Author Archives: Cyndi Lenz

Sinkholes: Its the Geology stupid!

#Florida

Sinkholes: Its the Geology stupid!

So after I wrote my blog I was wondering if we get sinkholes here in Martin County. Will my house get get sucked up in a hole. Will I be calling 911 saying “I’m in the ground!” Yikes.

I live on a ancient sand dune by the Indian RIver Lagoon. I live on a hill. I expect my house will be water view in about 50 years if we don’t do anything about sea level rise. I picked this area besides being so close to the lagoon, it was on a hill and out of the flood zone.

So much for planning.

The sinkholes of Martin County.

mimisink will_indian_river_drive_3510696_ver1.0_640_480

http://www.insurancejournal.com/news/southeast/2011/03/30/192278.htm

RiskMeter’s Top 10 Sinkhole-Prone Counties in Florida are:

  1. Pasco
  2. Hernando
  3. Hillsborough
  4. Marion
  5. Pinellas
  6. Citrus
  7. Polk
  8. Orange
  9. Seminole
  10. Lake

Geology

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geology_of_Florida

During the early Mesozoic Era (251 – 66 mya) the supercontinent of Pangea began to rift and break apart.  As North America separated from Africa a small portion of the African plate detached and was carried away with the North American plate. This provided some of the foundation upon which Florida now rests.

(I love this. Pretty cool if you think about it.)

The Florida peninsula is a porous plateau of karst limestone sitting atop bedrock known as the Florida Platform. The emergent portion of the platform was created during the Eocene to Oligocene as the Gulf Trough filled with silts, clays, and sands. Flora and fauna began appearing during the Miocene. No land animals were present in Florida prior to the Miocene.

The largest deposits of rock phosphate in the country are found in Florida. Most of this is in Bone Valley.

Extended systems of underwater caves, sinkholes and springs are found throughout the state and supply most of the water used by residents. The limestone is topped with sandy soils deposited as ancient beaches over millions of years as global sea levels rose and fell. During the last glacial period, lower sea levels and a drier climate revealed a much wider peninsula, largely savanna.

Science

Really incredible explanation on connection between farming and sinkholes and how the aquifers are pumped out and how cavities are left over and then they collapse.

He brings us up a lot of good points.

http://dep.state.fl.us/geology/geologictopics/hazards/sinkholes.htm

“Sinkholes become more of a problem in areas where sediments that lie above the limestone are mainly clays mixed with sand. Clay causes these sediments, which also range in thickness from 30 to 200 feet, to be cohesive. They are not very permeable to water. In these areas sinkholes are most numerous. They vary in size and may form suddenly. In a few areas of Florida over 200 feet of sediments cover the underlying limestone. These sediments are cohesive because of the clay and layers of limestone they contain. Although there are not many sinkholes in these areas, the ones that occur are deep and wide. These types of sinkholes are referred to as “cover-collapse sinkholes” because cohesive layers of sediment collapse into underground cavities when they form.”

SinkholePoster

Do we really need to be messing around in the land underneath us?

Do we need to look for oil? DO we need to suck the water out of the earth?  Why are we messing with Mother Nature? Do we need to frack?

no. no. no.

We need to find betters ways to preserve  or we’ll be the ones sucked down and yelling “I’m the ground!”

Here is a lesson. I’m not sure what grade it’s for but if your 6th graders can understand this stuff perhaps our legislators can.

http://teachingboxes.org/seaLevel/lessons/lesson4_reefs/index.htm

Coral reefs only grow in shallow, clear sea water (in the photic zone).

Reefs and Sea Level

When sea level is stationary, reefs will grow laterally in a seaward direction as reef sediments accumulate. Over long periods of time reef sediments will accumulate, and the growing pile will buid up in a seaward direction. Over time, this reef material will build broad shoals and platforms just below and near the ocean’s surface. However, if sea level rises and reefs are submerged by deep water, tehy will die. The deep water isolates them form the necessary solar light and warm water conditions they require. Similarly, a drop in sea level could leve them exposed on land.

Image source: U.S. Geological Survey (http://geopubs.wr.usgs.gov/fact-sheet/fs025-02

There’s even an extra brain teaser on the bottom!

Extra Brain Teaser: read about Florida’s sinkholes and what they tell of about sea level in the past!

Man I love Science!

http://www.newsweek.com/2014/02/28/oil-prospectors-seek-their-next-big-strike-south-floridas-everglades-245596.html

“The letter was printed on plain white paper in plain black type, and but for its unfamiliar globe logo “Total Safety” and its unsettling message, it was no different from most of the junk mail filling the mailboxes of 30 homes in a rural south Florida area called Golden Gate Estates, east of Naples.

“Dear Sir or Madam,” it read, “Total Safety US, Inc. is currently going around your area gathering information on households for Dan A. Hughes, so we can develop a contingency plan. We need the name of the main contact of the household, the number of people in your household, address and a number where you could be contacted in case of emergency, if you have transportation to evacuate and if you have any special needs in transportation.

With a little research, one of the many perplexed recipients, a retired artist by the name of Jaime Duran, learned that Dan A. Hughes was a Beeville, Texas-based oil outfit and that the company planned on drilling a test well on the pasture alongside his log cabin, less than 1,000 feet from his front porch.

The geological traits that make Florida good for oil exploration might also make it particularly environmentally risky. Andrew Zimmerman, an associate professor in the University of Florida’s geology department, tells Newsweek that the state’s oil is found in cracked, porous limestone formations. This is also the same rock sourcing drinking water. Plus, south Florida already has its share of water problems. In addition to water managers constantly balancing over-wet or over-dry conditions, they are often being caught between the two bad choices of over-drawing from aquifers or dumping fresh water into the ocean. Lake Okeechobee, which is also a major player in the region’s water sources, is another ongoing problem, as the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has recently diverted polluted water into the St. Lucie and Caloosahatchee Rivers from the lake to prevent its 80-year-old dike from bursting. That has dealt a near deathblow to these rivers’ estuaries, with locals complaining that the lake’s waters containing agricultural chemicals from nearby farms have killed numerous manatees, dolphins, fish and oysters.”

In a worst-case scenario, drilling could have deadly consequences.

Hydrogen sulfide is a gas that smells of eggs but rivals hydrogen cyanide in its potential to kill and is often present in fields with sour crude oil, the kind found in south Florida.

You have to watch and listen to this video! Lets not be the one’s who get sucked into the ground.

Florida Inc: It’s all about the water: muck fires and sinkholes

#Florida

Muck Fires: What is that awful smell?

http://www.tcpalm.com/news/local-news/martin-county/smoke-from-palm-beach-county-wildfire-smelled-throughout-treasure-coast_55076727

“Earlier Monday, smoke from a more than 10,300-acre wildfire in Palm Beach County could be smelled throughout the Treasure Coast thanks to winds out of the south.

muck fires

The fire began July 8 with a lightning strike in the Arthur R. Marshall/Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge, and is about 75 percent contained, a release states.

