The following Letter to the Letter was published in The Daily Sun on Oct 10, 2022.
The Daily Sun does well to recognize our governor acting appropriately in the wake of Hurricane Ian, coordinating with federal and local officials. (October 3, DeSantis acting like a leader in a crisis). With an upcoming election, let’s temper this praise with a look into our governors’ mis-management of a more severe and tragic crisis.
Ian is the latest of the more frequent and more severe weather events related to and influenced by the warming of our planet. The warming is caused by human activity, specifically deforestation and the emission of heat trapping gases. These facts are acknowledged by scientists around the world, including the best and brightest in the USA.
Our governor does not acknowledge the causes of the climate crisis, nor does he believe in taking action to stop the emissions or take excess gases from the atmosphere. That’s “left wing stuff,” he says.
Instead, our governor says he is fighting climate change with adaptation measures, “resiliency” strategies that protect us from rising seas and increasing temperatures. Adapting to climate change is needed, but experts know we cannot focus exclusively on adaptation. The climate will continue changing and the long-term impact of global warming will be too severe to manage. We will be toast unless we mitigate.
The governor’s opponent in the November election believes the climate crisis is caused by human activity and has a plan to reduce Florida’s emissions while building jobs in the clean energy sector. Let’s help avoid the climate crisis by voting for Charlie.
William “Coty” Keller, Port Charlotte
