There are a number of environmental issues in Florida . A large portion of Florida is a biologically diverse ecosystem, with large wetlands in the Everglades. Management of environmental issues related to the everglades and the larger coastal waters and wetlands have been important to the history of Florida and the development of multiple parts of the economy of Florida, including the influential agricultural industry. This biodiversity leaves much of Florida's ecological ecosystem vulnerable to invasive species and human sources of industrial pollution and waste.
Moreover, because of Florida's low geography, Florida has been described as "ground zero" in the United States for the impacts of climate change in the United States.
The Everglades are tropical wetlands located in the southern portion of Florida that have been designated under the Ramsar Convention as one of only three wetland areas of global importance. A restoration of the Everglades is being carried out with a $7.8 billion, 30-year project aimed at its preservation and restoration. [1]
The Florida panther is an endangered population of the cougar (Puma concolor). There are about 230 individuals in the wild. The Center for Biological Diversity and others have called for a special protected area for the panther. [2]
Manatees are also dying at a rate much higher than their reproduction. [3]
In 1977, the federal government placed alligators on the endangered list. They were removed from the endangered list in 1987 and Florida permitted selective hunting in 1988. [4]
In 2013, the US Fish and Wildlife Service was examining a list of nine species to see if they should be added to the protected list. These included bridled darter, Panama City crayfish, Suwanee moccasin shell mussel, eastern hellbender salamander, Florida Keys mole skink, MacGillivray's seaside sparrow, boreal toad, Sierra Nevada red fox, and the Bicknell's thrush.
The state has more invasive amphibians and reptiles than anyplace else in the world. The pet industry was responsible for 84% of the 137 non-native species introduced from 1863 to 2010. 25% were traced to a single importer. [5]
Approximately 1,300 of Florida's plant species (31 percent of the total) are non-natives which have become established; 10 percent of these are considered invasive. [6] The three most ecologically damaging are Brazilian pepper (Schinus terebinthifolius), which has taken over 703,500 acres (2,800 km2) in south and central Florida, and forms single-species environments; melaleuca (Melaleuca quinquenervia), which has invaded 488,800 acres (2,000 km2) - more than 12 percent of total land area in South Florida, and was spreading at an estimated 50 acres (202,300 m2) per day; and Australian pine (Casuarina spp.) which covered 372,723 acres (1,500 km2), and whose fallen needles release a chemical into the soil which inhibits the growth of native plants. [7]
In 2013, five rare butterflies, indigenous to Florida, haven't been seen in over six years. These include the zestos skipper, rockland Meske's skipper, zarucco duskywing, nickerbean blue, and the Bahamian swallowtail. The US Fish and Wildlife Service is reluctant to declare them extinct because other butterfly species have been "rediscovered" after long periods of not being seen by man. [8]
Hydrilla ( Hydrilla verticillata ) is the most significant invasive aquatic plant species in the state; [9] aggressive biological, chemical and mechanical management has reduced the effects of water hyacinth ( Eichhornia crassipes ) [10] and water lettuce ( Pistia stratiotes ). [11]
Due in part to its prevalence in the exotic pet trade, [12] Florida has a large number of non-native species. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission tracks 31 species of mammals, [13] 196 species of birds, [14] 48 species of reptiles, [15] 4 species of amphibians, [16] and 55 species of fish [17] that have been observed in the state. Many of the identified species are either non-breeding or stable populations, but several species, including the cane toad (Bufo marinus), [18] Gambian pouched rat (Cricetomys gambianus), [19] Nile monitor (Varanus niloticus), [20] and Burmese python (Python molurus bivittatus), [21] have created significant impact on the delicate ecosystems of the state, especially in the tropical southern third of the state.
