By Pam McVety, Physicians for Social Responsibility
Who do you want making decisions about your health and safety? I want doctors and scientists making these decisions, not politicians.
We just came through another legislative session in Florida where the majority party made decisions that hurt you and your family. They ignored what scientists and the medical community are telling them. They ignored facts. They ignored science. They ignored the public welfare. Put bluntly, our legislators turned their backs on the rational connections between facts and the choices they could have made for us.
For example, in House Bill 1645, which overwhelmingly passed the Legislature and will soon be on the way to the governor, they did the exact opposite of what is needed to respond to climate change and protect you. They eliminated the words “climate change” in multiple places from the Florida statutes. This included language that directed the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services to to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and consider energy efficiency and climate change as part of the state’s energy policy.
Instead, they substituted language, directing the department to focus on providing an adequate, reliable and cost-effective supply of energy for the state which with other provisions in the bill favor natural gas. To accomplish that, it eliminated the ability of local governments to prevent gas storage tanks, including liquified natural gas tanks, from being built in their communities and banned offshore wind turbines.
Another bill, HB 433, banned local heat protection ordinances meant to help keep people safe in extreme heat. The Legislature also failed to address our insurance crisis, which is driven by increasing costs from monster storms and rising seas, and in SB 1084 they preempted local governments from regulating electric vehicle charging stations.
These actions enable the fossil fuel industry, discourage our transition to clean renewable energy and not only don’t protect us from climate change, but force us to stay in harm’s way.
People are dying from heat in this state. The Legislature hasn’t passed a law to address this and it banned local governments from doing it. Instead, the legislature said that the federal government is supposed to do it. Only, the responsible federal agency — the Occupational Safety and Health Administration — so far does not have a rule to do this.
Many of our local governments are trying to address climate change and are on board with the rest of the world in transitioning us to clean renewable energy, but this is not OK with the Legislature. They continually preempt them from helping us.
All of this is shameful, but it is what you get when your health and safety is determined by politicians whose motivations might be more related to getting reelected, or perhaps being beholden to their party or certain special interests, than helping you. It feels like an abuse of public power. Florida is not only moving backward in its efforts to address climate change, while climate change is accelerating forward, but hindering others from transitioning us to clean renewable energy.
Remember this, when your next chance to vote for the legislators who are supposed to represent your interests comes up (i.e. this August and next November). Check out their voting history. Ask them if they will act on the climate crisis. Ask if they will protect the most vulnerable in our communities and most important of all ask them if they will make decisions based on science and facts.
In the meantime, hold them accountable. Write them. Things won’t get better until there is real accountability and it begins with us. As provided in Section 1 of the Florida Constitution, all political power is inherent in the people.
Tallahassee resident Pam McVety is a retired scientist, climate justice advocate and board member of Physicians for Social Responsibility. This opinion piece was originally published by the Tallahassee Democrat, which is a media partner of The Invading Sea.
If you are interested in submitting an opinion piece to The Invading Sea, email Editor Nathan Crabbe at ncrabbe@fau.edu. Sign up for The Invading Sea newsletter by visiting here.