Reports of smoke came in from throughout the Treasure Coast, as far north as Sebastian in Indian River County, according to information from the St. Lucie County Fire District and Yunas.”

This is what was reported to us and we  just knew there was more to the story.

Last week  we all woke up to not just smoke but a really nasty smell. There was a fire in Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge, and other brush fires around. This smell was nasty and we are not the only ones who woke up to this and had to endure for days. It smelled like plastic burning.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muck_%28soil%29

“In the terminology of North American agriculture, muck is a soil made up primarily of humus from drained swampland. Muck farming is controversial, because the drainage of wetlands destroys wildlife habitats and results in a variety of environmental problems. It also can catch fire and burn underground for months. Oxidation also removes a portion of the soil each year, so it becomes progressively shallower. :

http://www.news-press.com/story/news/2015/07/09/smokey-smell-caused-by-estero-bay-state-preserve-burn/29906137/

“A pervasive, smoky smell throughout south Lee County, Estero and into Cape Coral Thursday was the result of a muck fire in the Everglades District, according to the Florida Forestry Service.”

http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/weather/news/2006-05-10-florida-muck-fires_x.htm

“Basically, a muck fire is going to burn down until it hits water,” said Sean Gallagher, a spokesman with the Florida Division of Forestry. “It burns with such intensity that it lights the dirt.”

Muck ignites from the burning brush above and from lightning strikes. Enough oxygen penetrates the parched, loosely packed peat, causing underground embers to smolder for weeks. The muck can cook and kill roots, causing trees to topple. After their leaves dry out, they kindle more brush and the downed trees themselves.

Muck is soil rich in carbon-based compounds from dead plants and organisms, usually more than a third of the soil content.

It becomes flammable when the groundwater dips below normal for an extended period of time.

Burning muck can lower the ground elevation enough to ultimately change swamps into lakes or ponds.

Firefighters cut fire breaks around the muck and till up the ground so they can see the glowing hot spots and soak them.

“Before farmers and developers drained natural wetlands, muck fires were much less common because low-lying areas stayed underwater throughout the year.”

The reason I bring this up is because Maggy Hurchella brought this up in her pleas to SFWMD this past winter. Drought=muck fires.

Sinkholes are the results of groundwater pumping. watch this video. warning language. totally worth the watch.

Florida Sinkholes are Swallowing Cars: America’s Water Crisis (Part 2/3)

Why do I bring this up? Because there are lots of clueless people managing our water and their mismanagement is hurting us. Their leader of course is Rick Scott and politics and Florida Inc is in charge of our future.

Right now they are not doing a very good job!

Sinkhole-zones-in-fl

Florida Inc: Thank you League of Woman Voters!

Florida Inc: Thank you League of Woman Voters!

Gerrymandering has been going on in Florida for a long time and it truly has been a bipartisan activity. It took the very awesome and very bipartisan League of Woman voters to get the whole mess straightened out.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gerrymandering

“In the process of setting electoral districts, gerrymandering is a practice that attempts to establish a political advantage for a particular party or group by manipulating district boundaries to create partisan advantaged districts.”

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/League_of_Women_Voters

“The League of Women Voters (LWV) is an American civic organization that was formed to help women take a larger role in public affairs as they won the right to vote. It was founded in 1920 by Carrie Chapman Catt during the last meeting of the National American Woman Suffrage Association, approximately six months before the Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution gave women the right to vote.[3] The League of Women Voters began as a “mighty political experiment” aimed to help newly enfranchised women exercise their responsibilities as voters. Originally, only women could join the league; but in 1973 the charter was modified to include men. LWV operates at the local, state, and national level, with over 1,000 local and 50 state leagues.”

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/League_of_Women_Voters_of_Florida

“The League of Women Voters of Florida (LWVF) is a civic organization in the state of Florida. The League’s bylaws mandate that the organization will not support any candidate or party, but the League’s members do advocate on policy issues.

The Florida League got its official start in the state in 1939, when women in Winter Haven, Winter Park and St. Petersburg initiated the Florida League of Women Voters, following some earlier efforts. Its first project was a study of state government with a particular focus on the State’s Constitution. Early advocacy efforts encouraged the Florida Legislature to end the process of gerrymandering.”

http://www.newsmax.com/Politics/gerrymandering-florida-districts-lawsuit/2014/06/02/id/574522/

A case brought by the League of Women Voters and Democratic-leaning plaintiffs could force the Republican-controlled state legislature to redraw Florida’s “lopsided” election districts before the midterm elections,  The Washington Post reported.
Both houses of the Florida legislature are controlled by Republicans as is the governor’s mansion. Republicans had invested heavily  in winning the legislature in advance of the once-in-a-decade redrawing process.”

To The Point with Michael Williams this past Sunday, July 19, 2015: Pamela Goodman, Florida League of Women Voters
“Egregious behavior of the Florida Legislature.”

http://www.tampabay.com/news/courts/florida-lawmakers-say-they-destroyed-redistricting-documents/2157636

Lawyers for the defendants have told the court that none of the documents sought by the plaintiffs have been “deleted, destroyed, lost, misappropriated, or otherwise became unavailable for production” and that they produced more than 20,000 documents in response to the request.

http://tbo.com/news/politics/subpoenas-issued-in-challenge-of-state-senate-districts-20150420/

“The subpoenas were sent April 2 and include Senate President Andy Gardiner, R-Orlando; state Sen. Don Gaetz, a Niceville Republican who served as head of the Senate redistricting committee and then Senate president; former state Rep. Dean Cannon, who served as House Speaker when the maps were passed; and state Sen. Jack Latvala, a Clearwater Republican who filed a last minute redistricting amendment that was ultimately passed by the Senate.

Much like the congressional lawsuit, plaintiffs again allege that lawmakers violated anti-gerrymandering provision added to the state Constitution by voters in 2010. The amendments say, in part, that politics cannot play a role in the redistricting process.

The subpoena list is also full of state redistricting staff and outside political consultants, many of whom were also involved in the congressional lawsuit. That includes Gainesville-based GOP consulting firm Data Targeting.

Records released as part of the first lawsuit show the firm drew both congressional and Senate maps and submitted them through third-parties. Firm founder Pat Bainter said the anti-gerrymandering amendments are unfair because it makes it nearly impossible for people who work as political consultants to take part in the map drawing process, which should be their right as a state citizens.”

