The state of Florida has begun enforcing speed restrictions on motorboats traveling in manatee habitats. Manatees are an endangered species of ancient water mammals with no enemies except for humans. About two manatees a week are killed in boat collisions in Florida waters.
Environmentalists applaud the state's step.
Boaters are unhappy with the speed restrictions, and many of them feel that no real problem exists for the manatee population. They base their claims on a 1999 survey that showed that the number of Florida manatees had grown since 1991. Experts involved with the report, however, claim that the numbers may be misleading for the manatee population as a whole, because the increase was just on Florida's west coast. East coast populations are down significantly. Teaching the Problem Students intuitively know that faster speeds mean more damage in a collision.