***WARNING! Long post! Too many words for some. Click off now if too many words are an issue. One line posts can be found elsewhere!

 

This post has been years in the making. I consider the information shared here to be vitally important to all humanity, especially those of you who go into the water. I post this information to hopefully help others make the correct decisions for themselves and their children. I can tell you this information controls my actions and those of my children because their lives are on the line. All of our lives are on the line. In fact, the future of humanity is on the line with this one. It is that serious.

 

This post is my opinion only. I am not an expert and so I encourage all of you who are interested to do your own research on subjects shared here.

 

As I have stated here numerous times I have spent years around state of Florida biologists. Heck my high school sweetheart is today a state of Florida biologist.

 

When I worked for a rod and reel and trolling motor repair shop years ago, my connections to various biologists increased dramatically because those biologists also fish and boat in their off time, and are on the water almost daily as part of their careers here in Florida. So the information contained here for my part, is directly sourced to the connections I have had with biologists informing me and explaining things going on in public and behind the scenes efforts they are involved in trying to help solve this sad situation we humans have gotten ourselves into.

 

Basically we humans are trapping ourselves. Boxing ourselves into a trap there is almost no way out of and that is a dire warning for the future of all humanity.

 

I'm going to get straight to primary cause of the problems mentioned in this post. It is raw human sewage and how we humans dispose of it and how it comes back to haunt us in deadly ways.

 

Biologists here in Florida study the water. It is the source of our life and we humans are destroying it. More humans mean more raw sewage to dispose of.

 

This raw human sewage is seeping into the water. And it does what the biologists call "nutrient loading" of various waters. In other words, they measure daily the amount of nutrient loading going into various waters so they can go after the sources to try and put a stop to it. Nutrient loading comes primarily from two things- surface land run off fertilizers used commercially on farms, ranches, residential sources, etc. and from human sewage.

 

So all across Florida the biologists prepare reports on every single body of water in Florida and these are called BMAP's.

 

https://floridadep.gov/dear/water-quality-restoration/content/basin-management-action-plans-bmaps

 

"What is a Basin Management Action Plan?

 

A BMAP is a framework for water quality restoration that contains a comprehensive set of solutions to achieve the pollutant reductions established by a TMDL. Examples include permit limits on regulated facilities, urban and agricultural best management practices, wastewater and stormwater infrastructure, regional projects and conservation programs designed to achieve pollutant reductions established by a TMDL. A BMAP is developed with local stakeholders and relies on local input and commitment for successful implementation. BMAPs are adopted by Secretarial Order and are legally enforceable. BMAPs use an adaptive management approach that allows for incremental load reductions through the implementation of projects and management strategies, while simultaneously monitoring and conducting studies to better understand the water quality and hydrologic dynamics. Progress is tracked by assessing project implementation and water quality analyses. DEP continues to work with local and regional partners to identify additional projects necessary to meet reduction milestones to achieve the TMDLs and inform funding priorities."

 

The accumulating data of public bodies of water are transferred to FDEP (Florida Dept. Of Environmental Protection) online dashboards where anyone anywhere in the world can go to the dashboard and view critical water quality information.

 

 https://protectingfloridatogether.gov/water-quality-status-dashboard

 

I would advise anyone traveling to Florida to boat and fish and especially anyone wanting to get into the water to pay close attention to this publicly available information. It is there to help save your life and make your Florida visit safer and more pleasant and hopefully a better visit all the way around.

 

And now without getting into the nitty gritty details let me just show you the results of the increasing and growing trap we humans have boxed ourselves into and have really compromised even the future of all humanity because this problem mentioned in this post is the same everywhere in the country and world.

 

https://www.foxnews.com/health/more-cases-deadly-flesh-eating-bacterial-infection-popular-vacation-destination

 

"More cases of deadly ‘flesh-eating’ bacterial infection in popular vacation destination

 

Florida health officials confirm eight deaths from Vibrio vulnificus bacterium so far this year"

 

These deaths have primarily happened by people getting into the ocean. Saltwater born bacteria. And as if this is not enough to worry about...

