Following the terrible manatee die off in 2021, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service decided to take the drastic measure of supplementing the mammals' diet with human provided lettuce. How is the program working?
Speaking of manatee, the reason they're dying is because blue green algae blooms are preventing the seagrass they feed on from receiving sunlight, which is essential for growth. The seagrass beds die off, the manatees lose their food source, and the manatees then starve to death. What's causing those blue green algae blooms, largely, is phosphorus runoff from agriculture in the form of fertilizer and manure.
Our guest on this episode, Dan Egan, has a new book out for spring of 2023 entitled "The Devil's Element: Phosphorus and a World out of Balance." Not only is Florida ground zero for the negative effects of phosphorus, it is also the nation's leading supplier of the mineral.
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