Environmental Issue in
Florida:
The
Everglades
The Everglades National Park, which sits
at the Southern end of the ecosystem is being overrun by the invasive species
known as the Burmese Python. Because of this many small animals, (mammals)
including raccoons, and opossums have been lost due to predation. This has been
occurring over the last fifteen years, and dwindled down those mammals to less
than ninety-nine percent. This will affect the ecosystem, causing change. A
snake will go from animal to animal, it will keep taking, it will not starve,
and it will keep reproducing.
Many of you may not be aware, but the
Everglades provides fresh drinking water to Southern Florida. The Everglades
also serves as watershed to coastal estuaries, including Biscayne Bay and the
Ten Thousand Islands. Mankind went into the glades, and made pipelines into and
through to help th humans, disrupting again, the natural habits of animals and
the ecosystem.
How did we damage the Everglades?
Here are some examples: to allow crops to flourish, farmers drained the peat
soil via canals. Once exposed to air, the drained peat soils were gradually
oxidized away by aerobic bacteria that degraded the aquatic plant remnants in
the peat soil. Scientists uncovered other problems. They discovered
eutrophication which caused the overgrowth of plant and algal species due to
the excess nutrients which was the normally low-nutrient ecosystem this hereby
caused harming to the Everglades’ vegetation. The extra nutrients were allowing
nutrient-loving plants like cattails to invade the wetlands and displace the
sawgrass and other native plant species. Phosphorus was discovered entering the
Everglades from canal-water discharge originating within Lake Okeechobee and
the Everglades Agricultural Area, where farmers enriched their fields with
phosphorus-heavy fertilizers. Mercury had been found in many species of the
fish in the glades, causing mercury poisoning.
 |
| Aerial view of the Glades |
Because of all the damage of the
Everglades, it has gone into Florida’s coastline and on into the Florida reefs
as well. In all reality, this will keep spreading, just like a disease.
The original damage began when mankind
started disturbing the quiet nature of the secluded Everglades with their noisy
machinery to harvest the wild grown sugarcane. Animals were flocking and
playing and living happily, together and alone. They felt safe. Once the
machines made noise, they were startled and ran, became confused. Then mankind
started investigating further into the glades. Taking what wasn’t there’s.
Stealing soil, putting water lines in and out, hunting, and making themselves
at home in what was a natural habitat. The life line of nature began to change,
because mankind disrupted everything.
 |
| Everglades South of the Yellow Line |
Repair: It is going to
cost well over thirteen billion both state and federal to repair the
Everglades. This will be the costliest environment project in history. However,
the repair is also another case of disruption, as we have made newer and better
pipelines, and have them flowing freshwater into the standing waters, in hopes
of adjusting how it sits, and flows, and other things that mankind ‘thinks’ may
help.
What would I have done differently?
It is one thing to take, but to keep taking until you cannot take anymore is
another. We can take and replenish, we can share, and we can help all at the
same time. Why not take the cane by hand quietly, as they have done in Africa,
rather than being so noisy and rude? While we are using machinery, we are also
polluting not just with noise, but with gasoline and air pollutants as well.
Mankind thinks they have to do things faster, and make it easier, while in the
meantime, they are causing destruction and leaving a path, a path that will
show our future generations that we did not care.
 |
| Mangrove Trees in Everglades National Park |
Sources:
No comments:
Post a Comment