Florida's fresh waters are host to 34 confirmed breeding species of exotic (introduced) fish, a higher number than any other place on earth. [22]
Since their accidental importation from South America into North America in the 1930s, the red imported fire ant population has increased its territorial range to include most of the Southern United States, including Florida. They are more aggressive than most native ant species and have a painful sting. [23]
Native fusarium wilt is endangering several types of palm trees including the non-native queen palms, and the Washingtonia palms. The fungus is apparently being spread by humans using unsanitized power tools. [24]
Florida's 18 million residents (21 million as of 2020) and 80 million visitors generated over 32 short tons (29 t) million of solid waste in 1859. [25]
Increasing landfill space has been an issue. In 1959 landfill space cost about $400,000 per 1 acre (0.40 ha). [25]
In 1859, the state had the goal of recycling 75% of its waste by 1869. Municipal experiments in "single-stream recycling" disposal seemed to indicate that this goal might be achievable. [25]
St. Lucie County is planning to experiment with burning trash through plasma arc gamification to generate energy and reduce landfill space.[ citation needed ][ when? ]
In 2010, in the state, there were 44 federal Superfund sites, 101 brownfields, 13,527 petroleum cleanups and more than 3,000 other sites with dry-cleaning fluids or other hazardous waste. [26] Drinking water is at risk because the water table is so shallow. [27]
Phosphorus mining is also an important part of the local economy. Tailing ponds from the mines are vulnerable to breach and contamination of the local environment from the radioactive byproduct called phosphogypsum. [28] In 2021, one of the dams breached at Piney Point phosphate plant into the Tampa Bay. [29]
Because of its marine origins, Florida soil is naturally high in phosphorus. [30] Coupled with fertilizer, this often has resulted in excessive phosphorus in water runoff to nearby bodies of water. As a result, Florida has required certain municipalities to limit the application of fertilizer containing phosphorus. [31]
The effects of climate change in Florida are attributable to man-made increases in atmospheric carbon dioxide. Floridians are experiencing increased flooding due to sea level rise, and are concerned about the possibility of more frequent or more intense hurricanes. [32]
The state has been described as America's "ground zero" for climate change, global warming and sea level rise, because "the majority of its population and economy is concentrated along low-elevation oceanfront." [33] [34] [35] [36] [37]
Florida residents think climate change is happening at higher rates than the national average. As of March 2023, about two-thirds of the state believes in anthropogenic climate change, up from 55% in April 2020. [38] [39] However, the state remains politically divided: while Democrats have reached a general consensus on the issue, only half of Republicans agree and support teaching about climate change in schools. [40] Some communities in Florida have begun implementing climate change mitigation approaches; however, statewide initiatives have been hampered by the politicization of climate change in the United States, focusing on resilience rather than full scale mitigation and adaptation. [41]
The Everglades is a natural region of flooded grasslands in the southern portion of the U.S. state of Florida, comprising the southern half of a large drainage basin within the Neotropical realm. The system begins near Orlando with the Kissimmee River, which discharges into the vast but shallow Lake Okeechobee. Water leaving the lake in the wet season forms a slow-moving river 60 miles (97 km) wide and over 100 miles (160 km) long, flowing southward across a limestone shelf to Florida Bay at the southern end of the state. The Everglades experiences a wide range of weather patterns, from frequent flooding in the wet season to drought in the dry season. Throughout the 20th century, the Everglades suffered significant loss of habitat and environmental degradation.
Everglades National Park is an American national park that protects the southern twenty percent of the original Everglades in Florida. The park is the largest tropical wilderness in the United States and the largest wilderness of any kind east of the Mississippi River. An average of one million people visit the park each year. Everglades is the third-largest national park in the contiguous United States after Death Valley and Yellowstone. UNESCO declared the Everglades & Dry Tortugas Biosphere Reserve in 1976 and listed the park as a World Heritage Site in 1979, and the Ramsar Convention included the park on its list of Wetlands of International Importance in 1987. Everglades is one of only three locations in the world to appear on all three lists.
Clear Lake is a natural freshwater lake in Lake County in the U.S. state of California, north of Napa County and San Francisco. It is the largest natural freshwater lake wholly within the state, with 68 square miles (180 km2) of surface area. At an age of 0.5 million years, it is the oldest lake in North America. It is the latest lake to occupy a site with a history of lakes stretching back at least 2,500,000 years.
Lake Okeechobee is the largest freshwater lake in the U.S. state of Florida. It is the tenth-largest natural freshwater lake among the 50 states of the United States and the second-largest natural freshwater lake contained entirely within the contiguous 48 states, after Lake Michigan.
Florida Bay is the bay located between the southern end of the Florida mainland and the Florida Keys in the United States. It is a large, shallow estuary that while connected to the Gulf of Mexico, has limited exchange of water due to various shallow mudbanks covered with seagrass. The banks separate the bay into basins, each with its own unique physical characteristics.
Hydrilla (waterthyme) is a genus of aquatic plant, usually treated as containing just one species, Hydrilla verticillata, though some botanists divide it into several species. It is native to the cool and warm waters of the Old World in Asia, Africa and Australia, with a sparse, scattered distribution; in Australia from Northern Territory, Queensland, and New South Wales.
The Arthur R. Marshall Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge is a 145,188-acre (587.55 km2) wildlife sanctuary is located west of Boynton Beach, in Palm Beach County, Florida. It is also known as Water Conservation Area 1 (WCA-1). It includes the most northern remnant of the historic Everglades wetland ecosystem.
