The speakers at the microphone on the Old Courthouse steps railed on about anything and everything land and water -- even about a pipe carrying "dirty" gas to South Florida, about polluted springs, about the once-pristine St. John's River, the need to buy U.S. Sugar Corp. land to save the Everglades and more.
But most of the other folks, the ones who had come in support of Wednesday's clean water rally, showed me something I didn't expect.After a conversation with as many as 20 rally participants, I finally understood why Amendment 1, the Water and Land Conservation Amendment -- with all its caveats and fiscal uncertainties -- soared to a 75 percent victory last November.
What I discovered was that Floridians weren't doing what I was doing.
They weren't thinking about the possibility of a downturn in the economy when they cast their vote. They weren't weighing the wisdom of embedding budget items in the Constitution. Or how well the state is managing the land it has.
All they were doing at the polls in November -- same as they were doing with their attendance at the event -- was voting for clean water and a healthy environment. That's it. Mom and apple-pie stuff. They love Florida and want to keep the best things about it.
So basic.
In spite of the Everglades Foundation's effort to swamp the rally with people calling for the state to buy land for a "flowway" through the Everglades, it really didn't happen. The flowway supporters were there, all right, but it's doubtful they made up more than a quarter of the estimated 400-person turnout -- and the program wasn't really about "their issue."
Chris Costello, senior regional organizing representative for the Sierra Club, entirely organized busing people to the event. "My job was the buses," she said. "We had 200 in buses, but I would say another 200 people arrived in cars." She said buses came from Fort Myers, Bradenton, St. Petersburg, Tampa, Gainesville, Orlando, Ocala, Jacksonville, Port St. Lucie and Melbourne.
Did they come in aid of one specific cause? "Oh, I don't think so," Costello said. "They just want to see the (Amendment 1) money spent as the Constitution now says it should be."
And it's true, the Land and Legacy group that spearheaded Amendment 1 were passing out literature, hoping the crowd would urge legislators to honor Amendment 1 so that, despite money for such things as wastewater infrastructure, land acquisition doesn't get lost in the debate.
But few of the people I talked with had specific beefs. Some couldn't name a single spring. Even more only vaguely had heard of the St. Lucie or Caloosahatchee River. Most were members of environmental groups around the state who knew the water issues in their own community, and wanted to learn more.
Anna Bethea of Tallahassee said she joined in at the urging of her Unitarian Universalist Church -- "they like us to come to rallies downtown and this one interested me," she said. "I'm here as a warm body to support clean water and natural resources, and to get more information on making the environment better."
Kathryn Gibson said her main focus is Florida's deteriorating springs. "I voted for Amendment 1. I live in Wakulla County and we're rich in springs. Water is our lifeblood," she said, "and we have chronic pollution problems. I want to make sure a fair share of this money goes to rehabilitate springs."
Neal George of Tallahassee, who once worked for the Wildlife Federation and "did some petitioning" for Amendment 1, said he just wants to make sure the money the amendment produces will be used "meaningfully." He explained what he meant by that: "Allowing for fewer pollutants and a strong water supply throughout the state."
Sylvia and John Lewis, visiting the state capital from Wisconsin, were attracted by the crowd and waded in. "We were going to tour the Old Courthouse," John Lewis explained. "Then I heard one of the speakers talk about fracking. Boy, we don't like fracking in Wisconsin. It has no redeeming qualities." Fracking is a hydraulic technique designed to recover oil and gas from shale rock.
Lewis tried to donate a $10 bill to one of the groups set up with tables in the back, but to do it he had to leave his name, address and phone number. "Never mind, then," he said. "But I really believe in your cause here today."
Piper Miller, a Florida State University student majoring in environmental policies, said she heard about the rally through her professor. "I really care about protecting Florida lands and water resources," she said. "And I believe banning fracking in Florida is a cause everybody should support."
Her friend Holly Denton, a literature major, admitted she wasn't well-informed on water issues but said, "Any informed citizen should support clean water and conservation."
Author Janeen Mason of Stuart, however, did have a more specific purpose for attending the rally. In 2013 she saw Army Corps of Engineers-ordered water releases from Lake Okeechobee poison the St. Lucie River and Indian River Lagoon. She began an ambitious art program with children. On Wednesday, she brought and handed out to several in the crowd the fruits of the program -- painted wooden fish signs -- a beautiful fish on one side, a skeleton on the other. All were created by children and are part of her own "Solidarity Fish Project."
Said Mason, "I'm afraid if we scare our kids away from the water, they won't want to ever go near it." She said she believes the only way to reverse the pollution is to buy the U.S. Sugar Corp. land and flow water from the lake naturally through it, even though the idea has been debunked. She said she's convinced just putting water in reservoirs isn't going to be enough.
The speakers -- environmentalists, former and current politicians, others with an agenda -- weren't the story Wednesday. The real story was the people who largely came to express their hope for the future and let the Florida Legislature know why they voted for Amendment 1: These folks want natural resources protected; they want clean water now and in the future. And they're not kidding.
Reach Nancy Smith at nsmith@sunshinestatenews.com or 228-282-2423. Twitter: @NancyLBSmith