HAAHAHAH That’s rich!

not fair

“One of those is the seat held by state Sen. Joe Negron, R-Stuart, which contains parts of Indian River, Martin, Palm Beach and St. Lucie Counties. The lawsuit says Negron’s coastal district was intentionally pushed north into Indian River County to “avoid including Democratic voters to the South.”Pushing the district north opens up a gap in the south between Negron’s district and the seat held by Lake Worth Democrat Jeff Clemens. That gap is filled by a portion of state Rep. Joseph Abruzzo, D-Royal Palm Beach, that “strangely protrudes” into the Palm Beach County, a Democratic stronghold.

“The Legislature intentionally disregarded political and geographic boundaries to favor particular incumbents and the party in power,” read the lawsuit.”

So what happened.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/florida-redistricting_559e995be4b01c2162a60530

“TALLAHASSEE, Fla., July 9 (Reuters) – The Florida Supreme Court on Thursday ordered the redrawing of some of the state’s U.S. congressional districts before the 2016 elections.

The state’s high court found the legislature’s redistricting plan was “constitutionally invalid,” the latest decision in a long-running legal battle over gerrymandering in the state.

The court said two of the state’s 27 congressional districts, currently occupied by Democrat Corrine Brown of Jacksonville and Republican Daniel Webster in the Orlando area, need to be redrawn, as well as adjacent districts.

These districts have been the subject of litigation. A circuit court judge ruled last year that the legislature’s 2012 maps “made a mockery” of anti-gerrymandering provisions in the state’s constitution.

“The court has made it abundantly clear that partisan gerrymandering will not be tolerated,” said attorney David King, representing a group of plaintiffs led by the League of Women Voters of Florida and Common Cause. (Reporting by Bill Cotterell and Letitia Stein; Editing by Bill Trott and Mohammad Zargham)”

http://eyeonmiami.blogspot.com/2015/07/gop-continues-to-fight-tooth-and-nail.html

GOP continues to fight tooth and nail for its gerrymandered district maps, despite ruling by Florida Supreme Court firmly against its Congressional district gerrymandering … by gimleteye.

You can read the entire decision from the Supreme Court of Florida there.

“Supreme Court of Florida
 ____________  No. SC14-1905  ____________
THE LEAGUE OF WOMEN VOTERS OF FLORIDA, etc., et al.,
 Appellants/Cross–Appellees, vs.
KEN DETZNER, et al.,
Appellees/Cross–Appellants. [July 9, 2015] PARIENTE, J. In this appeal involving legal issues of first impression, we review a trial court’s finding that the 2012 “redistricting process” and the “resulting map” apportioning Florida’s twenty-seven congressional districts were “taint[ed]” by unconstitutional intent to favor the Republican Party and incumbent lawmakers.”
Remember them. The same folks who wouldn’t listen, carried on in the shadows, think we are their personal property. If you think about it we are the employees of FLORIDA INC. (I’d like raise please and some health insurance for the same price you guys get!)
 “– 18 – proposed maps in their names to the Legislature, which were drawn  by the consultants. What is clear to me from the evidence, as described in more detail below, is that this group of Republican political consultants or operatives did in fact conspire to manipulate and influence the redistricting process. They accomplished this by writing scripts for and organizing groups of people to attend the public hearings to advocate for adoption of certain components or characteristics in the maps, and by submitting maps and partial maps through the public  process, all with the intention of obtaining enacted maps for the State House and Senate and for Congress that would favor the Republican Party. They made a mockery of the Legislature’s proclaimed transparent and open process of redistricting by doing all of this in the shadow of that process, utilizing the access it gave them to the decision makers, but going to great lengths to conceal from the public their plan and their participation in it. They were successful in their efforts to influence the redistricting process and the congressional  plan under review here. And they might have successfully concealed their scheme and their actions from the public had it not been for the [challengers’] determined efforts to uncover it in this case. The closer question is whether the Legislature in general, or the leadership and staff principally involved in drawing the maps, knowingly joined in this plan, or were duped by the operatives in the same way as the general public.”
Who is
http://ballotpedia.org/Ken_Detzner

“Kenneth W. Detzner (b. 1952 in Chicago, IL) is the current Republican Florida Secretary of State. He was appointed on January 18, 2012, by Governor Rick Scott, and confirmed by the Florida State Senate in late February.[1]Detzner previously occupied the secretary of state’s office for a short period in under then-Gov. Jeb Bush, during its transition from an elective cabinet post to a gubernatorial appointed post. Bush named Detzner his chief of staff until appointing him to serve as interim secretary of state.”

Help Save the Everglades from more destruction, STOP ROGG (River of Grass Greenway).

Please sign the petition! (Even if you don’t live here you could visit)

https://www.change.org/p/help-save-the-everglades-from-more-destruction-stop-rogg-river-of-grass-greenway

Please share this page!

Published on Jun 26, 2015

“These are all images from the ROGG plan that look to be on the path that will be removed. Please sign the petition we have on Change.org to stop this project. https://www.change.org/search?q=rogg July 1st is the deadline to submit public comment to Mark Heinicke at email: MHEINIC@miamidade.gov and by postal mail to: Mark Heinicke, Project Manager of the ROGG and Project Planner with the Miami-Dade County Parks, Recreation and Open Spaces Department, Planning and Design Excellence Division, 275 NW 2nd Street, 4th Floor, Miami, FL 33128-1794, phone: 305-755-7811.

MEDIA ADVISORY FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Shannon Larson at 904-654-0200 ancientrees@hotmail.com; Betty Osceola at 786-385-6743 oohopee@aol.com; Houston R. Cypress at 786-897-4582 EvergladesActNow@gmail.com; Karen Dwyer at 239-404-2171 dwyerka@gmail.com
INDIGENOUS PEOPLE, CONCERNED CITIZENS & ALLIES TAKE TO THE STREETS OF MIAMI TO PROTEST PAVED 76-MILE BIKE HIGHWAY
The proposed River of Grass Greenway would be a 76-mile hard surface pathway 20 to 40 feet wide, running from Naples to Miami cutting through six national and state parks – some of the most ecologically sensitive lands in the nation – estimated initial costs to build ROGG will cost taxpayers $140 million dollars. Long-term costs even more costly. At ground zero in restoration efforts, eyes around the world are watching to see if Florida can save the Everglades. Yet, the so-called River of Grass Greenway project is independent of the massive 30 year Restoration Project, and could interfere with CERP. Opponents claim the 76-mile bike highway would destroy wetlands, disrupt watersheds, encroach on indigenous lands, disturb historic battlefields, undermine restoration efforts and open the door to commercialization of the Big Cypress and Everglades. They say the area is readily accessible and already has more than enough highways, trails, bike paths, swamp walks, observations towers, and vast array of existing recreational opportunities. “Shutdown the ROGG: Defend Nature by leaving it undisturbed” reads one of their signs and “Moccasins on the Ground NOT pavement” another.
Recent words by Bobby C. Billie, Spiritual Leader and Clan Leader of the Council of the Original Miccosukee Simanolee Nation Aboriginal People who will be leading the event: “The most important thing with this project is the destruction of the Natural World that the Creator has given us. The indigenous people know the Creations the Creator has given us; the Water, the Air, the Trees, the Plants, the Grasses, and all the Insects living in the Grasses, must survive in order that we may survive.”

