Florida’s newly elected Gov. Ron DeSantis announced plans to open a resiliency office as part of a sweeping environmental roll-out that includes an extra $1 billion for Everglades restoration and water cleanup. While not specifically mentioning the words climate change, his plan received bipartisan support. “The people of Florida wanted to see action and this was action that was requested regardless of your party,” he said. “This is something that can unite all Floridians.”
“This is a wonderful model to the Republicans to acknowledge this issue in a sober way without alarming people and using it as an excuse to massively expand government,” said former Miami Rep. Carlos Curbelo, who in retirement has been as big of an advocate for climate action as he was in office.
“We only have a limited amount of time on this earth,” DeSantis said regarding his executive order. “We’ve got to make the most of it.”