I’ve said it jokingly: it’s time for Blue and Red states to form their own countries and see which ideology performs better.
Perhaps South Miami will be our pilot, since they just voted to secede from Florida! Already under water from climate change, they want action, but that’s not possible in a state run by Republicans.
If Governor Rick Scott wins his tight re-election campaign, Florida’s leadership – including Senator Marco Rubio – will continue denying that climate change even exists. On the other hand, Scott’s Democratic challenger for governor, Charlie Crist, fully acknowledges climate change and the threat it poses to Florida.
Introduced by Vice Mayer Walter Harris, the city council passed a resolution that calls for splitting Florida in two, so that South Florida can take climate change into their own hands.
Pretty amazing that the line is drawn over climate change.
"South Florida’s situation is very precarious and in need of immediate attention…. 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," says the resolution.
Much of South Florida is just five feet above sea level and at high tide, it seeps up from the porous bedrock, bringing sea water dangerously close to fresh water supplies – and forcing people to walk in water up to their knees.
Nuclear reactors there are 42 years old and 2.5 million pounds of nuclear waste is buried on-site.
A line would be drawn north of Orlando, giving the state of South Florida 24 counties, 67% of its population and 70% of the current state’s revenue.
The resolution is a statement – it’s not at likely to go through because it would have to approved by Florida’s state legislature and then by Congress.
South Florida is doing what it can on its own, creating the Southeast Florida Regional Climate Compact and Regional Climate Action Plan.
Title of the Resolution:
Resolution of the Mayor and City Commission of the City of South Miami, Florida, advocating the legal separation of Florida into two separate states, creating the 51st state in the Union and naming it "South Florida".
Read about what Miami is dealing with:
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