"Florida Dredging Would Cut Path Across Corals in ‘Crisis’"

"As America’s only barrier reefs bleach, dissolve and succumb to disease, experts worry that a $320 million plan to expand oil and cargo shipments through Florida’s corals could worsen flooding and threaten ecosystems crucial to fisheries and tourism businesses.

In addition to being one of the world’s busiest cruise ship terminals, Port Everglades, which in greater Fort Lauderdale is a 45-minute drive north of Miami, is a critical cog in the Sunshine State’s fossil fueled economy.

A sweeping water infrastructure bill introduced last month in the U.S. Senate would, among many other things, provide preliminary approval for the federal government’s $220 million share of spending on a Port Everglades expansion. The port is the main delivery point for most of the gasoline, diesel and jet fuel bought and burned in the state."

John Upton reports for Climate Central May 9, 2016.