Environment of Florida

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The state of **Florida** in the U.S.A. has a mild subtropical climate. Because of that, millions of people have settled in the once rural state over the last hundred years. Florida's population increases by about 1,000 residents each day. Land development and water use have changed the state, mostly by draining the wetlands that once covered most of the peninsula.

Much of Florida is made of karst limestone with water-filled caves and sinkholes, which provide homes to many species of aquatic life, some of which only live in Florida. As more and more people move to Florida, they use up the water in the underground caves. When a cave has no more water, it will sometimes collapse, forming a sinkhole, which can hurt animals, people, and buildings.

For a long time, the state has been trying to restore the Everglades. In 2000, Congress passed the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan, a $7.8 billion, 30-year project aimed at preserving and restoring the region and its unique combination of environments.

## Energy, water, and waste management
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Florida ranks forty-fifth in total energy use, despite the heavy reliance on air conditioners and pool pumps. This includes coal, natural gas, petroleum, and retail electricity sales. About 4 percent of energy in the state is generated through renewable resources. Florida produces 6.0% of the nation's total energy, while total production of pollutants is lower, with figures of 5.6 percent for nitrogen oxide, 5.1 percent for carbon dioxide, and 3.5 percent for sulfur dioxide.

Production in the western panhandle began with the discovery of the Jay field in June 1970. Jay is the largest oil field discovered in North America since the discovery of the giant Prudhoe Bay Oil Field on the Alaskan North Slope in 1968. Since then, six more oil fields have been discovered in the western panhandle of Florida. North Florida has dominated Florida oil production since the discovery of the Jay field. North Florida oil fields account for 83 percent of the state’s production, with the Jay field alone producing 71 percent.

It is believed that significant energy resources are located off of Florida's western coast in the Gulf of Mexico, but that region has been closed to exploration since 1981.

In July 2007, Florida Governor Charlie Crist announced plans to sign executive orders that would impose strict new air-pollution standards in the state, with aims to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions by 80 percent of 1990 levels by 2050. Crist's orders would set new emissions targets for power companies, automobiles and trucks, and toughen conservation goals for state agencies and require state-owned vehicles to use alternative fuels.

Florida gets much of its drinking water from the Floridan Aquifer and the Biscayne Aquifer, as well as from surface water from Lake Okeechobee and other lakes, but population increases have begun to strain available sources. The state has built 120 desalination plants, more than three times as many as any other state, including the largest plant in the United States. Additionally, an electrodialysis reversal plant in Sarasota is the largest of its type in the world, and a nanofiltration plant in Boca Raton is the largest of its type in the western hemisphere.

## Parks
 in the Florida Keys]]
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Areas under control of the National Park Service include:
* Big Cypress National Preserve, near Lake Okeechobee
* Biscayne National Park, in Miami-Dade County south of Miami
* Canaveral National Seashore, near Titusville
* Castillo de San Marcos National Monument, in St. Augustine
* De Soto National Memorial, in Bradenton
* Dry Tortugas National Park, at Key West
* Everglades National Park in Southern Florida
* Fort Caroline National Memorial, at Jacksonville
* Fort Matanzas National Monument, in St. Augustine
* Gulf Islands National Seashore, near Gulf Breeze
* Timucuan Ecological and Historic Preserve, in Jacksonville
Areas under the control of the USDA United States Forest Service include:
* Apalachicola National Forest along the east bank of the Apalachicola River,
* Choctawhatchee National Forest near Niceville,
* Ocala National Forest in Central Florida, and
* Osceola National Forest in Northeast Florida.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's National Ocean Service is responsible for one sanctuary:
*Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary

## Biodiversity
Florida is a biodiverse state, with 3,500 native vascular plants and 1,500 vertebrates, a higher number than all but three other states. A 2003 United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization study stated that the Florida Straits had the highest biodiversity in the Atlantic Ocean, and were the home to 25 endemic species.

### Flora
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Red tide has also been an issue on the southwest coast of Florida. While there has been a great deal of guessing over the cause of the toxic algae bloom, there is no evidence that it is being caused by pollution or that there has been an increase in the length or frequency of red tide outbreaks.

#### Floral  pests
Native flora is threatened by various invasive plants, including the Brazilian Pepper (*Schinus terebinthifolius*). Owning and growing this tree is illegal. Large numbers of volunteers cut down these invaders, particularly along waterways. The Australian pine (*Casuarina* spp.) is being actively attacked.

Other foreign pests include the Asian ambrosia beetle (*Xyleborus glabratus*), which threatens the local avocado industry and redbay trees (*Persea borbonia*).

It is illegal to import Giant African land snails (achatina fulica). These threaten buildings, 500 types of local plants, and carry meningitis.

### Fauna
 is found only in Florida]]
 species in Florida include the Florida Scrub Jay (*Aphelocoma coerulescens*), Miami blue (*Cyclargus thomasi bethunebakeri*), Okaloosa darter (*Etheostoma okaloosae*), and Key Deer (*Odocoileus virginianus clavium*).

Florida is a popular destination for birdwatching, because of the many species that can be found in the state at various times of the year. The Florida Ornithological Society maintains the official state list of the birds of Florida, which currently contains 498 species. A study published in 2003 by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission documented 196 species of birds which were confirmed to breed in the state, with an additional 19 species listed as possible or probable breeders. The Great Florida Birding Trail, a 2,000-mile-long (3,200&nbsp;km) trail, is composed of 489 locations throughout the state which are excellent observation sites.

Sport fishing is also popular in Florida; over 250 different species of fishes (including 73 non-native species) can be found in Florida. There are more than 1,000 species of fish in Florida's inshore waters.

In 2010, NOAA, citing the Magnuson-Stevens Act, banned fishing of red snapper until the population has time to recover.

Florida's Atlantic coast is home to the only extensive coral reefs in the continental United States, and the third largest in the world. The entire reef system in the Florida Keys is part of the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, and large parts of reef are protected as part of Biscayne National Park.

#### Bird and turtle habitats
In 1987, Brevard County, Florida hosted the last member of the Dusky Seaside Sparrow, now extinct. There have been only two extinct bird species since listing of endangered species began in 1973. This event has presented a challenge to ensure that other environmental concerns are addressed quickly.

The Florida Scrub Jay has been thought to be threatened for many years, because the species is territorial and cannot move to better grounds when its habitat is in danger.

Nesting beaches of loggerhead sea turtles are protected.

## References
## Other websites
*The Living Marine Resources of the Western Central Atlantic, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
* Energy and Environmental Data for Florida 
* Executive Order 07-126 establishing climate leadership by example 
* Executive Order 07-128 Action Team On Energy and Climate Change