Florida Everglades

Words: 491
Pages: 2

The Florida Everglades are a popular destination for vacations and are full of wildlife, However, over the last few decades human production and water supply changes are affecting the Everglades because many animals have gone extinct, the Everglades are a main resource for millions of people, and the quality of the water being sent to the Everglades is not good enough. To start off, many rare and exotic species have gone extinct due to changes in the environment. Many decades ago, Indian tribes lived near the Florida Everglades, but did not attempt to alter the natural landscape. So, the Everglades continued to grow and flourish. Then, in the early 1900’s, settlers began to convert the land for agricultural purposes. In Past and Present: The Florida Everglades, it states, “They laid rails for a railroad system, and more and more settlers came to the wetlands.” This evidence explains that the human population gradually grew, and took up more space in the Everglades which caused several species to go extinct when they did not have anywhere to live. They cut off the natural water supply flow, and soon, 50% of the original wildlife died out. …show more content…
When the Everglades experience a drought, hundreds, if not thousands of humans and animals do not have access to the clean, drinking water they need. One of the main reasons why water in the Everglades faces these issues is because crops grow so well there. In Can We Fix The Water Supply, the text says, “The Everglades is host to 440,000 acres of sugarcane. As the demand for the sugarcane crop increases, more land is needed for planting, which means less land is available to support life.” This shows that as more land is used for agriculture, the less land is available for animals and people. The chemicals in the fertilizers for the crops also affect the water