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October 12, 2008 3:47:48 PM CDT



Big Sugar's Exit Gives Hope to Everglades

Posted Jul 9, 08 10:22 AM CDT in Science & Health Opinion US 

(Newser) – Everglades restoration may finally be a reality, writes Michael Grunwald in Yale Environment 360 during his “vacation from defeatism.” Florida's tentative $1.75 billion land deal with US Sugar would halt sugar production (and pollution) on nearly 300 square miles, and have an ecological ripple-effect that extends beyond saving the Florida Panther or sparing nature from suburban development.

Should it go through, the deal could offer a blueprint for restoring the Great Lakes, Louisiana’s coastal wetlands, the Chesapeake Bay, and Iraq’s Garden of Eden marshes. “It could be a milestone in the history of sustainable development, ecological repair, and even human redemption,” writes Grunwald, letting water flow as nature intended, preserving 69 endangered species, and sidestepping "the water wars that will be a fixture of 21st-century geopolitics."

Source Yale Environment 360

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The stacks of the U.S. Sugar Mill in Clewiston, Fla., are shown here. Under terms of the agreement, the state of Florida will use U.S. Sugar Corporation's 187,000 acres of farmland for restoration.   (AP Photo/Alan Diaz)
The entrance of the town of Clewiston, Fla., is shown, June 2008. U.S. Sugar has tentatively agreed to sell all its land, nearly 300 square miles, to the state of Florida for Everglades restoration. The...   (AP Photo/Alan Diaz)
Sugar products on display at U.S. Sugar, Inc., are shown in Clewiston, Fla..   (AP Photo/Alan Diaz)
A sign is shown in Clewiston, Fla., Wednesday, June 25, 2008. U.S. Sugar has tentatively agreed to sell all its land, nearly 300 square miles, to the state of Florida for Everglades restoration. The $1.75...   (AP Photo/Alan Diaz)
Republican presidential candidate Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., front row from left, takes a tour of the Florida Everglades with his wife Cindy, daughter Megan and Florida Gov. Charlie Crist, who is credited...   (AP Photo/LM Otero)
A Great Egret pauses in the wetlands of Everglades National Park in an official photo taken from the website. Grunwald's cynicism toward restoration has ebbed and even taken a turn for the optimistic...   (National Park Service)
Puma concolor coryi, also known as the Florida Panther is shown here in an official photo taken from the National Park Service website.The cat is one of 69 endangered species who call the Everglades...   (National Park Service)
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