Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis needs a new climate czar.
After serving less than six months in the first-in-the-nation role, Florida’s first chief resilience officer, Julia Nesheiwat, is leaving her post to join the Trump administration. Reaction from the Tampa Bay Times Editorial Board: “Nesheiwat raised expectations almost overnight in a state where the previous governor, now Republican Sen. Rick Scott, all but made climate change a taboo topic. The absence for so long of a strategy from Tallahassee has left it to cities and counties to confront how to protect billions in infrastructure from the threat of rising seas, extreme weather and other climate impacts…DeSantis excited activists and local officials who saw in Nesheiwat an open channel and a welcome change in thinking. He should work quickly to appoint a successor who shares the same sense of reality and appreciation for what a vocal advocate in Tallahassee can achieve.”
Know anyone who is up for the job?
Also from Florida, Sen. Marco Rubio, who recently joined the Senate Climate Solutions Caucus, recently said this: “Changes in our climate, such as the rise of sea levels, are measurable facts. Many communities in Florida are already dealing with the consequences of these changes and will have to adapt to and mitigate against their impact for decades to come. I look forward to working with my colleagues to find real and responsible solutions in a bipartisan way.”
Lastly, our spokesperson Lance Lawson’s latest op-ed, which originally ran as part of the Invading Seas Project, has now been reprinted in the Tallahassee Democrat, The Sun Sentinel, and Florida Today. Congrats, Lance!