 

https://www.infectiousdiseaseadvisor.com/news/boy-dies-from-brain-eating-amoeba-after-swimming-in-sc-lake/

 

Boy Dies From Brain-Eating Amoeba After Swimming in SC Lake

Publish Date July 30, 2025

 

HealthDay News — A 12-year-old South Carolina boy has died after being infected by a rare, brain-eating amoeba found in freshwater, his family’s lawyer said.

Middle school student Jaysen Carr died July 18 after swimming in Lake Murray, a large reservoir near Columbia, S.C., according to a Facebook post from the law office of Tyler D. Bailey.

Doctors from Prisma Health Children’s Hospital in South Carolina confirmed that Jaysen was infected by Naegleria fowleri, a microscopic organism that lives in warm freshwater and can cause a deadly brain infection."

 

And as if that is not bad enough, and god bless little Jaysen Carr. He died because his parents were not informed of the dangers their child was facing by getting into the water there in South Carolina. He died because his parents were uninformed of what is being posted here. If they had known they probably never would have allowed their child to get into the water.

 

I will not allow my children into the water here in Florida except right at a spring. And they are not allowed to splash or swim around the shoreline because that is where the brain eating amoeba live, but they can be stirred up into the water and be found in deeper water. All it takes is just one amoeba getting into your nose and life is over. 99.99% of all infected humans die within a week or two. No cure. No hope for survival really.

 

Is it worth it to get into the water? Not for me and my children. But that is not the worst of it. It gets far worse and what I am about to tell you is absolutely devastating news for all humanity. Here comes the trap there is almost no way out of. This is something we all need to know as a matter of life and death and we must do something about it but presently it is being kept hush hush to some degree because if every human knew of this, we would all be moving forward down a different path real fast. But because this is not largely publicized, most of humanity is unaware and have no clue.

 

 

I strongly encourage all of you watch the full 30 minute video above. And please keep in mind, down here in Florida this state is on the front lines of this battle because it is so much worse here due to our geology. The sandbar that is the state the Florida. Water flows easily through our sandy soil.

 

Around the 10 minute mark in above video they discuss microcystins.

 

"Microcystins are a group of toxins produced by certain types of cyanobacteria (also known as blue-green algae). These toxins are primarily hepatotoxins, meaning they can damage the liver, but can also affect other organs like the kidneys and reproductive system. Exposure to microcystins can occur through contaminated drinking or recreational water, or through products containing blue-green algae."

 

And it gets worse... at the 11 minute mark in the video above is why I am writing this post. I want to make all of you aware of a substance in our waters that is causing great concern. Its called BMAA. At the 11 minute mark in above video University of Miami Professor Larry Brand explains what all of us need to know about BMAA and its effects on humans and animal life. And it is not good.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Β-Methylamino-L-alanine

 

β-Methylamino-L-alanine

Sources and detection

[edit]

BMAA is produced by cyanobacteria in marine, freshwater, and terrestrial environments.^[2][3] In cultured non-nitrogen-fixing cyanobacteria, BMAA production increases in a nitrogen-depleted medium.^[4] The biosynthetic pathway in cyanobacteria is unknown, but involvement of BMAA and its structural analog 2,4-diaminobutanoic acid (2,4-DAB) in environmental iron scavenging has been hypothesized.^[5][6] BMAA has been found in aquatic organisms and in plants with cyanobacterial symbionts such as certain lichens, the floating fern Azolla, the leaf petioles of the tropical flowering plant Gunnera, cycads as well as in animals that eat the fleshy covering of cycad seeds, including flying foxes.^{[7][8][9][10]}

High concentrations (144 to 1836 ng/mg of flesh) of BMAA are present in shark fins.^[11] Because BMAA is a neurotoxin, consumption of shark fin soup and cartilage pills therefore may pose a health risk.^[12] The toxin can be detected via several laboratory methods, including liquid chromatography, high-performance liquid chromatography, mass spectrometry, amino acid analyzer, capillary electrophoresis, and NMR spectroscopy.^[13]

