Ramifications of Murphy’s River Message to President Obama, St Lucie River/Indian River Lagoon

Congressman Patrick Murphy greets President Barack Obama giving the president a bottle of polluted St Lucie River water. (Photo, Congressman Patrick Murphy's Facebook page 3-18-15)
Congressman Patrick Murphy, along with Ft Pierce mayor, Linda Hudson, greet President Barack Obama. The congressman gave the president a bottle of polluted St Lucie River water briefly explaining the plight of the SLR/IRL. (Photo, Congressman Patrick Murphy’s Facebook page 3-28-15)

Two years ago, in 2013, when the toxic waters of the St Lucie River/Southern Indian River Lagoon, stagnated under the baking sun of summer, and every man, woman, child, and dog was told by the Martin County Health Department, “not to touch the water,” there was a dream…

News clip Channel 12: Congressman Murphy/Pres. Obama: (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hNVgfGMRswc)

A dream that even the president of the United States of America would know that the polluted discharges by the ACOE and SFWMD from Lake Okeechobee “tip our rivers over the edge” turning them into a toxic soup, killing “protected” seagrasses, nearshore reefs, wildlife, property values, tourism, and every child’s summer. (A “lost summer” that may happen again with the government agencies discharging since January 16th, 2015.)

Toxic algae, photo by Mary Radabaugh of St Lucie Marina.)
Toxic algae, photo by Mary Radabaugh of St Lucie Marina.)
Photo of plume from Lake O and area canals in 2013, Jupiter Island. Our present pulling system constraints unless changed will promote this indefinitely. (JTL)
Photo of Lake O plume and area canals having gone over estuary seagrasses and here near shore reefs–as seen  in 2013, over Hutchinson Island/Jupiter Island. (Photo JTL)

In 2013, the situation was so dire, that multiple schools along the Treasure Coast organized writing letters, by the hundreds, to the president of the United States, Barack Obama, asking him to help to SAVE OUR RIVERS.

Ms D'Apolito's class at the Montessori School was one of many schools that wrote the president for help to save the SLR/IRL in 2013. (Photos JTL from the book the class sent to the White House, 2013.)
Ms D’Apolito’s class at the Montessori School was one of many schools that wrote the president for help to save the SLR/IRL in 2013. (Photos JTL from the book the class sent to the White House, 2013.)
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Letter and photo sent back from White House staff, 2013.
Letter and photo sent back from White House staff, 2013.
Letter send to students for their polluted river booklet, 2013.
Letter sent to students for their polluted river booklet, 2013.

Those letters and art work did get to the White House and were surely hedged-off by White House staff,  who read the letters, but then neatly filed them away, sending a nice packet back to the students and teachers “thanking them for the drawings of their dying rivers.”

This is  just reality and no fault of the president or staff—today we  live in an evolved bureaucracy, a system that perpetuates itself, that holds one at bay, that protects power and influence, that stagnates—-just like the waters of Lake Okeechobee flowing into our St Lucie River/Indian River Lagoon….

But bureaucracies can be penetrated; walls can come down; dreams can come true..

For that to happen, you have to push very, very  hard, and someone with some influence has to help you break through, someone has to cut you a break, someone has to stand up, someone has to stick their neck out….a champion….a champion, like Patrick Murphy.

Good job Congressman Murphy! (River Kid Keile Mader, 2013)
“Good job Congressman Murphy!” (River Kid Keile Mader, 2013)
Newly elected Patrick Murphy holds River Kidz signs in 2013.
Newly elected Patrick Murphy holds recycled River Kidz signs in 2012. The flag sign went to DC.

Kudos to Congressman Patrick Murphy, our Treasure Coast congressman soon to be running for US Senate,  who must have had to make a decision “quickly and under pressure” as to what message he would bring  President Barack Obama on the tarmac.

When the president arrived along the Treasure Coast for a weekend of golf at the famed “Floridian” this past Saturday, Congressman Murphy could have spoken about anything, but chose a message that had to do with everyone, a message that is neither “democrat” or “republican,” a message about the future….and today:

“the wish for clean water”….

Close up.
Mayor Linda Hudson, Congressman Murphy and President Barack Obama, 2015.
Our flag.
In America, clean water is taken for granted–we no longer have it here…

Will President Obama go back to Washington and everything with our rivers will suddenly change?

Of course not.

But the president  will know the name of the river he likes to play golf on, and he will know it has problems. He will talk to other people about his trip over a beer, and he will say:

“You know, that young Congressman, Murphy, he greeted me with a bottle of toxic water. Can you believe it? It surprised me. He spoke up for those people. I looked the St Lucie River up on the internet on the flight home…unbelievable…”

These words, and others spoken over time,  will make great headway for our dreams of a better water future. History has been made.

(Files Congressman Murphy's Facebook page.)
(President Obama walks down the stairs of Air force One with no idea he will receive a bottle of polluted St Lucie River water…. (Photo from Congressman Murphy’s Facebook page.)

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MORE ART WORK:

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4 thoughts on “Ramifications of Murphy’s River Message to President Obama, St Lucie River/Indian River Lagoon”

  2. I will have to admit that while driving to your rally yesterday I very much felt like a black man going to a clan meeting to try to exsplain that I am not the bad guy and the message I carry is of the utmost importance. I checked the sand on your beach and like all our beachs it is calcium. Our planit earth seems like a peacefull place now but in just the last 200 years we have seen violent volcanic eruptions like Krackaow — meteor immpacts —earth quakes like the San Francisco earthquake the one in Hati and more. It is just a matter of time and another Tsunami will rip across the BARRIER islands and put all the calcium on the beach into the lagoon again. The problem is many of the plants and creatures are on the brink of exstinction because of what WE have done to the lagoon. Thank you for reading this and careing about our lagoon.

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