"Look at Old Hillsborough Bay," I said. There is a smidgen of once
plentiful seagrass left now, but it is so small it barely shows-up on
the current map.

"Look there," I said to Dick, placing a finger on the Clearwater side
of the bay. We had found an area I explored as a boy.

"That was a pretty nice place until they murdered it," I said.

I pointed at dredged land where once there were mangroves, while in the
bay, there were seagrasses. On the current map, there were neither.
Mangroves are perhaps the most productive ecosystem of all. For Tampa
Bay, Sarasota Bay and the Charlotte Harbor estuaries, mangroves are a
nursery to small fishes, like redfish, snook and mullet. A healthy
estuary is a place rich in life, where salt and fresh waters mingle.
As a child of Tampa Bay, I had looked at seahorses among the seagrasses
and eaten scallops fresh from the bay where my finger sat on the map.
The only thing left now where my finger rested was water.

Homes have replaced the mangroves. Nothing has replaced the seagrasses.
Since seahorses and scallops hang to seagrasses, no seagrasses equals no
critters.

There are three estuary programs along the Gulf coast: Charlotte
Harbor, Sarasota Bay and Tampa Bay. For weeks I had been receiving an
education courtesy of their senior scientists and respective heads: Lisa
Beever, Mark Alderson and Dick.

I had poured through comprehensive plans, restoration efforts,
education programs and reams of documents from government scientists and
private environmental consultants. The combined pages numbered into the
thousands. My head was spinning with programs and facts.

Still the simplest fact is the best illustration. It is widely stated
that 80% of the seagrasses and 50% of the mangroves in Tampa Bay are
gone. Similar reductionns are noted in Sarasota Bay. Charlotte Harbor is
still in pretty fair shape, although there is no real baseline for the
early health of their estuaries.

Some experts quibble about the seagrass figure for Tampa Bay because
the only data which exists is from the 1950s. It is quibbling. A whole
bunch of seagrasses and mangroves are gone, whatever the percentage.
Both mangroves and seagrasses provide filters for a healthy ecosystem.
The healthy system and filters are vastly reduced in Tampa Bay. The same
problem exists in Sarasota Bay, while Charlotte Harbor's estuaries are
taking a beating from many things, including the Caloosahatchee River.
The estuary programs are making a difference. They all coordinate
efforts to restore habitat and lessen human impact. The goal of the
Tampa Bay program is to bring seagrasses and back to the levels of the
1950s. In Sarasota, there has been a drastic reduction in enrichment
entering the bay and notable restoration work. The Charlotte Harbor
program has a stack of commendable programs accomplished or in progress.

A lot of good has been accomplished, and more needs to get done.
None-the-less, our bay and other Gulf coast estuaries are far from out
of danger.

    The Nitrogen Bomb

Dredging  and filling shorelines for developement were not the only
reason for seagrass decimation in Tampa and Sarasota bays. Among many
factors, perhaps nitrogen enrichment was the gravest.

Nitrogen in itself is a good thing. You and I are partly composed of
it. It is the most prevalent gas in the atmosphere. Yet some of its many
chemical forms are fertilizers that promote plant growth.

Nutrients entered our estuaries in the 1950s from runoff, industrial
discharge, sewage plants and from the air. The biggest difference in
present times is that industrial and domestic wastewater discharges have
been greatly curtailed.

With old nitrogen loads, algae blooms turned the water of Tampa Bay pea
green. Sunlight could not reach the seagrasses. Like any grasses without
sunlight, they died.

A little nitrogen goes a long way.

Case in point, Bishop Harbor on the edge of Tampa Bay. Over the past
eight months, Florida's Department of Environmental Protection has
purposefully released about 12 tons of enriching nitrogen there. This is
part of the effort to drain an abandoned phosphogypsum stack, left from
fertilizer manufacture, which once threatened a catastrophic spill into
the bay. (See "The Monster Above," Weekly Planet, November 5.)
An aquatic preserve, Bishop Harbor is a tiny but rich part of Tampa
Bay, where redfish, snook, mullet and stingrays prosper among healthy
seagrasses and mangroves.

Or used to prosper, according to some fishing guides.

Encouraged by the nitrogen-rich water from Piney Point, clogging sea
lettuce has cropped-up in spectacular growths. A massive fish kill is
possible without drastic action. The FDEP has hired contractors to
yank-out the monster algae, dry it on the shore and cart it off.
Sea lettuce is a macro algae, meaning you can see it, although most of
the time you wouldn't notice it. You can't miss it in Bishop Harbor now.
Large, profuse growths covered 200 acres when I visited on March 6th.
Carloads were being harvested with special equipment.

