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Editorial: Pitch for new South Florida state is cry for help on climate change

 
Published Oct. 24, 2014

Move over, Conch Republic. For now, the city of South Miami is stealing Key West's thunder in the bid to secede from the state of Florida. The small Miami suburb's resolution to split the Sunshine State in two is a gimmick gaining national attention, but it also highlights a legitimate issue: Gov. Rick Scott and the Legislature are irresponsibly refusing to address climate change in a state with more than 1,300 miles of coastline. That needs to change, and the Nov. 4 election is a time for voters to send that message.

It's been more than two weeks since the South Miami City Commission voted 3-2 for a resolution calling for Florida's 24 southernmost counties (including Hillsborough and Pinellas) to form a new state known as South Florida. The main reason: Parts of South Florida sit as little as 5 feet above sea level, and with no action on climate change in Tallahassee, the region's not getting heard in Tallahassee.

South Miami city commissioners have little hope of success. Local governments in affected areas would have to agree, as would the Legislature and Congress. Good luck with that.

But the South Miami officials deserve credit for drawing attention, once again, to the failure of the governor and state legislators to acknowledge climate change and the pressing need to address it.