In more bad news for the environment, Florida Gov. Jeb Bush (R) yesterday signed into law a highly controversial plan that will delay cleanup of phosphorus from the Everglades by a decade and, critics say, potentially result in the loss of $4 billion in federal funding for the massive restoration project. Bush — who said signing the Everglades Forever Act was “the tough choice, but […] the wise choice” — asked the Florida legislature to draft another bill to address some of the act’s weak points, including language that could dilute the restoration and help the sugar industry evade paying for its share of the cleanup. Sugar industry reps, for their part, were also unhappy with Bush and said the new law would reduce the flexibility of their cleanup efforts.
