There's lots of advice online regarding what individuals can do about changing global temperatures. But some of the most far-reaching decisions aren't up to everyday people.
Despite the fact that Florida is the hottest state in the continental United States, it's also a state with some of the most limited policies on preventing and addressing rising global temperatures, the Missouri Independent reported.
What's happening?
Florida doesn't have a statewide plan to help vulnerable citizens deal with heat waves, unlike many other states, according to the Independent, which detailed how Gov. Ron DeSantis is at the heart of many of these decisions.
For example, in April, he forbade city and county authorities from creating heat protections like water breaks and employer education for outdoor workers such as construction crews.
This May, DeSantis signed legislation that removed references to climate change from the state's energy policy. Furthermore, government agencies in Florida are no longer required to take rising temperatures into account when executing the state's energy policy, as the Independent noted.
A year ago, DeSantis rejected almost $350 million in federal funding for climate-friendly upgrades and consumer rebates under the Inflation Reduction Act. DeSantis did reverse that decision this year, however.
Why is Florida's policy important?
Florida residents suffer the most heat-related illnesses in the continental U.S., the Independent reported. Heat stress and heat stroke can be deadly, especially for the elderly, and more than one in five Florida residents were over 65 as of 2022.
This failure of state policy to protect residents from the heat has left local governments scrambling to fill in the gaps. As Dr. Cheryl Holder, co-chair of Miami-Dade County's Climate and Heat Health Task Force, told Stateline (via the Independent): "Systematic change is better, but we're left with a piecemeal approach."
And, given that local intervention is specifically outlawed on issues like water breaks for workers, sometimes Florida residents don't even have that.
University of Washington epidemiologist Kristie Ebi told the Independent: "It's difficult when the state health department says, 'This is the approach, this is the perspective, these are the parameters,' for the local health department to do anything differently."
"This could be a state that's really focused in on the inventions that need to happen," added Kim Ross, executive director of the nonprofit ReThink Energy Florida. "Instead, we're just kind of falling behind the pack."
What's being done about the heat in Florida?
DeSantis has approved spending to help with sea level rise — a must in a state that has so much coastline.
However, if residents want protections like those in Arizona, California, Connecticut, New York, North Carolina, and Wisconsin, where warming temperatures and its impact on public health are a major concern of legislators, then they may need to consider whether making their voice heard in the voting booth by electing another governor is the right move — or whether they feel a constructive understanding can truly be reached on the matter without any change.
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