With the dramatic appeal that it has, you probably heard the name, Florida's Everglades. Nicknamed as "Nurseries of Life" for their many rare and endangered animals. But over the years, Florida's Everglades has been losing much of its' value. What with wetlands being historically regarded as wastelands and centers of disease and insect infestation, more than half of the original wetlands in the United States have been degraded or destroyed. Florida's Everglades are one of the few wetlands that have government protection, though that hasn't stopped pet owners from dumping their previous pets into this diversity of life. In fact, there are now invasive pythons going around the Everglades and ruining the food cycle. How about that as a storyline for a comic book series? Though it is not just animals ruining the environment, human activities, such as agriculture, industrialization and development has been playing a crucial role in the mass destruction. Wetlands are drained and filled in to provide more opportunities for residential and industrial development. It's also replaced and used for dumping grounds for waste. Even though attitudes about wetlands have changed, over the recent years, since they provide us protection from storms and hurricanes. The value of many wetlands are degrading because of the …show more content…
If this were to happen, then we will not only lose the estimated 67 threatened or endangered species, we will also lose the only place where the American Alligator and the American Crocodile are able to co-exist in the wild. The Everglades is turning into an unstable environment and the value of it is decreasing. Instead of the once balanced harmony of both a mixture of water and land filled with unique and vibrant organisms, it's now just a picture that looks like it popped out of some horror
I live in Houma, Louisiana so I have tons of experience with the bayou region of South Louisiana. Everywhere I look in Houma there is a bayou, which is a good and bad thing. With a bayou comes many great things such as Egrets, Spanish Moss, etc. The bad thing about seeing many bayous is that it is a constant reminder that one day, Houma might be a part of the Gulf of Mexico. Also my dad’s side of the family is from Chauvin and Golden Meadow which is not too far from where the real damage of eroding wetlands is. I go down to Chauvin sometimes to visit my Nanny and her husband. I always see houses on stilts because of possible flooding that could come if a hurricane passes through. One of the issues that Mike Tidwell caught my interest was that the wildlife in bayous will one day be diminished into smaller numbers. That is because the eroding land causes brown shrimp, crabs, and other seafood to die out. Many residents in South Louisiana make a living off of seafood so to have most of that industry die out will hurt the economy of South Louisiana. I just found this issue very interesting.
Invasive species have the potential to harm their new environments. The release of Burmese pythons in South Florida is especially troublesome because the subtropical climate and the vast undisturbed habitats of the Everglades enable the species to thrive. Other large non-native snakes— such as the common boa (Boa constrictor), green anaconda (Eunectes murinus), yellow anaconda (Eunectes notaeus), and reticulated python (Python reticulatus)—have been observed in the wild in South Florida, but only Burmese pythons and common boas are known to be breeding. Burmese pythons were first reported as established in Everglades National Park (ENP) by Meshaka, based in part on specimens collected on the Main Park Road in the mid-1990s. Since then, the number of Burmese pythons captured or found dead in and around ENP has increased dramatically increased. From 2002 - 2005, 201 pythons were captured and removed or found dead. In 2006 - 2007 alone, that number more than doubled to
This is a very critical situation that needs to be fixed urgently. The habitats of the Everglades depend on an annual water cycle which has been hindered by the development construction which was imposed on the farmland. Back in the 19th century, developers were keen on draining all the swamps in the Everglades for developmental purposes. Their intention was to grow sugarcane plantations on the land yet sugarcanes are highly destructive to the Everglades. They too disrupt the water cycle to which the wildlife has adapted. The Florida sugar industry built on the southern Shore of Lake Okeechobee directly clocks the water source for the remaining Everglades hence destroying the habitats of the wildlife existing in the affected areas.
Fifty percent of the original wetlands doesn’t even exist today. The water supply in the Everglades is changing and that has affected the Everglades in many ways. For one, population is decreasing and mankind needs to restore it somehow. Next, the Everglades are in need of some money to do that restoration, but where will they get it from? Last, the water supply is poisoning the humanity around it with much bacteria and many bad and dangerous elements. The Everglades water supply affected it in fixing the Everglades and wildlife.
Within the state of Florida there are dozens of individualized, non-profit organizations making an effort to help the local wildlife. The local land and marine wildlife includes birds, geckos, frogs, snakes, panthers, manatees, sea turtles, fishes, sharks, corals, lizards and many, many more. Florida State is located on the Southeastern tip of the United States providing a unique opportunity for conservation of salt-water animals. While there are animal conservation efforts taking place all over the world, this essay will focus on two animal species that humans are specifically trying to save in Florida State. The two main animal species of focus are manatees and sea turtles.
Maintaining ecological diversity is necessary for the survival of a biological community. In the United States, American citizens are on the verge of irrevocably damaging one of the country's most unique and diverse treasures - the Florida Everglades. This national park is now the only remaining patch of a river that used to span 120 miles from Lake Okeechobee to the Florida Bay. Dikes and levees created by the Army Corps of Engineers in the late 1940's drained this river to reduce flooding and increase useable water for the development of the region. This major diversion of water lead to a trickle down effect causing the continual decline of the environmental state of the Everglades. Since then, debates over the Everglades' future have silently raged on for years about how, why, and when the restoration will begin. This ongoing, but virtually unproductive effort has cost taxpayers a great deal without any apparent benefits. Recently, this debate has been amplified by the voices of the sugar industry in Florida, which was attacked for its major contribution to pollution of the Everglades. Now debates rage on with a new effort called the Restudy. Backed by the Army Corps of Engineers, this effort would change the flow of the Everglades, potentially restoring it into the viable community of life that it used to be. The question now is, will this latest attempt to restore the Everglades ever be realized (thus ending the cyclic Everglades debate) or will it simply add up to one more notch on the bedpost of inadequate and failed attempts to save this national treasure. The world is watching to see how the United States will handle this unprecedented cleanup.
