Last week, residents and activists from the Glades communities spoke with us about the environmental and health injustices of sugarcane burning. Shocking imagery and compassionate personal testimony helped to paint a picture of the very real threat that looms over communities south of Lake Okeechobee 6-8 months of the year. The take-away was clear: impacted communities deserve immediate and lasting protections.
At Friends of the Everglades, we’ve made a commitment to help shine a light on this flagrant example of environmental inequality and we’d like to ask for your help. Last week, we sent a letter to Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried to express our support for the expansion of real protections for communities most impacted by the pre-harvest practice of sugarcane burning, until such a time that pre-harvest burning is banned entirely.
Now we invite you to do the same. Here’s how to participate:
Email your comments to Commissioner Fried directly by clicking here or clicking the button below to open a pre-formatted email window. If you’d like to add an additional comment, space has been provided. Just add your own story and click “Take Action.”
There’s no time to waste. Residents in impacted communities are depending on state regulations that protect them. We encourage you to share this email with others. With your help, we can send a message to Commissioner Fried that all of Florida is in support of burn protections that make the sugarcane industry a better neighbor.
