Wetlands function as the kidneys that filter whole ecosystems

Evidence

The Everglades begin at Lake Okeechobee, one of the largest freshwater lakes in the continental United States. The Everglades originally sloped 200 miles south in a natural drain system of rivers, lakes, and wetlands. This rich ecosystem of water, grasses, cypress, meadows, marshes, and waterways provides a haven for a wealth of life. Rare birds such as wood storks, whooping cranes, and American peregrine falcons, along with crocodiles and Florida panthers, all find a refuge there. … Wetlands are often called the kidneys of the earth, recharging or cleansing water that enters the system through flooding or rainfall. The wetlands remove sediment, pollutants, minerals, and other materials from waters washed in from upland areas. The water is then either stored in the vast root and vegetation systems or released through evaporation. — Winona LaDuke, All Our Relations, 164

Categorization

• DEFINE: The creatinine analogy making the Everglades’ filtering function concrete underwrites the mercury-toxicity chain later in the chapter.
• ADDENDUM: Directly supports the trees-as-infrastructure / ecological-infrastructure thread: kidneys-of-the-earth wetlands as living infrastructure nested in the same system as tree infrastructure.
• XREF: connects to: Cane-field burning loaded Everglades fish with mercury concentrated up the food chain — Winona LaDuke, All Our Relations: Native Struggles for…, 175