Neurotoxicity

[edit]

BMAA can cross the blood–brain barrier in rats. It takes longer to get into the brain than into other organs, but once there, it is trapped in proteins, forming a reservoir for slow release over time.^[14][15]

Mechanisms

[edit]

Although the mechanisms by which BMAA causes motor neuron dysfunction and death are not entirely understood, current research suggests that there are multiple mechanisms of action. Acutely, BMAA can act as an excitotoxin on glutamate receptors, such as NMDA, calcium-dependent AMPA, and kainate receptors.^[16][17] The activation of the metabotropic glutamate receptor 5 is believed to induce oxidative stress in the neuron by depletion of glutathione.^[18]

BMAA can be misincorporated into nascent proteins in place of L-serine, possibly causing protein misfolding and aggregation, both hallmarks of tangle diseases, including Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP), and Lewy body disease. In vitro research has shown that protein association of BMAA may be inhibited in the presence of excess L-serine.^[19]

Effects

[edit]

A study performed in 2015 with vervet monkeys (Chlorocebus sabaeus) in St. Kitts, which are homozygous for the apoE4 gene (a condition which in humans is a risk factor for Alzheimer's disease), found that vervets that were administered BMAA orally developed hallmark histopathology features of Alzheimer's disease, including amyloid beta plaques and neurofibrillary tangle accumulation. Vervets in the trial fed smaller doses of BMAA were found to have correlative decreases in these pathology features. Additionally, vervets that were co-administered BMAA with serine were found to have 70% less beta-amyloid plaques and neurofibrillary tangles than those administered BMAA alone, suggesting that serine may be protective against the neurotoxic effects of BMAA.

This experiment represents the first in-vivo model of Alzheimer's disease that features both beta-amyloid plaques and hyperphosphorylated tau protein. This study also demonstrates that BMAA, an environmental toxin, can trigger neurodegenerative disease as a result of a gene-environment interaction.^[20]

Degenerative locomotor diseases have been described in animals grazing on cycad species, fueling interest in a possible link between the plant and the etiology of ALS/PDC. Subsequent laboratory investigations discovered the presence of BMAA. BMAA induced severe neurotoxicity in rhesus macaques, including:^[21]

• limb muscle atrophy
• nonreactive degeneration of anterior horn cells
• degeneration and partial loss of pyramidal neurons of the motor cortex
• behavioral dysfunction
• conduction deficits in the central motor pathway
• neuropathological changes of motor cortex Betz cells

There are reports that low BMAA concentrations can selectively kill cultured motor neurons from mouse spinal cords and produce reactive oxygen species.^[17][22]

Scientists have also found that newborn rats treated with BMAA show a progressive neurodegeneration in the hippocampus, including intracellular fibrillar inclusions, and impaired learning and memory as adults.^[23][24][25] BMAA has been reported to be excreted into rodent breast milk, and subsequently transferred to the suckling offspring, suggesting mothers' and cows' milk might be other possible exposure routes.^[26]

Human cases

[edit]

Chronic dietary exposure to BMAA is now considered to be a cause of the amyotrophic lateral sclerosis/parkinsonism–dementia complex (ALS/PDC) that had an extremely high rate of incidence among the Chamorro people of Guam.^[27] The Chamorro call the condition lytico-bodig.^[28] In the 1950s, ALS/PDC prevalence ratios and death rates for Chamorro residents of Guam and Rota were 50–100 times that of developed countries, including the United States.^[28] No demonstrable heritable or viral factors were found for the disease, and a subsequent decline of ALS/PDC after 1963 on Guam led to the search for responsible environmental agents.^[29] The use of flour made from cycad seed (Cycas micronesica^[30]) in traditional food items decreased as that plant became rarer and the Chamorro population became more Americanized following World War II.^[31] Cycads harbor symbiotic cyanobacteria of the genus Nostoc in specialized roots which push up through the leaf litter into the light; these cyanobacteria produce BMAA.^[32]

