Chris King believes Florida can both fight climate change and spur the economy, declaring that it could be “the smartest investment Florida makes this century.” At the same time, the Democratic gubernatorial candidate recounted forecasters’ worst fears for the Sunshine State if sea levels and temperatures continue to rise as predicted.
Florida Democrats slammed the anticipated announcement by President Donald Trump that he would pull the United States out of the Paris Climate Accord, while several Florida Republicans urged Trump to keep America in the agreement. Members of Congress and other political leaders were reacting late Tuesday and Wednesday to reports that Trump intends to withdraw from the Paris Agreement under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, which all member countries except Syria and Nicaragua signed, to set goals…
Earth is likely to reach more dangerous levels of warming even sooner if the U.S. retreats from its pledge to cut carbon dioxide pollution, scientists said. That’s because America contributes so much to rising temperatures. President Donald Trump, who once proclaimed global warming a Chinese hoax, said in a tweet Saturday that he would make his “final decision” next week on whether the United States stays in or leaves the 2015 Paris climate change accord in which nearly every nation…
Noah Valenstein, Gov. Rick Scott‘s former environmental policy coordinator, has the inside track to become the next secretary of the Department of Environmental Protection, sources tell FloridaPolitics.com. Valenstein, now the executive director of the Suwannee River Water Management District, is the top pick over interim secretary Ryan Matthews. Scott and the Cabinet in February OK’d Matthews to serve as interim department head to fill in for departing secretary Jon Steverson. He quit in January to join the legal-lobbying firm of Foley & Lardner. Valenstein attended an August 2014 meeting in…
Moving forward with a campaign pledge to unravel former President Barack Obama‘s sweeping plan to curb global warming, President Donald Trump will sign an executive order Tuesday that will suspend, rescind or flag for review more than a half-dozen measures in an effort to boost domestic energy production in the form of fossil fuels. As part of the roll-back, Trump will initiate a review of the Clean Power Plan, which restricts greenhouse gas emissions at coal-fired power plants. The regulation,…
The No. 1 issue facing Florida continues to be jobs, according to a new Florida Chamber of Commerce survey. The Florida Chamber Political Institute released a new statewide survey Monday aimed at “checking the political pulse of Floridians on how they feel about elected officials as well as the issue impacting them.” Jobs and the economy remain a big issue for Floridians, with 19 percent of respondents saying it was a top concern. The survey found 10 percent of Floridians…
St. Petersburg has received a $20,000 grant from the Urban Land Institute to help refine the city’s climate action plan to help handle coastal vulnerabilities and the threat of sea level rise. The grant comes from the ULI’s Urban Resilience Program, which enhances the long-term sustainability and livability of communities by helping them better withstand the detrimental impacts of climate change, including the ability to quickly and safely recover from severe weather-related events. The Urban Resilience Program is part of ULI’s Center for Sustainability,…
