Floriduh GOP @ Work: Nestle To Pump 1 Million Gal/Day From Ginnie Springs; Permit Cost - $115
Florida’s leaders must hate Florida. Oh, they claim to love the place, rhapsodizing on the beauty of our springs, our lakes, our rivers, our forests, our beaches, and our seas. They vow to save the Everglades, turn back red tide, tackle toxic green algae, protect our wildlife, and make sure our water stays clean.
Except when there’s more money in destruction and degradation. And there’s always more money in destruction and degradation. Ginnie Springs, once jewel-bright and clear as gin, is due to be continually violated by a company called (with evil irony) Seven Springs. They want to suck as much as 1 million gallons of water from Ginnie every single day and sell it to mega-corp Nestlé. What does the permit for this cost? A big, fat 115 bucks.
Nestlé will then package the product in a plastic bottle and sell the water – your water, remember, from the Floridan Aquifer – back to you. Seven Springs wins; Nestlé wins; the bottle manufacturer wins. Losers include: the oceans (where that plastic is likely to end up), Florida’s fragile ecosystems, and you.
As of right now, Florida allows the withdrawal of nearly 5 billion gallons of water per day from our aquifer. The flow in the Santa Fe River and its many springs is down 30 to 40 percent. That’s critical, possibly lethal. According to Robert Knight, director of the Florida Springs Institute, “Springs that were translucent-blue 25 years ago are now green-brown and most of their plants and fish are gone.” But in Florida, Nature must be monetized. Our pretend-green governor and the venal characters who run the Legislature now want to ram superfluous toll roads through some of Florida’s last unspoiled wild lands, wreaking havoc on wetlands, forests, and wildlife.
EDIT
https://www.floridaphoenix.com/2019/11/04/floridas-leaders-love-our-environment-but-they-love-money-more/