In addition to eating traditional food items from cycad flour directly, BMAA may be ingested by humans through biomagnification. Flying foxes, a Chamorro delicacy, forage on the fleshy seed covering of cycad seeds and concentrate the toxin in their bodies. Twenty-four specimens of flying foxes from museum collections were tested for BMAA, which was found in large concentrations in the flying foxes from Guam.^[33] As of 2021 studies continued examining BMAA biomagnification in marine and estuarine systems and its possible impact on human health outside of Guam.^[34]

Studies on human brain tissue of ALS/PDC, ALS, Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, Huntington's disease, and neurological controls indicated that BMAA is present in non-genetic progressive neurodegenerative disease, but not in controls or genetic-based Huntington's disease.^{[35][36][37][38]}

As of 2021 research into the role of BMAA as an environmental factor in neurodegenerative disease continued.^[39][40][41]

Clinical trials

[edit]

Safe and effective ways of treating ALS patients with L-serine that has been found to protect non-human primates from BMAA-induced neurodegeneration, have been goals of clinical trials conducted by the Phoenix Neurological Associates and the Forbes/Norris ALS/MND clinic and sponsored by the Institute for Ethnomedicine.^[42][43]

See also

[edit]

• Oxalyldiaminopropionic acid, a related toxin

 

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Now that you know what BMAA is and you now know what it does are you ready for the trap?

 

BMAA is now in our water and food sources. Scientists are saying this is what is behind marine animals like dolphins and whales who go crazy and wind up dead on shore. Or entire families of dolphins and whales beaching themselves and dying.

 

What is happening?

 

Keep in mind I am no expert. I am simply a citizen learning about this and sharing it with others for education, information, and hopefully to help others avoid it by way of KNOWING about it.

 

From what I have been told and I cannot prove or disprove this, but I am told BMAA cannot be filtered out of our drinking water.

 

This means that the water that carries our raw human sewage away from us we think is disposed of properly, it isn't. The bacteria grow because of the nutrients loading into the water with the raw sewage. We can filter out the raw sewage and make water drinkable again, but the BMAA is still present.

 

I am told the only way to remove BMAA from the water is by way of distillation. How many desalination distillation water plants do we have in USA? Not many. So the present water filtration systems we have providing most of clean drinking water are still poisoning us with BMAA which is directly behind the increase of mental illnesses and neurological problems with humans across the board.

 

Basically, we humans are poisoning ourselves and as a whole group, we are all slowly going crazier because BMAA could very well be affecting all of us in varying degrees and we simply do not know it. And this is the trap.

 

If we humans continue to ingest BMAA we may wind up like the dolphins and whales beaching ourselves because we lost our minds.

 

As far as I can see, there is no way out of this trap for us. I will leave the solutions up to the experts but all I can say is we did it to ourselves and have no one to blame but ourselves, and now we humans have to come to realize we are poisoning ourselves off this planet. BMAA is devastating to all of us.

 

Where do we go from here? How do we move forward to avoid BMAA in our foods and our drinking water? This is what scientists, doctors, and biologists and many more are quietly working on behind closed doors.

 

I think one of the first things we all need to to is to 1)Change how we dispose of human sewage and prevent it from seeping into Nature. And 2)We must begin to build distillation water plants if we are to have a sane future. Gotta start somewhere. Others would jump at depopulating the planet:

 

https://torontosun.com/entertainment/celebrity/bill-maher-agrees-with-rocker-rick-springfield-that-there-are-too-many-kids-being-born

 

Bill Maher agrees with rocker Rick Springfield that there are too many kids being born

 

Spiro Papuckoski

Published Aug 07, 2025

 

"Rocker Rick Springfield thinks there are too many people on the planet."

 

Tell me, when you come to Florida do you still want to get INTO the water? I live here and I sure as heck don't. Springs and swimming pools are it for me. If you have any open sores or wounds stay out of the water! Do not get it up your nose! You life depends on it!

