Charlotte County has been hammered by red tide for months. And people all along the Gulf Coast are mobilizing to find solutions.
A group of environmentally-concerned citizens gathered Saturday in Englewood to start organizing a Democratic caucus to push for policies to improve the coastal environment.
The activists, many of them Charlotte County Democrats, listened to a presentation by John Capece, the Vice President of the Florida Democratic Environmental Caucus. Capece says, “The problems have been decades in the making because of environmental policies.”
The group gathered at nature columnist and photographer Mary Lundeberg’s home to discuss forming a local chapter of the environmental caucus. Its role will be to inform officeholders, candidates, and the public on local environmental issues and policies.
Capece says the Southwest Florida Caucus is a resource for Sen. Bill Nelson’s campaign for local environmental issues. He says the caucus also tries to build bridges to other environmental groups not aligned with the Democratic Party.
“Forming an environmental group was has been in the works for several months”, says Patrick Hurley, Chairman of the Charlotte County Democrats. But other growth issues commanded the Party’s immediate attention. The strong interest in the severe, persistent red tide outbreaks prompted immediate demand to form a caucus.
Remarkably, there are now only 10 environmental caucuses in Florida. When it is formed Charlotte County’s caucus would become the 11th. Members of the new chapter will have a strong voice to influence environmental priorities.
People wanting to help don’t have to be experts. There are a lot of ways people can help with the effort, Dorothea said. If you are interested in participating in the new Charlotte County Democratic Environmental Caucus, or just want to learn more about this exciting effort, please send an email to Campaign@CharlotteDems.com
More information about the Florida Democratic Environmental Caucus can be found on their website, and Facebook page.