I keep thinking of the green slime which turned into The Blob.
According to Charles Kovach of FDEP, who oversees the sea lettuce
removal, fish census show no damage to life. Local guides and fishermen
see it differently.

The intentional release of nitrogen into Bishop Harbor, however, is
just a tiny amount of the overall nitrogen going into Tampa Bay.
According to Holly Greening, the senior scientist with the TBEP, a
staggering 5,500 tons (or 11,000,000 pounds) of enriching nitrogen go
into Tampa Bay every year. That is 500 times what has gone into Bishop
Harbor, and continues annually, while the stuff going into Bishop Harbor
will stop some day.

Not long ago my fellow environmentalists were up in arms about the
nitrogen the FDEP is putting into Bishop Harbor - and rightly so. Why
aren't they raising the roof over the other 11,000,000 pounds?

And 11,000,000 pounds is not all, folks. In the area from Tampa Bay to
the Caloosahatchee River, perhaps 25,000,000 pounds of nitrogen are
spewed forth annually. In some years, 17,000,000 pounds of nitrogen have
washed-out the Caloosahatchee River alone.

So much nitrogen means much more than chlorophyll shading out
seagrasses. It may have a hand in reducing oxygen for fishes.
Stupendous enrichment like this is believed by most scientists to be
responsible for the modern length, duration and frequency of red tide.
Red tide is one enemy of manatees, claiming precious lives of this
endangered species every year - not to mention driving sensitive humans
from the beach.

An oceanographer from USF also believes the enrichment from the
Caloosahatchee and Peace rivers is responsible for the phenomenon of
"black water." This has been associated by some scientists with reef
loss in the Keys.

So why isn't someone doing something? Well, they are, mostly
coordinated through the estuary programs. The TBEP created a Nitrogen
Management Consortium of government and industry whose efforts have
reduced nitrogen discharges. This has resulted in the comeback of many
acres of seagrass. But much more needs to be done.

A lot can be done by you, part of the human swarm living along the Gulf
coast.

   Poisons and Human Wastes

Nitrogen is not the only byproduct of the human swarm damaging our
waters. It is just the most pervasive.

Mercury accumulation has prompted "no consumption bans" on certain
fishes. These include king mackerel and sharks over about 40 inches.
Within Tampa Bay and Charlotte Harbor estuaries, there is currently a
"limit" on the consumption of fishes because of mercury. A limit means
no more than eight ounces a week, unless you are a woman of child
bearing age or a child, in which case you are limited to eight ounces a
month.

Eight ounces? That's about 320 calories of fish. Doesn't the colorful
phrase "Just enough to piss-off your taste buds" come to mind? No more
all-you-can-eat catfish fish-fries.

Within Tampa Bay, the fishes with a limit are not just catfish, but
also grouper, jack, ladyfish and Spanish mackerel. In the Charlotte
Harbor estuaries, spotted seatrout are a limited consumption fish, as
are Spanish mackerel and jack. Within many rivers, bass, bowfin and gar
contain sufficient mercury to make limited consumption a good idea.
Unlike nitrogen, which does little directly to humans while wrecking
the habitats surrounding them, mercury causes human brain damage and
harms the central nervous system. It can even cause death and birth
defects.

Other heavy elements in some Gulf coast waters and sediments include
copper and lead. Both have nasty adverse effects on humans. Copper has
appeared in everything from brake shoes to pesticides. Lead has found
its way into our seas from batteries, paints, sinkers, bullets and
industrial operations.

Human and animal wastes present a real and on-going problem in all Gulf
coast estuaries. No one would want to swim along Phillippi Creek in
Sarasota, as septic tanks empty into the creek, which empties into
Sarasota Bay. Similar conditions can be found along Allen's Creek in
Pinellas County, which goes into Tampa Bay.

The beach at the Courtney Campbell Causeway has at times been closed
due to the presence of fecal coliform bacteria, an indicator of
potential human waste. Recently the R. E. Olds Park in Oldsmar was
closed for the very same reason. Many residents of Charlotte and Lee
counties are still on septic, a likely source of human fecal
contamination cropping-up within the Charlotte Harbor estuaries.

     Pillagers and Polluters

Sometimes I sit mindless before the television and watch Segal "act" in
On Deadly Ground. There is a sort of primitive environmentalist joy in
watching it. The big man breaks the arm of the Native America-insulting
oil man. He blows-up the oil rig of the greedy polluters.

Unfortunately, any relationship between this movie and solving
environmental problems is more than a little skewed. The villains are
often us, not Michael Caine playing a bad guy.

The daily realities of improving the world around us are not so simple,
dramatic or direct as Segal smashing someone or blowing something up.
They are often accretions of continued human efforts, sometimes with
setbacks.

