During the last 30 days, I drove throughout Florida in a rental car. I drove from St. Petersburg to Miami; from Miami to Daytona Beach; from Daytona Beach to Jacksonville; from Jacksonville to Tallahassee; from Tallahassee to Pensacola; from Pensacola to Gainesville; from Gainesville back to St. Petersburg.
Although I was researching the continuing viability of the state's four Historically Black Colleges and Universities, I was struck by the proliferation of urban sprawl in nearly every county.
The Sunshine State, one of the nation's treasures, is fast becoming the Asphalt State. What we are doing to our paradise is criminal and, well, stupid.
Urban sprawl, along with the destructive conditions it brings, is gobbling up our natural habitats and farmland at a faster pace than ever before. Approximately 12,000 acres of excellent farmland are permanently destroyed each year by a combination of residential, commercial, recreational and industrial development and soil erosion.
Experts believe that we are on track to wipe out half of our cropland within 50 years. When I was a child migrant farm worker in Fort Lauderdale, all of the crops we picked, such as beans and tomatoes, were grown within 30 miles of our front yards. Now, Broward County does not have any major farms. And except for the those on the rim of the Everglades, Dade County has few major farms. When I was a child, Dade was one of the nation's largest winter vegetable providers.
I drove to the areas that used to be South Florida farms and was disheartened to see thousands of square miles of high-rise condos, single-family housing communities, shopping centers, endless parking lots and whatever else developers could supply in the name of "progress" and "economic vitality."
Our governor and other leaders continue to encourage more people to flock here and stay permanently even though our precious, open spaces and wild terrains are disappearing. Florida does not need more people. In 2000, we had nearly 16-million residents. At the rate we are growing - given birth rates, immigration and domestic migration - we will have more than 21-million residents within 15 years.
My drive up the coast along Interstate 95 and U.S. 1 was as scary as it was aggravating. State Road A1A is a virtual, slow-moving parking lot. Vehicles are everywhere. Buildings are everywhere. People are everywhere. Daytona Beach and the rest of coastal Volusia County are doing all they can to block out the sun with condos and hotels. Even once-sleepy DeLand has opened its arms to the bulldozer and cement truck.
Flagler County, where my siblings and I used to harvest potatoes and cabbage, now touts places such as Palm Coast, where houses are as thick as slash pines, where natural fires will one day retake the land with deadly vengeance.
Marion County, home to the Ocala National Forest and once home to some of the best fishing, hiking and camping in the nation, is decimating its woodlands in exchange for sprawl. Putnam County, where I graduated from high school, remains a backwater. But each year, northern newcomers continue to invite relatives and friends to visit. Many of these visitors never return to those fierce northern winters and crowded cities.
Then, we have the Panhandle - called "one of the last real great frontiers of Florida." Unfortunately, this heavily forested region is the home of a former timber conglomerate, the St. Joe Co., the state's biggest private landowner. Forget timber. St. Joe is turning its vast holdings, mostly pristine woods, into expensive tourist rentals and upscale vacation homes for rich Southerners.
In short, there goes the Panhandle neighborhood, at least as we know it.
Make no mistake. As long as the state's population grows and well-to-do residents demand and get detached, single-family homes on huge lots, sprawl will continue unabated.
I feel naive to mention that the Sunshine State has six of the nation's 21 most endangered ecosystems. Who gives a damn that we are losing, for example, our longleaf pine forest, Florida scrub, Southern forested wetlands, large streams and rivers?
Who cares that because of urbanization and its environmental problems, we have put 600 rare South Florida flora and fauna at risk? Nearly 70 animal species, including the manatee and panther, are considered threatened or endangered mainly because of sprawl. Does the average resident care?
We are killing natural Florida for a few years of luxury, for creature comforts that become an end unto themselves, that are devoid of real value. We need smart growth management and sound construction planning.
