State of the Florida Environment Education Page
Summary and Documentation of Florida Environmental Problems and Solutions :
Article 1 . State of the Florida Environment
Documentation on declining water tables, groundwater and surface water contamination, storm water and agricultural runoff, coastal problems such as sea level rise, salt water intrusion of water table, sea grass and fishery declines, dead zones and reef declines, growing congestion, air emissions , global warming , climate change , widespread mercury contamination of freshwater and saltwater fish, other toxics in the food chain, etc. In spite of escalating Climate Change and Sea Level Rise, Florida Developers have continued to build flood-prone coastal developments by dredging coastal property and piling dredge materials onto the mangroves and coastal vegetation- to create finger-canals with water access. It is known that most such development, while lucrative for developers, is undergoing increasing flooding from sea level rise and subsidence with flooding in some developments as much as 90 days of the year- with salty or brackish water that damages roads and car’s exhaust systems, etc. The developers are then depending on friendly politicians to bail the development out of the problems when homeowners complain- with many billions of tax dollars. Many of the solutions to climate change including Alternative Energy, alternative Plastics Recycling, and Conservation have big economic and jobs paybacks. Another big solution for farmers and gardeners that also has huge benefits for the environment is Cover Cropping & Regenerative Farming. ( www.myflcv.com/RegenF.html )
Florida oyster supply areas are so degraded by destructive development that oyster harvesting in Florida is about to be banned by FFWCC. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission is scheduled to vote soon on banning the harvest of wild oysters from Apalachicola Bay starting Aug. 1 2020, and continuing through 2025. Increased usage of water far upstream to serve the growing population of Atlanta, limited the freshwater getting to the bay. That altered the balance and limited the growth of new oysters to replace the ones harvested. A decade later, some reefs have become so degraded that there is little to no shell material left, a wildlife commission report says.
Edible oysters have disappeared from estuaries all over Florida, killed off by dredging and pollution . In places where we could once harvest a gracious plenty of tasty mollusks, Cape Haze, Matlacha, Chokoloskee, even Tampa Bay, that’s no longer an option. This underlines a lesson we in Florida have to learn and learn again. In this state, the environment is the economy. If you mess up the environment, you will mess up the economy – and in this case, even tear families apart and uproot a cherished waterfront culture
Conservation advocates in Florida are warning that 1,000 manatees in the state's water could die this year —hundreds more than in recent years—due to starvation driven by water pollution, the climate crisis, and other man-made harms to the mammals' ecosystem. A big solution for farmers and gardeners that also has huge benefits for the environment is Cover Cropping & Regenerative Farming. (www.myflcv.com/RegenF.html)
As The Guardian reported Monday, 749 manatees died between January 1 and May 21, 2021 compared with 637 deaths in all of 2020, qualifying as an "unusual mortality event" according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC). Experts in the state point to the death of seagrass, manatees' primary food source, including the majority of 80,000 acres of the plants in the Indian River Lagoon due to blue-green algae blooms—"which have themselves been caused by decades of human nutrient pollution from wastewater and runoff that continues unabated to this day,” Bob Graham, a former Democratic Florida governor and co-founder of Save the Manatee, wrote in the Tampa Bay Times last month.
"Manatees
are literally that sentinel species. They're warning us of what else
is going to come if we don't do a better job while there's still time
to do something about it. If we don't, our own lives will
suffer."
—Patrick
Rose, Save the Manatee Club
NOAA scientists are forecasting this summer’s Gulf of Mexico hypoxic area or “ dead zone ” — an area of low to no oxygen that can kill fish and other marine life — to be approximately 4,880 square miles. The Mississippi River watershed encompasses over 40% of the continental U.S and crosses 22 state boundaries. Nitrogen and phosphorus pollution in runoff and discharges from agricultural and urban areas are the major contributors to the annual summer hypoxic zone in the Gulf of Mexico, which significantly reduces fishery productivity of the Gulf area.
according to Sanibel-Captiva Conservation Foundation’s weekly newsletter . Red tide causes fish kills, respiratory irritation in Charlotte County & along Southwest Florida coast - 2021. Toxic Algae Blooms A Growing Health Threat Lakes With Algae Outbreaks May Also Be Tainted With E. Coli
Manure Waste Overload from CAFOs Report USDA Farm Relief goes mostly to a few large farms A big solution for farmers and gardeners that also has huge benefits for the environment is Cover Cropping & Regenerative Farming. (www.myflcv.com/RegenF.html)
A big solution for farmers and gardeners that also has huge benefits for the environment is Cover Cropping & Regenerative Farming. (www.myflcv.com/RegenF.html)
Article 2 . Florida Energy Problems, Options, and Suggested Solutions
Article 3 . Widespread High Levels of Mercury in Florida Freshwater and Saltwater Fish, and in People
The majority of freshwater lakes and rivers have health warnings to limit fish consumption due to high levels of mercury, and salt- water fish and shellfish appear to be an even bigger problem. Most common Gulf Coast species have been documented to have high levels of mercury, and studies show most who eat fish at least once per week have dangerous levels of mercury, enough to cause adverse health effects. A significant portion of the Florida population falls in this category. Two large sources of mercury in waterways and fish are air emissions from coal plants and incinerators , plus mercury from sewers mainly due to mercury into home and business toilets from mercury amalgam dental fillings .
