Many of us in Florida vividly recall recent years with highly visible toxic algae outbreaks on our waters — a reoccurring crisis that eventually prompted the creation of a new Blue-Green Algae Task Force in 2019. Despite the list of sound recommendations for combatting blue-green algae that the task force released later the same year, the issue and its root causes have remained largely unaddressed by Florida’s elected leaders.
During today’s Clean Water Conversation, Matanzas Riverkeeper Jen Lomberk and 1000 Friends of Florida’s Haley Busch joined Friends of the Everglades’ Gil Smart and Eve Samples to discuss the various ways that Florida should address the blue-green algae crisis and where we’ve so far failed in our response.
Today’s conversation scratched the surface of one of Florida’s most challenging environmental problems. Keep an eye out for the progress report on this topic that is currently in the works from 1000 Friends of Florida, the Florida Waterkeepers and a coalition of other environmental organizations that is set to be released in the coming days.
If you missed the event today, you can find the full recording below.