Staff Reports
Last Call — A prime-time read of what’s going down in Florida politics.
First Shot
Tampa Congresswoman Kathy Castor, chair of the Select Committee on the Climate Crisis, is calling for clean energy solutions after a new United Nations climate report stated the planet is warming even faster than previously thought.
“This report confirms what Americans are experiencing firsthand — the devastating impacts of the climate crisis are here and they are getting worse. Right now, over 100 major wildfires are burning across 15 states. Red tide is plaguing Florida’s coasts, hurricane season is getting longer, and deadly heat waves are scorching communities,” Castor said in a written statement.
The report was released Monday by the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). It attributed the faster-than-expected rising temperatures to human influence.
Castor called for the phase-out of carbon dioxide and methane pollution.
“The stakes of this crisis demand nothing less than the most ambitious plan for clean energy and resilient infrastructure in American history. We cannot afford to squander this once-in-a-generation opportunity to invest in affordable clean energy, deliver good-paying union jobs, and finally secure environmental justice for our communities,” Castor’s statement read.
The Democratic congresswoman pointed to the Climate Crisis Action Plan, an output of the committee Castor chairs, as a possible solution. That plan, crafted in June of last year, included more than 700 climate-friendly recommendations and has formed the basis of President Joe Biden’s climate plan.
“With his Build Back Better Agenda and our Climate Crisis Action Plan, we know what it will take to solve this crisis. Congress must act with the urgency this moment demands and get President Biden’s climate plan across the finish line,” Castor said.
House Democrats created a website to track the progress of each recommendation. So far, 258 of those recommendations have made it into bills that passed the U.S. House, and 113 of the recommendations have been signed into law by Biden.
Evening Reads
“They met during lockdown. They realized who they were dating later.” via Kate Cray of The Atlantic
“Diving into the subconscious of the ‘Cuomosexual’” via Lizzie Widdicombe of The New Yorker
“Behind the GOP strategy to outlaw trans youth” via Melissa Gira Grant of The New Republic
“‘There’s no going back’: The UN’s dire new climate report, explained” via Umair Ifran and Rebecca Leber of Vox
“Newsflash: Coronavirus ain’t going nowhere” via Mary Harris of Slate
“What do 60% of America’s gold medals from Tokyo have in common?” via Josh Planos of FiveThirtyEight
“Electric cars for everyone? Not unless they get cheaper.” via Ivan Penn and Niraj Chokshi of The New York Times
“Barack Obama at 60: Feet on the dance floor, eyes on the future” via Dan Zak of The Washington Post
“ICU cases filling up in FL hospitals with unvaccinated patients, registered nurse says” via Issac Morgan of the Florida Phoenix
“The cheapo Olympics are coming” via Henry Grabar of Slate
“It’s time to accept that school won’t be normal in the fall” via Anna North of Vox
“Deep dive into stupid: Meet the growing group that rejects germ theory” via Beth Mole of Ars Technica
Quote of the Day
“The Governor’s actions and (the) numbers now show Florida is failing our children.” — Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried, on Gov. Ron DeSantis’ order banning school mask mandates.
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