Everglades Politics

"Action taken to restore the Everglades in the next year will set the course for the next several decades." (Grunwald 78)

 Many more people are becoming aware about the issues the Everglades face and Florida conservationists have helped stop many plume hunts, preserved acres of wetlands, regulated flows to Everglades National Park, and have done the largest nutrient cleanup so far; but unfortunately the Everglades is still dying. The ecosystem natural balance is so badly damaged that tree islands are disappearing, development has hindered the recharge of the region's groundwater, and so much more. This actually is scary because it really makes you wonder if the damage already done to the Everglades is so great that it can't ever go back to what it once was; but we have to continue to try one step at a time.

Photos by: Kevin Spears

"Ocean Reef's residents ultimately decided to tax themselves to provide Fargo with a $2 million war chest." (Grunwald 83)

This act was enough to launch a campaign with lobbyists, community organizer, economic consultants, and ads showing a flock of jets over Biscayne Bay; basically presenting the message that it was not fair for the federal government to say yes to a major airport being put at the edge of the Everglades at the same time they wanted taxpayers to spend $8 billion to restore the Everglades. I think this happens a lot when it comes to the government and politics, they have so many ideas to develop and see growth that they forget about the land and environment they are destroying; and the people are the ones who pay the price by being forced to pay for this destruction. 

Photos Concept by: One Reef 

"Would it be a true restoration project, revamping man's approach to the Everglades, or just another dirt-moving Corps water project, "environmental infrastructure' with better press?" (Grunwald 101)  

This statement really made me think will this concept really start a new relationship between the human and natural environment in South Florida; encouraging men to really limit their footprints and live in a nice balance with the ecosystem, or will it fail? Also would politicians and engineers begin to really think about the needs of the birds, bears, and bays, as well as, the needs of man; or will they continue to only think about the money they can make? These are really tough questions to answer because at the end of the day we will never see a change unless we chose to make the world we live in better, and many people are only concerned about themselves and what they can gain which is why we are in this predicament in the first place. There has been a lot done to start to restore the Everglades and hopefully this will encourage others to join in as well. 

Photo Concept by: Red Cardinal

Everglades

"There are no other Everglades in the world." (Douglas 104)

The Everglades is a very unique region that we have in this world and many do not appreciate nor understand it. It is a whole ecosystem that supports many of Florida's endangered animals like: alligators, panthers, birds, etc. The Everglades also serves as a big filter with Mangroves and River grass acting as a filtration system; which gets rid of all the harmful stuff in the water and leaves it clean. Even though the Everglades does so many things for the environment, people take it for granted and have destroyed so much of it by building on it or just not giving it the proper care and attention it needs or deserves. If we do not change and realize that the Everglades is an essential part of our ecosystem we could lose a very unique region in our world.

 Photo by: Andy Reid

"To understand the Everglades one must first understand the rock." (Douglas 122)

The rock holds the surrounding sea water of the Everglades and their borders together. This rock holds the fresh water, grass, etc. a little bit away from the salt water. The rock is made out of limestone and is grayish white and not formed; in the sun it hardens and forms clumps that is sometimes filled with sand, shells, or humus. The outline of Florida, within the Gulf of Mexico and the Gulf Stream, looks like a long pointed spoon which is the visible shape of the rock. This was something new that I learned and I think a lot of people do not really know about the rock; which is such a huge factor related to the Everglades - it basically holds the Everglades all together. 

Photo Concept by: Jesse Allen

"Here in the cypress pools - but for that matter, everywhere in the watery Glades, from lake to sea - lives the Glades' first citizen, the otter." (Douglas 144)

The otter because of his oily fur is ready for the heat and cold as long as it keeps its fur wet. The otter also has the quickness that enables them to out swim a crowd of alligators or other predators out to kill them. This statement actually surprised me because at of all the animals I never would have guessed that an otter  was one of the first citizen to inhabit the Everglades. It was interesting to see how the otter made sure they protected themselves and their family whether it was from predators or simply making sure their family had a home to live in. It was nice to see that they were a happy animal who really enjoyed all the enmities that the Everglades had to offer. 

Photos by: Wayne Willison

The Land Ethic

"Conservation is a state of harmony between men and land." (Leopold 62)

This statement is a nice thought that we can finally reach a place where people and the environment around us can come to some sort of common ground; sadly this is not the case. With society getting more and more advance with technology, people are paying more attention to building more buildings and getting more industrialized than actually seeing the damage they are doing to the land and environment around them. I think just taking the time to stop and look around and see how much land has decreased to exist because we are to busy building, we would realize that there needs to be a change and with a balance of growth as well as conserving some land; we will see a drastic change for the better in our world.

Photos by: Clark Schoettle

"The land ethic simply enlarges the boundaries of the community to include soils, waters, plants, and animals, or collectively: the land." (Leopold 60)

This idea seems so simply, especially when our country is based of the land of the free and home of the brave; but what exactly do we love? We definitely do not care about the soil, water, plants, and animals in a way that we should. For instance, when it comes to soil we are so quick to dispose of it, when it comes to water we assume its only function is to carry off waste or turn turbines, when it comes to plants we can destroy a whole community and not even care, and we are quick to kill off animals species just for sport and the fun of it. To live in this world and not take into account ever aspect that goes along with that is not only destroying elements but us as well. We need to open our eyes to the fact that everything in this world that exists has a purpose and should be treated with care and with a sense of importance.

