State of the - Export
of economic capital and falling value of the dollar due to energy
dependency and huge sums for fuel and fertilizer imports -
Warmer ocean and coastal waters,
and More and bigger hurricanes
related to Global Warming -
Sea Level Rise and Coastal
Erosion - Saltwater
intrusion (1,17) -Drying
up of lakes and wetlands in many areas (1) -Falling
water tables in some areas (1) -Contamination
of drinking water, groundwater, and surface waters by toxics and runoff throughout
-Rapid
decline of the -Collapse
in the populations of fish, shellfish, birds, and wildlife of -Toxic
fish and seafood in the majority of the state due to increased
levels of mercury and toxics from emissions and coastal pollution (1-6) Dangerous levels of mercury in over 30% of the - Disposal of increasing levels of garbage and sewage
, most containing high levels of toxics - Increased
accumulation of toxics in the environment, significantly affecting
Floridians, including major increases in birth defects
and infant neurological and immune problems -Huge "dead zones" in
Gulf waters due to increased fertilizer use and runoff into rivers along with
toxic pollutants. (20,1) Increased food
prices due to significant increases in energy and fertilizer prices. (22) The U.S. Commission on
Ocean Policy(9) released the following findings regarding the increasing
problems of the oceans and coastal areas: ••Thousands of acres of
coastal wetlands providing essential spawning, feeding and nursery areas for
three-fourths of •• Ocean pollution,
largely from farmland and urban runoff, and human populations near shorelines
are increasing so much that proper coastal management is overwhelmed. •• Fish stocks continue
to be depleted, and the advice of scientists too often is ignored at the
expense of fisheries and the long-term sustainability of the fishing
industry. Of the fully assessed •• Not enough study has
been given to the interaction between oceans and climate change. The
latest U.N. FAO report on fisheries found that more and stronger regional fisheries
management organizations are needed to rebuild depleted stocks and prevent
the collapse of other stocks(13). The National
Coalition for Marine Conservation(14) found that numbers
of most species of marine fish are at an all-time low, and the chief culprit
is overfishing to meet an unprecedented demand for seafood. Modern,
technologically-advanced fishing fleets have the capacity to push most fish
populations to the brink. About one-fourth of the global catch - are
killed and discarded yearly by fishermen using huge nets, multi-mile longlines and other indiscriminate gear. Some
fleets throw away more fish than they keep. This wasted "bykill" is a problem in almost every fishery. Most salt water fish spend all or at least part
of their lives in coastal waters, where their environment is continually
assaulted by pollution and development. The massive destruction of
wetlands and other vital habitats directly reduces the number of fish the
ocean can support. Without healthy, properly functioning coastal
ecosystems, fish cannot grow and reproduce – in a word, they can’t survive. FLCV
IS ISSUING THIS CALL TO ACTION TO RECO This
statement is a summary and update of reports released earlier by Florida
Watch Institute on trends and the state of the It
documents that the continuing growth in Hence we
are now seeing rapid declines in the state of the Examples:
The
state is losing large areas of wetlands due to growth and development each
year. Additionally, and we are seeing widespread
saltwater intrusion in coastal aquifers from water use and pumping beyond the
area''s carrying capacity. Salt-water
intrusion along the Drainage
of wetland areas for urban and agricultural use, and diversion of water from
the Everglades and Florida Bay, have lead to catastrophic collapses of plant,
bird, and wildlife ecosystems in huge areas. There was a 90% decline in
wading birds in the (2)
Pesticide runoff from farms,
lawns, and from spraying to control exotic weeds and mosquitoes, is affecting
fish and wildlife throughout (3)
Every year there is an huge dead zone in the The
pollution is suffocating our coastal bays and estuaries, poisoning marine
mammals, and feeding outbreaks of stinging jellies and harmful algal blooms that
contribute to some 7,000 beach closures a year (9-11). Most of this is
attributable to so-called nitrogen-rich nonpoint-source pollution, pollution
from agricultural and other sources that follows down our rivers and
watersheds and into the sea(1). Nitrogen is essential for soil productivity,
and can be supplied by animal waste and plant decay. But too much of a good
thing can also be a bad thing, as anyone who's ever had a hangover will
attest. According to various studies and recent reports in Science and
