Environmental Issues in Florida

The issues related to the environment affect different parts of the world in different ways. The problem of ultraviolet rays (Australia) causing skin diseases is one of them. Recently, thousands of birds were found dead in Arkansas, USA. Many such instances of climate change can be observed across the globe. Following is the list of environmental issues faced in Florida.

Florida Environmental Issues

There are many environmental issues faced by Florida which need to be taken care of. These problems of the environment give us an idea about the importance of conserving natural resources.

Human Impact on the Everglades
Subtropical wetlands of southern Florida are known as Everglades. These wetland areas cover half of the large watershed region of south Florida. Destructive agricultural practices led to the degradation of this area. The floods caused by the Miami Hurricane and Okeechobee Hurricane were also responsible for the devastation of this region. It was in the 1970s that awareness about environmental issues in Florida started to receive more attention. Big Cypress Swamp was the place where the construction of a jetport was proposed. Opposition to this proposal served as a trigger for seeking attention towards environmental issues.

Waste Generation
Tourism is one of the main business activities in the Florida state. Influx of tourists leads to the generation of large amount of wastes. In the year 2010, 29 million tons of waste was generated in this state. Eighty million tourists and 18 millions residents were responsible for the generation of this waste. The landfill areas in Florida are therefore increasing. Single-stream recycling is the methodology used in treating waste materials in Florida. 'Plasma arc gasification' is another method of treating the waste. In this method, trash is burned in order to reduce the landfill space.

Issue of Invasive Species
The attack of invasive species leads to the formation of single-species environment which is harmful from the point of ecological balance. Brazilian pepper is one such invasive plant species known to have covered 703,500 acres of area in south Florida. These figures for other plants like Australian Pine and Melaleuca are 372,723 acres and 488,800 acres respectively. The red fire ant species were imported accidentally in North America in the 1930s. Their population has increased and these creatures have spread throughout Florida.

Extinction of Animal and Plant Species
The Florida panther is an endangered species and faces threat of extinction in the near future. Manatees also is one such animal species that faces the danger of extinction. The rate of reproduction of Manatees is lesser than the death rate, which is the reason behind this becoming endangered. Efforts taken by the federal government has however led to increase in the number of animals like alligators. These creatures were included in the list of endangered animals in 1977; this led to the increase in population of alligators thereon.

Environmental Pollution
The problem of environmental pollution has resulted in the build up of wastes to a great extent; pollution is one of the current environmental issues which affects all the nations on this planet. There were 44 'Superfund' sites in Florida in the year 2010. Clean up of hazardous substances from the surroundings is carried out at these sites. The 1980's Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) is commonly referred to as 'Superfund'. Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) created under Superfund carries out the clean up of toxic / harmful substances.

The environmental issues in Florida draw our attention to the bigger and complex problems associated with nature conservancy. Different forms of life are interrelated and interdependent. Any kind of infiltration / disturbance of the delicate balance of nature resulting from human intervention is bound to produce disastrous consequences. Global warming is one such observable sign/indication associated with climate change. We should therefore put our sincere efforts in conserving nature all the time.