Hold the guacamole – we want Florida beach water, clean, accessible
The governor has declared a state of emergency.
As Floridians, there is nothing like that moment when we step into the Atlantic or the Gulf of Mexico and see the sand between our toes and schools of baitfish swimming around our feet. Visitors go home after visiting and remember the moments when they were swimming off our shores and were able to see right through the water to the seashell in the sand that they dove down to get. Floridians and the visitors we welcome every year are accustomed to clean, clear water. That’s why we live here, why we take our families to the beach to make memories, and why families from around the world make Florida their destination of choice and help drive our economy.
Unfortunately, all of this is at risk. If you visited some places in Florida recently, you’d find experiences that we hoped were unimaginable. Instead of clean, clear water, you’d find slimly, green “guacamole algae” obscuring any sea life below, along with the rancid smell that chokes out the natural smell of the shore that we so fondly remember. This toxic algae bloom, caused by runoff pollution, can kill fish and wildlife, make beachgoers sick and close waters for swimming.
The question on hopefully all of our minds is how could we let this happen to Florida’s beaches and waterways?
It’s startling, but we’ve seen this story before. As recently as two years ago, our state experienced a similar toxic algae bloom, and it seems like we’re in a never ending cycle that is hurting the places we love and treasure. Fortunately, people are banding together to demand solutions, and the federal government is finally taking long-awaited action.
And yet there’s a broader story to be told here, as well. The toxic algae crisis stemming from Lake Okeechobee is just one emergency on a longer list of threats facing Florida’s beaches and waterways. Drilling for oil and gas off Florida’s coast is still on the table and being actively debated. Trash and plastics litter too many Florida shorelines.
Here’s a simple fact: When our beaches are damaged and when waterways are clogged with algae and pollution, it can have ripple effects across the state – impacting tourism and local economies, killing fish and wildlife, endangering the public health, the ecosystem and our daily life. The National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration estimated that algal blooms, including bluegreen algae as well as red tides offshore, costs the tourism and seafood industries nationwide at $82 million per year. Impacts can include reduced fish populations and lost access for fishermen, beach closures and canceled hotel and dinner reservations. And beyond their role as an economic engine, Florida’s beaches and waterways are a treasured sanctuary for all Floridians, and they’re not one that we can afford to lose.
The good news is, Floridians are rolling up their sleeves and working hard to help the beaches and waterways that we all treasure. For example, over three decades, nearly three-quarters of a million Floridian volunteers have removed nearly 14 million pounds of trash from our coastline for the Ocean Conservancy’s International Coastal Cleanup. Fishermen are joining forces to advocate for solutions to the water quality issues plaguing some of Florida’s most productive and iconic fishing grounds.
But our friends’ and neighbors’ important work as volunteers and individual citizens cannot fix these problems alone. We need help from elected officials who control the policy levers in Washington and in Tallahassee. Floridians across the state are taking responsibility and working hard to help keep Florida’s beaches and waterways clean, healthy and beautiful. We should expect the same from our elected officials, regardless of political party or ideology.
That classic Florida postcard, with the azure water and swaying palm trees is our state’s trademark. There are no green and slimy water photos in the minds of the millions of visitors we’ve welcomed. There are no oil rigs in the family portrait at the beach. Florida is clean beaches, it’s the sport fishing capital of the world, it’s the state where residents organize local beach cleanups and take responsibility for their coastal treasures. Floridians stand together when it matters most. This is one of those times.