Abstract
Among the fifty states of the American republic, only a very few can project a mystique, a special mythic spirit. From the middle of the nineteenth century, when natural springs and lush foliage attracted some explorers and well-to-do visitors, to the present, when Walt Disney World welcomes many millions of tourists, Florida has offered alluring pleasures. Since the land boom in Miami in the 1920s down to our own day, the state has become home for millions of Northerners and Midwesterners in particular. Very few states have grown faster –too fast, it seems. For the natural basis of harboring so many millions of residents and tourists is buckling under the strain of excessive demands upon resources, and nature is now striking back. The growth upon which Florida has depended for prosperity has become an ecological threat, and the dream of paradise that once drove so many Americans to live in the state is turning sour. Once a source of enormous pride, tourism has become a serious problem for residents and above all for the balance between civilization and nature.
