DeSantis is going down and not for the reason people think.

[RegularJam]

South Florida’s ecosystem has been on the brink of disaster for some time. For decades Florida politicians have been putting bandaids on a gaping wound, or flat out cheering for the polluters to win. A number of things are coming to a head all at once.

The images coming out of south Florida, starting next month, will be shocking. It’s often not the stories that take dots being connected. Political careers often die when things become visual.

We have destroyed the wetlands in south Florida and it’s coming to a head this year. This isn’t some red tide event, though that will play a roll.

It’s so bad that they haven’t been able to release water from Okeechobee as was needed. We are heading into rainy season with the lake too high. It’s going to require a massive release at the exact wrong time.

So what is my prediction that thinks it will be so bad that it does DeSantis in?

Images of...

Large portions of south central and south Florida waterways filled with blue green algae. It will be so thick that the top layers will be of a noticeably thicker viscosity. The color is bright and can be easily seen. This will lead to enormous fish kills and it’s impact will continue to be felt coming into the winter as manatees move in.

Increased red tide events. Increased in scale and scope. It will be at a scale not seen before. This is not only due to water temperature increases but the impact of other pollution will aid it even more.

What will end up being a necessary release of Lake Okeechobee will be the final salvo.

It’s going to be more than hundreds of miles of dead fish. We will also be seeing dead reptiles and mammals.

We are in a lot of trouble with what we’ve done to our waterways. It’s going to hit the tv screens like never before. The images will shock you.

We can blame it on big sugar but those at fault are the ones who are suppose to be protecting our shared resources.

The algae is already showing up thick in some areas. Already. The bloom is going to be unreal.

As someone who loves the Fl ecosystem this has actually put me in tears a number of times over the last decade.

It’s not gradual anymore. This is the year.

[TheBlackAdder]

1. The look of a man. . .

.





.

[JI7]

2. At least it's something . They need a Democrat to do what Biden is doing at the national level

in florida . A lot of exposing and uncovering the shit that went on and trying to fix the problems and move forward.

[No Vested Interest]

3. Charlie Crist says he is ready and willing.

I'm not a Floridian, so I don't know if he is up to the job, or if L voters would ever consider him again.
But, we shall see.

[JI7]

9. He would be great since even as a Republican he was good

with things like allowing everyone to vote . I think him being Governor during Obama's first term instead of another republican was helpful in preventing republicans from cheating .

But some people who are from florida said he will probably not have a good chance at winning again .

[RegularJam]

14. I have a love/hate relationship with Crist.

Where I’ve changed over the years is in my understanding that he actually does care. The FL ecosystem is something he cares deeply about. But Democrats cannot currently win a statewide race in FL.

[No Vested Interest]

36. If you believe Dems cannot currently win in FL, then how is DeSantis going down?

DeSantis plans to run again for governor, as far as I know, unless he can garner a higher Republican nomincation, i.e., President or VP.

[RegularJam]

37. I'm not sure what you are getting at.

1) DeSantis isn’t the only Republican in the state.
2) I’m not confident he will be running again.

I believe DeSantis has declared but the guy has political ambitions.

[GulfCoast66]

39. DeSantis would beat Crist by 8 points. I live in Florida. Have for 35 years.

Glad he is a democrat and all. But he has held more positions than a ballet dancer.

Not saying he is not serious now. But he sure has changed a lot in the past. Republican supporting Bush and hoping to be McCains running mate. That fell through. Then an Independent. Then a democrat. Has lost 2 statewide races.

I don’t see anyone currently in the mix who will beat DeSantis. Maybe Demings if she runs. Her law enforcement background would help with moderate independents.

Buddy Dyer the long time mayor of Orlando could but shows no interest. He’s folksy moderate in a Lawton Chiles manner but has helped turn Orlando in to a progressive city. It is apparent he want that to be his legacy and last political job. He is just not too ambitious.

I’m not hopeful. Crist got in early hoping name recognition would drive off others. I don’t see him popular with statewide democrats. If he gets the nomination I will support him strongly as I did Gillum. But like Gillum I will know we have a flawed candidate.

[No Vested Interest]

43. I'm inclined to agree with you, though, as I said, I'm not in FL.

Crist appears a little shop-worn for governor.
Congressman seems like a good fit, but he'll vacate that office if he gets nomination for governor or other office.
(Son lives in Sarasota, but he doesn't appear to be politically involved state-wide.)

[calimary]

4. Oy - what we've done to our Earth...

[Traildogbob]

8. Like Major Trailer Queen said

On her comedy tour With Mattie the minor molester at the Village last weekend. Her exact words . “The GQP wants to make earth the most beautiful one on the planet.” The MurKKKan dream, you can be anything you want to, even if you are an idiot.

