'Red Tide Expert' (MOTE) Sponsored by FL's Convicted Water Polluter (MOSAIC)
Posted on:
Saturday, August 4th 2018 at 1:45 pm
Written By:
GMI Reporter
This article is copyrighted by GreenMedInfo LLC, 2018
Visit our Re-post guidelines
Visit our Re-post guidelines
(1).jpg)
One of Florida's worst Red Tide outbreaks in over a decade, fed by nutrient pollution, including government orchestrated dumps from Lake Okeechobee, has produced a festering ecological and health crisis that is now impossible for the public to ignore. Hidden in plain daylight is evidence that Florida's politicians, environmental organizations, and polluting industries are colluding with one another to coverup both the causes and solutions for this growing disaster.
One such example is, MOTE Marine Labs, based in Sarasota, FL, and ostensibly a non-profit, science-based environmental advocacy organization. While positioning themselves as "Guardians of the sea, and all living things that depend on it," their experts uniformly express deep skepticism about the land- and pollution-based causes of the worsening Red Tide, one of Florida's most persistent environmental disasters affecting sea life.
If anything, MOTE and their veritable army of marine scientists projects feigned certainty that it is not land-based pollution that is behind the accelerating intensity and frequency of this "natural" phenomena, as they call it. They consistently deny the following research:- MOTE claims that Red Tide blooms start 10-40 miles offshore, away from the direct influence of land-based nutrient pollution. But the most accurate and recent researchreveals that once moved inshore blooms use both human-contributed and natural nutrients for growth, rendering their point moot.
- Data collected along the southwest coast of Florida between Tampa Bay and Sanibel Island on the abundance of the Red Tide from 1954 to 2002 were examined for spatial and temporal patterns. Red Tide was found to be approximately 20-fold more abundant within 0-5 km of the shoreline than 20-30 km offshore.
Despite the scientific evidence, MOTE distracts the public with the same old mantras, namely, that 'the issue is too complex to draw conclusions,' 'more research needs to be conducted,' and 'the science is not settled.' This happens to be an excellent strategy for raising funds, which is something MOTE is highly effective at. MOTE has already received more than $5.5 million in state funding for red tide research, and appears slated to receive more soon thanks to their friendly relationship with Rick Scott.
MOTE has received millions of dollars from additional funding over the years including government grant money, public donations, and perhaos most concerning, corporate sponsorships.
At present, MOTE is trying to raise an astounding 130 million dollars for the construction of a new, 110,000 square foot aquarium which they estimate will require 280 million dollars of direct and indirect expenditures to complete. One thing is abundantly clear, MOTE is not ashamed to display on their website as a "corporate benefactor" the Mosaic Corporation,1 one of Florida’s worst and most heavily fined polluters.
Mosaic's financial contributions to MOTE include a $125,000 grant for their Snook Enhancement Program. The exact details and amounts of Mosaic's other contributions are not known, but according to a MOTE spokesperson, Mosaic has supported their educational programs including their "digital learning studio," "events, membership programs," and "MOTE's annual fundraising 5K and 1-mile race event, Run for the Turtles."
This is quite a lot of support coming from a strip-mining company whose manufacturing plants produce the kind of phosphorous rich fertilizers that lead to algal growth both in Lake O’ (green) and the Gulf of Mexico (though MOTE consistently denies this), and whose phosphogypsum stacks of radioactive material laden waste products pile up throughout Florida to the tune of about 1 billion tons stacked in 25 locations in Florida, 22 of which are in central Florida.
An EarthJustice article describes the environmental consequences of the Mosaic company's activities in Florida:
"Minnesota-based Mosaic Phosphate scrapes off Florida’s surface land to get down to the bones of ancient sea creatures, which contain phosphate. The mining leaves behind a moonscape with scars that are visible from space. The phosphate from these ancient sea sediments is then chemically processed into phosphoric acid used in fertilizer and sold around the world. The process leaves behind massive mountains of radioactive, acidic waste that can tower 50 to 70 feet high. Some two dozen of these mounds are scattered around South-Central Florida, posing a huge environmental risk."
