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This time of year, black smoke regularly taints the air over Glades communities south of Lake Okeechobee, as almost half a million acres of sugarcane are burned before harvest. The practice leaves residents vulnerable to air pollution, elevated health risks and economic stress. Elsewhere in the world, sugar-producing countries have moved away from the practice of burning — recognizing the danger it poses and the availability of safer techniques — but here in Florida, exposed residents remain without meaningful safeguards in place.
Last year, Friends of the Everglades locked arms with Glades community residents — demanding an end to sugarcane burning in a series of videos we called “The Last Burn Season” to capture the growing movement to end sugarcane burning in favor of the safer, more sustainable option of green harvesting. Citizen-led campaigns like Sierra Club’s Stop the Burn built a coalition of voices from impacted residents brave enough to speak up, and a rise in sharp investigative journalism on the topic has helped to put a national spotlight on this regional issue.
And yet, as of October 1, smoke is rising again over sugarcane burns in the Everglades Agricultural Area.
Join us October 25 for a live update with Palm Beach Post journalist Antigone Barton and Stop the Burn advocates Christine Louis Jeune and Patrick Ferguson about the impacts to communities and the path toward a solution.
This conversation will be streamed directly to our Facebook page and our YouTube channel from 12-1 p.m. on Wednesday, October 25.
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