The Invading Sea
  • About
  • Editorials
    • Earlier opinion pieces in South Florida media about climate, rising seas
  • In the News
  • Resources
    • What You Can Do
    • Frequently Asked Questions
No Result
View All Result
The Invading Sea
  • About
  • Editorials
    • Earlier opinion pieces in South Florida media about climate, rising seas
  • In the News
  • Resources
    • What You Can Do
    • Frequently Asked Questions
No Result
View All Result
The Invading Sea
No Result
View All Result

Former U.S. Rep. Bob Inglis: Florida conservatives embrace climate action

Algae blooms, sunny day flooding and other evidence has gotten the attention of Florida Republicans

by Bob Inglis
September 1, 2020
in Influencers
0

By Bob Inglis, former U.S. congressman

Florida is proof that attitudes have changed among conservatives on climate change. Republicans and Democrats alike notice more active hurricane seasons, the sunny day flooding, the more intense rain events, and the conditions that are ripe for algae blooms.

Those blooms caused incalculable damage to coastal ecosystems and Florida’s tourism-driven economy, which prompted some of Florida’s Republican leaders to talk seriously about climate change. These lawmakers are responding to the facts on the ground, which are overtaking the state. They accept that the problem of climate change— just like the problem of COVID-19 — can’t be willed away, but a way can be willed to solve it.

Former Florida GOP Congressman Carlos Curbelo has the will. He saw the rising seas and storms that routinely flood his district, and he led. His carbon pricing bill was the first introduced by a Republican since my own bill in 2009. Sadly, the bill did not advance in a U.S. House of Representatives that instead prioritized meaningless votes on an anti-carbon tax resolution.

Bob Inglis

Florida GOP Congressman Francis Rooney stepped forward to lead after Hurricane Irma blazed through his district. Rooney saw how the Florida Coral Reef Tract and the Everglades ecosystems spared Collier County by weakening the storm before it impacted the developed area.

An avid outdoorsman, his familiarity with vulnerable ecosystems coupled with his business acumen led him to champion several pieces of climate legislation that rely on free market solutions to curb greenhouse gas emissions.

Florida’s governor and state lawmakers are also rising to the climate challenge.

Following his victory in 2018, Gov. Ron DeSantis embraced climate science by appointing the state’s first chief science officer and first chief resilience officer. He also appointed a task force that recognized the roles that climate change plays in sustaining and intensifying harmful algal blooms. At his urgings, the Florida Legislature passed foundational water bills and record funding that strive for climate-resilient ecosystems and water infrastructure.

DeSantis has been rewarded for those efforts by positive approval ratings for his environmental leadership. And he seems determined to take more meaningful action on climate change.

Recently, he announced the addition of 74 electric vehicle charging stations along highways — a major step toward preparing vital transportation infrastructure for an emissions-free future. He saved taxpayers $8.6 million by paying for the stations with fines from the Volkswagen Clean Air Act settlement. He says that more of those funds will be used for additional charging stations.

And he has done all this in the face of the global COVID-19 pandemic, which is hitting Florida hard. But as the governor knows, climate change isn’t going to wait for the novel coronavirus to go away. He needs to keep his foot on the pedal, focused on actionable items that will not only benefit the Sunshine State, but serve as an example across the U.S.

Free market solutions to climate change are embedded in conservative principles and supported by right-of-center economists. You don’t need to grow the government or rely on red tape riddled regulations to solve the climate crisis. But you do need conservative leadership, like that of DeSantis. Conservatives need to return home to our economic and environmental roots and commit to rebuilding this country on a clean energy economy or else more lives, ecosystems and property will be lost, while the economy fails to rebound.

Conservatives are finally getting in the climate game. Especially in the face of so many other challenges, we cannot give up now.

Former U.S. Rep. Bob Inglis (R-SC4 1993-1999; 2005-2011) directs republicEn.org, a community of conservatives advancing free enterprise solutions to climate change.

“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: Bob InglisCarlos CurbeloCollier CountyCOVID-19Florida Coral Reef TractFrancis RooneyGov. Ron DeSantisRepublicEn.orgU.S. House of RepresentativesVolkswagen Clean Air Act settlement
Previous Post

Carlos Curbelo: time is running out to solve the worsening climate crisis

Next Post

The president has no climate plan. Why isn’t that headline news?

Related Posts

It’s always darkest before the dawn
Influencers

Local elected officials in Florida don’t have the money or political support to combat the rising sea

by Jim Carroll
February 23, 2021
Covid-19, hurricane season and plastics – oh my!
Influencers

Recycling is not the solution to the plastic pollution crisis

by Catherine Uden
February 23, 2021
Leaders in the Florida Keys recognize the challenges they face from the warming climate and are working together to tackle them
Influencers

Protecting our water supply also can help South Florida fight the damage from sea-level rise

by Ryan Rossi
February 17, 2021
Next Post
The president has no climate plan. Why isn’t that headline news?

The president has no climate plan. Why isn’t that headline news?

Twitter Facebook

About the Project

The Invading Sea is a collaboration by news organizations across Florida to address the threat we face from sea-level rise. We want to raise awareness, amplify the voice of our region and create a call to action that can’t be ignored. Read More

Archives

Categories

Audio Editorials Faces of Sea Level Rise Influencers In The News Other The Business of Climate Change Video

Watch How the Water Will Rise

sea level rise map
See what happens to your neighborhood as the sea level rises with this interactive map from Climate Central.

© 2021 JNews - Premium WordPress news & magazine theme by Jegtheme.

No Result
View All Result
  • About
  • Editorials
    • Earlier opinion pieces in South Florida media about climate, rising seas
  • In the News
  • Resources
    • What You Can Do
    • Frequently Asked Questions

© 2021 JNews - Premium WordPress news & magazine theme by Jegtheme.

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