This was good, thank you. I was born and raised and spent most of my adult life in the glades. We used to be able to water ski on Lake Okeechobee in the rim canal between Belle Glade and Clewiston. Can’t do that now.
As usual, nobody mentions the original seasonal cycle of the lake that was responsible for plant control and wading bird foraging grounds, among many other services. Now we just spray herbicides and well, wonder where the birds went.
While I do commend the concerted efforts for the restoration of the lake, the river, and the surrounding wetlands........it really ticks me off how programs like this refuse to address the biggest problem of all here: BIG SUGAR IN SOUTH FLORIDA. A small handful of PRIVATE greedy investors saw the Everglades as "a great place to grow sugar cane.......if we drain the swamp". Big Sugar does NOT employ very many people for it's incredible size & acreage, and it's always been a proven FACT that nobody even "needs the sugar" being grown in south Florida. There has always been many other places that produce more than enough sugar to supply to the world. Big Sugar in south Florida has always been TOTALLY UNNECESSARY. Big Sugar is simply a way for this small group of greedy investors to make lots of easy, fast money, and they DESTROY that entire area of the Everglades in doing so........which in turn plays the role as the single biggest problem for both the Everglades as well as Lake Okeechobee. But for some reason ( probably corruption via Big Sugar lobbyists paying off state government ), the state government of Florida refuses to GET RID OF BIG SUGAR IN SOUTH FLORIDA ONCE & FOR ALL. This would be the quickest, easiest, and least costly measure to restore this entire region. FACT.
Okeechobee has drastically changed since I used to come down to fish it… water was clear, vegetation was healthy with unlimited paths back into bass areas, and you could catch bass… I’ve lived here 20 yrs now, finally got a bass boat to fish it the last 3 years…. For the most part , it is an algae filled body of water with plant decay muck everywhere on the bottom. The spots are few and far between..an environmental disaster… Listen to Scott Martin on his comments of this problem.. crucial vegetation cannot grow due to too much water, plants don’t get the light to grow..and they spray the shit out of anything that starts to come back…. You can catch some nice bass god sure… but a fisherman coming down green , will have a tough time…..
"2nd largest freshwater lake entirely contained the US?" Besides Lake Michigan which is mentioned, Iliamna Lake in Alaska is nearly double the size of Okee. Also Lake Oahe, in the Dakotas, albeit man made and very long, is also still larger in area.
They're talking about the lower 48 states/continental US. The state of Alaska is separated from the continental US by Canada, which is a huge land separation.
They don't mention the lower 48 anywhere in the vidoe, even if they did the one in the Dakotas is still larger. Also Alaska is still part of the US. Alaska cant just be "not part of the US" because it isnt connected. That is awfully dumb.
@@BrooksCWhitehouse Boy, you seriously need to go back to grade school to RE-LEARN basic mathematics as well as the nations' history for state-hood. ALASKA IS NOT IN WHAT'S KNOWN AS "THE LOWER 48". 50 STATES MAKE UP THE USA......ALASKA & HAWAII ARE STATES NUMBERS 49 & 50.......GOT IT BOZO? Furthermore: ya need to re-learn geography too, because other than Lake Michigan, NO lake in the lower 48 is "bigger than Okeechobee". And NOBODY said "Alaska isn't part of the USA"......YOU are making that false accusation. ALASKA IS NOT PART OF THE LOWER 48 STATES. A HUGE AREA OF CANADA SEPARATES ALASKA.......the 49'th STATE ( HELLO ) FROM THE LOWER 48. Good grief kid.....grow a brain.
As you many know the installation solar PV panels are rapidly increasing the supply of renewable based electricity. Unfortunately, large arrays of solar panels can be opposed by local interests. Worldwide the installation of floating PV panels is a growing option. Lake Okeechobee would be a perfect location for floating solar rafts. Also, the shading from the panels reduces algae growth,, increases fish habitat, and part of the generated electricity could power the lake bottom aeration panels.
Not true, Solar in FL amounts to approx 1.5% of total electricity generated each year. Sorry, but renewable energy is a disaster when you really do the math.
@@Therecouldbehope I never specifically mentioned a percentage for solar electricity for Florida. For 2023 several sources said 7%. The Solar Energy Industries Association cited 7.65%. Also according to the Florida Public Service Commission, renewable energy installations statewide were up 31% in 2023. Regarding renewables being a disaster. If you are referring to costs then we could use Levelized Cost of Energy (LCOE). According to Statista, in all commercial cases comparing renewables to nuclear and fossil fuels, renewables have a lower (cost) LCOE.
@@johnx4181 A very good point and yes there have been locations where this has happened. Lake Okeechobee is a very large body of open water that has a long fetch. You are also right that it produces a chop not a swell. There is quite a lot of research being done to address this issue. It is an issue of degrees of risk from storms, tornados, hail, or hurricanes. that affect any built structure. I would also add that Lake Okeechobee is a relatively shallow lake any combination of floating or poles legs could be possible.