I have studied the water here in Florida for years thanks to what biologists have shared with me.

 

And so I use this water quality information for all of my boating and fishing choices.

 

As a Floridian "in the know" about nutrient loading, one of the lakes I avoid is Lake Okeechobee. Today that lake is by far the most polluted lake in Florida.

 

The dirty secret to that lake is that biologists have proven that one lake due to its size and unnatural containment of water has led to a serious problem.

 

Every single day, 24/7, around the clock, no holidays and no time off, that lake is getting more and more polluted every single second.

 

Its nutrient loading is astounding. And it is not reversible. Lake O is NOT getting better. It is getting worse. So much so that dogs who enter that water can be dead within hours. Humans in boats on the water are breathing in aerosol particles from the water and inhaling the toxins.

 

One of the 2 primary outflows of Lake Okeechobee is the St. Lucie river. Take a read on how safe the water is:

 

https://www.naplesnews.com/story/news/environment/2018/09/17/report-shows-dog-killed-toxic-blue-green-algae-st-lucie-river/1339559002/

 

Toxic algae killed east coast dog after contact with St. Lucie River, owner says necropsy reveals

Tyler Treadway

 

"Toxic blue-green algae in the St. Lucie River killed Finn, a healthy 9-year-old standard poodle, a medical report shows.

A necropsy found cyanobacteria, the scientific name for blue-green algae, in Finn's blood, urine and liver, according to owner Misty Aydelotte of the Rio community.

"His insides were pretty much destroyed by it," Aydelotte said."

 

Here's one from Texas:

 

https://www.washingtonpost.com/science/2019/08/12/three-dogs-played-pond-toxic-algae-killed-them/

 

Three dogs played in a pond. Toxic algae killed them.

August 12, 2019"

 

The toxic algae blooms are a result of raw human sewage providing nutrients in the water for the bacteria and algae to feed on. We humans caused this.

 

Online search found:

 

"Yes, there have been reports of people hospitalized due to exposure to toxic algae in Lake Okeechobee, and health alerts have been issued for the area. The Florida Department of Health has warned the public to exercise caution due to the presence of harmful blue-green algae toxins in the lake. 

 

Specifics:

Hospitalizations:

At least 15 people were hospitalized due to contact with toxic algae in a previous incident according to Newsweek. Symptoms reported include nausea, vomiting, skin rashes, eye irritation, and respiratory issues. 

 

Health Alerts:

The Florida Department of Health in Palm Beach County issued a health alert for Lake Okeechobee-S352 due to harmful blue-green algae toxins. Similar alerts have been issued for other areas of the lake. 

 

Public Health Advisory:

The public is advised to avoid contact with the water in areas with visible blooms, wash skin and clothing after contact, and keep pets away from affected areas. 

 

Toxicity:

Blue-green algae, also known as cyanobacteria, can produce toxins that are harmful to humans and animals. These toxins can affect the liver, nervous system, and skin.

 

Factors Contributing to Blooms:

Sunny days, warm water temperatures, still water conditions, and excess nutrients can contribute to the formation of algal blooms. 

 

 

Why anyone comes to Florida to boat and fish in Lake Okeechobee baffles me.

 

If there was any lake in Florida to stay out of, it would Lake O.

 

It is so bad now the state is resorting to unproven science that really bothers the heck out of me:

 

 

https://ufhealth.org/news/2025/new-research-map-shows-levels-of-forever-chemicals-in-floridas-water

 

Map shows state of ‘forever chemicals’ in Florida water

February 3, 2025

 

 

A predictive heat map created by Bowden's lab for a September 2024 study of PFAS in Florida's surface water. Orange and yellow areas have the highest concentrations of PFAS; green areas have the lowest.

 

(Posted here is just part of the article)

 

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Like diamonds, per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are forever.

