Dem
47
GOP
53
There was a time, perhaps as recently as 5 years ago, when the Republican Party was the only major political faction on the globe that embraced climate-change denial. Since then, this thinking has seeped into the platforms of other right-wing, populist, and right-wing populist parties and movements. For example, Javier Milei, the crazypants guy they've got running Argentina, is a climate-change denier.
Another (domestic) denier, in addition to Trump, is his fellow Florida Republican, Gov. Ron DeSantis. We honestly don't know what Trump really thinks about global warming; he is so able to delude himself that he really might believe it's a vast left-wing conspiracy. However, we doubt that DeSantis is an actual climate-change denier, he just has to pretend because of the political party he's a part of.
We mention DeSantis because his state is currently serving as a case study of a general trend: the political fight against climate change may be losing some ground right now, but economics are taking up the slack. Florida, of course, is known as the Sunshine State. And that's for real; it's not just clever marketing like "Greenland" (not all that green) or "Imperial Valley" (actually a desert). This being the case, quite a few Floridians have noticed that it's an ideal state for solar energy. As of this week, the state is now second in terms of large-scale, utility solar capacity (behind Texas, another state run by climate-change deniers). And Florida is first in terms of residential solar capacity. At the moment, the state is getting 8% of its power from solar, and the number is steadily growing.
There are a number of factors that are pushing Florida in this direction. First, of course, is all the sunlight. Second is all the big, adverse weather events. If you can't rely on the local utility to provide power after a disaster, it's nice to be able to generate your own. Joe Biden's Inflation Reduction Act, which has tax credits for people who buy solar panels, has also encouraged adoption. It also helps that power generation in Florida is largely under local control, such that the showboating governor and state legislature can't do much to interfere.
Indeed, DeSantis' true feelings are indicated by a pair of actions he's taken during his current term. Last year, he signed into law a bill that requires that any reference to climate change be deleted from all state policies. He described the move as "restoring sanity in our approach to energy and rejecting the agenda of the radical green zealots." You might say that's his public face. But back in 2022, when presented with a bill that would actually have undermined the expansion of solar energy in the state (as opposed to just giving the right-wing media some talking points), he quietly vetoed it. You might say that's his private face.
Anyhow, despite the resistance, the trend is toward a greener planet. We can only hope that it happens quickly enough to avoid disaster.
Have a good weekend, all! (Z)