The Invading Sea
  • Commentary
  • Editorials
  • News
  • Multimedia
  • About
No Result
View All Result
The Invading Sea
  • Commentary
  • Editorials
  • News
  • Multimedia
  • About
No Result
View All Result
The Invading Sea
No Result
View All Result

Gov. Ron DeSantis’ climate czar is leaving, but Florida’s seas are still rising

The governor cannot drop this critical priority for Florida.

by Contributors
February 24, 2020
in Editorials
0

That was quick. After less than six months, Florida’s first chief resilience officer, Julia Nesheiwat, is moving on to a new post with the Trump administration. While she may be leaving, the risks that climate change poses to Florida are only accelerating, and Gov. Ron DeSantis should move quickly to fill this leadership void.

Of course, Nesheiwat wasn’t here long enough to make much of an impact. Hired by DeSantis in August, she came to the job with a background in military and diplomatic affairs. That may explain her new job as a presidential adviser on homeland security. But in her travels across the state, meeting with environmental activists and local officials who are grappling with climate impacts, Nesheiwat was hailed as a fresh voice, someone who had the ear of Florida’s conservative leaders and a seat at the policymaking table.

Her blunt declaration in August at a workshop in Tampa — that climate change “is here – it’s real” — reflected both how far behind Florida is in addressing this global crisis and the excitement that her appointment generated, even if her title – resilience officer – seemed more reactive than forward-looking.

Gov. Ron DeSantis

At a conference on the subject in St. Petersburg in January, which drew hundreds of people from local governments, universities and private industry, Nesheiwat promised to be an advocate at the state level and to help coordinate local responses to climate-related impacts. She also talked up the need to grow the clean-energy sector and to look critically at how and where Florida grows its population centers. Nobody in power in Tallahassee has spoken like that.

Nesheiwat raised expectations almost overnight in a state where the previous governor, now Republican U.S. 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.

Communities across Florida are elevating roads and water supply systems, hardening bridges, fire stations and hospitals and devising costly plans to protect power stations, communications and emergency facilities from the dangers of a warming climate.

These regional efforts are admirable, but they need state direction, additional money and outside expertise. Strong leadership from Tallahassee will help secure state and federal financing for local projects. The office could also serve as a catalyst for expanding environmental research, improving risk modeling and strengthening the state’s land development and construction codes.

Nesheiwat said she provided an interim report to DeSantis in January, which the governor’s office has yet to release in response to a request from the Times. That delay is inexcusable, especially for a governor who raised expectations he would make a priority of this pressing public safety issue. 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.

Editorials are the institutional voice of the Tampa Bay Times. The members of the Editorial Board are Times Chairman and CEO Paul Tash, Editor of Editorials Tim Nickens, and editorial writers Elizabeth Djinis, John Hill and Jim Verhulst. Follow @TBTimes_Opinion on Twitter for more opinion news

“The Invading Sea” is the opinion arm of the Florida Climate Reporting Network, a collaborative of news organizations across the state focusing on the threats posed by the warming climate.

Tags: Gov. Ron DeSantisJulia NesheiwatRepublican U.S. Sen. Rick ScottSt. PetersburgTampaTampa Bay TimesTampa Bay Times Editorial Board
Previous Post

Jacksonville’s political leaders reportedly plan to hire a resiliency officer to help the city cope with the climate crisis

Next Post

Ron DeSantis, Florida’s pretend green governor, exploits Fort Lauderdale sewer crisis

Related Posts

Study: Florida must plan better for sea-level rise, population growth
News

Study: Florida must plan better for sea-level rise, population growth

by Nathan Crabbe
March 22, 2023
Another reminder of Florida’s massive hurricane risk
Editorials

Another reminder of Florida’s massive hurricane risk

by Tampa Bay Times Editorial Board
March 14, 2023
Commentary

The governor and Legislature need to address Florida’s many water-quality challenges

by Jon Paul Brooker
February 17, 2023
Next Post
Ron DeSantis, Florida’s pretend green governor, exploits Fort Lauderdale sewer crisis

Ron DeSantis, Florida’s pretend green governor, exploits Fort Lauderdale sewer crisis

Twitter Facebook

About this website

The Invading Sea is a non-partisan source for news, commentary and educational content about climate change and other environmental issues affecting Florida. The site is managed by Florida Atlantic University’s Center for Environmental Studies in the Charles E. Schmidt College of Science. Read more 

 

Archives

Categories

Audio Commentary Editorials Multimedia News Other The Business of Climate Change Video

© 2022 The Invading Sea

No Result
View All Result
  • Commentary
  • Editorials
  • News
  • Multimedia
  • About

© 2022 The Invading Sea

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Fill the forms bellow to register

All fields are required. Log In

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In