Publication Date:
2022-05-26
Description:
Author Posting. © The Author(s), 2014. This is the author's version of the work. It is posted here by permission of Elsevier for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Science of The Total Environment 493 (2014): 898-909, doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2014.06.083.
Description:
To mitigate the damages of natural hazards, policy responses can be beneficial only if they are
effective. Using a self-administered survey approach, this paper focuses on the adherence to
local fertilizer ordinances (i.e., county or municipal rules regulating the application of fertilizer
to private lawns or facilities such as golf courses) implemented in jurisdictions along the
southwest Florida coast in response to hazardous blooms of Florida red tides (Karenia brevis).
These ordinances play a role in the context of evolving programs of water pollution control at
federal, state, water basin, and local levels. With respect to policy effectiveness, while the
strength of physical linkages is of critical importance, the extent to which humans affected are
aware of and adhere to the relevant rules, is equally critical. We sought to understand the
public’s depth of understanding about the rationales for local fertilizer ordinances. Respondents
in Sarasota, Florida, were asked about their fertilizer practices in an area that has experienced
several major blooms of Florida red tides over the past two decades. A highly educated, older
population of 305 residents and “snowbirds” reported relatively little knowledge about a local
fertilizer ordinance, its purpose, or whether it would change the frequency, size, or duration of
red tides. This finding held true even among subpopulations that were expected to have more
interest in or to be more knowledgeable about harmful algal blooms. In the face of uncertain
science and environmental outcomes, and with individual motivations at odds with evolving
public policies, the effectiveness of local community efforts to decrease the impacts of red tides
may be compromised. Targeted social-science research on human perceptions about the risks of
Florida red tides and education about the rationales for potential policy responses is warranted.
Description:
This work was funded under sponsorship of the National Science Foundation (NSF), awards
#1009106 and #1004181and the National Institute for Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS),
award # R21ES017413-01A2. Fleming received support from the European Regional
Development Fund and European Social Fund (European Centre for Environment and Human
Health, University of Exeter Medical School).
Keywords:
Florida red tide
;
Karenia brevis
;
Harmful algal bloom (HAB)
;
Total maximum daily load (TMDL)
;
Fertilizer ordinance
Repository Name:
Woods Hole Open Access Server
Type:
Preprint
Format:
application/pdf
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