In understanding how my worldview was subconsciously constructed by my life experiences from the past nineteen years, I had to first think about my roots. I was born in Tampa, Florida to a Puerto Rican mother and white father. They divorced when I was too young to remember, and while I did have a relationship with my dad, I lived with my mother and was raised in a tight-knit Puerto Rican family, often times being cared for by my grandmother. I was an only child for ten years which I’m sure has impacted my personality, and at ten I got a baby sister whom I am very close to. Growing up in Florida was interesting because I was half white and half Hispanic, which mirror the main demographics of Florida well, but I never quite fit in with either group because while I look very white and this is what people perceive me as, I was not raised by the white side of my family but rather the Puerto Rican side. Still, I don’t quite fit into this group either because I don’t speak perfect Spanish at home and most Hispanic people treat me as an “outgroup” and not one of them.
...restore natural lands. The federal, state, and local governments are joining forces to bring these pristine natural lands back to their original splendor and beauty. "The question of why we should protect the Everglades has now evolved into how we should restore the Everglades," according to Suzie Unger. "Everglades National Park is the largest remaining sub-tropical wilderness in the continental United States and has extensive fresh and saltwater areas, open Everglades prairies, and mangrove forests. Abundant wildlife includes rare and colorful birds, and this is the only place in the world where alligators and crocodiles exist side by side. The park is 1,506,539 acres (606,688 hectares) in size. It is a World Heritage Site, an International Biosphere Reserve, and a Wetland of International Significance," according to the following website: http://nps.gov/ever
Florida became a state in 1845 and almost immediately people began proposing to drain the Everglades. In 1848, a government report said that draining the Everglades would be easy, and there would be no bad effect. Canals and dams were dug to control seasonal flooding. Farmers grew vegetables in the rich soil of the drained land, Ranchers had their cattle graze on the dry land, and new railways lines were constructed to connect communities throughout south Florida; but the ecosystem of the Everglades was not suited for either farming or ranching. The natural cycle of dry and wet seasons brought a devastating series of droughts and floods. These had always been a p...
...n, the Louisiana wetlands are an extremely valuable asset to the State of Louisiana and the United States. The continual loss of Louisiana wetlands has the potential to have an immensely negative effect on the economy at a state and national level. Over 2 million people live in the Louisiana coastal parishes (Field et al., 1991). The majority of people living on the Louisiana coast make their living from things that are directly related to the wetlands. The Louisiana wetlands make up the largest wetland community in America and is being lost at a rate greater than the other wetland communities in the country. The suggested strategies that are being taken into consideration could be helpful but it seems that the State of Louisiana is not as concerned as it should be given the future consequences and much like climate change coastal erosion is not being taken serious.
Vacation is the one thing that people look forward to throughout the year. People usually think of it as a time to relax, unwind, and enjoy an amazing tropical getaway. Maybe it’s chilling at the beach or taking the night out, vacation is always something fun for anyone. Imagine yourself soaking in the sun, laying by the shore, breathing in the salty air, and laying under a palm tree. People can experience this all right along the island of Key West. Key West is an exciting vacation for the whole family to enjoy that includes snorkeling to amazing seafood.
This paper introduces the environmental concerns of the loss of coastal wetlands. The paper will discuss the significance of wetlands and the devastation that is occurring because of human activity. Wetlands are an essential element of our environment both ecological and societal; conservation will be essential for the preservation of these precious ecosystems.
In this new age of technology and advances in every possible field of study, many people forget about the environment. Some will just throw their trash all over the place with no concern for the possible consequences. Of course, there are many consequences, but only one comes to my mind. That is the demolition of species’ homes or habitat destruction. Habitat destruction or habitat loss is the altering or elimination of the conditions that plants and animals need to survive. “The primary threat to the world’s biodiversity is habitat destruction” (Okey p.1). Prairies have been greatly affected. The “loss of prairie habitat ranges from 20 to >99 percent depending on the region” (Benedict, Freeman, & Genoways, p.161). Habitat destruction can be caused by many things. These include:
According to World WildLife Fund, many ecosystems around the world are being destroyed, eliminating many plant and animal species that inhabit them (“Pollution”). 2. And acid rain, which is created when water in the atmosphere mixes with chemicals, ravage through rain forests and can even kill fish. 3.
Many of the issues of biodiversity loss can be traced back to human interaction to the environment. One of the issues is alteration and loss of habitats. A lot of this issue is based on the destruction of habitats and for the land to be used for human consumption. The land is either used up for agricultural use or for neighborhoods. Destroying habitats and building them for our own use can have a positive impact on our way of living but a negative impact on the environment. We would gain land for building land for crops and communities to be built. The habitat for the animals would be destroyed and the species local to the land would either relocate or die. There are restrictions to deforesting land and there are organizations to help protect the land.