Everglades

The Trashy Foundations of the Florida Everglades

Environmental Concern

Two years ago the Florida Everglades made national headlines when President Obama pledged $279 million to help save and restore them. At the height of the recession, funding for preserving the Everglades had been cut by Florida Governor Charlie Crist by two-thirds, and the future of the Everglades looked grim. Obama’s funding, although minimal, was a shot in the arm that the conservation effort needed. However, this wasn’t the first time the Everglades had snagged the attention of the green movement.

The Everglades have been a focus of environmental concern for years. In 2010, United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) declared the Everglades imperiled and placed it on its endangered sites list. It had been on the list before but was removed through the concerted effort of conservationists. UNESCO returned it to the endangered list due to “the degradation of aquatic systems.”

Everglades' Problems

The Everglades are plagued with the persistent problems of pollution, dramatic water loss, and invasive species. Human overdevelopment is also a major threat. The clearing of vegetation to make way for housing and commercial business has caused the weakening of root systems. This makes the soil easy to erode. It’s projected that a full restoration of the marsh would take 10 years to complete and at least $10 billion.

Look at a picture of the Everglades and you’ll see a landscape dominated by murky water and “tree islands.” Trees perch on marshy patches of soil that were originally thought to be geological formations. Plants and trees thrive in the soil there, and the islands are important breeding grounds for panthers, alligators, and birds.

Trashy Foundations of Everglades

Scientists studying these islands have determined that portions of the elevated land, where vegetation and wildlife thrive, have grown from a foundation of garbage. An estimated 5,000 years ago, early settlers left piles of bones; scraps of food; and leather, charcoal, and tool fragments. When the organic waste decomposed, it released nutrients and phosphates into an ecosystem that typically didn’t have those elements. The resulting combination was enough to spur living, breathing, green islands into existence.

Researchers used the example of the Everglades’ tree islands as an example that human garbage doesn’t have to impact the ecosystem negatively. However, today’s garbage is vastly different from the garbage of early settlers thousands of years ago. They weren’t tossing away garage door openers or cell phones. Their simple tools and organic waste could be broken down, given enough time, while contributing positively to the marsh. The majority of our modern trash is composed of petroleum-based products, items that will take thousands of years to break down, if at all.

As long as there is funding and awareness of the Everglades as a valuable historic and environmental resource, there will be further efforts to save it.

Chris Keenan is a green and general blog writer. He writes for many sites including Precision Garage Door. Chris also maintains a personal house and garden blog.