 

PFAS, the hardiest of man-made chemicals, are like gum on the bottom of your shoe, but far more sinister. Used in consumer and industry products since the 1940s, they can linger in the outdoors for decades, loiter in the human body for up to 35 years, and are linked to a growing list of negative health effects, including cancer.

 

Now, a team of researchers from the University of Florida are documenting just how many are found in the state’s surface water, including its prized freshwater springs, which provide 90% of the drinking water to its inhabitants.

 

John A. Bowden, Ph.D., an associate professor in the College of Veterinary Medicine, and a team of more than 100 UF undergraduates and citizen-scientist volunteers fanned out across 67 counties in Florida, conducting an in-depth analysis of chemicals in the state’s surface water, which included over 50 springs.

 

What they found was sobering.

 

In the initial study, published in November 2024, some 90 water samples from 50 freshwater Florida springs were analyzed for the presence of 29 PFAS.

 

The chemicals were detected in 63% of the spring vent samples, or the actual opening in the ground where water from an aquifer first emerges to the surface, and 68% of the spring run samples, or the flowing body of water that originates from the vent, with 13 quantifiable PFAS present across all samples. Green Spring, Blue Spring, and Gemini Spring held the highest PFAS concentrations.

 

“This issue isn’t something we can magically resolve,” Bowden said. “It will persist because, as a society, we demand the use of these chemicals for their practical benefits in thousands of everyday products, like preventing grease leakage, nonstick cookware, or clothes staining.”

 

For example, a new offender is the standard smart and fitness watch band, which is coated with PFAS to keep oils and sweat from staining the band, according to a recent study from the University of Notre Dame."

 

Even our springs are not safe!

 

So thanks to Florida biologists, I can now find our cleanest waters for my children and I to enjoy.

 

Unfortunately none of this is going away. It is only getting worse. More humans means more of this. So, clearly the future of humanity may depend on reversing course and as soon as possible. Anyone see that happening anytime soon?

 

Shame it has to be this way.

 

How bad is it in your area?

 

This thread wins for longest posts. Congrats. 

It’s too long for me to read.

PFAS are already being regulated at the state and federal levels.  Some states already prohibit or restrict the sale of any new products containing PFAS, so if companies don't want to lose market share, they need to adjust. While not illegal (yet), many manufacturers are moving away from using PFAS in anticipation they will be illegal at some point. 

 

 

The FDA has worked with manufacturers to phase out PFAS in food packaging, specifically grease-proofing materials. The EPA has finalized a rule to prevent the manufacture or processing of 329 inactive PFAS. They have also issued the first-ever national, legally enforceable drinking water standard for six PFAS. The US House of Representatives introduced a bill to phase out all non-essential uses of PFAS within ten years. 

 

 

It's a start. Positive moves in the right direction.

I didn't read the initial OP because it was too long, but I scanned it.  The part that caught my attention was PFAS, and then Glenn's post about it.

 

The EPA has concluded that these PFAS forever chemicals are likely in nearly every American's blood already at low levels.  They have been proven to cause cancer and other various diseases.

 

Several companies such as 3M (scotchguard) and DuPont (teflon) polluted the environment with this crap for years without ramifications, purely for corporate profits.

 

In recent years, they have been fined absurd amounts (in the billions) for their actions and they are required to clean it up.  Unfortunately, the damage is already done and it's in much of our water supply, and indirectly, the fish that inhabit lakes and rivers.

 

It's also been widely used in flame retardant by fire controlling entities around the country.  That's also been phased out.

 

About any rain gear is made with PFAs, I prefer to just get rained on unless it’s below 45-50 degrees and I start shivering. I try to only have one rain jacket , the more you buy the more they will manufacture and sell 

Just now, TnRiver46 said:

About any rain gear is made with PFAs

 

That's accurate.  PFAS chemicals are widely used to make water resistant material such as Gore Tex.

In my state (Illinois), it's not safe to eat Rock Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Channel Catfish, or Common Carp in my local river (Kishwaukee).  High level of mercury and PCBs.