PLANS TO PROTECT THE EVERGLADES ANNOUNCED ON EARTH DAY

By TONI ELLINGTON

In honor of Earth Day – April 22, 2015 – President Obama visited the Florida Everglades to highlight his administration’s climate change initiatives. The focus on the Everglades is key because the rise of sea levels and the influx of salt water into the area have threatened the fresh water supplied by the Everglades as drinking water for the state. The White House will announce some initiatives to protect areas such as the Everglades, using such means as increasing funding for national parks.

Florida Governor Rick Scott issued a statement criticizing the federal government’s past commitment and efforts to maintain the Everglades. According to the Governor, the government should step up the Everglades restoration efforts by repairing the Lake Okeechobee dike. The dike is under the control of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

The Everglades is a primary outflow of Lake Okeechobee. It is the largest freshwater lake in the state of Florida and the seventh largest in the United States. In February 2015, the Army Corps of Engineers announced new rehabilitation plans for a portion of the Lake Okeechobee dike, at an estimated cost of $85 million. The dike is susceptible to erosion and is considered one of the most likely dikes to fail in the country. Problems with the dike have allowed salt water from deep below the ground to mix with shallower freshwater.

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