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To the editor:
A news story this week announced the State of Florida is implementing something similar to the Federal Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). What struck me was when the story said the state wants more "accountability". The sad truth is this: Floridians cannot legally hold our State accountable for the deterioration of our waterways. A Constitutional amendment giving Floridians an enforceable right to clean and healthy waters gives us that legal right.
I volunteer with Calusa Waterkeeper and the Florida Right to Clean Water because the land use changes our Florida government officials continue to approve have pushed our waters to the brink. We can't stop people from coming here. But we can work smarter to mitigate the impact our growth has on our waters. After seeing our monthly water sampling results, I can assure you changes are desperately needed.
I am proud to be a Floridian. While the rest of the world lost their minds during COVID, here in Florida we still lived freely. I am no longer proud of my state after seeing the poor condition of our waters. A lot of money is being spent with few, if any, positive results.
We are out of time. Our Florida Legislators want to make citizens initiatives championed by volunteers virtually impossible. Join me in supporting the Florida Right to Clean Water citizens initiative to hold our State officials accountable to enforce existing environmental regulations rather than to continue to ignore them. Visit www.FloridaRightToCleanWater.org to download a petition today.
June Hunter-Clarke
Cape Coral