Newly-elected governor Ron DeSantis turned some heads this week announcing a slew of major water policy reforms to address the red-tide and blue-algae debacles that plagued the state for most of last year. And, in a particularly un-Republican move, he plans to appoint a “Chief Science Officer” to coordinate all these grand fixes of environmental problems. It is hard to imagine a scientist working in the administration of Rick “I’m no scientist so I can’t tell if climate change is real” Scott. Joining Steve and Lew will be Andy Mele (above), Suncoast Waterkeeper and vice-chair of the Manatee-Sarasota Group of the Sierra Club to sort through the governor’s proposals. Is he an environmental super hero or just messing with us?
And no conversation about the environment in Florida would be complete without some mention of “mangroves, what mangroves?” developer Carlos Beruff and how he was appointed to the Wildlife Commission by Rick Scott, but knocked off by DeSantis, as well as, his plan to develop Aqua by the Bay in Manatee County and on Sarasota Bay that has survived a resident’s court challenge.