Florida Is On Fire. Shame The Governor Is Such A Priggish Dolt

These are serious times that need a serious leader.

Miami is hot. No, I don’t mean “hot” like the early seasons of “Nip/Tuck” or the classic intro to “Miami Vice.” According to meteorologist Brian McNoldy at the University of Miami, the city’s heat index has topped 100 degrees for 37 consecutive days, and 106 degrees for 13 straight days.

This is not “seasonal” weather. This is hell on Earth. If that interests you, you’d just visit Ocala.

For context, by Monday afternoon, the heat index had reached or exceeded 105 degrees for a record-breaking 70 hours this year. Previously, the longest time spent above 105 degrees was 49 hours over the entirety of 2020. Before the current heat wave, Miami’s heat index had reached 109 degrees just 11 times. It’s now reached that point for seven days in less than a month.

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An hour away from Miami, at the Everglades National Park, water temperatures offshore have spiked to about 10 degrees higher than the average summer peak. Some locations had reached 97 degrees, and our oceans should not be a hot tub.

Marine scientists worry that this could severely damage the already vulnerable coral reef system, which would threaten the ecosystem for more than a quarter of the world’s marine life.

Ocean temperatures outside Florida have increased a staggering five degrees since July, which Ben Kirtman, an atmospheric scientist with the University of Miami Rosenstiel School, says is “bonkers.”

“I don't know how else to put it. Normally when you break records, you break records by a tenth of a degree, maybe a quarter of a degree ... Here, we're breaking it by five degrees."

Republicans don’t like to discuss or even acknowledge climate change, and they really hate when you go on about the longterm detrimental impact of burning fossil fuels. (It upsets their donors.) However, the oceans absorb the majority of excess heat trapped by the greenhouse gases that fossil fuels emit.

"The ocean continues to absorb excess heat, sparing land-dwellers the worst of climate change impacts for now," McNoldy said. "But ocean-dwellers are not being spared, and at some point, the ocean heat sponge could become saturated and even bigger changes could be in store."

Scientists warn that the marine heat waves off South Florida could become more commonplace, pushing native sea life to its limits. Warmer ocean temperature reduce oxygen levels, causing fish to go belly up, and that’s not good for a state that bills itself as the “fishing capital of the world.”

NPR reports:

Warming waters could also endanger spawning grounds for Atlantic bluefin tuna in the northern Gulf of Mexico, one of only two places where these tuna spawn. Hotter seas around Florida could also warm trade winds that help cool the state. That could exacerbate record heat already occurring on land.

Florida has always been a hot, sweltering mess. It was the invention of air conditioning that enabled the state’s massive population growth. Otherwise the state would’ve topped out at about 5 million residents, like a sprawling Alabama or South Carolina. Of course, those two states have just nine electoral votes, compared to Florida’s 29, so you can thank AC for George W. Bush’s presidency.

Close to 90 percent of Floridians have air conditioning in their homes, compared to roughly 50 percent of Oregon and Washington residents. However, the remaining 10 percent are more at risk of death during periods of wax-melting heat.

The state’s economy is also taking a hit, as tourists from as far away as Michigan are turning tail and heading home. This is not good for the South Florida businesses that rely on tourism to survive.

Something that dummies refuse to grasp about climate change is that even just a few days of extreme heat or cold each year can be lethal. The current record-setting heat wave could stretch into August. That’s more than 50 days. This isn’t sustainable.

Meanwhile, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis isn’t just a sadistic bigot. He’s also a climate denier. Hannibal Lecter was a villain with more positive traits. DeSantis said recently that extreme weather “is something that is a fact of life in the Sunshine State. I’ve always rejected the politicization of the weather.”

The scientists disagree. Let’s hope Florida’s next governor takes this seriously, because deliberate ignorance is also political … and fatal.

[Tampa Bay Times / NPR / Sun Sentinel]

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