Last week, the South Miami city commission passed another resolution to split Florida into two states because of the rampant climate change denial in North Florida, reported the Miami New Times.
The resolution read,
“North Florida is approximately 120 feet above sea level while the average elevation of South Florida is less than 50 feet with a very large portion of South Florida averaging less than 15 feet above sea level. Many sections of South Florida are 5 feet or less above sea level, including Monroe County and the Gold Coast, consisting of Palm Beach, Broward County and Miami-Dade County.
Often South Florida issues do not receive the support of Tallahassee. This is despite the fact that South Florida generates more than 69% of the state’s revenue and contains 67% of the state’s population. The creation of the 51st state, South Florida, is a necessity for the very survival of the entire southern region of the current state of Florida and this cannot be accomplished by one municipality alone.”
According to the resolution, the state of South Florida would correspond with the South Florida Water Management District. The northernmost counties would be Brevard, Orange, Polk, Hillsborough and Pinellas. The state would contain 24 counties total and would represent 39 percent of the current land in Florida.
South Miami Mayor Philip Stoddard told the Miami Herald that North Florida is “ignoring South Florida. They are ignoring the environmental problems. The flow of money is still inequitable. We ship a lot of money north that doesn’t come south again. In my mind [the resolution] is calling really for recognition of the issues down here.”
Stoddard is right. North Florida is decidedly more conservative than South Florida and therefore more likely to deny climate change. Since Gov. Scott (R) literally banned the state’s Department of Environmental Protection from using the phrases “climate change” and “global warming,” South Florida justifiably feels like it has to take drastic measures to get the state’s attention.
