Dark underside of ‘environmentalism’: “Enviro activist calls for ‘death of thousands’ in Lake O discharge controversy”

A scathing Point of View was published in the Post by Hendry County Commissioner Janet Taylor earlier this year with strong criticism of two influential environmental groups: the Everglades Coalition and Everglades Foundation. She pulls no punches.

In the editorial by Commissioner Taylor she mentions an email referencing the Herbert Hoover Dike which surrounds Lake Okeechobee:

Some activists’ desires apparently go far further than wanting to end Florida agriculture. A Feb. 11 post of a Sierra Club email exchange suggested that “a dike failure would fix everything. The human toll would be inconceivable. The benefits to our environment would be immeasurable.”
     “Inconceivable” is right! More than 39,000 people live in Hendry County.

It sounds inconceivable anyone would think a breach and resulting collapse of the dike would be a good idea but that is exactly what one ‘environmentalist’ suggested. If you didn’t know there is a mass grave in West Palm Beach with bodies recovered when a previous dike collapsed. You can learn more about that here.

Peter Schorsch at the Florida Politics blog broke this story last February and here are some excerpts:

For those of paying attention, however, they have no doubt been aware of the release of excess water from Lake Okeechobee, a result of historically high El Niño rainfall in South Florida.
     Unsurprisingly, environmentalists have been vocal in opposition. But this time, the rhetoric may be getting out of hand.

[and. . .]

     In one email, an activist named Mike Elfenbein goes beyond the pale.
     Elfenbein, in an especially nasty rant, wishes death via a disastrous Herbert Hoover Dike failure, resulting in the death of thousands of South Floridians. Such a catastrophe would “fix everything,” [emphasis added] noting the human toll would be “inconceivable.”
     But the benefits to the environment would be “immeasurable,” he concludes, drawing a line in the sand. “Question is … Which side are you on? Human or nature?”

[lastly, Mr. Schorsch has this observation. . .]

     It may seem passe to say so, but wishing death on opponents is not the most efficient way of winning hearts and minds.
     When forced to choose between living with humans or going down with Mother Nature, I may be selfish, but I’ll side with humans.

Understandably, there is a lot of frustration about the Lake Okeechobee, “Send It South!”, and water releases but there needs to be some perspective also. In the article cited above is a reference to Godwin’s Law: What happens when the debate gets out of control. Good advice.