Mosaic also manages about 6,000 acres of citrus groves north of Lake O’ in Polk and Hardee counties, all of which eventually end up bleeding nutrients into Lake O’ southward, and from there, into the Gulf of Mexico.2 Mosaic has gained great notoriety for having been ordered by the EPA to pay billions of dollars by the EPA for recklessly polluting Florida and Louisana's environment with the radioactive by-product of phosphorous mining operations.3 They were also recently found to have let millions of gallons of radioactive waste contaminated water seep deep into Florida’ drinking water aquifer.4
Video: Phosphate Mining is Florida's Dirty Little Secret
Mosaic's sponsorship of MOTE, and MOTE's willingness to accept it despite the obvious conflict of interest, may explain why MOTE has consistently denied land-based activities and subsequent nutrient pollution on accelerating the Florida Red Tide frequency and severity. Learn more about this clear cause-effect connection here, wherein is featured the study, “Grazing by Karenia brevis on Synechococcus enhances its growth rate and may help to sustain blooms,” published in 2009 in Applied Aquatic Ecology.5
MOTE continues to willfully ignore this research despite having already received millions of dollars in grants and donations by both private and public sectors to study and explain the real causes and solutions to this growing environmental disaster.
It’s obvious that MOTE’s stance serves the public relations goals of industries that would like to hide the dirty secret behind the obvious causes of both green algae and red tide. This is why U.S. Sugar, one of a number of key polluters in the state of Florida (citrus, cattle, lawns, golf courses, and septic tanks, are also major offenders), uses MOTE’s denials on their website as “evidence” the ‘crazy’ activists and environmentalists are wrong about the obvious cause-and-effect relationship between pollution and the growth of these opportunistic organisms.
Here’s what Big Sugar has to say:
“The Facts on Red TideIn media reports, some activists have attempted to link the water from U.S. Sugar’s farms to red tide blooms off the Gulf Coast. The science simply does not support this. Here is what Mote Marine Laboratory, the leading expert on Florida Red Tide, has to say about what causes red tide:6"In contrast to the many red tide species that are fueled by nutrient pollution associated with urban or agricultural runoff, there is no direct link between nutrient pollution and the frequency or severity of red tides caused by K. brevis. Florida red tides develop 10-40 miles offshore, away from man-made nutrient sources. Red tides occurred in Florida long before human settlement, and severe red tides were observed in the mid-1900s before the state’s coastlines were heavily developed. However, once red tides are transported inshore, they are capable of using man-made nutrients for their growth" Source:Mote Marine Laboratory, “Florida Red Tide FAQs.“
Similarly, Florida’s Fish and Wildlife Commission, tasked with monitoring and informing the public about the Red Tide problem, parrots verbatim MOTE’s denials in their FAQ section:
“Has coastal (nutrient) pollution caused the Florida red tide?In contrast to the many red tide species that are fueled by nutrient pollution associated with urban or agricultural runoff, there is no direct link between nutrient pollution and the frequency or severity of red tides caused by K. brevis. Florida red tides develop 10-40 miles offshore, away from man-made nutrient sources. Red tides occurred in Florida long before human settlement, and severe red tides were observed in the mid-1900s before the state’s coastlines were heavily developed. However, once red tides are transported inshore, they are capable of using man-made nutrients for their growth.”7
MOTE scientists have also attempted to minimize the true harms associated with the public's exposure to Red Tide. During the last major outbreak in 2013,
ABC7 interviewed Mote Marine Laboratory's senior scientist Dr. Barbara Kirkpatrick on Feb. 27th about whether there are any long-term effects of red tide on humans, to which she responded "I don't think there's any evidence yet that we have to worry about long-term exposure." This is diametrically opposed to the peer-reviewed, published science on the topic which I cite in depth in my article : The Truth About Red Tide's Manmade Causes and Health Effects.
As you can see, one denial leads to another in a vicious circle of collusion, conflicts of interest, and willful ignorance. Until there is an acknowledgement of the causal chain of events: land-based activities > nutrient pollution of water > green algae > feeds Red Tide, by the authorities we support, the ecological disaster in Florida will only continue to grow. The ripple effects, which will do more than just seriously compromise tourism and real estate to the tune of billions of dollars in loses but will profoundly threaten human and ecological health, have only just begun.
Call To Action
We call on Mote marine to separate itself from its conflict of interest with Mosaic and other corporate polluters and address formally the research which proves the causes of the worsening frequency and intensity of Red Tide blooms are directly related to human, land-based activities and the government's water management policies. We also call on them to update their RED TIDE FAQ's which deny the afforementioned science.
Whether it means stopping sewage spills, stopping septic tank leaks, and stopping lake O' discharges the science proves that if we want to have healthy beaches we must admit the obvious causes and help to stop the pollution now. Visit MOTE's facebook page to express your concern, Sign this petition, and join the South Florida's Clean Water Movement.
Previous Related Articles:
Sources/References
Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of GreenMedInfo or its staff.
No comments:
Post a Comment