Sanibel mayor receives Environmentalist of the Year Award from Audubon Society

Sanibel Mayor Mick Denham received the Environmentalist of the Year Award from the Audubon Society at this morning’s Southwest Florida Council on Environmental Education- Audubon Southwest Florida 11th annual Environmental Breakfast at Riverside Community Center, 3061 Riverside Drive, Fort Myers.

 

 

The mayor received the award for his work with the Southwest Florida Regional Planning Council’s Lower West Coast Watersheds Committee and other efforts to promote environmental health in Southwest Florida. In September in Orlando, the mayor took part in the 2008 Water Congress, as one of 120 delegates.

 

The keynote speaker at the event was Cynthia Barnett, senior writer at Florida Trend magazine and author of the book, “Mirage: Florida and the Vanishing Water of the Eastern U.S."

 

Barnett emphasized the need for spending tax dollars on conservation efforts rather than the popular focus on new water facilities, dams and reservoirs.

 

She pointed out that as a nation, the U.S. has gotten better at conserving water. Despite a population increase, she said, the nation has not increased its water demands. She spoke of trying to change the mindset of the public and governmental bodies to learn to live within our water budget, so to speak, rather than expecting to find more water.

 

“Overall water use in the United States stopped rising in 1980, yet population , as well as gross domestic product, have grown steadily ever since,” Barnett said. “Florida’s overall water use has dropped from 8.2 billion gallons a day in 2000 to 638 billion gallons a day in 2005.”

 

Lee County, she added, has always stayed below the state average in water consumption. The state's per-capita consumption dropped from 174 gallons a day to 158 gallons a day between 2000 and 2005. Lee County's consumption dropped from 147 gallons per capita per day to 140 gallons per day during the same time period, she said.

 

While the much has been done to increase awareness of water issues, she said, more is needed. For example, she recommended that matching grants -- which are available for building huge water infrastructure projects -- be made accessible to helping farmers make their water systems more efficient. Agriculture, she noted is responsible for about 50 percent of Florida’s water usage, and advances in that realm would greatly increase the availability of ground and surface water.

 

About 130 attended the breakfast, which included representatives of numerous organizations, including the Sierra Club, Audubon Society, Caloosahatchee River Citizens Association, Calusa Blueway Paddling Festival, Lee County Florida Yards and Neighborhoods and Southwest Florida Water Conservation District.

 

Also present at the breakfast were elected officials and candidates including Florida Sen. Burt Saunders, R.-Naples; Fort Myers City Councilman Warren Wright; Lee County commissioners Tammy Hall, Frank Mann and Ray Judah; county commission candidate Carla Johnston; and state Senate candidate Matt Caldwell.