We had hoped for more, from Governor Charlie Crist in his recent appointment of Miami attorney Eric Buermann to the governing board of the South Florida Water Management District.
During the two terms of Governor Jeb Bush, controlling Florida's water future proved to be the most potent catalyst for growth. Eyeonmiami has noted the dominance of production home builders over local governments and the Florida legislature, in the critical matter of water supply.
As drought looms large, it is worth a closer examination of laws and regulations passed under the Bush terms and those proposed now by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection to lower the threshold of pollution definitions.
Mr. Buermann has been a loyal Republican for many years and served on the 2000 Bush Cheney Florida legal team; the most contested election of a president in US history. He served as a team leader during the Crist transition, on the environment.
While the Crist team appears to be sending strong messages to Florida's counties and municipalities regarding limits governing water supply, the appointment of Mr. Buermann would seem to confirm that a political status quo relative to environmental decline is firmly in place, after all.
Too bad, for Florida's environment. Even if Governor Crist opens the governing board 'tent' to an environmentalist member in a future appointment, the role Nathaniel Reed admirably served as a lone voice, it is virtually assured that the interests of Florida's sustainable future will be firmly controlled by entrenched interests who contribute mightily to Republican political campaigns.
Elections do have consequences.
7 comments:
This is an absurd exercise in sterotyping people just because of their party affiliation - I have known and worked with Eric Buermann for 17 years on environmental matters - he is a member of Audubon Society, on the board of the National Torpical Botanical Garden - Kampong (plant research and conservation), a Commissioner on the Miami River Commission and in charge of the first-ever environmental clean-up of the Miami River, a former director of the Zoological Society of Florida (animal conservation), and former director of the Theodore Roosevelt Society (Republican environmentalists). Due to his dedication to the environment, Gov. Crist appointed him to lead his transition of the Florida Department of Environmental Protection. The transition report was very pro-environment. You should get your facts straight if you want your opinions to be respected. Larry Shaw, Palm Beach
very cool, someone in Palm Beach is reading our Blog!
"Absurd stereotype"? You've come to the wrong place for claims like that.
Here is the relevant fact: under Governor Jeb Bush, agencies of the State of Florida were a disaster for citizens and environmental groups seeking redress from the imbalance allowing polluters and special interests to have their way.
If Governor Crist was serious about changing the equation, he would have quickly appointed people to the governing board who earned respect working on behalf of the public interest for the environment.
Under Governor Bush, political appointments to important environmental committees was raised to a high political art, involving unswerving loyalty and the implicit understanding that when it comes to the environment, business comes first.
"We know better than you do", has been the mantra of the South Florida Water Management District, and that's the polite version.
The impolite version was a stream of disrespect to citizens and groups, a kind of Karl Rovian brushfire to keep the opposition off-guard.
In this context, we expected better from Governor Crist. But thanks for the comments.
I do not know Mr. Buermann and maybe he has done great things for the environment. But memberships do not an environmentalist make. Some of the biggest and badest spoilers hid behind memberships. Membership does not translate to action. I would like to know what he has accomplished for the environment!
what he has accomplished for the environment! answer Miami River
Some think that dredging the Miami River was not such a good idea for the bay....suspending toxic sediment.
I don't really know.
dear god (genius of despair)
reckon it depends on the "how" the river is dredged.... no one can really say it did't need to be done... same with lake okeechobee
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