I am reminded that years ago in zoos there was an exhibit called "The
Most Dangerous Animal." Signs directed human visitors to a mirror where
they could look at themselves.

Take a look. Let's start with Tampa Bay, since most of you live around
it.

About 21% or 1,200 tons of the nitrogen entering Tampa Bay comes out of
the sky. Both estuaries to the south receive nitrogen this way also.
Much of the mercury comes down from what goes up.  The scientists call
this atmospheric deposition. No bad guys are doing this to us. The stuff
from the sky gets up there from our incinerators, power plants and
automobiles.

Whose trash do you think they are burning? Whose car do you think is
being driven? Whose house is being heated or cooled? If you answer "not
mine," you must live in a pup tent and ride a bike.

TECO and other energy companies have been doing their part, more or
less, under government regulation. They have emission standards to meet
or they get fined. The standards could be tougher, and might be if you
and I asked our political leaders for that, while realizing our power
bills are going to go up.

Recently TECO set-up a natural gas plant bayside which cuts emissions
of nitrogen and mercury, among others. I don't think we want to send
Segal off to kick TECO butt. We might want to send him after our
backsides, however.

In addition to what you and I send into the sky, approximately 62% of
the nitrogen going into Tampa Bay comes from stormwater runoff. Of that,
14% or about 770 tons annually comes from residential lands.

Residential lands means your yard and my yard. It is almost 70-times
more than the amount of enrichment going into Bishop Harbor. It is twice
as much as the phosphate industry leaks in  through rivers.
Let me digress.

I am having my car in for annual service. This is my fuel efficient,
but emission producing, compact. Across from me is a woman who is
expressing hatred for armadillos.

She says the armadillos dig holes in her manicured yard of green turf.
They are digging for worms, so the pretty woman's solution is to have so
much pesticide applied that the worms are killed. Now the armadillos
don't have to hunt worms in her yard making nasty holes in her turf.
Say what? Don't we want wildlife around us and to be part of the
natural world? which includes the butterflies which come from grubs to
dance around our plants, and the rabbits, gopher tortoises and
turf-destroying armadillos that delight our children.

Despite its pervasiveness, turf is not a native of Florida. And those
big green golf courses weren't here to greet the Spanish conquistadors
either.

Not only does turf and ornamentals require water ("sprinkling"), which
we often do not have in sufficient quantity, it requires fertilizers and
pesticides. That storm sewer down the street from your home takes these
out with the rain. The waters go where? Yes, of course, into our
estuaries. The result: the dumping of nitrogen and poisons.

"We're not saying don't have turf," explains Mark Alderson of the
Sarasota Estuary Program. "I have kids who play ball. I want them to
have turf. But our yards do not need to be one hundred percent turf.
Have the turf you need."

     Solutions

No too long ago, one of my critical readers wrote that I was a "urban
psuedo-environmentalist." It's true. Our society is urban, the natural
world controlled. We cannot return to the garden or bring back all of
the natural world. Our houses cannot disappear from the world. Thus we
must adjust to minimize our impact and preserve what we can.

With this article, I offer solutions. Although some of the solutions
are from the estuary programs, many are mine, and so do not blame Lisa
Beever, Mark Alderson or Dick Eckenrod for the following list for saving
our portion of the world.

1. Become informed. We have focused on pollution, sewage and enrichment
in this article, but there are many other gauges of water quality and
impairment. Other problems are more subtle, less easy to understand
without the time and effort to dig in. Literature is available from the
all the estuary programs which explain the problems, and our local
newspapers are pretty good about reporting most problems. Florida is not
a land lacking in environmental issues. Get informed and make your
opinion known if you care. Otherwise, drink you brewski and toss your
can into the bay.

2. Become active. Many of the solutions to the problems of our
estuaries come through government agencies and poltical action. Each of
our estuary programs is invovled with many layers of government,
including cities, counties, water management districts, regional
planning councils, FDEP and the Federal Environmental Protection Agency.
Attend the meetings and express opinions to elected officials. The
estuary programs can keep you appraised of meetings and issues. You
would also be surprised how much your state legislator or congressman
cares about your views and your vote. If you don't make your voice
heard, no one will listen to you. Vigilance is also necessary to keep
backsliding from occuring and often to motivate almost inert agencies,
who are frequently reactive and defensive instead of proactive. Many
agencies measure and analyze while doing little and less. Who can kick
them in the butt with pesky opinons? You can.

3. Native plants. When landscaping, have the turf you need, but
consider native plants. Use native species whenever possible. Native
plants rarely require fertilizer or pesticide, which contain nitrogen
and poisons. Native species rarely require watering. They attract
wildlife, which is neat for kids and adults like me who have never
grown-up. Kiss an armadillo, don't kill their chow. Native plants both
reduce stormwater and the damage from runoff. Check on the Certified
Florida Yard Program by asking your local estuary program for contacts.

