The state of Florida in the United States possesses a rich and diverse array of land and marine life and a mild subtropical climate. These assets have drawn millions of people to settle in the once rural state over the last hundred years; Florida's population increases by about 1,000 residents each day.Land development and water use have transformed the state, primarily through drainage and infill of the wetlands that once covered most of the peninsula.

Much of Florida consists of karst limestone veined with water-filled caves and sinkholes, which provide homes to many species of aquatic life, some unique to particular Florida locations. As urban and suburban development have increased over the last decades, demand for groundwater has also risen, resulting in damage and drying out of portions of the cave system. This has led to ground subsidence as dry caves collapse, threatening property as well as ecosystems.

Restoration of the Everglades has long been recognized as an environmental priority in the state. In 2000, Congress passed the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan, a $7.8 billion, 30-year project aimed at preservation and restoration of the region and its unique combination of environments.

Florida (ⁱ/ˈflɒrɪdə/) is a state in the southeastern United States, bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. Florida is the 22nd most extensive, the 4th most populous, and the 8th most densely populated of the 50 United States. The state capital is Tallahassee, its largest city is Jacksonville, and the South Florida metropolitan area is the largest metropolitan area in the southeastern U.S.

Much of Florida is situated on a peninsula between the Gulf of Mexico, the Atlantic Ocean, and the Straits of Florida. Its geography is marked by a coastline, by the omnipresence of water and the threat of hurricanes. Florida has the longest coastline in the contiguous United States, encompassing approximately 1,350 miles (2,170 km), and is the only state to border both the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean. Much of the state is at or near sea level and its terrain is characterized by sedimentary soils. The climate varies from subtropical in the north to tropical in the south. Its symbolic animals like the American alligator, Florida panther and the manatee, can be found in the Everglades, one of the most famous national parks in the world.

Richard Lynn "Rick" Scott (born December 1, 1952) is a businessman and the 45th and current Governor of the U.S. state of Florida. He served in the U.S. Navy and then went into business. He earned a business degree and law degree and joined a Dallas firm where he became partner. His net worth was almost $219 million USD in 2010, but by 2011 was estimated at $103 million. He spent an estimated $75 million of his own money on his successful 2010 run for Governor of Florida.

In 1987, at age 34, he co-founded Columbia Hospital Corporation with two business partners; this merged with Hospital Corporation of America in 1989 to form Columbia/HCA and eventually became the largest private for-profit health care company in the U.S. He resigned as Chief Executive of Columbia/HCA in 1997 amid a controversy over the company's business and Medicare billing practices; the company ultimately admitted to fourteen felonies and agreed to pay the federal government over $600 million; Scott was not implicated. Scott later became a venture capitalist.