This post was contributed by a local resident. greenerMIAMI will actually be attending the Summit and will bring you up to date information as quickly and as often as possible! Stay tuned!
Well, to those of us who have been pushing for what seems like eternity for Florida to take action on global warming, the last couple months have been flat-out surreal. First we have our newly elected Governor, in his first State of the State address, actually declare that climate change is not only real (duh) but that it is “one of the most important issues that we will face this century.”
That’s a real quote. From the Governor of Florida no less. I’m not kidding – look it up yourself if you like. You could have knocked me over with a feather.
Now top that with not one, not two, but three conferences either hosted or attended by Florida Cabinet members over this summer on the very issue of Climate Change. It’s like someone flipped a switch (or made a really popular movie out of a slide show) and now everyone wants to be green. Kermit’s day has finally arrived!
Anyway, the point of this post is really to let you know that the big show – a star studded event that so far includes union pariah, turned greenest governor ever, Arnold Schwarzenegger, the environmental super-dude Robert F. Kennedy Junior, and Theodore Roosevelt IV – descendant of The Teddy himself and the Chair of the Pew Center for Global Climate Change – will be hosted in the “canary in the coal mine” for climate change. Yep, Miami. Tomorrow. Check it out yourself at myfloridaclimate.com.
The agenda page of the website just published and includes a pretty good compilation of experts in various fields. Unfortunately not too many from Florida. The State may be slow to realize the importance of this problem (better late than never at least), but we have some great people with lots of experience in academic circles and local government. Hopefully we’ll hear a bit of that in the late Thursday session.
Although the cynic in me wants to make this conference no more than a tour of the next Atlantis, I’m truly hopeful that we can focus this event (and the inevitable international media spotlight) to finally get our Country on track and join the rest of the world in trying to come up with a real plan. And quick.