Florida meteorologist criticizes Ron DeSantis after governor signs bill making climate change a lower priority

A Florida meteorologist criticized Gov. Ron DeSantis after he signed legislation that would make climate change a lower priority.

“On Thursday, we reported … that the Florida government was starting to walk back some very important legislation on climate change and some very important language on climate change,” Steve MacLaughlin, a meteorologist at NBC South Florida, said in a video he shared on Saturday.

“Despite the fact that the state of Florida has experienced record heat, record floods, record rain, record insurance rates, and corals dying all over the state in recent years,” he said. he continued.

As MacLaughlin spoke, a graph showed it was the hottest April on record and the 11th warmest month in a row.

MacLaughlin said “the whole world is looking to Florida to take the lead on climate change, and our government is saying climate change is no longer the priority it once was.”

The comments came just days after DeSantis signed a controversial law that opponents say removes the word “climate” in nine places and shifts Florida’s energy goals away from efficiency and reducing greenhouse gases. greenhouses contributing to global warming.

DeSantis said in an article on X that the bill “restores common sense to our approach to energy and rejects the agenda of radical green fanatics.”

“The laws I signed today – HB 1645, HB 7071, and HB 1331 – will keep wind turbines off our beaches, gas in our reservoirs, and China out of our state,” he wrote.

The legislation comes into force on July 1.

MacLaughlin ended by telling viewers that “the most powerful solution to climate change is the one you already have in your hands.”

“The right to vote,” he said. And we’ll never tell you who to vote for, but we will tell you this: We implore you to do your research and know that there are candidates who believe in climate change and that there are solutions. And there are candidates who don’t. »