Stand Up to Save your Coast!
As a coastal community we must move past the unquestioning acceptance of Red Tide as a natural event, and address the problem of land-based sources of pollution that are known to fuel red tides. According to recent peer reviewed research the Gulf Coast of Florida is experiencing more intense and longer lasting Red Tide Blooms. Our quality of life and our coastal economy depend on a healthy gulf coast. We need to take a proactive stance and commit ourselves to reducing the pollution which has thrown our coastal ecosystem out of balance.
In 2004, the US Commission on Oceans Policy identified the primary problem plaguing our coastal ecosystem stating, “Coastal waters are one of the nation’s greatest assets, yet they are being bombarded with pollutants from a variety of sources.” It continued, “non-point source pollution has increased and is the primary cause of nutrient enrichment, hypoxia, harmful algal blooms, toxic contamination, and other problems that plague coastal waters. Non-point source pollution occurs when rainfall and snowmelt wash pollutants such as fertilizers, pesticides, bacteria, viruses, pet waste, sediments, oil, chemicals, and litter into our rivers and coastal waters.”
Despite warnings such as these, state and federal officials have not taken the lead in implementing simple low cost initiatives to improve our water quality. Florida’s Coastal Communities can seize this opportunity and fill the void of leadership in the absence of state and federal political will. By embracing proactive, common sense, low-cost initiatives, coastal communities can determine and shape the policies that impact our waterways.
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