News Press

Letters to the editor

April 11, 2007

 

Golf courses big polluter

 

Re: "Red tide causes unclear," Kevin McCarthy, April 1. There is a medical practice for diagnosing diseases doctors refer to as ruling out the cause.

 

Kevin McCarthy's letter to the Mailbag may have provided an example of ruling out a big contributor to red tide outbreaks, well, at least lessened big agriculture's burden as cause celebre.

 

If they are not releasing nitrified water (if we accept nutrients exacerbate RT blooms, and we do) then the nutrients must be coming from somewhere else.

 

There is the upstream areas of Lake Okeechobee (a big conveyor, collector of nutrients) and the downstream areas. No runoff or releases due to drought makes one look for another source. This one isn't easy because it involves lots of votes and doesn't lend itself to being made a scapegoat.

 

I'm referring to us, with our lush green lawns and landscapes. The reason I consider this is: The less it rains the more we irrigate and the more we irrigate without the free nitrogen of rain the more we fertilize to stay green, and so do golf courses.

 

That's it; it must be the golf courses. Does that add up?

 

MIKE BARTLEY

Fort Myers Beach

 

 

Cleanup takes time

 

Maybe Mr. McCarthy was too premature in stating that there has been no recent releases of Lake Okeechobee water. After I finished reading his letter I turned the page and saw that 3 million gallons of water were released the day before. It doesn't say how much more pollutants are in a gallon of water vs. how much there were five years ago.

 

Maybe 3 million gallons of water is not a lot, but after the billions and billions of gallons of polluted water dumped our way, it will take a long time for Mother Nature to clean the mess that has been created. So red tide and the algae that causes it are going to be around for a long time even if there were no releases.

 

Another point I would like to make is Sanibel residents have spent over $56 million to have a sewer system on the island. No more septic systems. What has Hendry County done lately to help clean up the water?

 

BOB FODOR

Sanibel

 

 

Big Ag solutions

 

Kevin McCarthy, Hendry County Commissioner, poses the question, "when are coastal activists going to quit pointing the finger at the agricultural industry for our algae and red tide problems?" Proudly considering myself one of the coastal advocates I would like to answer Mr. McCarthy.

 

We are going to quit blaming the agricultural industry for these problems when we start to see solutions that don't exclusively benefit them. They and their influence are the causes directly responsible for the pollution of Lake Okeechobee. They are directly responsible for the excessive and dangerous quantities of water maintained in the lake for their irrigation needs.

 

They are directly responsible for the various "solutions" to the problems, which interestingly profit only them. They and their agents have controlled and manipulated this system for their advantage, and even now, plans to cure the problems are little more than the creation of additional water storage and treatment areas to continue the status quo of protecting the farm industry to the detriment of everyone else along the waterways.

 

I will tell Mr. McCarthy when we are going to quit pointing the finger at the agricultural industry; it will come when we achieve fair representation on governing agencies like the South Florida Water Management District board, when the Florida Department of Environmental Protection begins to live up to its name, not down to its actions. Perhaps when government officials like Kevin McCarthy start to look for solutions that benefit us all, we can stop identifying the culprits in this crisis. Until he does that he may be absolutely certain, the finger-pointing is going to continue.

 

PAUL REYNOLDS

Sanibel

 

 

Algae explained

 

I can't tell you how disappointed I was to read Kevin McCarthy's letter. As a Hendry County commissioner, he should be better informed.

 

He accuses "activists" in Lee County of claiming that red tide is caused by water releases from Lake Okeechobee. All the "activists" I know here are much too savvy about red tide to say that. We know that red tide forms out in the middle of the Gulf of Mexico. We also know, and so does the staff of the South Florida Water Management District, that red tide blooms and grows like crazy when it reaches coastal waters. That's because there are accumulated nutrients from years of polluted fresh water releases in our estuaries and coastal areas.

 

The massive amounts of nutrients in the Lake O water releases of 2004 and 2005 did not evaporate into thin air. They accumulated in the estuaries and coastal areas, and they still feed all kinds of algae blooms. Dying algae becomes yet more nutrient material that feeds more algae blooms. We were just dumped on way too much, and may now be past the tipping point of being able to recover our water quality. Not that I detect even a note of concern about that in Mr. McCarthy's letter.

 

I don't know why he was writing about red tide at this time. We are not suffering from big red tide blooms at this time. It is red drift algae that is plaguing our beaches, and green algae still plagues the J.N. "Ding" Darling National Wildlife Refuge (visited by more people than any other national wildlife refuge in the country).

 

Red drift algae is a macro-algae and is very different from red tide. Red drift algae is fed by the nutrient nitrogen, and it will only bloom in massive amounts once the turbid waters clear up and enough light falls on the bottom of the Gulf in coastal areas.

 

Does Mr. McCarthy realize how this agricultural runoff from the entire SFWMD is starting to harm our economy in the coastal areas, which is much more significant to this state than the agricultural economy is? Does he realize how many people are being negatively affected by this? Does he even care a tiny bit? Is the problem that he cares only about his area's agricultural way of life and to heck with everyone else's?

 

On one matter I'll agree with Mr. McCarthy: It is high time for the agricultural and urban areas north of Lake Okeechobee to clean up their act in regard to their waters, which drain into our waters. And while Mr. McCarthy is at it, it looks like there is a significant source of nitrogen entering the Caloosahatchee in Hendry County. I hope he will find it and have it cleaned up. According to the SFWMD, 88 to 92 percent of the nitrogen in the Caloosahatchee comes from east of the Franklin Locks.

 

BARBARA JOY COOLEY

Sanibel

 

 

Free of red drift algae

 

Much of what Mr. McCarthy wrote is technically correct as long as he refers to red tide. However if he had referred to red drift algae he would have been be very much in error.

 

The nutrient-rich water releases from Lake Okeechobee along with the runoff from the land along the Caloosahatchee River are what causes the red drift algae to grow at an abnormal rate in our estuaries and in the near shore Gulf of Mexico. This red drift algae eventually lands on our beaches, carried there by the waves and tides.

 

Much of the nutrients get into Lake Okeechobee from the Kissimmee River, which transports the surface runoff and treated effluent from thousands of septic tanks in homes along the river.

 

During this recent dry spell there have been few, if any water releases, and the result can be seen at beaches practically free of red drift algae. This, in itself, reinforces the fact that the nutrient-rich water releases are a major reason we ultimately end up with red drift algae, not red tide, on our beaches.

 

Mr. McCarthy, our problem is not red tide, it is the red drift algae contaminating our beaches and near shore waters.

 

BERNARD M. LUBETKIN

Sanibel

 

 

Water is precious

 

The coming restrictions on sprinkling are a positive step in dealing with the water shortage. We can and must do more.

 

We moved to Colorado in the late '40s, and were welcomed by advice by the governor's son: "Water is our most precious resource. Use it conservatively, knowing drought dogs our heels at every step." He knew, and we learned quickly, that there was no other option but to use water with care.

 

Wet down quickly in the shower, turn water off while you lather with soap, then turn water on for quick rinse. Brush teeth, then turn water on for quick rinse. Scrape dishes after meals and rinse in a shallow basin of water; save dishwashing until you have a full load. Launder dirty clothes when you have a full load. Sweep clean what you can in and around the house; use water only when necessary.

 

We began to realize that gallons of water had been wasted down the drain before we made these changes. You get the idea. These steps sound nit-picky, but one household's savings can be remarkable. In the aggregate, if our community will practice the same care, we will make a real difference. Let's do it.

 

CAROL H. EHRLICH

Fort Myers