For Immediate Release: September 10, 2023
President Debbie Deland, Florida NOW
president@flnow.org TIME-SENSITIVE ACTION ALERT!
JOIN THE PETITION DRIVE TO ENSURE THE “RIGHT TO CLEAN AND HEALTHY WATER” IN FLORIDA
Florida NOW enthusiastically joins more than 200 other organizations, businesses, and local governments in supporting the proposed “Right to Clean and Healthy Water” Constitutional Amendment. With this fundamental right in place, the executive branch of our state government can be held accountable when it permits harm to our waters.
The data are staggering: Nine thousand miles of rivers and streams are contaminated with fecal bacteria. Eight hundred of the state’s one-thousand springs are impaired. Red tides, blue green algae blooms, dying manatees. Please watch this 3-minute video to learn more about why Florida needs your attention immediately.
For the “Right to Clean and Healthy Water” Constitutional Amendment to qualify to be on the 2024 General Election Ballot, 900,000 Florida voters need to correctly sign petitions by December 31, 2023.
FL NOW REACTS:
Debbie Deland, FLNOW President said, “The latest urgent alarm to protect the precious natural resources upon which the quality of life and life itself depends has loudly sounded. And yet water in Florida is in serious jeopardy due to lack of action. In 1948 the Federal Water Pollution Control Act was passed, in 1970 the Environmental Protection Agency was formed and the1972 Clean Water Act was passed. However, compliance and enforcement were weak or ignored and the influence of corporate self-interests to render pollution regulations ineffective today are pervasive. Our water systems in Florida are facing health threats for residents today and for generations to come. We are at the point where we cannot rely on government to address these increasingly deleterious conditions. We urge every Florida voter to take action today.”
CALL FOR ACTION
Please remember, time is of the essence: the deadline is December 31, 2023. If you are a Florida voter please sign a Clean Water Petition at any drive, event, rally, meeting, etc. you attend. Better still, please collect petitions yourself, Click here. We would then have tens of thousands of petitions to submit. To read the the full text of the amendment, go to https://www.floridarighttocleanwater.org/.
To collect RTCW petitions, click Volunteer Index for information. Then Click here to reach Regional Coordinators, who will connect gatherers to their respective County Captains who will coordinate specific petition collection drives.
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Florida NOW: is an intersectional grassroots organization that promotes feminist ideals, leads societal change, eliminates discrimination, and protects the equal rights of all women and girls in all aspects of social, political, and economic life.