“Is a sugar industry that has profited so richly from the bounty of soil the Everglades provides, willing to sell some of that land so that ALL of us may have a better future?” -Michael Williams, Episode 4 of The Everglades Story
Last week, we debuted the first three episodes of The Everglades Story with Michael Williams — short videos that examined the beauty and necessity of what the Everglades ecosystem provides to Floridians.
This week, we are zooming in on the top threats facing the Everglades, and you are probably all too familiar with them. The sugar industry has plenty of access to water, drainage and financial protections — both through government supports and taxpayers covering the cost of the industry’s pollution. Water compartmentalization has starved the Everglades of necessary clean water flows and forced dirty water into fragile coastal estuaries, creating an economic and health crisis caused by toxic algae.
The good news: There is a solution. Our effort to Rescue the River of Grass would prioritize Floridians over corporations, restore the flow of clean water south through the Everglades and limit damaging Lake Okeechobee discharges.
Let Michael Williams explain. Watch three more episodes of The Everglades Story right now.
Episode 4: A Sweet Deal for No One — Big Sugar’s Toll
Big Sugar prospers while the Everglades remain on life support. Michael Williams explains why industry resistance and government subsidies are standing in the way of your clean water.
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Episode 5: The Freshwater Crisis Beneath Our Feet
”The River of Grass” is dying of thirst. For decades, human water management has robbed the Everglades of the clean freshwater it needs to survive.
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Episode 6: Florida’s Toxic Algae Crisis
For far too long, toxic water from Lake Okeechobee has been forced into coastal estuaries, fueling blue-green algae blooms and red tide.
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The solution: Rescue the River of Grass.
Join the movement! We’re calling on the state to allocate voter-approved funds meant for environmental land acquisition to buy and restore about 100,000 acres of land in the Everglades Agricultural Area (EAA) for water storage and filtration. Our scientists have crunched the numbers and this is what we need to:
💦 Send adequate clean water south into the southern Everglades
❌ Prevent harmful Lake Okeechobee discharges
💰Safeguard Florida’s clean-water dependent economy