Concept of Photos by: NRCS

"It is inconceivable to me that an ethical relation to land can exist without love, respect, and admiration for land, and a high regard for its value." (Leopold 75)

I agree completely with this statement. There is going to be no change unless we as a people realize that this is an issue and we decide to help change it. It is one thing to say it but to actually put in the time and energy; you need to know and understand just exactly you are doing. To make our environment a better place you have to actually want to make this change happen and the more you understand and realize that your environment is essential to your survival; the stronger your dedication will be to make this change happen. We are in this predicament because we have taken our environment for granted for so long and we have a long way to go to make it better but the more people that are willing to stand up to make this world a better place, the better off we are going to be. 

Concept of Photos by: David Brown

Nature-Deficit Disorder

"Being close to nature, in general, helps boost a child's attention span." (Louv 7)


I agree with this statement completely. I was always the child who loved being outside and being active, even today I much rather be outside having hands on experiences than sitting in a classroom where I am constantly not paying attention. I think a lot of kids have this mentality as well and having outdoors activities definitely helps to get kids to pay better attention, because they are taking part in something and not even realizing all the knowledge they are learning form it. This is the best way I believe to learn, actually doing something helps me to focus and grasp concepts much easier than having a teacher talk for an hour or so; being active stimulates your mind and gets you to pay attention to the world around you.

Getting back to nature.

Photos by: Lakshmi Singh

"Children's Hospital and Regional Medical Center in Seattle maintains that each hour of TV watched per day by preschoolers increases by 10 percent the likelihood that they will develop concentration problems and other symptoms of attention-deficit disorders by age seven." (Louv 4)

I really dislike how so many parents just put their children in front of the TV for hours instead of being active with them. I love kids and every time I am babysitting I make sure to spend a lot of time doing outdoor activities with them. Many of these kids seem extremely hyper and their parents constantly complain, but I have found that after taking these same kids outside where they can run and play and are not just in the house staring at a TV all day; turn into really calm kids. The parents are always amazed when they come back and see how calm and well-behaved their child is and I just tell them that I let their child enjoy the outdoors where they roamed around and explored; they enjoyed it and it made them happy. 

Nature is your playground.

Photos by: Gregory Wrona

"Getting kids out in nature can make a difference." (Louv 5)

There are so many people in this world who have never really experienced nature based on where they live, especially kids. Yes, I know there are many parks and backyards to play in but I mean the true nature experience like being in the Everglades or anything that really makes you open your eyes to the environment around you. I think this aspect is very crucial to someone's experience; like for me I thought I experienced the outdoors and then I came to FGCU and was amazed at all the environmental things I was never really exposed too back home. Experiencing something for yourself definitely opens your eyes and really helps you learn about the environment around you; there is still so much to see. 

Nature is  absolutely beautiful.

Photos by: Doug Perrine 

Biophilia

"It means redesigning schools and campuses to replicate natural systems and functions. It means greater contact with nature during the school day but also unsupervised hours to play in places where nature has been protected or allowed to recover." (Orr 205)


This statement made me think about my childhood in school and I realized that my schools really did not put outdoor activities as there main priority. Yes, we had recess where we could run around and play but it was not for very long and before you knew it you were right back in the classroom. I think schools need to change in a way that there is more activities that involve kids going out and exploring the nature around them and learning crucial things that go on in their environment. It would be great if kids could go on field trips to the park, farms, or even explore river trails that can open their eyes to a world sometimes unknown to them.

Kindergarten class on a nature trail.

Photo taken by: Melissa Howard

"And needing animals, we will need to restore wild landscapes that invite them again." (Orr 207)


Animals are essential to our environment but I think a lot of people have forgotten this and instead only view animals as an attraction found in a zoo. We need to have a better relationship with the animals were we can learn from them and see how they benefit the environment in their own natural habitat. However, all we seem to be doing is destroying more and more land where these animals live and transporting the animals to zoos across the world; decreases the value of the environment more and more. Protecting animals in the wild is a great step in the right direction, as well as, protecting the lands these animals live on; because we have lost sight that everything in this world is connected to each other.

Tree of Life Concept by: Dan Goozee

"The biophilia revolution is about the combination of reverence for life and purely rational calculation by which we will want to both be efficient and live sufficiently. It is about finding our rightful place on earth and in the community of life, and it is about citizenship, duties, obligations, and celebration." (Orr 203)

I really do not think our society realizes how bad of a problem we have created for ourselves. We are in the mind-frame that anything can be fixed with money and technology; and though these two things can help we need to look at this issue from a deeper stand-point. In fact we need to face these problems with a sense of wisdom and higher capacity for rationality that we can better our environment and the planet we live on. We are so focused are trying to find an elaborate scheme that we forget that change happens by simply doing the little things like recycling, saving water and energy, etc. The more people who become aware and chose to make a difference to save our environment increases our chances of having a better planet. 

Concept by: Anthony Clavien