To Those Who Speak Up.
April 24, 2003 6:55 p.m.
A lot of you don�t know, and a lot of you do know that I am an activist
in many things, things that I truly believe in. Animal rights and
preservation are some of those things. I am a Den-activist,
I write to the Florida Senate regarding some matters and write to other
people that are 'on the inside' with matters I�m most concerned about.
Well today I got my weekly newsletter from Defenders of the Wildlife and once again Florida disappoints me to no end.
The Florida Senate and House will vote within the next few days on
legislation that threatens to undermine restoration of the Everglades.
Senate Bill 626 and House Bill 1893 would delay cleaning up phosphorus
pollution for 20 years. I emphasis on the 20 years! HB 1893 threatens
to weaken water quality standards to 15 parts per billion -- 50 percent higher than
what has been determined to be biologically acceptable. What's more,
sugar producers and other special interests have persuaded legislators
to include language overturning the "polluter-pay" principle that
Floridians voted for in a 1996 constitutional amendment. Citizens of
Florida would be made to pay for cleaning up years of unregulated and
irresponsible pollution in the Everglades. Members of the U.S. Congress
are so infuriated about these bills that they have threatened to
withhold their promised half of the $8.4 billion for the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan.
These bills would unravel years of negotiations and destroy one of the
greatest state-federal partnerships ever known to this country.
Yes, known to this entire country. I am trying to urge everyone I know
(especially Floridians) to get active in this important and urgent
matter. Urge Gov. Jeb Bush and your representatives in the Florida
House and Senate to stop this legislation. Both versions of the bill
are scheduled for review on the floors of the House and Senate this
week. This is one of the last stops before the bills are signed into
law. Help keep the promise of the Everglades restoration alive. If you
would like to become a member of �DEN� click the link.
As a member of Defenders' Electronic Network (DEN), you can go to
denaction.org,
log in with your e-mail address, and select Alert #227. The e-mail is
already set up. All you need to do is click on the "OK" button. The web
site also contains additional
background information on this issue. Thanks to those of you who will
take action! And those of you who don�t, well it�s only the world we
live in, right? -wink-
Quote of the Moment: "It's the person who has done nothing who is sure nothing can be done." --Ewing