Takeaways from our Pop-up conversation on toxic algae

All the high-tech advantages bestowed on us in the Digital Age are countered by one outsized disadvantage: The Bubble.

We tend to surround our digital selves with ideas and people that jibe with our own – on social media, on the news sites we frequent, via the apps we install on our phones.

It's easier than ever to live in an information isolation chamber. But it doesn't do much for democracy.

That's why it was so refreshing to gather with a group of strangers Monday night at our TCPalm Pop-up Community Conversation in Stuart. It was an outside-the-bubble event focused on our community's most pressing issue: toxic algae in the St. Lucie River and Indian River Lagoon.

A crowd of about 125 gathered at Ground Floor Farm included newcomers to the area and longtime locals. We heard from experts on water quality and complete novices. A congressman (U.S. Rep. Brian Mast, R-Palm City) and a Martin County commissioner (Sarah Heard) also showed up to join the conversation with our journalists.

The goal was an exchange of ideas. It's something we'd like to do more often.

Here's what struck me during the 90-minute conversation:

Toxic algae's "ick" factor remains strong. Tyler Treadway, our Indian River Lagoon reporter, engaged in some show-and-tell by displaying mason jars he filled with algae samples from the St. Lucie River. It was an effective appetite killer.

Speaking of appetites, questions we heard Monday night indicated the public appetite for sugar industry price supports is weak. Yet members of Congress continue to protect sugar's price supports and quotas in the federal Farm Bill.

Changing human behavior has to be part of the conversation. Jacqueline Vitale, one of the innovative young adults who runs Ground Floor Farm, asked us to examine our own habits when we think about how to address environmental issues. Some in the crowd said they had given up eating sugar as a result of the water crisis.

People in Vero Beach care about the southern Indian River Lagoon and St. Lucie River. Charles Pope of Vero Beach made the trek to Stuart for our Pop-up event and explained how residents in Indian River County are doing their part to address the water quality problems in the northern lagoon.

Septic tanks are an emotional issue. One of the more heated exchanges centered on how much septic tanks contributed to the algae bloom we witnessed last summer. Our reporting has indicated Lake Okeechobee discharges caused the bloom, though septic tank pollution can amplify the problem.

Most of all, I was struck by how much everyone in the room cared – about water quality, about holding elected officials accountable, about finding solutions.

We want to host more TCPalm Pop-up events in our region. Drop me a line and let me know what topics you'd like us to chew on in the future.

Let's get out of The Bubble more often.

Eve Samples is opinion and audience engagement editor for Treasure Coast Newspapers. Contact her at 772-221-4217 or eve.samples@tcpalm.com. Follow her on Twitter @EveSamples.