As the Annual Everglades Coalition Meeting Starts, A Message From Bullsugar.org ... by gimleteye

Polluted irrigation canal in Florida sugarcane field

Gimleteye (please follow my Twitter feed @gimleteyemiami): honestly, the most distasteful aspect of Big Sugar's disinformation campaign is that the outcome will make Big Sugar oligarchs even richer than they are today. One way or another Big Sugar always cuts the sweetest deal it can, and that's what all this manufactured doubt and yammering against land purchase in the EAA is all about. Thanks to taxpayer largesse and Congressional indifference/fear/greed through the Farm Bill, Big Sugar is already the most heavily subsidized agricultural "crop" in the US. Moreover, Big Sugar never pays its fair share of pollution, even though voters required it through an amendment to the Florida Constitution. The legislature failed to act on the law. What Senate President Joe Negron is trying to negotiate will make Big Sugar many hundreds of millions. Still, from an environmental point of view, whatever money is spent taking land out of sugarcane production and stopping suburban sprawl from filling in behind, is money well spent to preserve Florida's economic future, including the future of immediately impacted jobs and communities in the EAA.

The fake news industry kicked off the new year in style. A flurry of misinformation from US Sugar’s Judy Sanchez, Janet Taylor’s “Glades Lives Matter,” the Sunshine State News, the Okeechobee News and others introduced the following stories (in no particular order): Scientists are planning to flood Belle Glade and Clewiston Everglades restoration is a front to eradicate farming Toxic algae blooms don’t come from Lake Okeechobee Federal agencies are killing off endangered species Water can’t flow south into the Everglades in wet years Florida Bay doesn't need any more freshwater than it gets now Lake Okeechobee would be clean without pollution from the north Some of these would be funny if they weren’t part of a deliberate, well-funded campaign to clutter the news with distracting, contradictory noise that muddles messages about Everglades restoration, and especially Joe Negron’s plan to buy land in the EAA. They don’t need to fool anyone – just create enough irritating static to make people tune out. US Sugar singled out today’s Everglades Coalition Annual Conference, too, deriding the idea that one solution can help fix three estuaries. This isn’t just cheap criticism – the plan to fix Florida’s broken plumbing has a far better chance to succeed if it unites people and conservation groups from around the state. We’ll be at the conference, too, covering presentations, reports, and discussions. Look for summaries on our Facebook page and linked in next week’s newsletter. Stay Tuned: Calls to Lawmakers Needed In Tallahassee next Wednesday (January 11) at 10:00, a Florida senate subcommittee will hear presentations - for and against - on Sen. Negron's plan to create dynamic water storage in the EAA. The agenda is here. We'll summarize the bill when we see a draft, and we may need people to contact subcommittee members. If we do, Bullsugar.org will send out contact information and key points ASAP. Many thanks, Peter Bullsugar.org http://www.bullsugar.org/P.S. If you can, please click here to donate to Bullsugar.org today. We continue to rely solely on individual support - not corporations, foundations, or institutions. Anything you can contribute makes a real difference!