Red Tide that bad??? (Sarasota, Okeechobee: garage, engineer, coastal)

[craigiri]

Originally Posted by MobileMax

It's always weird to read how naysayers bad mouth Florida, but they still move here, or wish they were out of crappy New England weather or the brisk weather of the midwest. The worst ones are the ones who flunked out of Sarasota Manatee, get forced to move out, then start bad mouthing Florida. Odd stuff.

What else is new? That's the story of mankind...ruin one place by making money from polluting and overpopulating it....but have enough to move to the next. Then they ruin and overpopulate that.

Florida likes to pretend that it's not headed toward 30 or more million in population. Regulations wise it pretends it's a few rural folks up a holler.

The first step here is to accept that all of Florida will be heavily urbanized...heck, to an extent it already is. Proper policy can then flow from that premise.

There just aren't many places in the USA where it stays warm during the winter...so there is that. Southern Texas along the Gulf can stay mild, but it's not big enough to accommodate the demand from all over the country...and the world. So Florida it is...and we will move inland and pack into tall buildings and stuff. The breezes will still blow and the sun will still shine. Heck, Miami already looks like Hong Kong (mountains aside) - space age tall residential buildings everywhere.

[kiggy]

Well finally we are getting reports from many different sources that red tide has ceased to bloom. All right!!

[beach43ofus]

As I predicted, "this to shall pass" The beaches are beautiful again! This is the way Mother Nature works. Humans did nothing to make it go away...it just did.

Humans did nothing to cause it either...it just came. It's naturally occurring and has been since humans 1st found this area in the 1500's.

The gloom and doomers will now go back and crawl under their rocks until the next bad thing happens that they can blame humans for...except themselves of course!

[Ladywithafan]

Originally Posted by beach43ofus

As I predicted, "this to shall pass" The beaches are beautiful again! This is the way Mother Nature works. Humans did nothing to make it go away...it just did.

Humans did nothing to cause it either...it just came. It's naturally occurring and has been since humans 1st found this area in the 1500's.

The gloom and doomers will now go back and crawl under their rocks until the next bad thing happens that they can blame humans for...except themselves of course!

It ah must go away, we're about to swing into high gear on the keys; don't want that bloom to interfere with those $4K a week rentals...

[craigiri]

Originally Posted by Ladywithafan

It ah must go away, we're about to swing into high gear on the keys; don't want that bloom to interfere with those $4K a week rentals...

Well, to be accurate, it was only found in low and very low concentrations by NOAA. That differs from "no" by quite a long shot, being as low concentrations are up to 100X background.

But that's good enough for me to try sailing again...and will head to the beach. Gotta take what I can get.

Bottom line is that most people in most places doing most things will be OK for now. But it will be a long time before all that sea life, shellfish and mammals grow from scratch again.

[srq57]

While certainly a good sign, low concentrations doesn't mean "no" k-brevis. What remains to be seen is, will it last? Only time will tell.

[beach43ofus]

Its been 2 weeks since the last post on this specific topic thread. Since then, a related thread has started, so now maybe the Two will be merged.

The past 13 days have been great, and the scientists are reporting that Red Tide is gone. I was 1 mile offshore all up and down Sarasota County a few days ago, and it was perfect.

The Venice Gondolier reported today that tourism revenues 2018 vs. 2017 were up! Now that could be only through September 30th and not a calendar year (they didnt specify), but still...up! December traffic through SRQ was up 39% 2018 vs 2017! The roads, stores, restaurants, and beaches are jammed pack overflowing just as I predicted.

Now would be a great time to revisit the posts on this thread to do a review of the opinions provided.

All along, I claimed the economic damage was not as bad as what was being reported in the news media, and by doomsday posters here, and that this bloom will pass naturally...just as it emerged.

No significant governmental actions (not just passing legislation, but I'm talking physical actions) have taken place to make Red Tide go away...it just did...naturally.

I would like to re-state my prediction that 2019 will be better than 2018 in tourism dollars DESPITE Red Tide, just as 2018 was better than 2017.

Plz take a few minutes and go back in time through the comments here. You'll see how silly some of the eco-experts gloom and doom posts were/are.

[beach43ofus]

Where are all of the Eco-posters who predicted this season would be ruined by Red Tide now?

Read this post by Wille from just a few minutes ago...

"We have lived in Sarasota for 20+ years. We cannot believe that traffic has gotten out of control in what was once a sleepy little west coast town. We are considering moving locally, staying close to our adult children, but to be away from the congestion. Any ideas?"

I thought Red Tide was going to decimate the local economy? This area would never be the same they said. Property values would plummet they promised. Their posts look even crazier today than they did when they posted them.

Wille just can't take it anymore....all the traffic...all the snowbirds,..all the tourists! Evidently, Red Tide failed to dissuade any of them from coming again this year.

As I claimed all along...this too shall pass, it's just an Acorn that fell on your heads. Their most recent posts sound as if they are wishing Red Tide would return. They are desperately clinging to a report 1 day 2 weeks ago that a few people in Anna Maria felt something. Pathetic.

[WRnative]

Originally Posted by beach43ofus

The Venice Gondolier reported today that tourism revenues 2018 vs. 2017 were up! Now that could be only through September 30th and not a calendar year (they didnt specify), but still...up! December traffic through SRQ was up 39% 2018 vs 2017! The roads, stores, restaurants, and beaches are jammed pack overflowing just as I predicted.

According to this editorial, the red tide bloom had a significantly negative impact on the Sarasota County tourism economy in Q4 2018. Visitors were down 9 percent and their direct expenditures were down 7.5 percent, according to the editorial.

https://www.heraldtribune.com/opinio...tide-and-green

Originally Posted by beach43ofus

I would like to re-state my prediction that 2019 will be better than 2018 in tourism dollars DESPITE Red Tide, just as 2018 was better than 2017.

So you're predicting that a significant red tide or other toxic algal bloom won't take place in 2019 as the waters again begin to warm? Is that a wishful guess, or do you have some scientific evidence to back up your prediction?

[craigiri]

Originally Posted by WRnative

According to this editorial, the red tide bloom had a significantly negative impact on the Sarasota County tourism economy in Q4 2018. Visitors were down 9 percent and their direct expenditures were down 7.5 percent, according to the editorial.

So you're predicting that a significant red tide or other toxic algal bloom won't take place in 2019 as the waters again begin to warm? Is that a wishful guess, or do you have some scientific evidence to back up your prediction?

Armchair economists don't stop to think of the basics. For example, if the figures you gave are correct, they have to be doubled - at least - to capture what the growth should have been. That is, they should be up 7.5% not down or even.

People without Plans also should realize that the great Recession is STILL being felt here a decade later. MORE than a decade now. Yet they act as if Red Tide, now a big national story, will disappear along with the massive fish kills.

This is far from the truth. Just looking at anecdotes my friends who live near the beach bought another house up north - just due to Red Tide. A friend of theirs on Anna Maria sold their house and moved to NC.

Sure, there are always more bodies to haul down to enjoy the sunshine. But make no mistake about it - this situation is a multi-decade event and will continue in one way or another to affect things. Visitor satisfaction was at a new low. Add in the traffic and the crime (seems to be a lot of the local headlines these days) and the "Quality of Life" is definitely lower than it should be.

I have no doubt Florida will continue to grow. It's really the only cheap warm place and Americans are becoming more insular (less likely to travel abroad, to islands and mexico). Florida benefits from this...

I wonder what the projected population of Florida is...as we pass through 22 million? One wonders what population is being planned for? 30 Million? That would make it perhaps the most densely populated large state in the USA (considering dry land mass).