1.
“It’s what you thought: Florida really is among the worst states
for highway safety”
Every year the Advocates
for Highway and Auto Safety release a report listing all 50 states in order of
how well road safety laws are enacted and enforced. This year, Florida ranked
among the lowest due to there not being enough safety laws and people not
following them. This lead to 3,112 deaths on Florida highway in 2017. Florida
only has five safety laws and is missing essential ones like passenger seatbelt
laws, booster seat laws, laws regulating age restrictions, and text messaging
restrictions.
The problem in the story
is the lack of safety laws and regulations for Florida drivers, causing many
preventable fatal crashes.
This problem is faced by
all Florida highway drivers and passengers.
2.
“Holiday crowds brought punches, pushes and fights to Disney
World and Universal”
During the holidays,
theme parks are an extremely packed and hectic place. There are so many people
and the holiday season makes them extra stressed, so there were a lot of
violent report at Disney and Universal Parks. Many employees were hit in the
face by visitors because they either had mental health issues or were extremely
agitated by all the people, problems, and commotions. There was a lack of
safety for visitors, police officers, and the employees themselves as there
were multiple reports of pushing, punching, and yelling.
The problem in this story
is the unnecessary violence caused by over crowded theme parks during the
holidays.
This problem is faced by
all visitors, employees, and police who are at Florida’s theme parks during the
holiday season.
3.
“This natural, but nasty, nuisance is lurking off Palm Beach
County’s Coast”
A bloom of sargassum
seaweed is sitting about four miles from Palm Beach and could possibly drift
towards the beaches soon. When this seaweed blooms so excessively and so
thickly it can tangle boat propellers and prevent newly hatched sea turtles from
reaching the water. The government of Barbados even declared it a national
emergency last June. Although natural, an excess bloom is caused by human
alteration of the nitrogen cycle, especially through the invention and use of
fertilizers.
The problem is the
harmful effects fertilizers have on the environment and coastal people because
of the excess bloom of certain seaweeds.
This problem is faced by
marine life in Florida and the Caribbean and boaters in the area as well.
4.
“Florida Legislators want to filter public school drinking water”
There is great concern
that water fountains in Tallahassee’s public schools may contain lead and be a
dangerous threat for children. Schools around the whole country are finding
hazardous lead levels in their water, so Florida legislators want to make sure
all drinking water is safe. In Alachua County filters were put into drinking
fountains at school at a price of around $1,000 per public school.
The problem is the
possibility of unsafe drinking water with threatening lead levels in Florida’s
public schools.
Students and teachers at
Florida’s public schools who drink from water fountains are facing this
problem.
5.
“Human trafficker’s new tool to lure children: online video
games”
Seven people were
arrested trying to lure children into a human trafficking ring through popular
video games like Fortnite. Predators are able to chat with them through these
mediums and convince them they are there to help them. Parents are not able to
closely monitor what their children are doing while playing video games and do
not find out about who they have been talking to until it is too late. The
issue has existed for decades in Tampa Bay and throughout cities in the United
States.
The problem is the lack
of gaming monitoring and the dangers of talking to strangers through video
games and the possibility of being involved in human trafficking.
The problem is faced by
young boys and girls who play popular video games all throughout the US and
especially Florida.
Hi Nicole! I found the first article very interesting, as I am from Kentucky and had heard even before coming here that Florida has many more fatal car accidents than other states. In Kentucky, we got our permits at age 16, were able to drive alone with restrictions (only one passenger that wasn't family member, no driving midnight-6am, etc.) at 16.5, and then became fully licensed drivers at 17. It is crazy to me that with all these accidents Florida hasn't taken more preventative steps like the laws you mentioned or even raising the driving age!
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