@chrisconklin2981 well hopefully it doesn't come to that...I'm an old florida boy and love my swamp the way it is....btw hurricanes are good for the lake always have been...promotes new growth big time
"A concrete based water seepage barrier"........where the hell does the narrator get his terminology from........IT'S KNOWN AS "A SPILLWAY". They've been using the same type of spillways all over Florida's freshwater lakes & river systems for decades, and probably in many other states as well. These spillways are nothing new. They act as a sort of "dam" that can be opened & closed at any time, and at any rate ( ie: all the way open, halfway open, barely open, or completely closed to hold or release water precisely. ) For those who may not know, these spillways are NOT "locks" that boats can pass through, or normal "dams".........although most dams do contain their own spillways for either water level control or to use the water as a power source to turn huge electric generators. But these spillways used in Florida's freshwater systems are used solely for controlling water levels and/or flood control.
I get what you mean about gov't doublespeak, but in this case, I think it is the right terminology. I have seen this on other newer projects where they call it an 'SBC cutoff wall' (Soil Cement Bentonite). I have worked highway-heavy construction for 35 years and just saw this for the first time about a year ago. It's basically a massive trenching machine that removes, mixes, and replaces soil with a barrier very deep (I saw it going up to 60' deep) in the levee to combat erosion. Levees are easily breached by something as simple as muskrats burrowing into them. Search: SBC Cutoff Wall Install at Edenville Dam' to see the vid. Pretty amazing process.
To heal the Glades & Okeechobee all that needs to be done is remove Big Sugar out of the state. Also, the Northerner who wrote a book about the Pioneers, fails to mention my people being here for Centuries. Muskogee Tribes, Creek & Seminole. Want the REAL History, ask my Elders. This is White Man history.
This was good, thank you. I was born and raised and spent most of my adult life in the glades. We used to be able to water ski on Lake Okeechobee in the rim canal between Belle Glade and Clewiston. Can’t do that now.
As usual, nobody mentions the original seasonal cycle of the lake that was responsible for plant control and wading bird foraging grounds, among many other services. Now we just spray herbicides and well, wonder where the birds went.
We are so good at outsmarting ourselves. I hope we wise up.
While I do commend the concerted efforts for the restoration of the lake, the river, and the surrounding wetlands........it really ticks me off how programs like this refuse to address the biggest problem of all here: BIG SUGAR IN SOUTH FLORIDA. A small handful of PRIVATE greedy investors saw the Everglades as "a great place to grow sugar cane.......if we drain the swamp". Big Sugar does NOT employ very many people for it's incredible size & acreage, and it's always been a proven FACT that nobody even "needs the sugar" being grown in south Florida. There has always been many other places that produce more than enough sugar to supply to the world. Big Sugar in south Florida has always been TOTALLY UNNECESSARY. Big Sugar is simply a way for this small group of greedy investors to make lots of easy, fast money, and they DESTROY that entire area of the Everglades in doing so........which in turn plays the role as the single biggest problem for both the Everglades as well as Lake Okeechobee. But for some reason ( probably corruption via Big Sugar lobbyists paying off state government ), the state government of Florida refuses to GET RID OF BIG SUGAR IN SOUTH FLORIDA ONCE & FOR ALL. This would be the quickest, easiest, and least costly measure to restore this entire region. FACT.
Okeechobee has drastically changed since I used to come down to fish it… water was clear, vegetation was healthy with unlimited paths back into bass areas, and you could catch bass… I’ve lived here 20 yrs now, finally got a bass boat to fish it the last 3 years…. For the most part , it is an algae filled body of water with plant decay muck everywhere on the bottom. The spots are few and far between..an environmental disaster… Listen to Scott Martin on his comments of this problem.. crucial vegetation cannot grow due to too much water, plants don’t get the light to grow..and they spray the shit out of anything that starts to come back…. You can catch some nice bass god sure… but a fisherman coming down green , will have a tough time…..
It's all across the country
yeah buddy. hurricane Milton just might put the latest dike construction to the test
The pesticides and fertilizers were mobilized and flushed.
"2nd largest freshwater lake entirely contained the US?" Besides Lake Michigan which is mentioned, Iliamna Lake in Alaska is nearly double the size of Okee. Also Lake Oahe, in the Dakotas, albeit man made and very long, is also still larger in area.
They're talking about the lower 48 states/continental US. The state of Alaska is separated from the continental US by Canada, which is a huge land separation.
They don't mention the lower 48 anywhere in the vidoe, even if they did the one in the Dakotas is still larger. Also Alaska is still part of the US. Alaska cant just be "not part of the US" because it isnt connected. That is awfully dumb.
