There was a then-Rep. in this year. The Republican candidate for governor of Florida distanced himself from the science of climate change. He said that he wasn't in the church of the global warming liberals. I don't believe in global warming. I don't want to be called that.
With warmer ocean temperatures increasing the power of hurricanes and higher sea levels making storm surge worse, it may no longer be possible to ignore climate change. The state's Gulf Coast was ravaged by Hurricane Ian, a Category 4 storm that caused 10-foot storm surge, destroyed homes and businesses and left hundreds of residents stranded.
Ian's rapid intensification occurred after it traveled over Caribbean waters that are warmer than normal due to climate change. The warmer water creates a lot more rocket fuel for storms.
Many Florida Republican politicians, including the governor and both of its U.S. senators, have resisted government action to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions that are causing warmer temperatures. Even though they don't admit that burning fossil fuels is the cause of climate change, they have to try to manage the risks associated with the warming world.
Spending for the restoration of the wetlands and resilience for coastal cities have been embraced by the candidate. He said his state must tackle the challenges posed by flooding, intensified storm events and sea level rise. Sea level rise will put $26 billion in Florida residential property at risk of flooding by 2045.
The governor doesn't want to explain why sea levels are rising and storms are intensifying because he doesn't want people to change their ways to reduce the severity of climate change.
When people talk about global warming, they usually use it as a pretext to do left-wing things. We are not doing left-wing things.
He has a less hard-line record on climate change. After appointing the state's first resilience officer, he didn't bother to find a new one. He created a new position. The appointment of Michael LaRosa, chairman of the American Legislative Exchange Council, to the Florida Public Service Commission was met with disappointment by environmentalists.
The state is spending money on electric vehicle-charging stations in order to prevent oil development. The rooftop solar market would have been hurt by the bill.
Florida is one of the few states with no legal requirement that its utilities increase the production of renewableenergy. State pension funds would not be allowed to consider climate change vulnerabilities in its investments.
A request for comment was not responded to.
Climate change is a challenge for coastal communities in Florida. Studies show that rising sea levels will cause flooding in waterfront communities in the future.
The state has seen a lot of storms that coincide with the increase in temperature. More than 100 people were killed and over $50 billion in damages were caused by Hurricane Irma in Florida and the northern part of the country. Hurricane Michael made landfall in the Florida Panhandle as a Category 5 storm, killing 59 people and causing $25.1 billion in damage. Climate change has been shown to have made hurricanes stronger, and many scientists say that the effect was seen in the recent hurricanes.
Many elected officials in Florida want to steer away from that discussion. According to the Florida Center for Investigative Reporting, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection was told not to use the term "climate change" or "global warming" in official communications. The Scott administration did not deny that a prohibition existed.
Scott often casts doubt on the validity of climate science. Scott wouldn't be able to tell you which one it is, whether it's man-made or not.
Scott has acknowledged the existence of climate change but has opposed actions to address it. Scott said in the 11-point plan that the weather is always changing. Climate change is serious but not hysterical. We won't adopt policies that hurt our economy.
Many scientists would debate what percentage is attributable to man versus normal fluctuations when it comes to the Earth's warming.
There is unanimity in the community that greenhouse gas emissions are the leading cause of global warming. According to a survey of 88,125 climate studies, 99% of peer-reviewed scientific papers say that climate change is caused by humans.
The Senate Climate Solutions Caucus has endorsed bills to deal with some of the effects of climate change, such as measures to restore the Everglades. He supports increased production of fossil fuels that cause the problem in the first place.
He wrote that Americans are right to be concerned about the changing climate. They are right to be concerned about overreactions. Climate change issues are manageable, he said.
Both of the candidates have voting scorecards from the League of Conservation Voters.
Florida Republicans were not afraid of protecting the environment in the past. The $100 million in state funding for environmental protection projects was set aside by the Bush administration. Scott cut it in half. Crist is a democrat who is running for governor.
Donald Trump, a resident of Florida, has made known his feelings about climate change, calling it a hoax perpetrated by the Chinese government.
The state's economy is under attack by the effects of climate change, which has pushed Florida Republicans towards an anti-environmental position.
Climate scientists say that denying climate science won't be a good position in the long run as the threat to Florida is very real. A future Hurricane Ian, with three feet of sea-level rise that is coming, will wipe out Central and Southern Florida.
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