(C) Daily Kos
This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered.
 . . . . . . . . . .



Denial is a River in Florida [1]

['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.']

Date: 2024-06-15  

Around 40 years ago, I was working in south Florida, just north of Miami, for what amounted to 3 summers and 2 winters. I went through a lot of rain, almost experienced a hurricane, and sweated through way way way too much humidity. But I never saw anything like what Florida is now going through, year after year after soggy year.

When I was looking for a photo for this diary, I found I could pick from 2019, 2022, and 2023 (above), as well as 2024. This is the new normal.

At least, the governor of Florida thinks it’s normal.

DeSantis rejects climate change rationale for record-breaking rain

As residents and businesses in South Florida assessed the damage from this week’s historic rainfall and floods, Gov. Ron DeSantis and his administration pushed back against assertions that the storm had anything to do with climate change.

Of course, DeSantis recently made it almost impossible for state officials and agencies to admit that climate change is responsible: DeSantis signs bill scrubbing ‘climate change’ from Florida law. It’s part of his long-time strategy to deny the reality of gender diversity, racism in our history, the cruelty of slavery, health risks to women, etc., etc., etc., basically anything that challenges his fantasy world.

But his current war on the reality of climate change is now being challenged by the reality of . . . climate change.

Another thing that I learned in my time in Florida is that it is more vulnerable than most other parts of the US to rising sea levels. The highest point in the whole state is 310’, on the Alabama border. (One of the other high points, at least when I lived there, was a garbage dump.) Much of the state is at or close to sea level — the current sea level. As the sea level rises, that land becomes ocean and people lose their homes, their livelihoods, sometimes their lives. And it’s already happening. But DeSantis not only refuses to believe it, he is actively trying to prevent Floridians from dealing with it:

Florida Democrats, in turn, took jabs at DeSantis’s team for diminishing the storms just as hurricane season gets underway. The season started June 1 and forecasters predict it could be one of the most active on record. They also noted that DeSantis signed a state budget this week that vetoes about $205 million in stormwater, wastewater and sewer projects across the state.

Denial is no longer a river in Egypt; it’s a river in Florida. A river that is at flood stage, and rising.

[END]
---
[1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2024/6/15/2246818/-Denial-is-a-River-in-Florida?pm_campaign=front_page&pm_source=trending&pm_medium=web

Published and (C) by Daily Kos
Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified.

via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds:
gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/