@@BrooksCWhitehouse reservoirs are not natural, so they are not considered
@@jesse_cheese agreed that’s why I mentioned it being man made. Okee is still smaller than the lake in Alaska (by a lot)
@@BrooksCWhitehouse Boy, you seriously need to go back to grade school to RE-LEARN basic mathematics as well as the nations' history for state-hood. ALASKA IS NOT IN WHAT'S KNOWN AS "THE LOWER 48". 50 STATES MAKE UP THE USA......ALASKA & HAWAII ARE STATES NUMBERS 49 & 50.......GOT IT BOZO? Furthermore: ya need to re-learn geography too, because other than Lake Michigan, NO lake in the lower 48 is "bigger than Okeechobee". And NOBODY said "Alaska isn't part of the USA"......YOU are making that false accusation. ALASKA IS NOT PART OF THE LOWER 48 STATES. A HUGE AREA OF CANADA SEPARATES ALASKA.......the 49'th STATE ( HELLO ) FROM THE LOWER 48. Good grief kid.....grow a brain.
As you many know the installation solar PV panels are rapidly increasing the supply of renewable based electricity. Unfortunately, large arrays of solar panels can be opposed by local interests. Worldwide the installation of floating PV panels is a growing option. Lake Okeechobee would be a perfect location for floating solar rafts. Also, the shading from the panels reduces algae growth,, increases fish habitat, and part of the generated electricity could power the lake bottom aeration panels.
Not true, Solar in FL amounts to approx 1.5% of total electricity generated each year. Sorry, but renewable energy is a disaster when you really do the math.
@@Therecouldbehope
I never specifically mentioned a percentage for solar electricity for Florida. For 2023 several sources said 7%. The Solar Energy Industries Association cited 7.65%. Also according to the Florida Public Service Commission, renewable energy installations statewide were up 31% in 2023.
Regarding renewables being a disaster. If you are referring to costs then we could use Levelized Cost of Energy (LCOE). According to Statista, in all commercial cases comparing renewables to nuclear and fossil fuels, renewables have a lower (cost) LCOE.
I've seen storm chop on that lake 6ft plus...not a good idea
@@johnx4181
A very good point and yes there have been locations where this has happened. Lake Okeechobee is a very large body of open water that has a long fetch. You are also right that it produces a chop not a swell. There is quite a lot of research being done to address this issue. It is an issue of degrees of risk from storms, tornados, hail, or hurricanes. that affect any built structure. I would also add that Lake Okeechobee is a relatively shallow lake any combination of floating or poles legs could be possible.
@chrisconklin2981 well hopefully it doesn't come to that...I'm an old florida boy and love my swamp the way it is....btw hurricanes are good for the lake always have been...promotes new growth big time
It's only been industrialized for commercial business & holding horrible amounts of nutrient runoff poisons. It's very special❤
If.
You hadn't destroyed it in the first place.You wouldn't have to spend billions of dollars to fix it
Lake Okeechobee isn't a Lake actually. Didn't even exist until humans created it😊
"A concrete based water seepage barrier"........where the hell does the narrator get his terminology from........IT'S KNOWN AS "A SPILLWAY". They've been using the same type of spillways all over Florida's freshwater lakes & river systems for decades, and probably in many other states as well. These spillways are nothing new. They act as a sort of "dam" that can be opened & closed at any time, and at any rate ( ie: all the way open, halfway open, barely open, or completely closed to hold or release water precisely. ) For those who may not know, these spillways are NOT "locks" that boats can pass through, or normal "dams".........although most dams do contain their own spillways for either water level control or to use the water as a power source to turn huge electric generators. But these spillways used in Florida's freshwater systems are used solely for controlling water levels and/or flood control.
I get what you mean about gov't doublespeak, but in this case, I think it is the right terminology. I have seen this on other newer projects where they call it an 'SBC cutoff wall' (Soil Cement Bentonite). I have worked highway-heavy construction for 35 years and just saw this for the first time about a year ago. It's basically a massive trenching machine that removes, mixes, and replaces soil with a barrier very deep (I saw it going up to 60' deep) in the levee to combat erosion. Levees are easily breached by something as simple as muskrats burrowing into them. Search: SBC Cutoff Wall Install at Edenville Dam' to see the vid. Pretty amazing process.
To heal the Glades & Okeechobee all that needs to be done is remove Big Sugar out of the state. Also, the Northerner who wrote a book about the Pioneers, fails to mention my people being here for Centuries. Muskogee Tribes, Creek & Seminole. Want the REAL History, ask my Elders. This is White Man history.
23:24 elephants??
No
Lake O is a environmental catastrophe waiting to be released....and here comes Milton!😮
You really have no clue
"'Progress' came and took it's toll, in the name of flood control. They built a dam and they drained the land, now the Glades are going dry."