05/29/2024
From Kareem Abdul-Jabaar's letter this morning on Florida's recent move to roll back environmental improvements.:
"SUMMARY: A TV meteorologist condemned the Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’s so-called “don’t say climate change” law on air and urged viewers to vote.
Steve MacLaughlin of WTVJ in Miami addressed viewers on Saturday amid rising heat records across the state, saying: “On Thursday, we reported … that the government of Florida was beginning to roll back really important climate-change legislation and really important climate-change language.”
MacLaughin condemned DeSantis’s position on the matter, saying that it came “in spite of the fact that the state of Florida over the last couple of years has seen record heat, record flooding, record rain, record insurance rates, and the corals are dying all around the state”.
He said: “The entire world is looking to Florida to lead in climate change, and our government is saying that climate change is no longer the priority it once was.
“Please keep in mind the most powerful climate change solution is the one you already have in the palm of your hands – the right to vote. And we will never tell you who to vote for, but we will tell you this: we implore you to please do your research and know that there are candidates that believe in climate change and that there are solutions. And there are candidates that don’t.”
McLaughlin delivered his comments after DeSantis recently signed several bills the governor claimed sought to “restore sanity in our approach to energy and rejecting the agenda of the radical green zealots”.
“Radical green zealots want to impose their climate agenda on people through restrictions, regulations and taxes,” a notice posted by DeSantis said.
In addition to prohibiting windfarms offshore and near coastlines, the bill prioritizes the expansion of natural gas and bolsters protections against gas appliance bans and repeals climate policies enacted during Barack Obama’s presidency.
The gas industry has helped drive climate change and its resulting effects, including severe weather becoming more commonplace.
Over the weekend, south Florida saw record temperatures, with Fort Lauderdale and Miami each reaching record highs of 95F (35C) on Sunday. Typical highs for this time of year are about 86F (30C), the Palm Beach Post reported.
MY TAKE: “Radical green zealots want to impose their climate agenda on people through restrictions, regulations and taxes,” says DeSantis. “Radical green zealots” is the common term used by conservative shills on the payroll of coal, oil, and natural gas companies. “Radical” is a word meant to scare people—like Communist or terrorist or groomer or mo**ster. The theory is if I just attach one of those words, the audience becomes too frightened to listen to the specifics of what follows. Maybe we should just say that DeSantis is grooming conservatives to mo**st the Constitution.
I’m torn about this article. I don’t think McLaughlin should have delivered an editorial on-air while performing his duties as a meteorologist. That taints the news show’s objectivity. Editorials should be labeled as such and not seem like he’s speaking for the entire news organization.
At the same time, I applaud what he said. He used his celebrity to get a vital message across: DeSantis is selling out the people of Florida in exchange for money to himself and his party so he can remain in office to continue to push for harmful legislation. The evidence of the devastation in Florida from climate change is everywhere, yet he refuses to acknowledge it because his followers want him to deny it so they feel better. It’s like being in an airplane that is diving toward the ground and demanding that the pilot announce, “Don’t listen to this radical alarmist. We’re just taking a shortcut to the ground.”
