Staff Reports
Last Call — A prime-time read of what’s going down in Florida politics.
First Shot
There are flash mobs, and then there are flash-flood mobs.
Climate advocates at The CLEO Institute recently turned one Miami gift shop into a demonstration on rising sea levels as part of a campaign to bring urgency to the climate crisis. As caught on tape, the sudden torrent that floods the store is like a splash of cold water to the face of patrons, who receive a chilling reminder of the effects of rising sea levels.
You can view the three-minute video here.
VoLo Foundation Founder Thais López Vogel, whose organization helped put on the gift shop campaign, says the moment to act is now.
“Florida is already suffering the impacts of the climate emergency,” she said. “We have the technology and science to solve this crisis and protect the well-being of our communities. Our elected officials must take the necessary steps to ensure we meet a net-zero emissions and clean renewable energy goal by 2040.”
Yoca Arditi-Rocha, executive director of The CLEO Institute, noted the impacts are already happening in alarming ways. And although rising seas are poised to affect the entire state, she said it’s not affecting everyone equally.
“Low-income Floridians, and historically marginalized community members: people of color, indigenous communities, women, and the elderly, bear a disproportionate burden,” Arditi-Rocha said. “The climate emergency can no longer be ignored, and our government has a responsibility to act with urgency and implement equitable climate solutions that prioritize people over profit now.”
Floridians face higher costs of real estate, property insurance, energy and food. Sea water risks contaminating drinking water. And, of course, there’s the issue of erosion, flooding and storm surge.
“Floridians are on the front lines of climate change, with sea level rise, rapidly intensifying hurricanes, and astounding levels of extreme heat set to batter the state,” said Rachel Licker, principal climate scientist at the Union of Concerned Scientists. “Florida’s communities deserve bold, science-based, decisive action by their leaders to protect them from these threats and limit how bad they will get.”
Evening Reads
—“Ron DeSantis’ reverse freedom ride allegedly violated law in two states” via Jonathan Chait of the Intelligencer
—“Dela-where? DeSantis dances around new migrant flight questions” via A.G. Gancarski of Florida Politics
—”DeSantis floats $1.1B tax cut plan aimed at children’s items” via Gray Rohrer of Florida Politics
—“Florida House Dems urge GOP leaders to block using taxpayer funds for transporting migrants” via Issac Morgan of the Florida Phoenix
—”Plane possibly carrying migrants hasn’t made it to Delaware” via Jeffrey Schweers of the Orlando Sentinel
—”Trump’s ‘big lie’ fueled a new generation of social media influencers” via Elizabeth Dwoskin and Jeremy B. Merrill of The Washington Post
—”The ragtag army that won the battle of Kyiv and saved Ukraine” via James Marson of The Wall Street Journal
—“A student dead, a dark Pinellas road and a cry for improved pedestrian safety” via Olivia George of the Tampa Bay Times
—”College kickers are even less reliable than usual this year” via Josh Planos of FiveThirtyEight
—”The enduring wisdom of ‘Goodnight Moon’” via Elisabeth Egan of The New York Times
Quote of the Day
“This is about fighting for the ability to build movement at the local level that can then take hold in other places. Right now, that movement is being stifled by the Governor and this administration through HB 1 and many other tactics.”
— Attorney Jonathan Miller on the case against the anti-riot bill’s “defund the police” provision.
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