candystripper
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June 24, 2008, Florida Gov. Republican Charlie Crist announced a plan to buy the largest American sugarcane producer, United States Sugar, for $1.75 billion. The state will close down production -- eventually -- and the cessation of farming will aid in the restoration of the Everglades. This is the largest land acquistion in Florida's history.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/25/us/24cnd-sugar.html?8au&emc=au
This caught my eye for a few reasons.
Where Florida is getting $1.75 billion? Last time I was well-acquainted with Florida state politics, Jeb Bush was governor, so my info is a bit dated. Basically, by that time, Florida had run through all the money damages from the tobacco litigation and was cutting line items such as summer school for K through 12, raising university tuitions, etc. In short, the state's budget was a mess. As far as I know, nothing has changed -- Florida hasn't received another huge infusion of capital.
The homepage for the Florida Senate Appropriations Committee is here:
http://www.flsenate.gov/cgi-bin/View_Page.pl?Tab=committees&Submenu=1&File=index.html&Directory=committees/senate/ga/
The Everglades National Park, under the care of the U.S. Dept of the Interior, is a unique feature of the American landscape -- without doubt, an irreplaceable environmental asset.
quote:
Everglades National Park is the largest subtropical wilderness in the United States. The area boasts rare and endangered species, such as the American crocodile, Florida panther, and West Indian manatee. It has been designated an International Biosphere Reserve, a World Heritage Site, and a Wetland of International Importance, in recognition of its significance to all the people of the world.
http://www.nps.gov/ever/
While draining the swamp to build houses is bad enough, farming for sugarcane has always been the biggest offender, because not only is swampland drained, but fertilizer and other by-products flow into the swamp, polluting it terribly. Sugarcane farming has also been controversial in the Human Rights' arena, as impoverished workers from Haiti are brought in on special visas to work the farms for pennies a day.
quote:
Beginning in 1948 with the creation of the Central and Southern Florida (C&SF) Flood Control Project, much of the original greater Everglades ecosystem was drained in an effort to create a system of canals and dikes that would control the flow of water and accommodate agriculture and urban development. Some 50 percent of the original Everglades has been lost to agriculture and development but the majority of the remaining original Everglades acreage is now protected in a national park, national wildlife refuge, and water conservation areas.
http://fcelter.fiu.edu/about_us/everglades/restoration/
I have no doubt Crist's plan is beneficial to the Everglades, and I fully support any workable plan to protect and restore the swamp.
However, knowing Florida politics as I do, I wonder who is making money off this deal -- apart from United States Sugar of course -- and which state programs will be sacrificied to pay for it. Florida's largest budgetary items have aways been education and corrections -- I'd hate to see any more cutbacks in these areas.
Here's the homepage for United States Sugar, if you care to look at it:
http://www.ussugar.com/
This is the homepage for the Florida's Governor's Office:
http://www.flgov.com/
quote:
After Governor Crist completed his Senate service, Governor Jeb Bush appointed him as Deputy Secretary of the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation. In 2000, Governor Crist won a special election and became Florida’s last elected Commissioner of Education. Governor Crist’s path of public service next led him to seek election as Attorney General in 2002. He carried the general election by more than one-third of a million votes to become Florida’s first elected Republican Attorney General.
http://www.flgov.com/gov_biography
(I wonder what happen to the Attorney General whom Crist replaced, LMAO? Dead? Prision? Or just po'ed Bush?)
Anyway, I thought all this was interesting, and I hope some of you enjoyed reading it. If anyone has any specific questions, post them and I'll use my Google-Fu to try and find answers.
What is state government like where you live?
candystripper
< Message edited by candystripper -- 6/26/2008 6:43:20 PM >
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