http://www.examiner.com/article/stopping-rogg-and-the-human-impact-on-mother-earth-zero-impact-is-mandatory

We took in a 5 day workshop led by Betty Osceola and Bobby C Billie mostly though other Nations from around the country had shown up in support of this historic peaceful opposition.We chose the opportunity and challenge to put ourselves out in the care of our Indigenous Nations hosts while walking for 5 days across Tamiami Trail (41) and the Everglades from Naples to Miami. We chose to endure and learn about Mother Nature and her wounds that continue to bleed. We have connected in spirit to help right some wrongs, crimes, against not only Mother Earth but the area and all of its life,its waters, its air, its wildlife, and its Indigenous people. The Everglades has been encroached upon and has been damaged for many years and continues to be treated as if its a place for development to conquer.The Everglades needs to be repaired and have zero impact of plans and projects forced upon it. Why must we come up with an idea and think its good when its not, is it the people we hang around with, is it a mob mentality of only a fool cant see that its right? I’ve lost respect for many of the blowhard egotists I used to see as icons and saviors of our community and planet and see that they sway with the group they follow or out of fear for the job they hold. Shame on us for supporting this so blindly without research or our knowledge of current actions needed to help restore some health to the Everglades. Why would any choose to continue to make strides backwards before any movement forward has even been made. Where were the numbers from the so-called Enviro-groups that can only support special interests because of funding? Shame on both Collier County/The City of Naples, Everglades City and all the entities that have pledged support of this salt to the wounds project. This project, its roadway, its lights,its bathrooms,its concessions, its many parking areas are all adding more damage to the land and desecrating the sovereignty of the Indigenous people that struggle with our ways and try to steward a seriously sick area of nature. NO ROGG/ NO IMPACT/NO WAY, THIS HAS BEEN A BAD IDEA FROM THE START AND IS A MEANS FOR MORE DEVELOPMENT. SEEK YOUR SPIRIT,I COULD NOT SUPPORT THIS WITH GOOD CONSCIENCE AND I CANT SEE HOW ANY WOULD.

http://wlrn.org/post/everglades-bike-path-yea-or-nay

Since the project was proposed in 2012, environmentalists have petitioned and protested, saying the path would set back Everglades restoration. Supporters and ROGG committee members say the path would create a safe way for people to enjoy the park and increase Everglades education.

Revision 7-15-2015 at 4:29 pm – NEW DEADLINE Aug 1, 2015 – Extended July 15th deadline provides the ability to send more comments to mheinic@miamidade.gov Here are some abbreviated ideas statements one could reword as they like to make points they might not have already made about ROGG.

1 There is not enough space to install ROGG as planned on US 41 and maintain current level of safety for motorists or current quality of habitat adjacent to US 41 ROGG will eliminate from existence due to ROGG being installed on top of them.

2 An ROGG plan conceptual idea of narrowing the outside width of US 41 by 8 feet (25%) in unspecified sections to facilitate a stealthful speed reduction based on fear of head on collisions is a deadly idea to even consider and should be permanently dropped.

3 Motorist safety will be cut by 50% due to ROGG and design B-9 due to ROGG taking up 50% of the historically available space to safely pull off US 41 (Tamiami Trail).

4 The May 2015 plan aside from a few design details is mostly a promotional brochure touting statistics based upon totally subjective data to skew results in favor of developing this culturally, environmentally and financially destructive idea.

5 Many have asked why are they wanting this – This project’s origin is at or very close to a road building family (the Bonness family) in Collier county that has a good chance reap millions (145 of them) if the project is built.

6 We do not want to see our Indigenous neighbors that actually live on the ROGG path on US 41 have to put up with the negative repercussions ROGG will cause to their lives significant religious sites that ROGG construction will unavoidably be the direct cause of..

7 Hundreds if not Thousands of mature Cypress near US 41 are currently planned to be cut as per the preferred alternatives shown in the May 2015 ROGG master plan.

8 Between ROGG construction operation and maintenance for 20 years the plan estimates cost to be $225,000,000 dollars of taxpayer money. Their estimate did not include design, construction set up or Mitigation for environmental harm which will be a huge that plan authors chose to not include anywhere. This is an unjustifiable financial burden to put on taxpayers for a path anywhere other than urban areas crying for good paths that will actually save local lives lost due to the lack of them every year.”

facebook page

https://www.facebook.com/StopROGG?fref=ts

How much more are we going to do to the Indigenous people. We are killing them with water issues and this is just more disrespect to their traditions and sacred sites? That one. How long will this site be up when people start demanding starbucks and other places to eat and drink along the way? Before you know it will be  a road because because people won’t want to ride their bikes. Or a tram ride. All in the name of moeny. It’s a lot of money spent that will interfere with the restoration of the Everglades.”

HERBERT HOOVER DIKE REHABILITATION STRUCTURE REPLACEMENT

I snitched this from my friend Tiki Steve. Tik and I also have a facebook page where we have been documenting for years!

https://www.facebook.com/SaintLucieRiverofLight

DSC_0012

I had asked him a few months ago about what was going on in the construction world after I wrote

https://cyndi-lenz.com/2015/06/10/acoe-and-the-herbert-hoover-dike-we-should-be-up-in-arms-together/

Are the people south of lake any safer today than they were then?

This is from 2013

http://www.hurricaneanalytics.com/2013/02/three_levee_fact

1.The levee is expected to fail. I know that sounds bad, and it is. FEMA is apparently planning to update flood assessments this summer and redraw flood maps for Palm Beach and Martin counties. These flood maps are expected to be drawn as if the levee around Lake Okeechobee didn’t exist. In other words, they are not counting on the levees to protect against flooding.

2. The Herbert Hoover Dike is in the highest failure category of the Army Corps risk scale. Current efforts are being directed at reducing the risk category, but as it stands (and even after millions of dollars worth of improvements) the levee protecting the area still carries the highest risk classification (DSAC 1) of any dam in the United States.

