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Stop Politicizing Climate Change
I’m begging everyone, regardless of the party you identify with: stop working overtime to turn climate change into a culture war. Call it what it is: a global threat which demands urgent attention. Last month, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed legislation that removes most references to climate change in state law, bans offshore wind turbines in state waters, and weakens regulations on natural gas pipelines. The law went into effect on July 1st, ironically in the middle of this year’s hurricane season, which is expected to be one of the most active on record. The National Hurricane Center has made it clear that for Florida, it’s not a matter of if but when a hurricane will hit.
With a highly anticipated active hurricane season, it is astounding to watch Florida lawmakers turn climate change into a political football and downplay the seriousness of global warming. Governor DeSantis should have used his power to have this short-sighted and irresponsible provision struck from the bill. By censoring discussions on climate change, Florida lawmakers are not only failing to prepare for the inevitable but also actively exacerbate the problem.
The eagerness to turn climate change into a culture war underscores a growing desire to ignore scientific consensus and factual evidence in favor of promoting ideological divides. This shift is having far-reaching consequences…
