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Action Alert: Energy & Environment
Save the Florida Everglades by DeeVon Quirolo, Reef Relief (deevon@bellsouth.net) Dear Friend of Coral Reefs: Please contact the following key policymakers today to express your support for an Everglades Restoration that protects the endangered downstream coral reefs of the Florida Keys. Background Information: Billions of dollars of state and federal funds are committed to restoring the Everglades as part of the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP). However, the National Academy of Sciences, many reputable scientists, and a growing body of environmental organizations and individuals realize that the current plan will not do the job. What it will do is increase the flow of dirty water containing agricultural and storm water runoff into the southern Everglades and Florida Bay and then downstream onto the endangered coral reefs of the Florida Keys. Reef Relief concurs with the comments provided by the US EPA that water quality considerations should play a central role in how discharge operations occur. Specifically, we recommend that limits to nitrogen as well as phosphorus levels be established. The clean-up effort seeks to reduce phosphorus levels in the water to meet the standards set of 10 parts per billion (ppb) by the deadline of 12/31/06. But even former Florida Department of Environmental Protection Secretary David Struhs admits that "Even as less phosphorus enters the natural system, phosphorus built up over decades and locked deep in the soil will be released, creating higher than normal phosphorus levels in the water." When the lower phosphate waters reach Florida Bay, the naturally occurring phosphorus in the bay mix with nitrogen in the runoff and feed algal blooms that have created the Dead Zone in Florida Bay. This dirty water pulses through Florida Bay and then out to the coral reefs through the Florida Keys, further endangering the already highly compromised coral reef ecosystem offshore. In the last decade Keys coral coverage has been reduced by 38% in part due to previous discharges of dirty water, combined with other pollutants from the Keys and elsewhere. Phosphates and nitrates are the two nutrients that are primarily responsible for the loss of coral reefs from eutrophication, a condition that results from too many nutrients in the water leading to algal blooms that smother coral reefs, reduce oxygen levels and kill marine life. The Dead Zone in Florida Bay is a result of eutrophication. Red tide events are another threat to the bio-diversity of Florida Bay. Both of these past events have had debilitating impacts on the downstream coral reefs and we urge the Everglades planners to prevent any further impacts on our already severely endangered coral reefs. So, removing the phosphorus is only half of the problem. As all of us in the Keys who have had to accept increased costs to upgrade our sewage know, it is not only the phosphates, but also the nitrates that cause water quality degradation. So long as the Everglades restoration planners deal with just part of the problem, we will continue to see degraded waters in Florida Bay and at the reef. In their CROGEE report, the National Academy of Sciences noted that a full nutrient budget must be analyzed if the Everglades are to be truly restored. Let’s tie annual appropriations for the Everglades to realistic goals that include the removal of both nitrogen and phosphorus. Otherwise, this billion dollar restoration will never succeed. It is imperative that efforts be taken to reduce nitrogen levels prior to any increases in water flows. Monitoring efforts should document both the before and after of this project with respect to nitrogen loading. Future modifications that will be made as part of the CERP will benefit from a water quality monitoring program and the establishment of a nitrogen standard against which to measure the impact of this and subsequent projects on Florida Bay and the downstream coral reefs. Please help build support for this important clean water initiative. Send an e-mail today asking for Clean Water Now for our downstream Coral Reefs! Action Alert! Sample Letter for you to e-mail: Dear Senator Graham: I am concerned that the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan will not achieve its purpose of restoring the Everglades and that it will actually contribute to the loss of endangered coral reefs in the Florida Keys. I urge you to recommend that limits to nitrogen as well as phosphorus levels be established. Please tie annual appropriations for the Everglades to realistic goals that include the removal of both nitrogen and phosphorus. Otherwise, this billion dollar restoration will never succeed. It is imperative that efforts be taken to reduce nitrogen levels prior to any increases in water flows. Phosphates and nitrates are the two nutrients that are primarily responsible for the loss of coral reefs from eutrophication, a condition that results from too many nutrients in the water leading to algal blooms that smother coral reefs, reduce oxygen levels and kill marine life. The Dead Zone in Florida Bay is a result of eutrophication. Red tide events are another threat to the bio-diversity of Florida Bay. Both of these past events have had debilitating impacts on the downstream coral reefs and we urge the Everglades planners to prevent any further impacts on our already severely endangered coral reefs. Billions of dollars of state and federal funds are committed to restoring the Everglades as part of the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP). However, the National Academy of Sciences, many reputable scientists, and a growing body of environmental organizations and individuals realize that the current plan will not do the job. The dirty water from the Everglades will continue to run into Florida Bay and onto the downstream coral reefs, further endangering the already highly compromised coral reef ecosystem of the Florida Keys. Please insure the health and diversity of the Everglades AND our coral reefs by removing nitrogen. Thank you for your consideration. Very truly yours, (Enter Your Name and Address Here) Please E-mail to: your federal senators and congressmen or to: Florida Governor Jeb Bush at jeb@myflorida.com Florida Senator Bob Graham at bob.graham@senate.gov Florida Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen at israel.ortega@mail.house.gov About the Author(s): See under Our Contributors to find out about the Author(s) of this article. |
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