Cynthia_Smoot's Blog

Less than two years ago a group called "1000 Friends of Florida" crunched the numbers and growth patterns and came up  with this prediction:  by 2060 Florida's population will have doubled  to 36 million people with an additional 7 million acres of rural and natural land lost to development.  To put it into perspective, that's about the size of Vermont!   Now Florida's Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission is following up with "Florida 2060:  What's at Stake for Wildlife?" The answer is nothing good.  As more land gets paved over and gobbled up, many Florida species, already under pressure, will reach the breaking point.  Black bears, for example, will lose another 2.3 million acres of  habitat.... sending human/bear interactions iinto the stratosphere at  a projected rate of more than 33 thousand complaints a year. Florida panthers, hanging on by their claws at a number of around 100 total for the state, will likely disappear for good. I could go down the list, species by species, but you get the point.  Is this what  Floridians want for the future of their state? For their children and grandchildren?  Most politicians are notoriously short-sighted and beholden to the special interests that fill their campaign coffers, so it'll be up to the people to demand a more thoughtful and balanced approach to growth going forward. 

"The ultimate test of man's conscience may be his willingness to sacrifice something today for future generations whose words of thanks will not be heard." - Gaylord Nelson, Former Wisconsin Governor and U.S. Senator and Earth Day Founder (My thanks to Kurt Z of Kayak Nature Adventures for that quote!  I saw it on your  e-mail and thought it was definitely worth sharing!)