The Blue Path to Florida's Water Future

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The Blue Path

On the Blue Path, Floridians discover new ways to live with water and recognize that a healthy environment is essential for a prosperous economy.

THE VISION

On the Blue Path, Floridians discover new ways to live with water and recognize that a healthy environment is essential for a prosperous economy.
On the Blue Path, water is recognized as a core economic asset to be invested for long-term dividends - Annie Pais
When water is managed within nature, rather than man-made systems, soils, forests and fisheries are replenished and communities prosper. - Annie Pais

Blue Path Programs & Resource Guide

WHAT CAN I DO?

Here you will find a wealth of resources that will help you to learn more about Florida’s waters and find a local water group to get involved with.

If you are interested in learning more about how and why ETHICS can contribute to the quality and effectiveness of discussions about Florida’s water policy, we recommend that you pay particular attention to the sections that list Cynthia Barnett’s writings and to the section on ETHICS.

The Florida Constitution, Article II, reads: "SECTION 7. Natural resources and scenic beauty.

(a) It shall be the policy of the state to conserve and protect its natural resources and scenic beauty. Adequate provision shall be made by law for the abatement of air and water pollution and of excessive and unnecessary noise and for the conservation and protection of natural resources."

THE BLUE PATH IN THE MEDIA | Current and archived media coverage

VIDEO GALLERY | View Blue Path Videos

RESOURCES LISTED BY CATEGORY

If you know of a group or resource that should be added to this list, please contact Lucinda Merritt, wordwitch@windstream.net, 386-454-0415.

CYNTHIA BARNETT Author, Journalist Blue Revolution: Unmaking America’s Water Crisis, Cynthia Barnett, Beacon Press, 2011

Mirage: Florida and the Vanishing Water of the Eastern U.S., Cynthia Barnett, The University of Michigan Press, 2007

Our Water. Our Florida. A Water Ethic for Florida. Collins Center for Public Policy, 2011. | WEBSITE

Video: Blue Revolution at the Clinton School of Public Service, Arkansas, February 2012 | VIEW
Video: Blue Revolution in Gainesville, Florida, October 2011 | VIEW
Video: Blue Revolution in Ocala, Florida, October 2011 | VIEW
Articles by Cynthia Barnett | LISTING
WATER BLOGS & WEBSITES Florida Springs Institute

SWFWMD Matters (Sonny Vergara)

Watery Foundation: Florida’s Water, a Fragile Resource in a Vulnerable State (Tom Swihart)

Articles by Cynthia Barnett

Florida Springs Protection

Florida Springs

Visiting Florida’s Natural Springs

Underwater Florida

Florida-Friendly Landscaping

University of Florida (UF) Water Institute

Florida Organic Growers (FOG)

Alachua County home water and energy tracking compares your home to your neighbors and plots your carbon footprint: http://gainesville-green.com/
DVDs AND VIDEOView additional videos on our Video Gallery Page

Video: Blue Revolution at the Clinton School of Public Service, Arkansas, February 2012 | VIEW

Video: Blue Revolution in Gainesville, Florida, October 2011 | VIEW

Video: Blue Revolution in Ocala, Florida, October 2011 | VIEW

Cave diving DVDs produced by world-renowned cave diver and film producer, Jill Heinerth, who is available as a Blue Path speaker www.intotheplanet.com AND www.JillsDiveShop.com

The Water’s Journey, produced by Wes Skiles with Jill Heinerth www.karstproductions.com/

Water’s Journey Featuring Wes Skiles, video by Alachua County, Florida | VIEW

Gimme Green, produced by Eric Flagg, who is available as a Blue Path speaker www.gimmegreen.com/

Lithium Springs, produced by Carter Lord. Comedy for kids and adults about the long lost Fountain of Youth, springs and woods of wild Florida. www.lithiumsprings.com/

UF Water Institute Video | VIEW
ETHICSBlue Revolution: Unmaking America’s Water Crisis, Cynthia Barnett, Beacon Press, 2011

Moral Ground: Ethical Action for a Planet in Peril, Kathleen Dean Moore and Michael P. Nelson, editors, Trinity University Press, San Antonio, 2010 (Note: While this book deals with the climate change crisis, everything in it also applies directly to Florida’s current water crisis. The introduction, “Toward a Global Consensus for Ethical Action,” explains clearly and concisely how and why ethics can guide us forward in our discussions about water and other environmental issues.)
PAPERS Florida Conservation Coalition Water Paper: Click on the link HERE

Our Water. Our Florida. A Water Ethic for Florida, by Cynthia Barnett, Collins Center for Public Policy, 2011. VIEW

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COUNTY WIDE RESOURCE GROUPSPutnam County Environmental Council
STATEWIDE RESOURCE GROUPSHoward T. Odum Florida Springs Institute