Article 4 . Neurological Effects of Toxic Metal Exposure on Children
Toxic metal exposure is the largest cause of chronic children ’ s neurological conditions such as autism , ADHD, dyslexia, learning disabilities , etc. Government agencies have found mercury, arsenic, and lead to be the 3 most common toxic exposures affecting large numbers of people, with cadmium, nickel, and aluminum also affecting large numbers of people. There has been a huge increase over the last decade in neurological conditions affecting children documented by Government agencies, due to increased toxic metal exposure. The largest sources of mercury exposure on children are mercury thimerosal from vaccines, fish, and prenatal or exposure through breast milk from mother ’ s dental amalgam fillings. The largest sources of arsenic are playground and patio pressure treated wood, drinking water, and shellfish. The largest sources of lead are home paint, water pipes and solder, soil. Large sources of cadmium are drinking water and the food chain, while common sources of exposure to nickel include dental work, braces, food.
Adverse Health Effects of Fluoride Adverse Health Effects of Water Fluoridation
Federal Lawsuit Could Limit Fluoride in Drinking Water
Article 5 . Exposure and Health Effects Due to Arsenic in the Florida Environment
U.S. EPA/ATSDR consider arsenic to be in the top 3 toxic exposures affecting large numbers of people. Arsenic is documented to cause cancer, cardiovascular problems, and neurological problems. The most common significant exposures are treated wood from playgrounds and patios, water, and fish/shellfish.
Some case histories of effects on children
Article 6 . Health Effects of Pesticide Exposure
Exposure to pesticides is very common and exposures are documented to cause widespread neurological, immune, and reproductive problems - including birth defects, ADHD, and autoimmune conditions such as Parkinson’s Disease and Lou Gehrig’s Disease. Some pesticides are also documented to cause cancer and children’s health problems such as ADHD and autism. Exposures also degrade the immune and neurological systems and contribute to many common conditions .
GMOCornE -- Health Effects of Glyposate, Roundup, GMO corn
GMFoods ---- Health Effects of GM Foods; GECrops ------Health Effects of GM Crops
EWG'S FOOD SCORES EWG rates 80,000+ products
Article 7 . Health, Hormonal, and Reproductive Effects of Endocrine-Disrupting Chemicals in the Food Chain & Household Products
Toxics such as dioxins, PCBs, organochlorine and organophosphate chemicals, mercury, phthalates, etc. have been found to accumulate in the hormone glands and to cause common and significant disruptions to the endocrine(hormone) system, which controls most bodily functions. These chemicals and growing in the environment and food chain and having widespread, common, and serious effects on large numbers of people, as well as widespread effects on wildlife.
. PFAS Chemicals in most people PFAS Spread on Crops PFAS Tap Water Contamination
EWG'S GUIDE TO HEALTHY CLEANING
Safe & Effective Cleaning Products - Fabric Softeners , Dusting Spray , Wood Cleaner & Polish , Green Home , Safe Cosmetics for minorities ,
Thermal Paper Receipts are toxic (BPA) & can’t be recycled
Ticks commonly carry dangerous diseases – how to reduce trick bites Best Ways to Reduce Bug Bites
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Article 8. Air Emissions and Air Toxics Page: Global Warming, Ozone layer,
Acid Rain, Economics of Air Pollution and Toxic Metals
Florida has high levels of toxic and acidic emissions from power plants, incinerators, and vehicles. Many of these are increasing in the environment and food chain as population grows and having widespread effects on the environment and health.
Article 9 . Environmental Effects of Dental Amalgam
Dental amalgam for most with such fillings is the most common and largest source of mercury exposure in Florida and elsewhere. All sewer plants and sewer sludge in Florida have high levels of mercury, and are a significant source of mercury in rivers, lakes, bays, fish, crops, and rainfall. Dental amalgam has been documented by EPA and municipal sewer agencies to be the largest source of mercury in sewers, with dental office sewers and excretion into sewers by those with amalgam(silver) fillings the two largest sources. Over 50% of Florida lakes and rivers have dangerous levels of mercury in fish, and similar for coastal bays and saltwater fish. Large numbers of people who eat fish commonly have mercury exposure at levels documented to cause adverse effects. However, direct exposure
to mercury from dental fillings is the largest source of exposure in most people, to both inorganic and methyl mercury (the form in fish). Bacteria and other methylators in the body convert elemental mercury from amalgam to methyl mercury, as also happens in the environment resulting in methyl mercury in fish.
Article 10 . Health Effects of Solvent or Organic Chemical Exposure
Organic solvent exposures are common from occupational exposures and well water. They have well documented adverse health effects.
Article 11. Rooftop (Urban) Farming utilizing hydroponics, industrial waste heat, solar energy, and solar greenhouses to increase energy efficiency.
WHO WE ARE AND OUR GOALS
The FLCVEP was established in 1994 growing out of the FLCV, which has been a voice for environmentalists in Florida for twenty-five years. The FLCV Education Project exists because we believe that the participation of informed citizens in state and local electoral, legislative, and administrative processes helps to ensure protection, restoration and conservation of Florida natural resources. The FLCV Education goal is to educate the public about conservation, environmental protection, and the political process, and to encourage, through education, research, and debate over public policies that protect the environment and conserve natural resources. To this end, FLCVEP conducts research, monitors governmental and policy-making institutions, and distributes information on environmental issues to citizens, media, environmental and other public interest activists and organizations, etc. FLCVEP develops education and participation programs, and networks with like-minded organizations to activate their members in these educational endeavors. FLCVEP has carried out its program through the efforts of volunteers, including a statewide group of environmental leaders.
FLCV Education Project, 12164 Whitehouse Rd Tallahassee, FL 32317
Contacts- technical: berniew1@embarqmail.com 850-878-9024
DAMS International (patients support organization for toxic metal problems)
http://www.myflcv.com/dams.html
