Endgame

Once more we see how politics and economy tries to trump over conservation of the environment. While some politicians were looking in developing an airport in Homestead and the monetary benefits that it would bring to the economy, some people thought that the construction of the airport would be the destruction of the everglades. They thought that it would block the recharge of the regions water by cutting the natural flow of the watershed as well as the natural filtration process that the water needs. The Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan was created because the Everglades is dying, despite that Florida conservationists had helped stop plume hunts, preserve millions of acres of wetlands and secure the largest nutrient clean up in history. Even though it looked like the politicians were going to get their way and the airport was going to be built, conservation of the Everglades prevailed and the project was rejected. It was very heartfelt to know that even though the conservationists had no money to start a campaign, the wealthy residents of the Ocean Reef Club ( which happens to be directly under the flight plans for the new airport) decided to provide them with a 2 million dollar war chest. That was enough money to start a campaign complete with lobbyists, economic consultants and a slick ad depicting a flock of jets flying over Biscayne bay under the caption: Somehow, it’s not quite the same. If the outcome had been different we may have regreted it tomorrow, considering that the Everglades is the most beloved wetland on the planet and it is one of the most important and richest ecosystems in Florida.