A riveting story of environmental disaster and political intrigue,
Moving Water exposes how Florida's clean water is threatened by dirty
power players and the sugar cane industry.
Only a century ago, nearly all of South Florida was under water. The
Everglades, one of the largest wetlands in the world, was a watery arc
extending over 3 million acres. Today, that wetland ecosystem is half of
its former self, supplanted by housing for the region's exploding
population and over 700,000 acres of crops, including the nation's
largest supply of sugar cane. Countless canals, dams, and pump stations
keep the trickle flowing, but rarely address the cascade of
environmental consequences, including dangerous threats to a crucial
drinking water source for a full third of Florida's residents.
In Moving Water, environmental journalist Amy Green explores the story
of unlikely conservation heroes George and Mary Barley, wealthy real
estate developers and champions of the Everglades, whose complicated
legacy spans from fisheries in Florida Bay to the political worlds of
Tallahassee and Washington. At the center of their surprising saga is
the establishment and evolution of the Comprehensive Everglades
Restoration Plan (CERP), a $17 billion taxpayer-funded initiative aimed
at reclaiming this vital ecosystem. Green explains that, like the
meandering River of Grass, the progress of CERP rarely runs straight,
especially when it comes up against the fierce efforts of sugar-growing
interests, or "Big Sugar," to obstruct the cleanup of fertilizer runoff
wreaking havoc with restoration.
This engrossing exposé tackles some of the most important issues of our
time: Is it possible to save a complex ecosystem such as the
Everglades--or, once degraded, are such ecological wonders gone forever?
What kind of commitments--economic, scientific, and social--will it take
to rescue our vulnerable natural resources? What influences do special
interests wield in our everyday lives, and what does it take to push
real reform through our democracy? A must-read for anyone fascinated by
stories of political intrigue and the work of environmental crusaders
like Erin Brockovich, as well as anyone who cares about the future of
Florida, this book reveals why the Everglades serve as a model--and a
warning--for environmental restoration efforts worldwide.
