suppressionz