Thread by @altNOAA

I'm glad to see #Florida Governor @RonDeSantisFL taking action to combat the state's toxic algae issues. I've worked on this for almost a year, so I'll post some thoughts related below of things that need to happen, imo.
tampabay.com/florida-politi…

1. Despite being a climate change denier on the campaign trail, DeSantis MUST acknowledge climate change and the role it plays in this algae disaster. He says he's hiring scientists, and unless they're corporate hacks, this is what they're going to tell him.

2. While a lot of Florida's problems are "internal", an EPA with no teeth isn't helping. DeSantis needs to encourage Trump to "reset" the EPA back to 2016! EPA has a water monitoring role AND Florida's largest pollutor (Mosaic) needs to be closely monitored at the fed level.

3. Mosaic is a phosphate mining corp whose pollution releases a lot of nutrients into Florida's fresh water systems, not to mention, their byproducts are slightly radioactive (and who wants that?). This corp needs to be wrapped up tighter than a "nat's ass" with regulations.

4. Pesticide usage in FL has risen significantly during the "Rick Scott years," I strongly believe this plays a large role. Herbicides destroy needed deep rooting plants that filter nutrients from the environment. Thus, nutrient pollution creates Cyanobacteria. Stop spraying!

5. 17,000 acre new reservoir is too small. FL voters wanted 46,800 acres! A 17K acre reservoir would have to be extremely deep in order to filter the needed amount of water, but so deep that filtering plants wouldn't grow in it. It'll be 17K acres of algae
miamiherald.com/news/local/env…

6. Some agricultural changes are needed north of lake in Lake Okeechobee watershed. The soil in this area is heavily polluted with nutrients, so much so that if no new nutrients are added, it'd take 50 years to deplete! Fertilizing needs to be greatly reduced, if not stopped.

7. Class AA Human Waste needs to be reclassified as NOT a fertilizer. While not "hazardous" like Class B waste, both Class AA and Class B contain the exact same amounts of phosphorus and nitrogen nutrients. Using human waste as agricultural fertilizer needs to be illegal in FL.

8. Regulations on development need to be reexamined. Part of the problem includes runoff of nutrients due to urbanization. FL has a lot of ponds, and there should be regulations requiring filtering plants around these ponds! It's not "pretty", but it keeps the place clean!

9. Copper should be banned in the state as an algaecide for ponds/lakes. Once copper is applied to a pond, it contaminates the sediment and creates a sterile bottom, thus preventing filtering plants from growing. Copper sulfate usage should be illegal outside of swimming pools.

10. Scientists - FL needs REAL scientists working on water management district boards and the FWC board! These should not be sourced from corporations such as Mosaic or Monsanto. They should definitely NOT be sourced from Mote Marine (corp sponsor is Mosaic). Hire from academia!