Florida will suffer more from Trump’s climate chaos

You may have heard about the sudden influx of newspaper editorial offices. including this onerefusing to support a presidential candidate. Let’s talk about this. In the days leading up to this most important election, we delve into the issues of life, death and drowning.

The newsroom represents the voice of the institution, separate from the news side. Board members are different from reviewers (hello), although reviewers can sit on the board. I never wanted to be on our side just to be able to sit on my happy back and disagree when necessary. Like now.

Of course, today’s media consumers don’t care much about industry terms and don’t emphasize the differences between an article, op-ed, editorial or column. I even get emails saying, “I loved your ad!” Everyone from Taylor Swift to a random guy in one slipper is voicing an “endorsement,” which is supposedly different from a “recommendation.” It’s no wonder people are fleeing the news and returning to Love Island.

there is another nuance among news agency deserters. The Tampa Bay Times, for example, has a small, independently owned editorial board that decided several months ago to abandon its endorsement of the president and focus on local races. Washington Post billionaire owner Jeff Bezos appears to have dropped a pre-written endorsement into a vat of acid as if it were the Joker.

Despite all this, I still think we made a bad choice, missing a great opportunity to represent the people of Florida while Donald Trump seeks power that would put the storm-stricken state in even greater danger.

Our editorial team had to support the presidential candidate, in particular Kamala Harris. While I’d rather write about wine pairings with leftover Halloween candy (pinot noir softens the sharp edges of Reese’s Bat), I’ll go ahead and write the endorsement I’d like to see.

In Florida, the race for president is local. There are a million attacks on this vote, from reproductive freedom to food costs. Let’s start with our very existence.

Florida just witnessed two historic deadly hurricanes. Helen and Milton wreaked havoc on Tampa Bay and the Gulf Coast in ways that would take years to unwind. We are fighting heaps of garbage and moldy walls, navigating insurance agencies and corrupt contractorsovercoming the consequences of emotional trauma. We’re still watching the tropics bubble and foam.

Please understand that this hurricane season is not a surprise. Back in May, federal meteorologists published their toughest pre-season forecast yetciting factors such as the warming Atlantic. A study this year found that storms are becoming so severe that we may need help. 6th category class. The mayors of St. Petersburg and Tampa expressed concern that our coastlines may become uninhabitable.

We monitor the execution of forecasts in real time.

No country doing enough to slow down the chaotic chaos of a warming planet. Harris has not been clear about what her administration will do to combat climate change, and she has wavered on environmental issues in her pursuit of votes. But she lives in reality and believes in science. She cast the deciding vote in the Senate for the Inflation Reduction Act, devoting billions of dollars to reducing greenhouse gas emissions. At this stage of our collective apathy, there is no magic lever that can stop the storm. But our next president must move in a direction that mitigates the intensity of disasters, builds on forward-looking forecasts, and aggressively funds recovery.

This brings us to Donald Trump. He doesn’t believe any of this. In fact, he actively brings discord to the natural world because chaos is where he thrives.

He believes climate change is a hoax. In September he called environmental problems “one of the greatest scams of all time” As president, he withdrew the country from the Paris Agreement, an international treaty to combat climate change. He many environmental regulations have been repealed to halt Obama-era progress and open up land to oil projects. He is obsessed with drilling on public lands. He asked oil company executives who visited Mar-a-Lago to give their opinions. billion dollar campaign. He joked that rising sea levels would create more oceanfront property. Control this hysteria for devastated homeowners in Shore Acres, Clearwater high school students pouring out of apartments, retirees trauma treatment in Gulfport.

Trump’s anti-science activities and public statements are so bad that you don’t even need to dive into the dreaded Project 2025, where the possibilities get even worse. The Heritage Foundation’s manifesto was supported by many Trump supporters; Trump himself has lamely tried to avoid it, like the neighbor who keeps showing up at the grocery store. In it you will see the goal eliminate the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and force the National Weather Service to sell data to private weather forecasters. Guys, this is the end of public forecasting. These are the metal weathercocks of the rooster and the smell of the air.

If you’re unhappy with FEMA’s response to the storms, and many are, consider which of Trump and Harris would take these concerns more seriously. When Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico in 2017, killing 3,000 people and destroying the power grid, Trump responded by literally throwing out paper towels and wait three years to provide significant assistanceby withholding much-needed funds just before the 2020 election. He spent our last two storms spreading misinformation and repeating debunked lies, suggesting that FEMA was diverting money from disaster attract migrants who might somehow vote for Harris.

I would hate to see what happens to Florida after the disaster if we elect people Trump doesn’t like. His fear-mongering style has imprinted on Gov. Ron DeSantis, who once showed some environmental responsibility but has traded more hopeful notes for his administration. has secret plans to build golf courses in Florida State Parks, removing references to climate outside government laws and prevent workers from remaining safe in extreme heat.

So, approvals. They may be going extinct, or at least have become a changing species. Perhaps running for president would be creating noise in an echo chamber. Perhaps it’s pointless.

But I keep thinking about survey conducted earlier this year. The Environmental Defense Fund hired a Republican pollster to collect the data, and the results surprised him.

As it turns out, Republican voters in Florida were concerned about electricity prices and dependence on natural gas. They believed that the effects of climate change were real. They were concerned that most of our electricity comes from fossil fuels coming through pipelines. This red state was more environmentally conscious than any of its competitors in the country. Because voters should be here.

How many of these potential Trump voters are using dehumidifiers and tearing out drywall? How many people are making concessions to pay rising insurance premiums? How many people mourn the loss or injury of someone they loved? How many of you watch mattresses piling up in landfills and feel the nagging itch that this is all wrong, that Floridians cannot continue to live in willful ignorance? How many people stand in line to vote, pen in hand and a wave of dissent touching their backs?

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