DeSantis and the Environment
A Little Little bit of Nepotism and a Lot of Everglades Protection.
In comparison with Donald Trump, Ron DeSantis is practically a Greta Thunberg on environmental issues. In fact, by the identical token, I’m practically a Steph Curry on the court in comparison with Danny DeVito.
Sarcasm aside, DeSantis is pretty good on environmental issues for a Republican. But he rarely mentions climate change, and his record on renewable energy is a cipher. One thing we do know, nevertheless, is that he’s not above a little bit of shameless nepotism when making necessary energy appointments.
The largest thing in DeSantis’s favor is his position on the Everglades, where he’s garnered applause from conservationists. He has backed $3 billion in spending on the Everglades and water quality improvements. DeSantis has also been good on climate adaptation. As Time magazine reports:
“DeSantis has championed a program to funnel tons of of tens of millions of dollars to communities across the state to assist them prepare for the ocean level rise and worsening flooding that may result from climate change. The Little River area has alone received commitments of greater than $25 million in state funds. ‘The governor [wants] to deliver results to real problems that exist straight away,’ says Wesley Brooks, who DeSantis appointed because the state’s Chief Resilience Officer to oversee climate adaptation efforts, ‘and set the stage for higher preparedness in the long run.’”
DeSantis tends to not say much about what’s actually causing climate change. He does admit there’s a “human contribution” to global warming. By way of renewable energy, he has also tended to remain mum. He did relatively dramatically veto a bill designed to practically shut down rooftop solar within the state. That’s a crucial step provided that, despite calling itself the “Sunshine State,” Florida has lagged behind in making any use of all that sun to generate power.
In quest of more enlightenment, I took a have a look at the DeSantis appointee to the state public service commission. One in every of his appointees was actually a reappointment, having served on the commission for 4 years. Prior to that he had been a deputy secretary within the state EPA.
The opposite was . . . let’s say, a bit different: a 2019 law school graduate who had spent a few years within the commission’s legal office. But surely, it’s essential to be considering, there should have been something to tell apart her from the opposite 33,000 people just out of law school.
And also you could be right about that. By the sheerest coincidence, her mom is the president of the state senate. “One hand washes the opposite,” as Tony Soprano was wont to say.
And there you could have it. Ron DeSantis, defender of the Everglades and kindly patron to struggling young lawyers.