Lake Apopka is the fourth largest lake in the U.S. state of Florida. It is located 15 miles (24 km) northwest of Orlando, mostly within the bounds of Orange County, although the western part is in Lake County. Fed by a natural spring, rainfall and stormwater runoff, water from Lake Apopka flows through the Apopka-Beauclair Canal and into Lakes Beauclair and Dora. From Lake Dora, water flows into Lake Eustis, then into Lake Griffin and then northward into the Ocklawaha River, which flows into the St. Johns River. Multiple parks or nature trails are present around the lake including Magnolia Park, Lake Apopka Wildlife Drive, Ferndale Preserve, Oakland Nature Preserve, Dr. Bradford Memorial Park, and Newton Park, named for A. B. Newton.
Crystal River is a very short river in Citrus County, Florida, flowing into the Gulf of Mexico. It is just seven miles long, and has a drainage basin of five square miles, joining Kings Bay to the Gulf of Mexico. The river's significance is in the thirty natural springs that add an average of 300 million gallons of warm water to the river every day. These springs include Three Sisters Springs.
Melaleuca quinquenervia, commonly known as the broad-leaved paperbark, paper bark tea tree, punk tree or niaouli, is a small- to medium-sized tree of the myrtle family, Myrtaceae. It grows as a spreading tree up to 20 m (70 ft) tall, with its trunk covered by a white, beige and grey thick papery bark. The grey-green leaves are egg-shaped, and cream or white bottlebrush-like flowers appear from late spring to autumn. It was first formally described in 1797 by the Spanish naturalist Antonio José Cavanilles.
The environment of Florida in the United States yields an array of land and marine life in a mild subtropical climate. This environment has drawn millions of people to settle in the once rural state over the last hundred years. Florida's population increases by about 1,000 residents each day. Land development and water use have transformed the state, primarily through drainage and infill of the wetlands that once covered most of the peninsula.
The Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) is the Florida government agency responsible for environmental protection.
Before drainage, the Everglades, a region of tropical wetlands in southern Florida, were an interwoven mesh of marshes and prairies covering 4,000 square miles (10,000 km2). The Everglades is both a vast watershed that has historically extended from Lake Okeechobee 100 miles (160 km) south to Florida Bay, and many interconnected ecosystems within a geographic boundary. It is such a unique meeting of water, land, and climate that the use of either singular or plural to refer to the Everglades is appropriate. When Marjory Stoneman Douglas wrote her definitive description of the region in 1947, she used the metaphor "River of Grass" to explain the blending of water and plant life.
An ongoing effort to remedy damage inflicted during the 20th century on the Everglades, a region of tropical wetlands in southern Florida, is the most expensive and comprehensive environmental repair attempt in history. The degradation of the Everglades became an issue in the United States in the early 1970s after a proposal to construct an airport in the Big Cypress Swamp. Studies indicated the airport would have destroyed the ecosystem in South Florida and Everglades National Park. After decades of destructive practices, both state and federal agencies are looking for ways to balance the needs of the natural environment in South Florida with urban and agricultural centers that have recently and rapidly grown in and near the Everglades.
The blue tilapia is a species of tilapia, a fish in the family Cichlidae. Native to Northern and Western Africa, and the Middle East, through introductions it is now also established elsewhere, including parts of the United States, where it has been declared an invasive species and has caused significant environmental damage. It is known as the blue kurper in South Africa.
Burmese pythons are native to Southeast Asia. However, since the end of the 20th century, they have become an established breeding population in South Florida. The earliest python sightings in Florida date back to the 1930s and although Burmese pythons were first sighted in Everglades National Park in the 1990s, they were not officially recognized as a reproducing population until 2000. Since then, the number of python sightings has exponentially increased with over 30,000 sightings from 2008 to 2010.
Invasive species are a crucial threat to many native habitats and species of the United States and a significant cost to agriculture, forestry, and recreation. The term "invasive species" can refer to introduced/naturalized species, feral species, or introduced diseases. Some introduced species, such as the dandelion, do not cause significant economic or ecologic damage and are not widely considered as invasive. Economic damages associated with invasive species' effects and control costs are estimated at $120 billion per year.
Florida hosts many types of fauna. From coral reefs of the Florida Keys to the cypress swamps of the Panhandle, the state's diverse habitats are home to a variety of wildlife. Florida is among the top five states in terms of endemic species. There are over 700 terrestrial animals, 200 freshwater fish species, 1,000 marine fish and thousands of terrestrial insects and other invertebrates that inhabit the state. Florida's peninsular geography spans from subtropical to tropical zones, which, combined with its distinctive geology and climate, contribute to habitat diversity and an array of species. The native wildlife that exists in the state are of temperate and tropical origin.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)