Jacob Ogles
For all the progress with investing in water quality projects in Florida, ongoing threats to the environment remain. The state, for example, remains third in the nation in carbon emissions, with some counties producing more pollution than others.
“It makes sense one of the most at-risk should be taking the lead on this issue,” said Dawn Shirreffs, Florida Director of the Environmental Defense Fund. “We don’t just have to adapt to climate change. It’s not all about preparing for sea-level rise.”
The EDF, a player in national environmental policy since 1967, this year will turn its eye on Florida during the Legislative Session. There, officials promise a focus on the attainable, including keeping barriers low on the switch to electric vehicles and creating a permanent office of Resiliency.
Shirreffs, the first Florida director for the organization, spent much of the past year setting up shop in St. Peterburg and now has a stack of policy priorities to present to leadership in Tallahassee.
A former public affairs senior director for the Miami Foundation, Shirreffs brings a consciousness of how sustainability and environmental protection must be discussed with ramifications on the economy and society in mind. An environmentalist who still likes an air conditioner in her home, she sees the approach as valuable in Florida. The state economy, after all, relies on a healthy environment.
“You really can’t separate people from the environment,” she said. “If you aren’t recognizing the needs of the population when you develop environmental policy, or if you are addressing the economic needs of the population while ignoring the environment, then you are making other situations worse.”
Shirreffs will be working to preserve the environment in a state she loves. She came to Florida to attend Rollins College, graduated in 2006, then completed a master’s in public administration in 2011.
The EDF this year will turn a good deal of attention on electric vehicles and supports legislation filed by Sen. Jeff Brandes (SB 138). The bill aims to establish uniform regulations on matters like charging stations and licensing fees.
A priority for the EDF this year will be making sure any such rules don’t put up barriers to cleaner emissions. Shirreffs also points to another bill filed by Sen. Ed Hooper (SB 1276) that would levy $200 fees of electrical vehicle registrations because those drivers don’t pay any gas tax. But Shirrefs said the typical gas-tank-using driver will probably pay $50 to $75 in gas taxes. Why should the environmentally-conscious choice pay high dollars in taxes?
The goal, she said, needs to be ensuring electric vehicle drivers pay a fair share to maintain roads but don’t end up putting punitive measures in place.
The EDF also plans to support Sen. Ray Rodrigues’ legislation (SB 514) to make permanent an office of Resiliency. Gov. Ron DeSantis has put resiliency officers in place within his administration, but doing so can’t rely on the whims of the state’s chief executive, Shirrefs said.
“We support Noah Valenstein, and he is doing a valuable job,” she said. “He should have dedicated staff and funding to tackle what’s needed right now.”
Best of all, the EDF said the public is on the environment’s side; in fact it’s one thing even the current divided electorate can agree upon. Postelection polling from the EDF shows three-fifths of Floridians feel climate change to be an issue that needs to be addressed, and 48% see it as an imminent threat that must be addressed now.
It’s also an economic threat. Florida pays higher electric bills than most of the country thanks to the environmental threats looming, and addressing the environment means providing financial relief to citizens as well, she said.
