E.G. Simmons Regional Park, Ruskin, Fl.
Today we visited the Manatee Viewing Center once again; it’s a special place! But today was a very low tide and the manatees had stirred up the bottom making them hard to see, except when the water was too shallow to completely submerge.
The manatee cannot tolerate water below 68F, so in cold weather they swarm around the discharge pipes to stay warm. It has been down to freezing lately!
We had the time to explore the large park built by the power company; lots of walking and climbing! They have done a great PR job here, many learning experiences for kids and adults. A huge investment into solar right next door. And nearly pure white smoke billowing from the stacks. But, it is fossil fuel and the CO2 is trapping our heat. We need to leave it in the ground and quickly shift to renewable resources such as wind and solar!