Welcome to our Paradise

Ashley Hines
Sep 3, 2018 · 3 min read
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The picture above depicts what has been happening at beaches amongst seven counties in Southwest Florida. Ranging from Manatee county to the Everglades this appears to be the longest and deadliest red time so far. With concerns being health issues amongst residents to the ocean animals being found dead along the beaches and on canals. The questions that remain on everyone’s mind:

WHEN WILL THE RED TIDE STOP? IS THIS AFFECTING OUR HEALTH? WHAT DOES THE GOVERNMENT PLAN TO DO ABOUT IT?

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The above chart depicts the way that most residents of Florida see’s the cycle of the release of water from lake Okeechobee. The sugar mills seem to be the cause of the algae creating the red tide, however people can also link the pollution of the waters in Lake Okeechobee to the vegetable farms, citrus groves, cattle ranches, dairy farms, lawn fertilizer, animal waste and other sources that wash into the lake. Residents are blaming the big sugar companies for polluting our waters, when the water is released into our oceans it creates a toxic algae known as Red Tide. It takes approximately $2 billion tax dollar to clean the waters, there are campaigns and protest against the release of the water, promises are made and the next year it begins again.

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Currently lake Okeechobee is still polluted and scientist are worried about what the toxins could do to our health stating, “The toxins the bacteria produce are incredibly potent. They affect liver function. There’s neurotoxins that they produce so it’s a suite of really toxic stuff that can kill wildlife and really impact people’s health.” https://www.cbsnews.com/news/florida-lake-okeechobee-toxic-algae-problem-2018-07-06/

There has been an increase in hospital visits with residents siteing respiratory issues, this is especially true of people with asthma. Lake Okeechobee is expected to have another release of water during the hurricane season to keep the lake at low levels.

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This video shows the significance of the pollution to our marine life. There has been many instances of residents finding dead fish, turtles, manatees, dolphins and even a whale shark along the beaches. This is detouring many of tourist from visiting this paradise we call home and is in turn hurting our local businesses who depend on the tourist for their business to survive.

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Residents of the seven counties affected by this crisis have started to petition and rally together to stop the discharges of Lake Okeechobee such as the rally shown above and the linking hands around our waters but the questions still remain, will we ever be free of red tide? Will the government take charge and put the health of the oceans and the residents about the discharge of water? Only time will tell.

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