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SaveFloridaWater.org
website is operated and owned by Steven Oxier - Steve Oxier of
Seville, Florida
Attempting to save the St. John's River from destruction.
Saving Lake George, the second largest fresh water lake in
Florida.
Steve Oxier has collected over 2000 signatures on the petition to
stop the plan to siphon off up to 252 million gallons of surface
water (every day) from the St. John's river....most of this water
to be used to water lawns in central Florida. The advocates may
call this "drinking" water, but do not be fooled, it is
for the lawns and landscaping in the region.
In the United States, freshwater withdrawal is about 1,300
gallons per person per day, about according to the U.S.
Geological Survey --about 20 times that of a standard
filled-bathtub.
This represents about a quarter of the national renewable supply;
of this, about 72 percent is returned to the natural system.
Between 1900 and 1995, global water withdrawals increased six
fold, more than twice the rate of population growth.
The good news is that nationally, per capita water use peaked
around 1980, a trend that is expected to continue as we learn to
use water more efficiently.
The bad news is that in Florida our per capita use is increasing!
On average, each American consumes more than twice the
worldwide average, enough to fill the average backyard swimming
pool 18 times in a year.
How to convey and educate
others:
Want to win over the uninformed and undecided? Here are some useful tips:
Secret #1: Use Words That Work
Drop the shop talk! Save the professional vocabulary for the professionals. When seeking the support of the uninformed and undecided, you must use words that people understand and speak to their existing values and priorities.
Secret #2: Stick to YOUR Story
Act like a leader: Stick to your story even when others raise counter arguments or make unfair claims about
you or your ideas.
* Resist the temptation to contradict rivals’ side of the story — the uninformed and undecided perceive this as a submissive gesture.
* Resist the temptation to become defensive about how your rivals depict you — the more you deny it, the more some uninformed and undecided individuals will believe it.
Secret #3: Make Your Point Before You Prove Your Point
Tell people what the facts mean before you tell them the facts. Don’t count on the uninformed and undecided to correctly infer the importance of any piece of information. Here’s a simple test to apply to anything you are writing: If you put the word “for example” or “for instance” in front of a fact or statistic, would it make sense? If not, you need to figure out just what you want readers to think those facts mean, and include it.
Secret #4: Warn AND Encourage
Make your problem stand out from all the rest of the world’s woes by offering the uninformed and undecided meaningful things that they can do to make a difference. Encourage them that their neighbors are pitching in, too, and sometimes these efforts pay off.
Take heart that this is much easier to do than it used to be. The news media has always been reluctant to make space for this kind of information, viewing it as “not news” or “taking sides.” But you can tell your story your way on the Internet.
Secret #5: Trust Is A Must
Apply secrets #1 through #4 consistently, and you’ll be well on your well to being clear, credible, and compelling.
Other Florida
Water Web Sites
Gulf
of Mexico Estuaries Study Gulf of Mexico Integrated Science Web site.
The key to understanding complex estuarine systems lies in
understanding the interactions between geological framework and
biological, geochemical and hydrological processes.
Save the Stingray too! Little Known Fact
Did you know that only place in North America to find the
freshwater stingray is in the St. John's River and the St. Johns River populations are unique because they are the only known populations of the Atlantic stingray that reproduce and complete their life cycle in a freshwater environment.
Will they still be around after the government siphons off the surface water?
Will they or their food supply still exist? Don't we have an obligation to preserve this creature? Recently in a telephone interview, he said that Lake George is a gold mine
that has never been studied.
When he was studying the stingray and catching them in Lake George he was
frequently catching additional species of fishes that were completely unexpected
for a freshwater lake.
We add: There are so many varieties of species in this fragile eco-system that
to tamper with it's salinity content or reduce the flow of the river into it
will cause unknown consequences. We should study this "one of a kind" system before we disturb or
destroy it.
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Florida Water Crisis
Before the government starts spending millions upon millions of
dollars to pump water along pipelines from rivers and lakes from one part of
Florida to another, maybe we should actually start measuring the amount being
pumped out of the ground and making the users pay per gallon. All across
Florida, there are wells that have no meters.
Businesses and property owners just pump the water as they desire with no consequences.
No government entity is measuring how much water is being pumped from our
aquifer. Sometimes the wells service the entire property and sometimes they are
just used for sprinklers and sometimes the pumps get the water directly from
canals, rivers and lakes. In addition, well
users do not pay for the water. Right, not only is it not measured, but it is FREE.
Where is the incentive to conserve under this system? There is none.
If you live in an area that is serviced by your county or private water utility,
you are charged for the water you take via your trusty water meter. But if you
have a well, no one is looking at your usage. If we don't accurately
know how much water is being pumped out of the
aquifer, and who is pumping it, and who is paying for their water and who is
getting it free.... How can we legitimately plan for long pipelines and desalinization plants? It's time to make
changes:
1. Put meters on all wells.
This can be easily paid for by the revenue gained by charging these users for
the water they pump.
Yes, start charging well owners for every gallon pumped out of the aquifer!
2. Setting a minimum price for water usage throughout the state.
3. Creating a tiered pricing system for usage rates: the more you use, the
higher your rate per gallon.
Won't you help push this idea forward?
Contact your local and state government leaders and tell them you support
"Meters on all wells"
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"Everyone must pay for water, no free pumping"
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"Tiered water pricing based on usage". This is not rocket science, it is common sense!
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Here are some tips to help get your ideas out:
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Write a letter to the editor of your local newspaper.
Guess what???
It will almost always be published!
Look up your local newspaper web site and find the "letters to the
editor" submission page.
Don't be shy - put it down on paper. In your words.
Don't rush it, type it, review it, keep it a day or two, and read it again, edit
it, find some facts to support your ideas and then send it in.
This is a great way to help educate others.
Does your community have a newsletter? Type up a short
article. Steal info from our web site! Please!
How about a bulletin board?
Stick up a notice, a warning, refer folks to our web site, just try something.
Over dinner with friends....bring up the subject.
Neighborhood meeting...talk about it.
In Volusia County:
To send a letter to the Daytona News Journal, start by clicking
here To send a letter to the West Volusia Beacon Newspaper, start
by clicking
here
Buy and Read
Cynthia Barnett's Book "Mirage"
"Mirage is the finest general study to date of the freshwater-supply crisis
in Florida."
