Sugar spin ALERT: We call 'bullsugar' on the lies in this dubious mailing

__________________________________

The moment we saw it, we knew it was a bunch of bunk.

The mailer, excerpted above, landed in Martin County mailboxes over the past week, sent by some "environmental" group incorporated less than two months ago, insisting that "our own sewage" is the main cause of local water quality problems.

That's false; the Florida DEP itself has identified agriculture as by far the biggest source of pollution in the Lake Okeechobee, St. Lucie and Caloosahatchee watersheds. And in fact several of the photos used in the mailer were recognizable from the 2016 Lake Okeechobee-fueled algae crisis — but those behind this mailer want you think leaky septic tanks were to blame for the nasty green scenes.

So why are they lying, and who's behind this nonsense? We break down what we know, and what it likely means, in our latest blog post.

Speaking of Lake Okeechobee...

First, the good news: Blue-green algae blooms on Lake Okeechobee have diminished considerably, and in recent weeks cyanobacteria blooms have been confined to portions of the lake's western shores. Blooms at the locks leading to the St. Lucie and Caloosahatchee have dwindled to almost nothing.

That's good! But with two months left to go in hurricane season, water levels in Lake O remain a concern. Last year at this time the lake was at 13.17 feet; as shown in the above graphic, the water was at 15.50 feet this past Tuesday morning. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers officials have repeatedly said that if the lake hits 16.5 feet, discharges will begin.

And with a rainy week on tap, we could still be facing down a crisis in the coming months. So know hope — but keep your fingers crossed.

For decades, the U.S. Farm Bill has protected the profits of billionaire-backed sugarcane growers while perpetuating environmental and human-rights abuses by the industry. But now more than 5,000 people have signed their name to Friends of the Everglades' historic petition demanding an end to this unjust, outdated policy. Join them by clicking here, and doing your part to end Big Sugar's cycle of abuse.

Last week we took a look at yet another new "high-tech" way to tackle Florida's blue-green algae crisis, this one in the form of a "roving water treatment plant" that draws water from the Indian River Lagoon, removes the nutrients and dumps it back in. It seems to work reasonably well, but can it be employed at a large enough scale to make a difference? And why do we keep leaning on high-tech fixes when a lower-tech fix — tackling pollution at the source — would be more effective?

P.S. Signatures Needed! The "Right to Clean and Healthy Waters" petition needs 900,000 signature by November 30 to get on the 2024 ballot. The petition can be printed out and signed here: http://www.floridarighttocleanwater.org/