Florida

Consumer Activity in Florida

The size of the state has a significant impact on the overall national economy. The gross domestic product (GDP) in Florida is the fourth-largest in the country. The most important economic activity in the state is tourism, which brings millions of visitors each year from throughout North America and abroad. Several major attractions include the Walt Disney World Resort, Busch Gardens, SeaWorld, and the Universal Orlando Resort. However, the beaches and warm weather are the main natural attractions that draw visitors from cooler climates. Tourism produces a tremendous waste burden on communities. Visitors’ garbage, sewage, and their voluminous presence must be managed by local governments so as to ease encumbrances placed on the local environment.

The second most important economic activity in the state is agriculture. Florida is the largest producer of citrus in the United States and is an important source of winter fruits and vegetables. Copious volumes of Florida tomatoes, strawberries, blueberries, and a variety of other seasonal crops are shipped all over the world. In addition, unique crops, such as sugarcane, mangos, orchids, tropical fish, and landscape plants add to the state's agricultural diversity.

The greatest problem with agricultural waste in Florida is the runoff of agricultural nitrogen and phosphorus from fields. As most ecosystems in the state are low-nutrient environments, nutrient-rich [Page 262]agricultural runoff poses particular problems for these bionetworks. One particular ecosystem, the Everglades, has received particular attention because of these issues. Water used in agricultural processing is also an important waste product that must be managed with great care. By-products of agricultural processing, such as orange rinds, dead tomato vines, and leftovers from sugarcane processing, are sometimes taken to landfills, left to rot or burn, or enter a waste-to-energy stream.

The third most important economic activity in the state is phosphate mining. The Bone Valley Formation, the source of the phosphate, is present in many areas throughout central Florida. The phosphate is mined in complex strip-mining operations, where voluminous piles of waste known as “gypsum stacks” are left behind. In addition, many acres of acidic and poisonous wastewater ponds are present. During a 2004 hurricane, water from one of these ponds breached its banks and flowed into the Gulf of Mexico, where untold damage impacted the environment.

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