Scientific American, synthetic, nitrogen-rich fertilizers developed after
World War II, along with the burning of fossil fuels, doubled the global
nitrogen cycle between 1960 and 1990. Along
with natural nitrogen found in air, soil and lightening, this added input is
too much for the land to handle, and so the surplus is washed off into the
world's rivers, estuaries and oceans where it ends up feeding giant algae
blooms. The
most productive and diverse parts of (4) The
food chain and seafood in several bays have been contaminated by radioactive
elements like radium from phosphate mining wastes and coal or ash pile
runoff. Likewise, bays, lakes, and drainage ponds are accumulating highly
toxic and carcinogenic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and toxic metals like mercury, cadmium, lead, and
copper, from air emissions, urban runoff, industrial effluent, and sewage. (5)
Toxic metals, like mercury, lead, and cadmium, as well as endocrine system-disrupting
chemicals, like dioxin and PAHs, are getting into the food chain from
emissions of incinerators and fossil fuel combustion. This has resulted in
over half the rivers and lakes in The
level of mercury in people eating such seafood has been found to commonly
exceed dangerous levels as well, and to result in levels in about 10% of
women of childbearing age high enough to cause developmental effects on
infants. Mercury from dental
amalgam fillings is also a similarly large source of mercury in large
numbers of people in Toxics
in the food chain in (6) We
are generating millions of pounds of toxics with no legal place to dispose of
them in In (7) Floridian’s generate approximately 29,200,000 tons of
garbage per year, about
1.6 tons per person per year (9 pounds per day). (28) Approximately 24% is recycled and
25.4% is incinerated, with most of the rest landfilled. Several counties or cities also have mulch
processing facilities for yard organics.
There are 11 incinerators and 53 Class I or II landfills in (8) There has been a very
large increase in birth defects,
neurologically damaged children with conditions such as autism, ADHD, etc. and allergic conditions such as
allergies, asthma, systemic eczema, etc. due to increased exposure to toxic
substances. The National Academy of Sciences recently found that almost 50%
of births result in birth defects, neurologically damaged infants, or other
chronic developmental health problems-- mostly related to toxic exposures. (21,22)
Arsenic has also been found to
be having significant adverse health effects on Florida children, with
neurological conditions common and also cancer(24). Treated wood used on playgrounds and decks
has been found to be a common source of arsenic, as well as contaminated
seafood. Likewise there is a large
increase in chronic autoimmune conditions such as chronic fatigue syndrome,
fibromyalgia, multiple sclerosis, lupus, multiple chemical sensitivities,
etc. among the adult population due to exposure to toxic substances.
Such conditions commonly improve after elimination of
toxic source and detoxification. (9) (10) There is scientific
consensus that global warming
and ozone layer degradation are
extremely serious problems already affecting Floridians and people throughout
the world. Recent years were the hottest in history and the ozone decline
over the Antarctic and rest of the world the is
still a significant problem. Global warming has
already had major effects on climate with heat waves, droughts, water table
draw-down, increased crop losses, stronger storms
with increased damage, increasing range of insect-borne diseases from the
tropics, sea level rise and coastal erosion. Recent years have been the
warmest in recorded history and follow the warmest decade in history. Ice in
glaciers and ice sheets are rapidly melting
and disintegrating. There are many measures
and options to improve energy efficiency and sustainable energy trends. Recent year's ozone holes
over the Antarctic were some of the
earliest and worst in history, bigger than the entire U.S., and a hole also
develops over the Arctic that affects larger numbers of people due to the
higher population in northern latitudes of the northern hemisphere. Increased
skin cancer from ozone layer thinning and more rapid sea level rise have been
documented; each could have immense impacts on With continuing growth,
increasing levels of pollution, and resource shortages becoming more evident,
its more important than ever that we elect leaders
that have an understanding and concern for these problems. There are
solutions that can reduce these problems, but insufficient resources or time
have been given in recent years to these growing problems in (11)
World prices for basic food stocks have been increasing at unprecedented
