Kelly Maclellan

Kelly MacLellan is a third-year journalism student at the University of Florida from Miami, Fla. The complexity of water issues and their ranging effects on different industries and people were a major focus of reporting for State of Water. The fact is that there is no easy solution to the water problem in the state and understanding the eventual need for sacrifice is the only way we will see progress. Kelly has worked on media projects in production with Miss Florida U.S.A., and the Samuel Proctor Oral History Program.

A Respect for Water

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Running through an unfamiliar downtown is one of the best ways to get acquainted with the heartbeat of a city, especially in Nashville. With so many performance venues, open spaces either in front of the courthouse or between arenas, there is a lot to explore in Downtown Nashville to the banjo rhythms coming out of the Honky-Tonks. When you run up and up and finally to the look-out that is the state capitol, you look down on Bicentennial Park, an impressive tribute to statehood unlike anything that exists in Florida. It’s well known that a significant portion of Florida’s population is not native to Florida, and after seeing the physical manifestation of state pride in Tennessee; the problems Florida faces when it comes to protecting natural resources make much more sense. Tennessee has 13 rivers, and 13 lakes and Bicentennial park is built upon McNairy Spring which supplied the city when it was founded. These rivers, lakes, creeks, streams and springs all get a special tribute in the form of a monument, because Tennesseans have realized the value of water and in light of the 2010 floods, they understand that it can destroy all that it gives. Floridians haven’t caught on and being surrounded by water gives the false illusion that we have plenty while Tennessee, a landlocked state, has had time to learn how important the water is. The water monument is the physical manifestation of a respect for a precious gift, unfortunately you need to spend time somewhere in order to develop a respect like that. That’s the problem Florida faces: it just hasn’t quite nestled itself into the hearts of the 1,000 people who move to the state daily and they in turn haven’t developed the need to respect it.