Florida's mismanaged water by gimleteye

We wanted to share this photo with you: it is of a toxic red tide washed up on a Sanibel (Florida west coast) beach. The emptying of Lake Okeechobee to keep sugar barons from being flooded (which is the main point of water management in Florida as far as we can tell), sends vast pulses of dirty water to the east and west coast through the St. Lucie and the Caloosahatchee. From there, the water provides a potent feedstock for algae blooms, killing sea life and turning the bay bottom into a lifeless marine desert. Disgusted? You should be. It's your tax dollars at work.