No parade

Here’s what happened in Lake City on Tuesday night when 200 people showed up to figure out how to keep Jacksonville from draining the Suwannee River valley dry.

The lawyers said they can’t sue.

The politicians said they might pass a law. Maybe.

The water managers said “trust us.”

And everybody went home.

Well, I certainly feel better.

Here’s the problem: There’s no visible constituency for water in Florida; not to conserve it, not to keep it clean.

Politicians do not get thrown out of office for treating water like dirt.

And the water managers follow the politicians’ lead.

Politicians love to get out in front of a parade; that’s a fact.

But there is no parade for water beyond the usual marching bands (Sierra Club, Audubon, etc.).

Florida sorely needs a grassroots movement to promote — to insist on — the wise, ethical stewardship of water.

“A movement is long-term, enduring and sustainable. To stand the test of time, it requires the continued support of thousands of people who believe in and demand more for all our children.”

The above statement comes from the website of the Children’s Movement of Florida. Founded by retired newspaper publisher Dave Lawrence and political strategist Sergio Bendixen, it is a nonpartisan, ever-growing and increasingly effective advocate for early childhood health, education and welfare.

The Children’s Movement claims some 300,000 supporters throughout the state. It is built on a foundation of private donations, public forums, focus groups, solid research, polling, consensus building, partnerships ... and a cute but effective gimmick: cookie-and-milk parties.

The movement has sponsored Cookie and Milk Rallies from Pensacola to Key West. And some 15,000 people have shown up to dunk, eat and talk about kids.

I’m not saying the Children’s Movement gets everything it wants. But its clout and credibility are growing.

As with water, there wasn’t much of a parade for children in Florida prior to the Children’s Movement. That’s changing.

Everybody loves kids. Everybody needs water.

But parades don’t organize themselves.

Water advocates ought to borrow the Children’s Movement game plan.

Start with a statewide water summit. Maybe get participants to write a state constitutional amendment proposal; a mandate for conservation and stewardship.

Drop a pebble in a pond and follow the ripples. If its deep enough they’ll expand ever outward.

It’ll take time and organization. It’ll take persistence, outreach and coalition building.

And maybe even a cool gimmick, like ice water rallies (no plastic bottles).

Listen, the lobbies that exploit water — agribusiness, petro-chemical, utilities, developers — spend a lot of money to buy access to the politicians.

Water advocates can’t outspend them. They need a bigger attention-getter.

They need a parade.

Read the full article here.