Dear citizens and elected officials, We are at an intersection where we can choose between handling problems now or leave the problem for our children. The choices we make today effect the lives of our children tomorrow. As our great President Abraham Lincoln once stated, "You cannot escape the responsibility of tomorrow by evading it today." The government has ignored the people who have elected them to lead by instead showing loyalty to corporations that are destroying our environment to make a dollar. Florida voters have made it abundantly clear in the past that they choose the earth over corporate greed. Weeks ago, the Army Corp. of Engineers started releasing billions of gallons of waste water into the Florida ecosystem. The devastation is unfathomable. These waste waters hold highly concentrated levels of phosphorous and nitrates which are being flushed down man made water ways and into the Caloosahatchee and St. Lucie rivers. These rivers run east and west into precious coastal estuaries which harbor more marine biodiversity than that of any rainforest. These estuaries are supposed to be protected by our government. The damage caused by these polluted waters also ignites massive algae blooms. These "red and or brown tides" are 100% man made. They have happened before in the past and we the people took steps to prevent this from ever happening again. But this time it's being allowed to kill the life and diversity of coastal Florida estuaries by our elected representatives. The death toll continues to rise as the waste water continues to pour into these protected lands. In the past week alone; citizens have documented the mass killing of protected seagrass, shellfish, millions of baitfish and gamefish. Even populations of dolphin and manatee have begun to perish and nothing has been done despite the laws protecting them. In 2015, Florida declared the bill "Amendment 1" which basically reads: 33% of net tax money received from citizens would be placed into a "Land Acquisition Fund"(land purchase fund). This funds sole purpose was to buy land for conservation purposes. Again, the citizens of Florida spoke and 75% of us voted YES to this bill. Florida has opportunities to buy tens of thousands of acres from US Sugar Corp. right now. This would reinstate the natural flow of water to the state southward below Lake Okeechobee. This water runs through miles of plant life and environmental purifications that naturally clean the polluted water before it enters the everglades. Governor Rick Scott amongst others stopped the progress being made and killed the negotiation process. The people used to believe the government had their best interest at heart. The people now know the government only has the best interest of corporate America in mind. US Sugar and the state of Florida couldn't come to a deal on the largest ecological restoration project in state history, but US Sugar may instead try to rezone all that natural pristine habitat into residential and commercial land. This is our intersection. We the people are drawing the line in the sand. We choose the earth. We stand beside Mother Nature and our state. We elected you to make the proper decisions that benefit all communities, including our ecosystem, NOT large corporations. These wildlife, tourist and fishing communities on the Florida coasts are losing everything. But every human being will lose far more than that if this isn't resolved. One day our children or grandchildren will grow up hearing fairy tales of what used to be "the fishing capital of the world." Instead they will be left a barren wasteland if we don’t take action, literally. We've made these mistakes in the past. In the northeast we have destroyed a once abundant population of wild Atlantic salmon. Money and development was the priority over conservation then, which is still killing the planet now. The Atlantic salmon are now highly endangered and all but extinct in the United States. Let's use this as a learning lesson and change the way we think about nature and economics. Let's grow our communities responsibly and support all businesses around our small business owners that safeguard the environment in coastal communities. Let's drive more tourism money through something we can be proud of, a clean state that prides itself on being an example for the rest of the country. The citizens demand transparency with Amendment 1, and the possible uses of it to protect the environment we cherish. We demand clean waters, to save our estuaries, and the immediate STOPPING of the discharge from Lake Okeechobee. We demand that a state of emergency be declared upon our state to gain federal assistance to clean up this mess and hold the corporations responsible accountable for their actions. We choose to end double the standards between citizens, corporations and government: if it is illegal for a citizen to kill a dolphin, manatee, oversized game fish or protected animal, it is now going to be illegal for corporations and government as well. Finally, we demand compliance with scientific advice, to purchase the land south of Lake Okeechobee from US Sugar and restore the natural southerly flow of waste water thru the states preserves. Side note: if we hear you "cannot strike a deal", we've all heard of eminent domain. We leave you with a quote from Albert Einstein, "We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them."