rates in 2008, threatening billions of those living in poverty with
starvation or malnutrition, and putting strains on people’s budgets
everywhere. Along with soaring labor, water and fuel costs, increasing
fertilizer costs have been draining farmers' savings and will probably lead
to higher prices for fruits and vegetables to go with separate increases in
meat, poultry and dairy products. More than 90 percent of the potash
fertilizer used in the World
fertilizer prices surged by more than 200 percent in 2007, as farmers sought
to maximize corn production for ethanol, according to the According to USDA’s National Agriculture Statistics
Service, fertilizer prices in May 2008 were 69 percent higher than they were
in May 2007. And the 2007 prices represented an increase in costs of 158
percent compared to May 2000. Officials estimate
that nitrogen prices might increase as much as 50 percent in 2008 due to
rising costs of natural gas, the main ingredient in nitrogen, and increased
export demand. (12) High levels of mercury in sewage is a
significant source of mercury in (12) Inefficient transportation systems and congestion are wasting large amounts of energy. More efficient and effective mass transportation options, park and ride facilities, more availability of bicycle and walking facilities, energy efficient community design, and electric vehicles using more efficient and long-lasting battery options recently developed can make a big difference. EcoloCap claims its battery technology more than 98% efficient - The Nano Lithium X Battery by EcoloCap offers over 98 percent efficiency and has "the world’s highest energy density output per mass". The battery was also found to have the "fastest recharge time of any comparable commercial battery" together with the "lowest cost per energy output". (GizMag; March 24, 2010) Sources: (1) and 303(d) List
Update, http://www.dep.state.fl.us/water/tmdl/docs/2006_Integrated_Report.pdf (2) B. Windham(Ed.),
Mercury in (3) Florida Department of
Health, Bureau of Environmental Toxicology, Health Advisories for Mercury in
Florida Fish 2005 & 1997; 10-15; & FDEP, Toxic metal levels in (4) U.S. Geological
Survey, The Occurrence of Mercury in the Fishery Resources of the Gulf of
Mexico; http://mo.cr.usgs.gov/gmp/hg.cfm ; & D.H.Adams,
R.H.McMichael, Florida Marine Research Institute,
Technical Reports, Mercury Levels in Marine and Estuarine Fishes of Florida,
2001; & FFWCC, http://marinefisheries.org/Pubs/mercury.htm (5) Mobile Register,
Mercury Series(Aug 2001 to Mar 2002): Mercury Taints
Seafood, www.al.com/specialreport/?mobileregister/mercuryinthewater.html. (6)Thomas D. Atkeson, FDEP Mercury Coordinator, South Florida Mercury
Science Program,MERCURY IN FLORIDA'S
ENVIRONMENT,www.dep.state.fl.us/labs/mercury/docs/flmercury.htm (7) Florida Marine
Research Institute, www.floridamarine.org/
; & http://marinefisheries.org/Pubs/mercury.htm (8)Florida Wildlife
Organization, www.flawildlife.org/ (9) (10) Massive Dead Zone in SW
Florida Gulf waters: Commercial
fishermen demand answers to 'black water' mystery, By C (11) David Helvarg,
Blue Frontier: Saving America's Living Seas, May 2001; & American
Rivers/Environmental Defense, Bringing Dead Zones Back to Life, 2002 www.americanrivers.org/docs/DeadZone.pdf (12) (13) The State of http://www.fao.org/docrep/009/A0699e/A0699e00.htm & New steps toward sustainable trade in fish, http://www.fao.org/newsroom/en/news/2008/1000867/index.html (14) THE THR (15) (16)
Southeast http://southeastfloridareefs.net/home.html (17) U.S. Geological Survey, http://www.geo.vu.nl/users/swim/pdf/swim18/Fitterman.pdf (18) B. Windham(Ed.), " Dioxin&Other
Organochlorine and Endocrine Disrupting
Chemicals- Summary of Health
Effects, Areas Affected, and Sources" 2006 www.flcv.com/endocrin.html (19) B. Windham(Ed.),
Adverse Health Effects of Pesticides, 2006; www.flcv.com/pesticid.html (20) B. Windham(Ed.),
"Public and Private Wells and Surface Waters Contaminated
by Toxics in (21) B.
Windham,"" Increase in Children''s
Neurological and Immune Conditions due to exposure to mercury and other toxic
metals: autism, schizophrenia, ADD, allergies, asthma, eczema, lupus, etc.
2007; www.flcv.com/indexk.html (22) B. Windham(Ed.),
"Cognitive & Behavioral Effects of Toxic Metal Exposure (including
effects on achievement, juvenile delinquency, crime, etc.), 2007; www.flcv.com/tmlbn.html (23) B. Windham, Adverse
Health Effects Related to Solvents and Industrial Chemicals. 2006, www.flcv.com/indexe.html (24) B. Windham(Ed.),
Arsenic exposure levels, sources, and neurological effects, 2006, www.flcv.com/arsenic.html (25) Florida Dept. of
Environmental Protection, Florida Environment, (see web site) &
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