Florida Springs Information Clearinghouse

Florida Conservation Coalition
Florida Conservation Coalition on Facebook

Sierra Club Florida
Slime Crimes
Slime Crimes on Facebook
Water Quality
Sierra Club Contacts:
Cris Costello
Katie Parrish
941-951-6084

Audubon of Florida

Clean Water Network of Florida
Clean Water Network Contact

Aquiferious Facebook Page

Florida Native Plant Society
REGIONAL & WATERSHED RESOURCE GROUPSFlorida Defenders of the Environment

St. Johns Riverkeeper
St. Johns Riverkeeper on Facebook

Current Problems (river cleanups)

FLOW (Florida Leaders Organized for Water)
FLOW on Facebook

Friends of Florida State Parks

The Ichetucknee Partnership
The IP on Facebook

Kings Bay Springs Working Group
Sponsor:
Southwest Florida Water Management District
Coordinator:
Gary Williams
(352) 796-7211 x 4286

Our Santa Fe River
OSFR on Facebook
Contact:
Merrillee Malwitz-Jipson
352-222-8893

Santa Fe River Springs Working Group
Sponsor: Alachua County Environmental Protection Department
Coordinator: Stacie Greco
(352) 264-6829

Save Our Suwannee
SOS on Facebook
Contact:
Annette Long
PO Box 669
Bell, FL 32619
352-490-8930

Silver Springs Alliance
Secretary:
Barbara Schwartz

Friends of the Wekiva River
CONTACT

Lake Area Water Alliance
PO Box 6581
Keystone Heights, FL 32656

North Florida Springs Alliance
BOOKS A Naturalist in Florida: A Celebration of Eden, Archie Carr, Yale University Press, 1996

A Prosperous Way Down: Principles and Policies, Howard T. Odum and Elisabeth C. Odum, University Press of Colorado, 2001

A Thousand-Mile Walk to the Gulf, John Muir, multiple editions

An Everglades Providence: Marjory Stoneman Douglas and the American Environmental Century, Jack E. Davis, The University of Georgia Press, 2009

Aquiferious, Margaret Ross Tolbert et al., Fidelity Press, 2010, ISBN 9780615327402

Between Two Rivers: Stories from the Red Hills to the Gulf, Susan Cerulean, Janisse Ray, and Laura Newton, editors, Heart of the Earth, 2004

Blue Revolution: Unmaking America’s Water Crisis, Cynthia Barnett, Beacon Press, 2011

Cross Creek, Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, multiple editions

Ditch of Dreams: The Cross Florida Barge Canal and the Struggle for Florida’s Future, Steven Noll and David Tegeder, University Press of Florida, 2009

Ecosystems of Florida, Ronald L. Myers and John J. Ewel, University Press of Florida, 1990

Florida’s American Heritage River: Images from the St. Johns Region, Mallory M. O’Connor and Gary Monroe, University Press of Florida, 2009

Florida’s Water: A Fragile Resource in a Vulnerable State, Tom Swihart, RFF Press, 2011

From Eden to Sahara: Florida's Tragedy, John Kunkel Small, Seminole Soil and Water Conservation District, 2004

Ichetucknee: Sacred Waters, Steven Earl, University Press of Florida, 2009

Journal of Light: The Visual Diary of a Florida Nature Photographer, John Moran, University Press of Florida, 2004

Land into Water—Water into Land: A History of Water Management in Florida, 2nd ed., Nelson M. Blake, University Press of Florida, 1980

Mirage: Florida and the Vanishing Water of the Eastern U.S., Cynthia Barnett, The University of Michigan Press, 2007

Moral Ground: Ethical Action for a Planet in Peril, Kathleen Dean Moore and Michael P. Nelson, editors, Trinity University Press, San Antonio, 2010

Paradise Lost? The Environmental History of Florida, edited by Jack E. Davis and Raymond Aresenault, University Press of Florida, 2005

Paving Paradise: Florida’s Vanishing Wetlands and the Failure of No Net Loss, Craig Pittman and Matthew Waite, University Press of Florida, 2009

Paynes Prairie: The Great Savanna, A History and Guide, Lars Andersen, Pineapple Press, 2003

River of Lakes: A Journey on Florida’s St. Johns River, Bill Belleville, University of Georgia Press, 2001

Springs of Florida, Doug Stamm, Pineapple Press, 2008 The Everglades: River of Grass, Marjory Stoneman Douglas, multiple editions

The Yearling, Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, multiple editions

The Wild Heart of Florida: Florida Writers on Florida’s Wildlands, edited by Jeff Ripple and Susan Cerulean, University Press of Florida, 1999

Travels of William Bartram, William Bartram, multiple editions

Unspoiled: Writers Speak for Florida’s Coast, edited by Susan Cerulean, Janisse Ray, and A. James Wohlpart, copyright 2010 Heart of the Earth, ISBN 9780975933916

Water Consciousness: How We All Have to Change to Protect Our Most Critical Resource, Tara Lohan, AlterNet Books, 2008