Climate change is a national security threat and economic opportunity for Florida

As a member of Congress from Florida who used to work on the Pentagon, there isn’t any scarcity of nationwide safety threats that preserve me up at evening. China, Russia, North Korea, Iran, the failed state of Venezuela, nuclear weapons, and terrorism all disturb peaceable slumber.

However essentially the most urgent world challenges I see are pandemic illness and local weather change. Whereas they will not be thought-about “nationwide safety threats” within the narrowest sense of the time period, they pose a transparent and current hazard to the American folks.

Neither risk may be successfully addressed by america alone, as an alternative requiring cooperation amongst international locations. Every has the capability to upend American society in methods the Chinese language Communist Social gathering, Vladimir Putin, Kim Jong Un, authorities in Tehran, Nicolás Maduro and leaders of the Islamic State and al-Qaida may think about solely of their darkest desires.

Within the case of pandemic illness, COVID-19 has taken extra American lives — 293,000 and counting — than had been misplaced on the combined battlefields of World Warfare I, Korea, Vietnam, Afghanistan and Iraq. Virus-related deaths on this nation have even surpassed the 290,000 U.S. fight deaths throughout World Warfare II. At the same time as we make progress to develop and distribute a vaccine, we acknowledge {that a} pathogen that emerged from China has essentially modified life in America for the foreseeable future.

The hazards of local weather change — the warming of the ambiance due primarily to human exercise like burning coal, oil and different fossil fuels— will not be as clear-cut as a nuclear explosion in an American metropolis or the loss of life of COVID sufferers in an American hospital. However the science is conclusive — local weather change imperils our nation, our residents and our civilization.

No American state has extra to lose from inaction on local weather change than Florida, and no state will profit extra from sensible and swift motion to fight the risk. The Sunshine State is uniquely susceptible to the results of local weather change resulting from its geography and topography.

For example, Florida is essentially the most hurricane-prone state, and there may be compelling proof that local weather change is inflicting storms to type extra often, to be extra intense and to happen exterior of official hurricane season, which runs from June 1 to November 30. The 2020 season was the busiest on file, and I’ve urged the federal authorities to elongate the season to higher seize the rise in exercise.

Local weather change poses different extreme dangers to Florida. It causes rising sea ranges that erode seashores, produce flooding and threaten coastal properties. It compromises the amount and high quality of our consuming water. It damages the Everglades, our coral reefs, and our marine life. It harms industrial fishermen and leisure anglers. It results in hotter and extra humid temperatures, a hazard to human well being. It jeopardizes tourism. In brief, local weather change endangers nearly each side of what may be referred to as the “Florida lifestyle.”

It’s not too late to behave, however time is of the essence. We should minimize greenhouse emissions by modernizing how we generate electrical energy, energy our vehicles and public transport methods, develop vegetables and fruit, and light-weight and funky our houses and companies. We should scale back our vulnerability to the consequences of local weather change, constructing resilient infrastructure to climate the subsequent storm.

A complete-of-society method is required, with roles for presidency, the enterprise group, and conscientious residents. On the federal degree, the Biden administration will rejoin the Paris local weather settlement and take different steps to assault the issue, however bipartisan motion by Congress is crucial.

Florida’s congressional delegation ought to be on the forefront of this combat, given how a lot is at stake for our beloved state. If our two Republican senators are as robust on nationwide safety as they profess to be, they’ll must step up — and communicate out in opposition to the local weather change deniers of their social gathering.

Local weather change is an existential risk for Florida, nevertheless it’s additionally a chance to be seized. There’s no purpose our state can’t lead the nation, and the world, with regards to creating inexperienced jobs that pay nicely and do good. We will out-compete China, rebuild our financial system within the wake of the pandemic, and — within the course of — save the one planet we now have.

Stephanie Murphy, a Democrat, represents an District 17, an Orlando-area district, within the U.S. Home of Representatives. She previously served as a nationwide safety specialist on the Division of Protection.