Should We Drain the Everglades?

As a Pasco county alumni, I think we should drop the people who want to drain the everglades off in the everglades and leave them in there until they gain an appreciation for the scenery.

Or until they become lunch?

what an odd clickbait type article, it goes over the history of people who previously wanted to do this. But mention there is no current effort to do so, and asking the question is irrelevant.

Until the scenery gains an appreciation for them, you might say.

betteridge's law of headlines still undefeated

Halfway in I realized the author is just narrating the Wikipedia article. If you'd rather just read it without the attempts to be funny: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Draining_and_development_of_th...

Once upon a time, draining wetlands was the only somewhat efficient way to reduce malaria. That made sense, given the drop in mortality. Lots of places in Italy, for example, are ex-swamps.

Wish I noticed before submitting, I would have just shared that instead. Oh well. Thanks.

I've heard the theory that humor is actually a censor mechanism, to inhibit learning nonsense.

So, IIUC, if the censor identifies something nonsensical, it throws the amusement switch, to keep your brain from integrating the wrong thing.

While we might think that the presentations of fact in the article are informative, the humor-saturated prose could be a good way to cloud any thinking about the topic.

Does this mean it's OK to mention expanding the Florida Everglades? One could plan out a path of bulldozing, excavation, and flood fills, given an existing map of gerrymandering for national elections.

no

Do we really want to introduce more invasive species into the Everglades?

Speaking of the uncanny feeling of shallow water, there are parts of the Florida keys where you can paddle a kayak a good half a mile from shore and still be in 2-4 ft of water. It's a great place to learn a new watersport as if you fall in you can just stand up.

Leeches freak me out, I can't imagine swimming with (or falling on) the gators!

> 5x the size of JFK (the airport, not the person)

lol

Fresh water = bad

The alligators are generally scared of people. It's the crocs that you got to worry about. (not really though - even they are quite timid, unlike their African counterparts)

Bit of a layup for it in this case.

California's Central Valley would like a cautionary word....

the comedy was what got me through it, probably wouldn't have read the Wikipedia article, fwiw.

> Hopefully nothing that advances a dystopian fascist agenda, right? Right?

Hey! You can’t say that! That’s wrong speak!

I enjoyed the author's style, personally

One thing I don’t understand is why so many appreciate the Everglades. To me a landscape infested with aggressive animals (gators) doesn’t sound attractive or safe. Between them and the invasive snakes I feel like you would need to be on guard all the time. Maybe drain it, replace it with different animals that are friendly, and then refill it. I’m only sort of joking.

During the lockdown I canoed thru the everglades and camped on the islands as it was one of the only places open. It's a lot more than gators. I saw a family of dolphins teaching their child to swim and jump. The fishing is incredible. The gators arent the worst pest (the biting insects are). You can spot manatee, and of course it's a paradise for birds.

I used to swim with alligators in the bayou when I was a kid in the 1980s. They're not so bad.