Florida, Part One

In these next two episodes, follow the phosphate in Florida. Phosphate is central to our modern farming system, and one mine in central Florida produces 1/7th of the world's yearly output. From the mine itself and the application of the fertilizers made from the phosphate, phosphate enters the water system of the Everglades and is changing the makeup of the ecosystem...possibly permanently. This first episode gets you up to speed on phosphate mining and the state of regulatory affairs in Florida. Next time, we'll look into the effects of phosphate in Florida's waters.