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Growing Dilemmas in Florida
The concept of building in green practices sooner rather than later
when a development is planned is widely embraced by environ-
mental scientists. This is especially important in areas of high popu-
lation growth where new development is a certainty. Florida, for
example, currently has about 20 million residents. According to a
2016 study, the population is projected to soar to 33.7 million by
2070—with at least one-third of the state covered in roads, houses,
and other buildings. If this development is not well thought out in
advance, Florida’s magnificent array of wildlife could be decimated
as its habitat is slowly destroyed. Elizabeth Fleming, who is with
the environmental group Defenders of Wildlife, offers this scenario:
Picture a stretch of iconic Florida habitat. Pines tower over
prairie grasses swaying in the wind between clumps of
saw palmetto. A red-cockaded woodpecker flits between
the trees, while a gopher tortoise digs diligently beneath
the earth, and Florida panthers wander through in search
of food, water, or a safe place to rear their young. Then
plans for a new building or a residential community are
announced—right on that very spot. All that habitat, relied
on by so much wildlife, could be simply gone. Now picture
the same scenario playing out hundreds of times across
an entire state.
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According to Fleming, whose work focuses on conserving wild-
life habitat for numerous species, the scenario describes what is
happening in Florida today. As the population continues to grow, it
will trigger even more development. Even when Defenders of Wild-
life or another environmental group is able to prevent a damaging
project from being completed, Fleming says another one pops up
to take its place. “A new residential development in a fragile eco-
system here, a road widening through panther habitat there,” she
says. “Trying to stave off damage to the habitats that Florida’s im-
periled wildlife most desperately need seems at times like a game of
‘whack-a-mole’ with incredibly high stakes and no end in sight.”
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