I recently took the photograph above of sunset on the St. Lucie River, just a short walk from my sister Susan and my condo in Stuart, Florida. Back in 2016, this river was plagued by algae blooms caused by discharges from Lake Okeechobee, whose waters are polluted by phosphorous and other nutrients that run off from sugar cane farms in the area. The algae blooms got so bad in Stuart that it made the national news, and politicians (who get a lot of campaign donations from the owners of those sugar cane farms) finally had to address the issue. The ultimate goal, led by the Rivers Coalition of Stuart, Florida, is to stop those discharges, which in addition to the algae blooms, send billions of gallons of fresh water down the river, causing harm to plant and animal species living in a seawater environment. It has proven to be a challenging issue, since the water level of Lake Okeechobee needs to stay at a certain level to prevent flooding and preserve plant life. This past December, the Army Corp of Engineers started these discharges once again, but said they should end soon and may not resume, which is good news for all. Let's hope that is what happens.
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