protect te river

[JUSTDAVE]

Last modified 6/1/2007 - 6:26 pm
Originally created 060307


Guest column: Much more protection sorely needed for the St. Johns River




By The Times-Union


As everyone knows, the massive "Green Monster" algae bloom of 2005 served as a wake-up call for our communities that the St. Johns River is sick and something must be done.
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Fortunately, Mayor John Peyton, JEA and some of the regulatory agencies have since developed a restoration plan for the lower section of the river called the St. Johns River Accord.

While the accord is a excellent start, it does not contain all of the ingredients necessary in the restoration recipe for a clean and healthy St. Johns.

If we are to comprehensively restore the health of our river, it will require the accord to be fully funded and executed, a plan for the restoration of the rest of the river, the addition of the missing ingredients mentioned above and our involvement.

All of us will have to take more responsibility and become more engaged in the process. The regulatory agencies, elected officials and us, the citizens, will all have to step it up.

Our new documentary film, Revenge of the River, analyzes some of those critical "missing ingredients" that are not being adequately addressed or even mentioned by elected officials and regulatory agencies.

Examples:

- Rapid loss of wetlands.

- Inadequate enforcement of our environmental laws.

- The depletion of our groundwater supply and unbridled growth.

By all accounts, we are not currently doing enough to adequately protect our river and natural resources.

How can we expect to accommodate a population in Florida that is expected to double by 2060?

We are at a crossroads in the future of the river, and business as usual is no longer an option.

We can choose a more sustainable path or we can leave these decisions up to our children and grandchildren.

Fortunately, it is not too late.

We have viable options and alternatives that are more sustainable and can significantly reduce our impact on our St. Johns River.

We can purchase homes that are more energy and water efficient.

More sustainable developments are possible, like Madera in Gainesville, that utilize cost-effective conservation technologies and low-impact development techniques.

We can certainly do a much better job of protecting our wetlands, conserving water, enforcing our environmental laws, managing growth and planning our communities.

The St. Johns River is ours, and its future is up to us.

You can learn more by watching Revenge of the River today at 3:30p.m. on WJXX TV-25 or visit this site: stjohnsriverkeeper.org.

Neil Armingeon is the St. Johns Riverkeeper.

[jbm32206]

Excellent post, and I agree 100% with you, in that we ALL need to step up to the plate and do our share. This includes the city and funding!

[JUSTDAVE]

anybody want to put the H in the

[jbm32206]

anybody want to put the H in the

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