[hatrack]

15. My GOD she's stupid . . . .

[Wednesdays]

17. Reminds me of a speech

by a player of a victorious Superbowl team at a rally a couple of days after the game in the 90's: "We're not just the greatest team in the world, we're the greatest team on the planet!"

[Traildogbob]

18. He could have had head trauma

She is just STUPID. Does sniffing too much burnt gun power eat brain cells? The MAGA’s kind of make that seem like a thing.

[calimary]

38. Uh-huh. Just like the hapless Kevin McCarthy

who wants you to think Republicans “embrace free thought and debate.”

Watch what they DO. NOT what they say. After all, talk is cheap.

[DanieRains]

5. The Number Of True Psychopaths In Florida Is Real High

They simply want things and people destroyed, for the good of the right wing looney tunes.

[dchill]

6. Or will Florida be sacrificed on the Altar of Trump?

Reality is not an issue to the Rabid Right.

[JohnnyRingo]

7. Can't they put a big Epcot Center sign in front of it?

I'm being facetious, but the state could try to distract from environmental disaster by pushing the bright side out front. Disney World is wide open for fun in 2021!

[Imallin4Joe]

10. Warmth is like steroids for algae. recd. nt

[onethatcares]

11. don't forget Piney Point

and the fact.....yes, FACT that the legislature and the DEP are going to allow deep injection of that poisoned water below the aquifier.

The state of the state of floriduh stinks in more ways than a red tide fish kill.

BTW: water temperature this morning in the close shore waters of the Gulf of Mexico near St Petersburg...84 degrees

[Klaralven]

12. Will it clear up by October before Trump gets back?

[RegularJam]

13. No.

We will still have high water temps in October. The blue green algae will be at its worst in September and October.

[MoonlitKnight]

16. Manatees are dying

In record numbers in the Indian River lagoon.

This summer is going to be a major environmental disaster. And it is just the start of at least a decade of problems- even if we flip Florida deep blue it will take a long time to turn it around.

[RegularJam]

22. It's going to be a very bad year for manatees.

After a tough summer with red tide, they will then move into their normal winter feeding grounds just to be met with a massive food shortage.

Many of the dead manatees were found to have starved to death.

[womanofthehills]

34. Manatees have high levels of glyphosate in their bodies

And as long as glyphosate is sprayed for weed control in Lake Okeechober you are adding toxic chemicals to the nitrogen from farming runoff feeding the algae changing the composition of the algee.

New Study Discovers Increasing Levels of Glyphosate in Blood of Florida Manatees
Posted on Mar 2021

“A scientific study published last week concludes that Florida manatees are chronically exposed to glyphosate because of application of the herbicide to sugarcane and aquatic weeds.”

“The study found that the amount of glyphosate sprayed by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission to control aquatic weeds in Lake Okeechobee exceeded the sample waters, reaching up to 10,000 kilograms per year, and that the Army Corps’ Lake Okeechobee discharges result in high concentrations of glyphosate in the Caloosahatchee and St. Lucie rivers.

“The study, published in Environment International, also found that manatees were exposed to glyphosate in non-agricultural areas, such as the Crystal River, and that exposure was higher during winter, when manatees depend on the warm water refuge.” https://sustainablepulse.com/tag/roundup/#.YJraJr1OIlQ

[RegularJam]

35. Really good way to show how contaminated the water is.

These are things that feed algae. It’s so messed up what they have done.

In my area they tightened down restrictions on fertilizer. It has had a noticeable and positive impact on Tampa Bay. Certain times of year it is against the law to sell or use specific fertilizers. Unincorporated areas and some corporations have loopholes.

[GulfCoast66]

40. And the state just dumped millions of gallons of nutrient rich water from Piney Point into the bay.

I no longer fish south of Citrus County. Nothing left to catch. The big bend is still pretty pristine, but with the new toll roads coming that is coming to an end.

20 years ago I could catch 100 trout a day out of tarpon springs(limit of 7 back then. I was not killing 100 fish). Now the limit is 4 and you are lucky to catch that.

We were actually making headway until 2000. Then Jeb and his merry raiders took over and have had control since. We are basically back to the days of Disston, Broward and Flagler. Develop it all. Never met a swamp they valued.

[lpbk2713]

19. They can't point their fingers at Dems, that's for sure.

It's been a GOP show ever since Jeb Bush.

[Hortensis]

20. Yesterday DeSantis said he "feared the likelihood of harmful water releases

over the summer. No mention of emergency authorizations.

