Everglades

Everglades Funding

Brian Green

Sci/230

Debbie Hahn

02/20/2011

Retirement meant no more having to be on a schedule, no more meeting deadlines, and I could relax and enjoy myself. Now that I have been retired for ten years, I feel my life is slipping away and there is not any meaning left to my existence. I was able to retire early at the age of forty because of a clever investment in the stock market early in my career. The kids are grown and living there lives with their families and the only person left is my wife. Do not get me wrong, I love my wife. I want to leave more to the world than a family and a short career. I want to help to a greater cause than myself. I would like to for my money to do good besides spending it on golf and vacations. A former colleague suggested I support a preservation project. He took a vacation to Belize and met a conservationist and learned about the endangered reefs in the area. He was so fascinated with the area and the beauty of the diverse life; he decided to give money to fund the program in place to preserve the reefs. This got me thinking. But, which project to fund. He directed me the World Heritage endanger list website to help me narrow down options. I want my funds to be something close to heart so I could feel good about giving money to support the project. I see the only property listed in the United States is the Everglades. My wife and visited the area two years ago and loved the diversity and the beauty. The Everglades was first inscribed to the endanger list in 1993 following Hurricane Andrew. It was removed in 2007 as improvement to the area from the efforts at the time to restore the area. However, the degradation of the site has continued.  Water inflows have been reduced by up to 60 percent and nutrient pollution increased to the point where the site is showing significant signs of eutrophication, loss of marine habitat and a subsequent decline in marine species (UNESCO, 2011)....