3. There is no emergency spillway, nor is one planned to be built. There is no good, controlled way to drain off excess water from the lake should a large amount of rain fall in a short amount of time. Lake Okeechobee fills six times faster than it can be drained, and a foot of rainfall would result in 3 to 4 feet of water rise in the lake. Current levees will start to fail when the lake rises above 18.5 feet above mean sea level (it’s at roughly 14 feet currently), and significant levee problems are almost certain to occur when the lake reaches 20 feet over MSL.

HERBERT HOOVER DIKE REHABILITATION STRUCTURE REPLACEMENT
Solicitation No. W912EP-15-R-0013
LOCATION: Multiple Cities, FL (Palm Beach Co.)
ESTIMATED AMOUNT: $25,000,000 to $50,000,000
CONTRACTING METHOD: Competitive Public Bids
BIDS DUE: July 21, 2015 at 2:00 PM (To Owner)
No of Days: 1095
OWNER: US Army Corps of Engineers
701 San Marco Rd, Jacksonville, FL 32232-0019
(904)232-3735 FAX# (904)232-2748
Contact: Tedra Nicole Thompson Phone#:(904)232-2016
USE: Federal – Demolition and removal of the existing Herbert Hoover Dike Culvert 10A and the construction of a new outlet work S-271 at the same location of the existing Culvert 10A. The demolition and reconstruction efforts will be performed in the dry requiring the installation of an earthen cofferdam within Lake Okeechobee and a steel sheep pile (SSP) cofferdam on the landside at the L-8 canal in order to dewater the construction site. To maintain flows between Lake Okeechobee and the L-8 canal, a steel sheet pile canal will be constructed to divert flow from the L-8 canal to a three barrel bypass culvert. The bypass culvert will be constructed with 10-foot diameter HDPE pipe and will be operated during the construction of the new outlet works. The bypass culvert will have a sheet pile headwall on the landside and steel pile supported gates on the lakeside. The new outlet works structure will include cast-in-place reinforced concrete headwalls (lakeside and landside), conduit and endwalls. Combination flap/slide gates will be installed in each bay of the lakeside headwall. The outlet works will consist of four (4) barrels that vary in geometry from 10-foot square at the headwalls to 7-foot high by 13.5-foot wide rectangles through the embankment. The reconstructed embankment will feature a cutoff wall, and impervious core, a vertical chimney drain, and a horizontal drain and filter. The reconstructed embankment will match the existing crest elevation of the dike at the site. Riprap will be installed along the lakeside embankment face for erosion protection. A steel sheet pile groin structure will be installed on the lakeside to reduce sedimentation in the entrance canal. A control building will be installed on the landside work platform. Work also includes the demolition and removal of two existing residential structures at the project site and clearing an electrical corridor.
DIVISION:
Div1 general requirements
Div2 existing conditions, demolition, engineering control of asbestos containing materials
Div3 concrete, structural cast-in-place concrete forming, concrete accessories, concrete reinforcing, cast-in-place concrete, concrete finishing, concrete curing
Div5 metals, metal fabrications
Div8 openings, stainless-steel doors and frames, door hardware, louvers
Div9 finishes, painting
Div13 special construction
Div25 integrated automation, integrated automation instrumentation and terminal devices for facility equipment
Div26 electrical, facility lightning protection, interior lighting, exterior lighting
Div31 earthwork, erosion controls, steel piles, timber piles
Div32 exterior improvements, asphalt paving, sodding
Div33 storm drainage utilities, concrete culverts
Div35 waterway and marine construction
Div40 instrumentation and control for process systems

NOTES:

NAICS Code: 237990
Liquidated Damages – $5,431.00 Per Calendar Day of Delay & $,1358.00 Per Calendar Day for establishment of landscaping.
Plans: Owner
BID BOND: 20%
Certified/Cashiers Check
PERF. BOND:100 %
PAYMENT BOND:100%
A Site Visit was held on June 17, 2015 at 9:00 AM. Please call Ingrid Bon, Canal Point Communtiy Center, 12860 US Hwy 441, Canal Point FL, 561-472-8888 for additional information.
Industry Type: General/Civil Joint Projects
Industry Sub Type: Dams/Reservoir

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jobsjobsjobs!

http://www.saj.usace.army.mil/Missions/CivilWorks/LakeOkeechobee/HerbertHooverDike.aspx

Herbert Hoover Dike (HHD) is a 143-mile earthen dam that surrounds Lake Okeechobee, the heart of the Kissimmee-Okeechobee-Everglades system.  The original dike was constructed with gravel, rock, limestone, sand, and shell.  The project reduces impacts from flooding as a result of high lake levels for a large area of south Florida.

Since 2007, the Corps has made a significant investment, over $300 million, in projects designed to reduce the risk of catastrophic failure of the aging structure. Actions taken include installing a cutoff wall, removing and replacing water control structures (culverts), and conducting a variety of studies and technical reviews to help ensure the safety of south Florida residents. Corps teams work daily on the dike, providing contractor oversight, quality assurance, inspections, and dike operations and maintenance. Much progress is also being made behind the scenes at the District, where a team of engineers, hydrologists, geologists, scientists, contract and real estate specialists, budget analysts, and many others, work to ensure the very best rehabilitation strategies are applied to the dike today and in the future.

Here is a site called Florida Bids. You see whats being bid on in your hood.

http://www.floridabids.net/bid-opportunities/2015/07/16/

http://www.news-press.com/story/news/local/2014/10/04/herbet-hoover-dike-region-risk/16737395/

Assessing the risk

Florida International University’s International Hurricane Research Center lists Lake Okeechobee as the No. 2 threat of catastrophic flooding from a natural disaster, behind only New Orleans.

“The current condition of Herbert Hoover Dike poses a grave and imminent danger to the people and the environment of South Florida. In this, we join many other investigators, from grassroots engineers to eminent specialists, who for 20 years have warned that Herbert Hoover Dike needs to be fixed,” reads a South Florida Water Management District report from 2006. “We can add only that it needs to be fixed now, and it needs to be fixed right. We firmly believe that the region’s future depends on it.”

The report goes on to say that making the dike truly safe would likely cost more than the Army Corps of Engineers entire budget for projects across the nation, which was $4.7 billion in 2013. Billions of dollars in Everglades restoration could be lost in one event, which could also damage drinking water aquifers and cause irreversible harm to Everglades National Park and Big Cypress National Preserve.

It’s not just engineers and nearby residents who are concerned. Lloyd’s of London issued a firm warning to companies that insure homes and property in South Florida.

This is from 1989

http://www.sfwmd.gov/portal/page/portal/pg_grp_tech_pubs/portlet_tech_pubs/dre-274.pdf

page 18 shows you where this is on the PBC/Martin County line

on page 15 they talk about backpumping saying there were no environmental concerns.

I can’t find a photo of the actual place so if any of your guys do send it over here.

