Environmentalist Knowledge of Everglades Law
Transcript of Environmentalist Knowledge of Everglades Law
Environmentalist Knowledge of
Everglades Law Benjamin C. Garelick
Teresa E. Thornton, Ph.D.
Oxbridge Academy, West Palm Beach
Purpose
Kissimmee River, Okeechobee Watershed contaminated by agriculture
Sugar, cattle, citrus
Florida government creates laws, BMPs to reduce pollution
To impact these regulations, stakeholders must understand them
How knowledgeable are self-reported environmentalists?
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(Miller, 2010)
Models of Environmentalism
Early model of environmentalism from the 1970s (Kollmuss and Agyeman, 2002)
Still used by NGOs
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Models of Environmentalism
Modern model of environmentalism (Kollmuss and Agyeman, 2002)
Knowledge leads to environmentalism
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Interest, Knowledge, and Action
Theory 1: Action does NOT equal interest, knowledge
University science majors were neither more knowledgeable nor more interested in specific environmental issues (McClinchie, 2014)
Theory 2: Action, knowledge, interest align
Survey of drivers: correlation between pro-environmental attitudes and knowledge of the environmental effects of car usage
Concerned and knowledgeable drove fewer miles (Flamm, 2006)
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(Miller, 2010)
How do these theories relate to the Everglades watershed?
Best Management Practices (BMPs)
Agriculture guidelines “reduce the amount of fertilizers, pesticides, animal waste, and other pollutants entering our water resources”
(Morgan, n.d.)
Not necessarily mandatory
Increased efficiency, reduce cost
Will help satisfy WMD permitting requirements
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BMPs for Runoff
Caused by storm water and irrigation
Caries sediment and fertilizers into waterbodies
Prevention:
Leveling fields reduces slope and prevents erosion
Herbaceous cover crops
Raised berms prevent runoff from entering canals
Vegetation on the edge of canals
Field ditches (heavier sediments) 7
BMPs for Removing Contaminants from Canals
Previous BMPs are not expected to be fully prevent runoff
Canal sumps and traps
Deepening or widening canal, upstream of the pump
Slows water, traps sediments
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BMPs for Removing Aquatic Weeds from Canals
Aquatic weeds are the largest source of Phosphorus contamination
(Stuck, Izuno, Campbell, Bottcher, Rice, 2001)
Weed retention booms block flow of weeds
Leave water unrestricted
Removal:
Mechanical harvester (expensive)
Chemical herbicide (most common, state recommended)
Biocontrol Agents (experimental)
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BMPs for Cattle Feces
Cattle Operations require additional regulations
Cows excrete 60-85% of the phosphorus they ingest
Rancher should try to avoid “concentrated accumulation of waste”
Likely to leach into groundwater because of the sandy Spodosol soil
Covers half of the Okeechobee Watershed
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BMPs for Cattle and Waterbodies
Fences are used to keep cows away from water bodies
Reduces P loading by 10% (Shukla, Graham, Hodges, and Knowles 2014)
Waste accumulation is inevitable in High Intensity Areas
200 feet from water bodies
Runoff blocked by berms
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Cattle BMPs
Cattle overgrazing causes erosion
Regulated with fences
Bury dead cattle 200 feet away from waterbodies
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BMPs for Citrus Orchards
Farmers are required to construct conservation buffer
Grove borders (strips of permanent vegetation) prevent erosion
Riparian buffers (forested or herbaceous areas near streams) reduces the amount of sediment in surface water sheet flow
Filter strips and grassed waterways (areas of permanent vegetation) remove sediments from water before it enters surface waters
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Senate Bill 552
First Bill passed in 2016 legislative session
Phase One:
Two storm water treatment areas (STAs) will be created
Phase Two:
Allows for creation of additional STAs in the Okeechobee Watershed
Reduce estuary discharge with “voluntary water storage and quality improvements on private land”
Investigate the Upper Kissimmee Chain of Lakes and Lake Istokpoga as sources of phosphorus contribution
Short term measures or new BMPs
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Survey Overview
Distributed the survey to members of environmental organizations
Forwarded along email lists
226 Respondents
Questions were skippable, to prevent respondents from exiting
Skipped may indicate ignorance, apathy, confusion, etc.
Couper (2008) recommends allowing respondents to skip questions
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Results: Environmentalism
“I am an environmentalist”: 96.65% agree or strongly agree
(92.9% responded, n = 210/226)
”I act in ways that protect the environment”
10.49% respondents didn’t know what a BMP was (71.7% responded, n = 162/226)
More knowledgeable about the effects of agriculture than the BMPs that regulate it
Agronomic, cattle, citrus
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Results: Agriculture BMPs
Which of the following measures are taken to prevent fertilizer and sediment runoff? (69.4% responded, n = 157/ 226)
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Results: Agriculture BMPs
Which of the following measures are taken to remove contaminants, sediments, and aquatic weeds from the water? (63.7% responded, n = 144/ 226)
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Results: Cattle BMPs
Which of the following water quality concerns come with farming cattle?
(70.8% responded, n= 160 / 226)
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Results: Citrus BMPs
Citrus groves that border on wetlands or streams require a conservation buffer. Which of the following qualify as conservation buffers?
(63.7% responded, n = 144 /226)
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Results: Senate Bill 552
77.5% (70.8% responded, n = 160/226): Phosphorus is greatest Lake Okeechobee concern
75.19% (58.8% responded, n = 133/226) didn’t know the Bill would create two new STAs
60.62% (70.8% responded, 160/226) unaware that Lake Okeechobee is discharged into estuaries
Canals 58.75%
68.42% (70.8% responded, n = 133/ 226) unaware that Bill proposes discharge into voluntary water storage on private property
Publicly funded retention ponds 60.9%
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Conclusion
Concerning gaps in self-reported environmentalists’ knowledge
BMPS: no strong correlation between perceived knowledge and actual knowledge
Senate Bill 552 showed correlation
Future research:
National regulations, CERP
Cause of environmentalism
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