Manatees Florida Manatees Are Classified

Manatees

Florida manatees are classified as a threatened species. Their increasing dependence on the warm water runoff from power plants may become a problem in the near future. An estimated 60% of all Florida manatees are wintering near power plants instead of migrating south to naturally warmer waters (Lelis 2007). Manatees are converging in large numbers during the winter near Florida Power and Light Company power plants at Cape Canaveral, Fort Lauderdale, Riviera Beach and Fort Myers and at the Tampa Electric Company's Apollo Beach power plant in Tampa Bay (Bayan-Gagelonia 2000). Power plants have altered manatee migration patterns. Whereas manatees once only migrated south to warm waters during the winter months, the animals now find solace in the warm waters surrounding the state's power plants.

Florida Power and Light's coal-burning and nuclear power plants present environmental hazards including toxic waste and greenhouse gases. Interestingly and ironically, Florida's power plants have become a boon for manatee populations. Unbridled development, especially in the southern part of the state, has encroached drastically on manatee habitat. Bereft of their winter home, manatees found power plants a suitable alternative. Manatees are generally unable to tolerate waters any cooler than 68 degrees Fahrenheit. "As coastal development pressures in southeast and southwest Florida have pushed manatees further north, power plant effluents have played a critical role in manatee protection," (Save the Manatee Club nd).

However, a large number of Florida's power plants have become outdated and are going offline (Save the Manatee Club nd). The result is that migrating populations have fewer warm water spots to dwell in the winter. Manatee populations, already threatened by boat accidents and real estate development, may suffer a real blow as power plants shut down. In the opening months of 2009, about 50 manatees died as a result of suddenly cold waters in Central Florida (FPL Given Permission To Install Heaters For Manatees 2009).

At the same time, Florida power plants do need to become more environmentally efficient. Many are transitioning from nuclear to natural gas (FPL Given Permission To Install Heaters For Manatees 2009). While the state develops and promotes new public power technologies, warm water sources for manatees must be preserved, maintained, or even created. Brevard County granted a permit to Florida Power and Light to heat their waters artificially, which is one possible interim solution (FPL Given Permission To Install Heaters For Manatees 2009).

The environmental ethical conflict is clear. On the one hand, power plants in Florida must become more environmentally sustainable, cleaner, and greener. The power plants that serve Florida's population must transition from outmoded technologies like coal and nuclear power to wind and solar power. On the other hand, power plants in Florida have been incidentally saving the manatees. The warm water surrounding the power plants has become the winter haven for manatees who might otherwise have died in waters too cold for their bodies to tolerate. Sudden changes to or closures of power plants would threaten manatee populations.