This has been going on for way too long. If you people that live below the lake want to be safe I suggest you pay attention.

Don’t let your aspirin grow old

I’m going all nursy today. I have two things I want to talk about.

1. Go clean your medicine cabinet.

A while back I was part owner of a very cool compounding pharmacy. I did all the PR , videos, blog, etc. I even produced a radio show. I wanted to do a segment called “What’s in your medicine cabinet?” because you know me. I’m nosy!  I talked to some of friends about this but no one was willing to let me see. LOL!

The worse thing you can do is actually put medications in your medicine cabinet. On Grace and Frankie there was a scene where the Martin Sheen character Robert was having a fight with the Sam Waterston character Sol about where Sol should put his medicines.

“They belong in the medicine cabinet in the bathroom.” Robert said. Sol defended himself by saying he left them out so he would remember to take them. I’m with Sol. Put them in some kind of container and put them somewhere you’ll remember to take them. Keep them out the bathroom. It’s too hot and humid in there.

Here is a good report from ABC NEWS

http://abcnews.go.com/Health/HealthyLife/medicine-cabinet-worse-place-store-medications-pharmacists/story?id=14316623

When i was growing up even my ocd mom had 500 year old Mercurochrome in the medicine cabinet. So if your not willing to part with it at least check the expiration dates.

We have a bad habit of putting things in there and then thinking well maybe one day we’ll use them and they just grow old and icky. There’s nothing as nasty as sad old Mercurochrome.

The other thing you should do is check your aspirin bottle to make sure your aspirin in not disintegrated.  I buy little bottles of aspirin. Why?

http://ezinearticles.com/?Why-Old-Aspirin-Smells-Like-Vinegar&id=3471563

“The Chemical Nature of Aspirin

Aspirin is chemically known as acetyl salicylic acid. After some time, or when stored in non ideal conditions, it will easily deteriorate into acetic acid and salicylic acid even without the presence of other chemicals.

The Chemical Nature of Vinegar

Vinegar came from the fermented juices of fruits that contain sugars. The initial fermentation of the freshly extracted juices will result to the creation of wine. If the fermentation is allowed to continue, the alcohol in the wine will further be converted into acetic acid. Acetic acid gives that sour flavor and distinct odor to vinegar and related products.

Why Aspirin Smells Like Vinegar

When aspirin starts to decompose, its molecules will separate into salicylic acid and acetic acid. Having acetic acid as the product of decomposition of aspirin gives it a similar odor as that of vinegar (which has diluted amounts of acetic acid as its component).

How to Store Aspirin

To slow down the decomposition process of aspirin, it must be stored in suitable conditions.

1. Store the container in a cool and dry place.

Exposure to moisture will facilitate the hydrolysis of the aspirin molecules into its decomposition products.

2. Keep the container tightly closed.

Exposure to air provides the oxygen that is required for the oxidation of aspirin into acetic acid and salicylic acid.

3. Keep aspirin (and other medications) away from areas in which there is strong sunlight.

Strong lighting conditions can also hasten the deterioration of many medications. They are best stored in amber bottles.

Several years after the manufacture of aspirin, it is expected to slowly deteriorate and lose ifs efficiency. To slow down the deterioration process, follow the proper storage procedures. And if you have aspirin tablets that smell strongly of vinegar, discard them.”

So if you open the bottle and it smells like vinegar get rid of it. It’s not good anymore.
And don’t forget to check expiration dates!
10409679_10206640770794371_5066794204098934138_n-1

The Destruction of FLorida: DInner Island Ranch

DSC_0100

A little while back Jules and I traveled down to STA 5 and 6 where we were dismayed to find not a lot of water going anywhere but over to US Sugar lands.

One the way back we stopped here and hung out with the cows. Out here you are seriously out in the middle of nowhere.

http://myfwc.com/viewing/recreation/wmas/lead/dinner-island/things-to-do/

They have hunting, fishing, wildlife viewing, hiking, camping horseback riding, biking and scenic driving. There was a bad rain storm do we didn’t get all the way through but saw enough to say we would definitely get back there.

What is a WMA?

http://myfwc.com/viewing/recreation/wmas/

What is Florida’s Wildlife Management Area System?

Florida’s Wildlife Management Area (WMA) system is managed by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) to sustain the widest possible range of native wildlife in their natural habitats. These lands are more rugged than parks, with fewer developed amenities.

This system includes more than 5.8 million acres of land established as WMAs or Wildlife and Environmental Areas (WEAs).

Cooperative Areas – On the majority of these lands (about 4.4 million acres), FWC is a cooperating manager working with other governmental or private landowners to conserve wildlife and provide public use opportunities.

Lead Areas – On the remaining lands (about 1.4 million acres), FWC is the landowner or “lead” managing agency responsible for land stewardship and providing quality wildlife conservation and recreation opportunities including hunting, fishing, wildlife viewing, hiking, biking, horseback riding, paddling, scenic driving, and camping.

There are loads of critters that live there including the Florida Panther.

DSC_0098

So this is a great place for conservationists and hunters alike. A place for all of us.

There’s a place for us.

DSC_0105 DSC_0104 DSC_0108

So I was very distressed to read this on our favorite Blog EYE on MIami.

http://eyeonmiami.blogspot.com/2015/07/message-from-south-florida-wildlands.html?spref=tw

Message from South Florida Wildlands Association: Threats to Everglades from FPL and oil drillers

“Matthew Schwartz, of South Florida Wildlands Association, provides a good summary of the ongoing threats to the Everglades by oil drillers and FPL. Please consider joining and contributing to their efforts.”
You can read the letter at link but here are the highlights:
“In the years since South Florida Wildlands has been working to protect wildlife and habitat in the Greater Everglades, we have never faced a combination of issues that have such capacity to destroy and degrade this unique landscape. Folks who live in South Florida and follow local media are aware that a company (Kanter Real Estate LLC) has just applied for a permit to drill for oil and dig limestone mines on 20,000 acres of Everglades it owns in Broward County.
But that’s not all. We recently learned that Florida and Power and Light (FPL) is still intent on developing 3,000 acres of primary Florida panther habitat they bought just north of the Big Cypress National Preserve and Seminole Reservation for the purpose of building the largest gas-fired electrical generating plant in the nation. Having lost a lawsuit with the Seminole Tribe of Florida over agricultural zoning on the property, FPL is now asking Hendry County to create a new land use type (Electrical Generating Facility) and move the property into that new classification.

