For Householders
Lose your lawn. A lush, manicured green lawn is not
appropriate for Florida’s climate or Florida’s waters; lawns use too much water
and require too much fertilizer and pesticides. Quit fertilizing, quit watering,
and cancel your lawn chemical service. Replace your lawn with native or
Florida-friendly plants.
It’s okay to replace your lawn in stages, but quit
fertilizing and watering it now. If your homeowners’ association objects, tell
them that Florida-friendly
landscaping is part of state law. Florida Statute 373.185 prohibits government
entities and homeowners associations from enacting or enforcing any governing
document to prevent homeowners from implementing Florida-friendly landscaping
(FFL) principles.
Do everything you can to save as much water as you can.
Calculate your water footprint, then do some research and decide what changes
you can make immediately, in the short term, and in the long term. Remember to
account for the foods you eat. Why? Because some foods are very water-intensive
to produce (beef is one example). Here’s a good water footprint calculator:
If your diet consists of water-intensive food products, you
don’t have to change it immediately. Even small changes, such as having one
meat-free day a week, can help.
For Family Farmers
Realize that no one in the water advocacy community wants
you to lose your livelihood, especially not if your family has been farming for
generations. We simply want to save our springs and rivers. We don’t believe
that family farms and clean, abundant water are in opposition to each other. We
do believe that we should all be working together because farmers need clean,
abundant water too. When we point out problems, realize that we are not
attacking you. We’re simply identifying problems and we want to work with you for
solutions—not drive you out of business. Let’s work together to get rid of the
“us vs. them” mentality.
For Factory Farmers
Do the crops and/or animals you raise require the intensive use
of water and fertilizer? Is your farm a polluter? If so, be a good citizen and make
responsible land use decisions. Use some of your big bucks to (1) change the
crop you’re raising to something such as longleaf pine that is less damaging
for our water, or (2) relocate to an area of Florida or the U.S. where the
aquifer is confined and your farming practices will not contribute to the
destruction of our water supply and our recreational waters.
For Everyone
Get outdoors. Visit nearby lakes, rivers and springs. What
do you see?
Learn where your water comes from.
Learn where your water goes when it leaves your house. Do
you live in a springshed? Which one? If so, you have extra responsibilities to
care for our water.
Realize that there is a finite amount of fresh water in
Florida (and on the planet) and that alternative water supply projects such as
desalination are expensive and often carry unintended consequences. As a
taxpayer, do you really want to foot the bill for such projects if you don’t
have to?
Understand that the health of our lakes, rivers and springs
reflects the health of the aquifer that supplies our drinking water. If surface
waters are damaged, that damage can also affect the aquifer. Our water problems
are not just aesthetic issues; they are potential economic and public health
problems. Dirty water is bad for business and bad for people. Save the spring,
save the river/Save the river, save the aquifer.
Think about how we should be managing our waters.
Should we be using them up as fast as we can? Should we be using them as sewers
to dispose of our waste? Or should we be managing them conservatively as a
public trust, the same way we would manage a financial trust fund for our
children?
Conserve water, because that is the fastest and cheapest way
to make more water available to lakes, rivers and springs. Remember that
“conservation” and “conservative” come from the same root word and that conservation
of our natural resources is a conservative value.
Abandon the use of fertilizer and other outdoor chemicals
that cause water pollution.
Understand who is responsible and accountable for the
conditions of Florida’s waters. The Florida Department of Environmental
Protection (FDEP) is the agency responsible for water quality. The directors of
the water management districts (WMDs) are responsible for water quantity/water use
permit decisions.
Realize that whoever is the governor of Florida appoints the
head of FDEP and board members of the WMDs.
Remember that there are many powerful and well-financed
special interests that have absolutely no interest in Florida’s changing the
way it makes its water-related decisions. If there is an “us vs. them” scenario
regarding Florida’s waters, it is these special interests arrayed against
Florida’s citizens and the people who come from all over the world to enjoy our
waters and the “Florida brand.”
Educate yourself.
- Learn about Florida’s hydrological cycle and how we depend upon rain for our fresh water.
- Google “Floridan Aquifer.”
- Find a local water advocacy group; read their website; attend a meeting. What does the group identify as the major water problem in your area? What are they doing about it?
- Identify your regional water management district and attend a meeting to see how water use decisions are made.
- Google “Florida Constitution, Article II, section 7.” What does it say?
Understand that at this point in our history, Florida’s
water problems are political problems because our elected officials, influenced by
powerful special interest groups, can dictate to our water managers whether our
water laws should be enforced or ignored.
Get involved in the political process, because that process
that now determines the health of our waters.
- Educate yourself about local and state candidates and where they stand on water issues.
- Go to candidate forums and ask pointed questions. Examples: “What did you do in 2014 to improve our waters?” “If you didn’t support the Florida Springs and Aquifer Protection Act, why not?” “If you took no action on this bill because your party leadership told you to wait, why was kowtowing to that leadership more important than standing strong for our waters?” “What specific commitments will you make in 2015 to reverse the damage to our lakes, rivers and springs?”
Remember that our lakes, rivers and springs cannot speak; we
must speak for them.
Register to vote.
VOTE.
Repeat all actions.
No comments:
Post a Comment