As a result, the governor said he's asking the Army Corps of Engineers to go back to some of their operating strategies from 2019 and 2020 when there were minimal harmful water discharges from Lake Okeechobee over the summer.

"Unfortunately, that's been a little bit different now this year," DeSantis said. "Because of these high levels, we are assuming that the Corps is gonna be discharging some of this water with a lot of algae content."

U.S. Rep. Brian Mast, R-Florida, said the Army Corps of Engineers came to state officials last year and said it would be managing the lake differently in 2021.

"[The Army Corps] went into this with the wrong game plan," Mast said. "This approach to summer, not even into the hottest time of the year yet, shows that it was a totally incorrect way to go out there and manage the lake."

It's been several years since we considered a winter fishing shack (MH) at Okeechobee, but a couple of locals then said some of the MH parks/shore area sites are below the level of the lake and that flooding had long been a concern. True or not true, I don't know.

[RegularJam]

21. The lake should not be this high going into rainy season.

It is this high due to intentional decisions. DeSantis is already pushing propaganda.

Thank you for sharing.

[Hortensis]

24. Propaganda was a given. Republican politicians literally haven't

been able to tell the truth since the 1980s-90s, not if they care to be reelected and don't want themselves and their families ruined by vindictive former allies. And these days they'd have to worry about mobs.

Why intentional? What was gained? The usual?

[RegularJam]

25. The intentional aspect was because of our...

Already spiking nutrients in inland waterways. We are already seeing blue green algae in places it hasn’t been and we aren’t at it’s most favorable months. Okeechobee discharges are an enormous friend to blue green algae, along with other negatives. They are simply kicking the can down the road. It’s acts of desperation.

These are the same people who acted like Piney Point was an overnight problem that we had to be saved from yet it’s been mismanaged for decades and has released millions of gallons of contaminated water for decades.

Republicans have put us in this spot. They have turned a blind eye to the devastating impact corps have had on our ecosystem and have virtually ignored the enormous amount of toxins being dumped.

[Hortensis]

27. Kicking the can past the big-money tourism/snowbird season also, sounds like.

My husband used to fish the Terra Ceia waterways just south of Piney Point. He and his fellow fishermen talk about that, but our votes are in Georgia.

[BannonsLiver]

23. Heard the same about Rick Scott

“He’ll be doomed by his handling of the environment.”

Now he’s in the senate, probably for life. This is pie in the sky dreaming. DeSantis will be a pain in our ass in some form or another for years, if not decades to come.

[RegularJam]

26. We never visibly saw what we are starting to see now.

It is far different.

That said, I’m sick of seeing the pending doom of politicians that I’ve done here. It’s almost always navel gazing. I accept your criticism in this area. Still, we didn’t see manatee die offs under Scott. We haven’t seen waterways being suffocated like we already are this year. That point is important. Already in places we haven’t seen it and it’s just the beginning of bloom season.

Whether I’m right about DeSantis taking a massive hit or not, please recognize the difference and that the disaster we have been talking about for decades has arrived.

[BannonsLiver]

31. It doesn't matter if I recognize it

It matters if Floridians who have shown themselves to be loyal GOP voters are outraged about the environment enough to vote for someone else. I’m skeptical, based on a mountain of past evidence.

[RegularJam]

33. Each person that recognizes it is another voice. nt

[Hortensis]

28. Change always causes change. When, what kind and DIRECTION, how much

are the questions. The pubs have gotten good at deflecting citizen passions and forced change in the wrong direction so that problems just keep getting bigger. But that can't continue forever.

We're hopefully at/near the end of a 40-year period of anti-government, anti-tax, anti-regulation, hard-core conservative domination. I think it would have happened years ago if increasing radicalization of half the nation wasn't the biggest and most dangerous of the problems that have grown to and past the point of forcing self-protective change.

[Amishman]

29. no one will care, environmental stories don't get the ratings so they will be an afterthought

The deracho from Aug last year dropped out of the news in a matter of a day or two - despite causing 11 billion dollars in damage.

[Sogo]

30. Hundreds of miles of dead fish

has got to stink like crazy and have an effect on those living along that shore....

[lagomorph777]

32. I don't think Florida Man gives a shit about the environment, when he votes.

I would love to see DeSatan go down, but I doubt this will be the cause. I expect it will be more to do with dead grannies stacked like cordwood, thanks to his aiding and abetting Trump's COVID genocide.

[FakeNoose]

41. This must affect the quality of the drinking water in Florida too

People are going to get sick if the drinking water goes bad.

[live love laugh]

42. Who's going to report it? I expect fleeting coverage from the Republican owned media. nt

[Tamurlane]

44. Black people will be blamed for it

...like they were for the 2008 recession.

Problem solved.