The FPL property is surrounded by public lands that were acquired at tremendous cost and effort (e.g. the Big Cypress National Preserve, Dinner Island Wildlife Management Area, Okaloacoochee Slough State Forest) and contain some of the most important contiguous upland habitat for Florida panthers, black bears, and other wildlife in South Florida. For years, the entire property had been expected to be protected by a Florida Forever land protection project called “Panther Glades.” Unfortunately, funds were never available to complete that purchase prior to FPL buying the land for their own purposes. From the standpoint of our stressed out wildlife in South Florida, FPL could not have chosen a worse location for their new power plant if they had tried.

But wait – there’s more. In the Big Cypress National Preserve, another company (Burnett Oil Company of Ft. Worth, Texas) is applying for a permit to conduct seismic testing for oil across 110 square miles (70,000 acres) in the heart of the preserve. The intent is to locate oil deposits before opening up the Big Cypress to additional oil drilling. A federal comment period is open until the middle of August. For those wondering how this can take place inside a national preserve – most of the below ground oil rights are owned by a company named Collier Resources while the National Park Service controls only the surface. Collier Resources has leased some of these rights to Burnett Oil for the purpose of the seismic survey. Another news story from the Sun-Sentinel summarizes this project – which would take place on some of the most sensitive and biodiverse wetlands in Florida:
Feel free to call or email on any of the above with comments or questions.

Best regards,

Matthew Schwartz
Executive Director
South Florida Wildlands Association
1404 East Las Olas Blvd.
P.O. Box 30211
Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33303
954-634-7173
https://www.facebook.com/southfloridawild“

 Please pay attention to this!
I had hoped to spend the summer visiting state parks and wild life management areas in Florida. We call this our adventure days and  I amazed at all the wonderful things we have seen so far. if you other citizen journalists want to do this also please take some photos and videos and write us a guest blog. We need to show the world the beautiful Florida that we all know and love. We need to show our fellow Floridians what we are protecting. Let’s do this!

where do we go now?

So last week I wrote a lot about the Pacific Legal Foundation.

https://cyndi-lenz.com/2015/07/09/panthers-manatees-and-bears-oh-my/

Here we learned about the connection between our Florida Bear, Florida Panther and Manatees and the work these people to protect nothing.

https://cyndi-lenz.com/2015/07/10/who-is-the-pacific-legal-foundation-and-why-are-our-panthers-manatees-and-bears-their-business/

https://cyndi-lenz.com/2015/07/11/bring-it-on-home-the-pacific-legal-foundation-and-martin-county/

Here we able to see that not only are they here in the universe but also very good friends with our Economic Council of Martin County.

Then I wrote this about our local liberty caucus and apparently outed someone that was sort of kept under wraps.

https://cyndi-lenz.com/2015/07/11/the-very-funny-local-liberty-caucus-striped-men-in-tights/

None of this made me happy. In fact it just made me sad. What is worse than a bunch hypocrites?

Then I wrote this.

https://cyndi-lenz.com/2015/07/13/burts-bees-the-documentary/

Who was the true libertarian.

Burt was of course. He was the only one that talked the talk and walked the walk. He said ““A good day is when no one comes over and I don’t have to go anywhere.” He wanted to be left alone BUT he also left everyone else alone.

To me the rest are a bunch of hypocrites because you can’t say you want to be left alone and have freedom but then intrude on other people.

The Pacific Legal Foundation is actually exploiting libertarianism if you think about it.

Why can’t they stay home and leave us alone?

Because they are not true libertarians. They are wolves in  sheep’s clothing.

So what happens is they start something and we have to send our Big Guns out like David Guest from Earthjustice. What it becomes is a battle between the lawyers. (Thank goodness for David. If not for him and all the other dedicated people we would be screwed)

Even the bible warns us

http://biblehub.com/matthew/7-15.htm

“Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves.
 wolves

Which, just like our friends the vultures is really an insult to the wolves.

So enough of that you get the picture. Where do we go from here?

We could rail back and yell and scream and be vindictive but does that really get you anywhere?
They, like us, have a right to be.

I think the people are trying to take care this by changing to no party affiliation. I think we’re sick of all of it.

I found this

http://www.no-party-affiliation.com/

and this

http://ivn.us/2013/07/28/who-are-no-party-affiliated-npa-voters-in-florida/

  •  Over 25% of registered voters in Florida are NPAs or minor party members
  • Over 33% of these voters show up at the polls on election day
  • Over 60% are under age 50
  • Over 25% of voters under 30 register as NPAs
  • Over 50% of these voters are in the age group 30 – 49
  • Young NPAs are turned off by major parties because of negative campaigns

Things have got to change. It cannot be business as usual.

http://www.floridatoday.com/story/news/politics/elections/2014/10/21/florida-voters-shifting-to-no-party-label/17665303/

The Democratic advantage among registered voters in Florida continues to narrow slowly, according to the latest figures from the state Division of Elections.

But the closing of the party gap comes as the overall numbers of registered Democrats and Republicans are down from 2012 election levels. Meanwhile, there has been an uptick in voters who declare themselves free agents from the major parties and sign up as “no party affiliation.”

Age and negative perceptions that many new voters have of both major parties are credited for the shifts in registration.

We have talk and we have to find things we agree on. If not, i doubt we have any panthers, black bears or manatees and we certainly will not have clean water.

What do you think? How can we move forward?

Burt’s Buzz The Documentary

#burtsbuzz #greenporno

My documentary for the week was this

As you may know Burt died last week.

burt golden-m-60_1436153982609

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/07/business/burt-shavitz-scruffy-face-of-burts-bees-dies-at-80.html?_r=0

“Burt had a really interesting life. He went into the army and when he came back he was photographer for Time-Life. He learned about bees in upstate NY and then he moved to Maine and made honey and sold it on the side of the road.

“I realized I had it made,” he once said, “because you don’t have to destroy anything to get honey. You can just use the same things over and over again, put it in a quart canning jar, and you’ve got $12.”

n 1984, Mr. Shavitz picked up a 33-year-old hitchhiker, Roxanne Quimby, who became his business and romantic partner. Ms. Quimby, a former 1960s radical, first recycled his leftover beeswax into candles. Then, improving on a formula found in a 19th-century farmer’s journal, she combined the wax with sweet almond oil, and Burt’s Bees lip balm was born, in 1991.

Before long, what had been a $3,000-a-year subsistence business was transformed into a multimillion-dollar purveyor of eco-friendly lip balm, lotions and soaps packaged in school bus yellow containers.”

https://bangordailynews.com/2015/07/05/news/state/burts-bees-co-founder-burt-shavitz-dies-at-age-80/

“The two together founded Burt’s Bees, a company whose all-natural products and homespun marketing appealed to hippies, homemakers and the well-heeled alike. They moved the company headquarters from Maine to North Carolina in 1994, and Quimby bought out Shavitz in the late 1990s, not without controversy and for a sum of less than $1 million, reportedly. She sold the company to Clorox Co. in 2007 for $913 million, reportedly making more than $300 million in the deal.

