A Venice crowd, incensed about the toxic algae, jams sidewalks as the governor visits Sarasota County, chanting “Red Tide Rick!”
Category: The Environment
“I can’t believe Rick Scott is scared of a bunch of little old ladies in tennis shoes. We’re here because we love our beaches.”
The most purely Florida story we have ever published.
Upstaging Scott, Marco Rubio has secured $1 million for the CDCP to immediately address algal blooms, changed the discharge schedule, funded algae removal, and added funds to identify health impacts from the toxic algae blooms.
The toxic algae and red tide are not included in the “Trending Topics” of the Florida Department of Health’s website. Over the last month, the department hasn’t mentioned either algae or red tide on its widely followed Twitter and Facebook accounts. It has, however, posted eight times about growing and cooking sweet corn.
This new $3 million funding is in addition to the $3 million grant program launched in July for counties impacted by blue-green algae.
“Florida’s manatees have no defense against this ecological disaster. Florida’s steadily declining water quality is a death warrant for the manatee.”
Scott’s request will try to provide small businesses with low-interest loans so they can recover from the damage caused by the algae blooms.
Rick Scott cut the budgets of environmental agencies including the South Florida Water Management District. Many of the 400+ workers who lost their jobs were scientists and engineers whose jobs were to monitor pollution levels and algal blooms.
Better monitoring could have provided more warning about the lake, and critical information for better understanding and fighting red tide and other water woes around the state.