Statements
Florida Democratic Party Statement on Trump’s Visit to Jupiter Tuesday
In response to the news that Donald Trump is visiting Jupiter on Tuesday to try and spin his destructive environmental record and distract from his failures in responding to the pandemic, Florida Democratic Party Chair Terrie Rizzo released the following statement:
“If Donald Trump wants to talk about his record on the environment, let’s talk. For the fourth year in a row, Trump has proposed decimating funding for federal agencies that are responsible for addressing the climate crisis and preventing pollution from dirtying our air and water — issues that are fundamental to Florida’s prosperity,” said FDP chair Terrie Rizzo. “After three and a half years of Trump prioritizing corporate polluters over Florida’s public health and natural resources, the Trump campaign is trying to gaslight Florida voters who prize our environment as essential to our wellbeing, economy, and way of life.
“Floridians won’t be fooled by a photo-op. We know that Joe Biden is the only candidate who will do more than talk about our environment — he’ll take action to protect it while creating good-paying jobs.”
TRUMP’S A THREAT TO THE EVERGLADES, FLORIDA’S ENVIRONMENT
Trump is coming to Florida to tout his budget proposal to fund Everglade restoration, but his proposed budget would stymie efforts to address one of the Everglades’ greatest threats: the climate crisis.
- Not once in Trump’s 138-page main budget document did the word “climate” appear.
- Worse, Trump is proposing drastic cuts to the agencies responsible for addressing the climate crisis, including cutting the EPA’s budget by a quarter and its workforce by 11% — the lowest it’s been in 35 years.
- The climate crisis is a “colossal threat” to the Everglades. Sea-level rise, droughts, and wildfires threatens this precious ecosystem
- Environmental Magazine: “As sea levels rise, salt water turns fresh water into brackish wetlands. This will immediately cause various (often times high specialized) fauna and flora across local and surrounding ecosystems, having a horrific effect across the food chain.”
- Scientific American: “But even as climate change makes restoration more urgent, it also makes it more difficult to achieve. For example, rising temperatures could make it easier for droughts to develop during dry periods and exacerbate any droughts that do occur, potentially fueling seagrass die-offs in Florida Bay. Meanwhile more variable rainfall could mean it will be much harder for water managers to ensure enough fresh water flows south to keep the bay hydrated and forestall die-offs—even with a new reservoir.”
- Outside Magazine: “Fires are a natural part of the Everglades ecosystem… But human activity has reduced water levels in the Everglades, even while climate change has created drier winters and hotter summers. All that combines to create more fire-prone conditions. The Sawgrass Fire has spread faster than usual and is already considered a large wildfire for the region.”
Trump’s FY 2021 Budget Proposal is a Disaster for the Climate Crisis
- The EPA cuts
- Reduce air and energy research program by two-thirds
- Cut funding for Montreal Protocol, a global treaty that is phasing out hydrofluorocarbons, potent greenhouse gasses
- Plan to eliminate funding for EPA climate change partnership programs
- Army Corps of Engineers cuts
- E&E news reported that the $1.7 billion cut to the Army Corps would reduce the agency’s spending on flood control — an especially pertinent issue in Florida.
- His budget would cut FEMA’s flood-mapping budget by more than 50% — from $263 million to $100 million
- His budget would eliminate funding for NASA’s Climate Absolute Radiance and Refractivity Observatory, a program that helps us better understand the climate crisis.