Shavitz and his beloved golden retrievers lived in a rustic home in Parkman, which was heavily damaged by fire this February. According to the documentary, even in recent years he continued to have a business relationship with Burt’s Bees and Clorox. The documentary shows the eccentric Mainer traveling to Japan, where his namesake cosmetics — and Shavitz — were wildly popular. There, he was greeted with the kind of adulation that seemed more likely to belong to a movie star than a backwoods beekeeper.

He shrugged off his fame, according to his 2014 interview, telling the BDN that he was more focused on the present than anything else.

“It was flattering, after a fashion,” he said of the documentary. “I like the lead character.”

Production wise a nice documentary. Funny, Sad, Interesting. The story has a nice pace and is told well. Nice photography. Great audio.

There is a scene when Burt goes to Target and he handing out samples and people are walking by grabbing the samples without even looking at him. Then goes to Taiwan and he is met at the airport and treated like a rockstar.

http://mentalfloss.com/article/65535/12-things-you-didnt-know-about-burt-burts-bees

This was my favorite part

“At one point, Shavitz had two golden retrievers, Rufus and Pascha, who were both listed in the phone book (Shavitz himself remained unlisted). He held Rufus in his arms when the dog died, and Skyped with Pascha from Taiwan. So when Shavitz says he needs to buy a sidecar for his motorcycle so he can take Pasha with him on rides, he probably isn’t joking.”

Rufus and Pascha were both listed in the phone book. He wasn’t.

He skyped with Pascha. I loved that. Pasha skyped right back.

I feel terrible. I have never ever ever bought a Burt Bee’s Product. I think I would have had I known about Rufus and Pascha.

Even the story around the film was interesting.

http://nonfics.com/tiff-2013-director-jody-shapiro-burts-buzz-man-behind-burts-bees-logo-isabella-rossellini-spawned-film/

The director Jody Shapiro met Burt through Isabella Rossellini who makes green porno.

Really. Here. http://www.sundance.tv/series/greenporno

“Isabella was actually commissioned by Burt’s Bees to do one of these things where she plays the bee, and she was going to play Burt, to talk about the issues that are facing bees right now and colony collapse disorder.”
Here’s another clip of the film.
In her green porno film Isabella asks “What can we do to help bees with colony collapse disorder?”
The answer is we can help the bee’s by
1. supporting organic farms that don’t use heavy pesticides
2. Plant wild flowers that are the source of their nourishment
3. and help BeeKeepers by buying local honey
Pretty easy!
For more info you can go here.
http://www.burtsbees.com/Wild-For-Bees/wild-landing,default,pg.html
http://www.burtsbees.com/Go-Wild/wild-gowild,default,pg.html
Seedbombing
http://www.theecologist.org/green_green_living/gardening/867935/what_is_a_seedbomb.html
Do it yourself bee garden
http://thehoneybeeconservancy.org/act-today/plant-a-bee-garden/
Just a shout out to the universe to say thank you Burt! Now lets build a Bee Garden!

Stuart City Hall 5 PM monday. Support our local music.

To the Stuart CIty Commission:

I thought it was to be a nice quiet afternoon in the hood and I could do something like read a book, finish watching my movie, clean the closet. Around here it just never ends. Now we have people threatening to sue over noise and the City Commission is caving.

We have toxic discharges. We have trains with loud horns. We can’t go swimming.  The new train when it comes through is going to destroy our downtown Stuart which is a very beloved place.

We need great music and great places to go. Music is therapy is good for our mental health. We  have very little in mental heath services around here so when I see lots of my friends going to listen to music I know they will leave feeling better.

I could write an entire blog post on music as therapy but I don’t want to bore everyone. I will say this Music lights a part of people brains, the nucleus accumbens, and makes them happy. It’s true. I have a friend, Dr Ed Long,who does this research down at FAU.

What I’m going to write about is decibels and noise ordinances This is a really bad idea.  First of all will you insist the train turn down its horn because it not at 60 decibels I can tell you that. Secondly, if this  how your going utilize your police force? This is more important that catching criminals and keeping us safe?  Are the fire engines and police going to turn off their sirens?  Are not going to be allow to have traffic? Are you to close the airport down?  Are we banning hair driers and food processors?  Lawn Mowers and Blowers? How far are you willing to go to have us live at 65 decibels. Or are we just picking on one person?

Now here in Jensen Beach sometimes on Sunday we have a very loud church service. What would you do if that was in Stuart? Would you arrest them or fine them? It’s very loud way more than 60 decibels. Wakes me up early on a Sunday morning. Would you be willing to go to a church and shut them down?

Also keep in mind that that what they proposing is worse than the Lake worth ordinance and that was called Draconian. You can’t have things both ways. You can’t have people claiming to be conservatives being draconian. Well you can but they won’t be around long. Not around here.

Sticky wickets.

When you deal with decibels it gets very sticky.

I would take it personally if this was something police would have to deal with 24 hours a day 7 days a week instead of protecting us. I would say it’s a misuse of the police department.

Here are some examples of decibels

Painful

150 dB = fireworks at 3 feet

140 dB = firearms, jet engine

130 dB = jackhammer

120 dB = jet plane takeoff, siren

Extremely Loud

110 dB = maximum output of some MP3 players, model airplane, chain saw

106 dB = gas lawn mower, snowblower

100 dB = hand drill, pneumatic drill

90 dB = subway, passing motorcycle

Very Loud

80–90 dB = blow-dryer, kitchen blender, food processor

70 dB = busy traffic, vacuum cleaner, alarm clock

Moderate

60 dB = typical conversation, dishwasher, clothes dryer

50 dB = moderate rainfall

40 dB = quiet room

Faint

30 dB = whisper, quiet library

http://home.earthlink.net/~dnitzer/4HaasEaton/Decibel.html

An aircraft takeoff is 180 decibels. Are we shutting the airport down?

Passing truck, home lawn mower, car horn @ 5 meters, wood saw, boiler factory is 100 decibels.

Average radio, normal street noise is 70 decibels.

This is cat purring at around 60 decibels.

Here is someone eating a sandwich at 50-60 decibels

They’ll have close down every out restaurant in town.

How to help. We all need to go to Stuart City Hall on Monday at 5 pm.

11221818_845571888864981_6001733562810661386_n

The fact that this was added at the last minute is total BS and total disrespect from the City.

This about people threatening to sue the city so instead of the people we elected standing up they are giving in and we are being punished.

We are done being punished. Just having filthy dirty dangerous water  and trains all hours of the day and night.

Please come and help us all keep our music!

Here is the facebook page please go there.

https://www.facebook.com/events/1653563341589572/