Think about your favorite childhood memory. Was it visiting your grandparents’ lake house? Playing outside? Whatever it may be, I’m sure you hold those memories dear to your heart. For me, I grew up in South Florida, swimming by the mere age of two. My fondest memories are diving headfirst into the crystal clear blue waters we are blessed to have in our back yard. For years now, a portion of South Florida, very close to my home, Martin County has been experiencing an outbreak of toxic algae, due to the over flooding waters of Lake Okeechobee. There are pesticides being drained into our waters as a direct result from sugar farming. When the rising lake waters get to be too much, the city must intervene and relinquish the water into the rivers that flow out into the intercoastal and then sadly the ocean.
These past couple weeks there has been nothing but anger and resentment toward our Gov. Rick Scott to find a solution to this problem. I can completely understand why people are upset. We have every right to be. Local businesses in the Martin County area have been tremendously affected by the algae. Local businesses, restaurants, etc. rely on these waters. When people have been staying far away from the water because of the algae, the businesses are greatly affected.
The algae can be described in one word: disgusting. The color ranges from bright blue to electric green, the smell is nauseating, causing many people to become sick and eventually forced to wear masks when coming into contact or are near the algae. Not only is this algae harmful to us humans, but think about the amount of marine life affected by this. I don't even want to picture the amount of sea life that has died from this toxic algae. It breaks my heart.
We must not forget the underlying cause of this state of emergency. The rising water levels of Lake Okeechobee. Whatever political side you may be on, there is no ignoring this issue. We have had a substantial amount of rain these past couple of years, more than usual. This increase in rain obviously causes the water level in the lake to rise. While it is easy to blame the first person we think of when dealing with these types of issues, we can not afford to continue to accept that global warming is not an issue with this situation.
I want my water to be clean, for my generation and for my children to come. Sadly, they will want to know why this has happened to our town and I must tell them the cause. Why else would the government feel the need to relinquish water from the lake into our rivers and canals? Easy, because the lake water was rising at a tremendous rate. This past week, a group from our area headed to Washington, D.C. to address the issue at hand, in order to get the message across and to finally be heard. I hope that the powerhouses of Washington can take our pleas seriously, and to help save our waters.