4. Volunteer work. Following this article is a list of organizations
through which you can do volunteer work to repair damage to our local
habitats. You may also be equipped to contribute to education efforts.
Much of this work is scheduled through the estuary programs. I know
modern life is frantic, time is limited, kids need raising and
significant others need attention, including mine. Work it in to the
extent possible. Make it a project for kids and significant others,
because it is their world too.

5. Contributions. A cash contribution to estuary programs goes directly
into restoration or education. The estuary programs' overhead, which is
very small, is fully funded by a combination of local and federal
government moneys. Funds for restoration and education projects is what
is lacking in tight budgets. A dollar into an estuary program results in
a dollar's worth of benefits, and sometimes it results in something more
pecious than money. The Tampa Bay Estuary Program also has a specialty
license tag which raises funds for Tampa Bay. Tampa people: buy it.

6. Autombobiles. Cars and trucks with fuel efficiency are naturally
going to use less gasoline and spew less bad things into the air. Hybrid
cars are not only a solution to oil dependency from parts of the world
where we are not particularly well-liked. They are also a way to reduce
emission quantity. "What would Jesus drive?" I don't know. My Byzantine
priest friend Ron would probably say Christ doesn't even need a go-cart.
For those of us who drive, something of appropriate size, with fuel
efficiency would be wise for our world, if not the other.

7. Conservation. The more recycling the less incineration, thus
lowering the bad stuff coming down from the sky. How hard can it be to
get a recylcing bin and not send your plastic and newspapers to the
incinerators? It's called caring. Energy efficient appliances and
reasonable electric conservation reduce skyward emissions also.

8. Accept that progress costs money. Residents along Phillippi Creek in
Sarasota are less than overjoyed about switching from septic to sewer.
Part of the reason is surely the $5000 price tag. Likewise, when
legislators began to require Progress Energy to reduce its emissions,
there was a public reaction because it would  increase utility bills.
Unfortunately, science-fiction writer Robert Heinlein had it nailed down
- "There's no such thing as a free lunch." While some provisions should
be made for those on fixed income or in poverty, for the rest of us, it
is either pay now, or make others pay instead now and in the future.

9. Household cleaners. The TBEP has a list of "Household Chemical
Alternatives" on their website. When there is no alternative for some
hazardous chemicals, dispose of them properly.

10. Septic tanks. Get off of septic and onto sewer. If you must use a
septic, have it pumped every three to five years. The money saved by not
doing this is minor, while the potential damage to the world is great
and nasty.

Feel relieved. It is not necessary to become a green mountain man and
live in a log cabin without electricity while hunting your food with a
bow and arrow. Nor do women have to leave home and go to Alaska like
Neal Young's Sun Green to become a goddess in the planet wars
(Greendale). No need to go to karate and weapons classes either to
become like Segal in the movies so we can kick polluter's ass and
blow-up their property. Concern and moderate action over time will have
an enormous effect, just as neglect and abuse over time had a
catastrophic one. For our estuaries, you can make the difference in many
ways perhaps not so dramatic but much more effective and long-lasting.

 Resources: Helping Our Estuaries

Charlotte Harbor
Cape Coral Friends of Wildlife, 239-772-7332,
www.ccfriendsofwildlife.org
Charlotte Harbor Environmental Center, 941-322-1000, www.checflorida.org

Charlotte Harbor Estuary Progam, 239-995-1777,
www.charlotteharbornep.org
CREW Land and Water Trust, 239--657-2253, www.crewtrust.org
Estero Bay Buddies, 941-463-3240
Friends of Charlotte Harbor Aquatic Preserve, 941-575-5861,
Sanibel-Captiva Conservation Foundation, 239-472-2329, www.sccf.org

Sarasota Bay
American Littoral Society, Southeast Chapter, 941-377-5459,
amlitsoc@suncoast.quik.com
Mote Marine Aquarium, 941-388-4441, www.mote.org
Pelican Man's Bird Sanctuary, 941-388-4444, www.pelicanman.org
Sarasota Bay Explorers, 941-388-4200, www.sarasotabayexplorers.com
Sarasota Bay Estuary Program, 941-951-3650, www.sarasotabay.org

Tampa Bay
Clearwater Marine Aquarium, www.cmaquariuim.org
Florida Marine Resarch Institute, www.floridamarine.org
Save Our Seabirds, www.seabirdrehab.org
Tampa Bay Estuary Program, 727-893-2765, www.tbep.org
Tampa Bay Watch, 727-867-8166, www.tampabaywatch.org
Terra Ceia Aquatic Preserve, 941-721-2068, wendy.quigley@dep.state.fl.us