I don't have to explain to this community who Rick Scott is. For those of you who missed this rec listed diary, Scott is partial to GWB-style private ceremonies. You know, to keep the dissenters out. I am also partial to this diary titled "Rick Scott Threatening Florida's Water Supply!". It details some of Scott's aversion to science in environmental policy.
Scott is a tea party bagger favorite. He loves to cut spending and to hamper the state government's ability to regulate. Apparently, he is also against spending state money to provide much needed healthcare to farmworkers affected by pesticides. One of the record $615 million cuts from the 2011 state budget was $500,000 for healthcare in Apopka.
From the Farmworkers Association of Florida:
The budget item would have awarded $500,000 to the Community Health Center’s Apopka clinic to bring specialists to Apopka to help treat the serious, chronic health problems being experienced by members of the community. These problems include diabetes, rheumatism, kidney failure, arthritis, and lupus, among other health problems. Many feel that years, even decades, of exposure to now-banned pesticides are linked to some of their health problems.
emphasis mine
Residents of the area were, needless to say, disheartened by the veto.
the Governor just canceled out all our hard work. He broke the spirits of so many in South Apopka that really need health care and don’t receive it.” “Where do we go from here?” said Betty Dubose. “This felt like our one chance, and now, it is gone.”
Lake Apopka sits in northwest Orange County. It was, at one time, famous for its largemouth bass population. Twenty-one lodges popped around the lake to house the anglers that came in search of their trophy fish. The area was also an important agricultural area, producing corn, cabbages, carrots, greens, and tomatoes.
By the 1980s, Lake Apopka had become the state's most polluted large lake. The reason, chemical fertilizer and pesticides from the growing agricultural production along the lake. Nineteen thousand acres of swampland were drained to create more farmland in the 1940s.
From Barry Estabrook
During the growing season, farmers pumped water in and out of the lake depending on irrigation requirements and rainfall amounts. In the off season, they allowed the lake to flood the fields to replenish the soil and prevent wind erosion and weed growth. With each cycle, the water picked up poisons and fertilizers that had been spread on the fields.
By the mid 90s, the Florida government had purchased the farmland around the lake and ended the agricultural production. In 1998, the Saint John's River Water Management District decided to reflood the former farmland to serve as a habitat for waterfowl. Initially, this seemed to be a good idea. The Audubon Society recorded a record December count of migrating birds. Unfortunately, more than 1,000 fish-eating birds also died that winter.
The good news is that the lake is slowly returning to a semblance of balance, due in part to the work of the Friends of Lake Apopka.
The events of 1998 also left the area's many farmworkers out of work, leaving them without a source of income. The affected population was largely middle-aged, African-American women who had worked on the farms most of their lives. While the area's landowners received payment for their land, the labor force was left in limbo.
So, once again, the labor force is caught in the middle. The state of Florida decided to drain the swamp to turn it into farmland. The state of Florida allowed the use of pesticides and fertilizers. The state of Florida repurchased the farmland to flood it. Somewhere in there, the labor force did what it could to make a living. I am not suggesting that the state of Florida owes them a living but I am saying that the state has a responsibility to its citizens. Healthcare is a right, not a privilege.
Again, from Barry Estabrook
[I] met Linda Lee, one of the afflicted workers, last summer when she took me on a "pesticide tour" of the land near Lake Apopka... [who] matter-of-factly listed her medical conditions: diabetes, lupus, high blood pressure, emphysema, and arthritis. Her hip had to be replaced and her gall bladder removed. Her kidneys failed, so she had a transplant. She also had two corneal implants. Asked what caused her woes, she didn't hesitate: As a farm laborer on the shores of Lake Apopka in the 1970s and 1980s, she was routinely exposed to agricultural chemicals as she worked in the fields
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I am not a scientist, nor do I claim to be one. I realize that feeding a booming world population is an important issue. I realize that there is some disagreement over the role of pesticides and fertilizers in agricultural production. I am not attempting to take a side in that debate.
I try to purchase local and organic foods. I try to avoid mass produced meat, dairy, pork, and poultry. I also realize that this is difficult, expensive, and not an option for large swaths of the world's population. This diary is not meant to be a diatribe on the evils of chemical use in agriculture, although I would like to see their end if that goal can be achieved without leaving millions hungry.
I am just trying to share a story about current events in Florida. I believe that they are illustrative of Rick Scott's actions in office. Take this diary for what it is.
Please and thank you ...
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A Quick Note From the Diarist:
Thank you to everyone who commented, tipped and recced this diary over the past 24 hours. Thanks especially to the groups who republished it and to whoever rescued it to the Community Spotlight.
I am truly humbled by all the shares, tweets, and FB likes that this diary has recorded. It makes me feel really good about this community and the fact that we aren't just a librul echo chamber.
Peace and love ...