{"id":1608,"date":"2026-05-24T12:36:25","date_gmt":"2026-05-24T12:36:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=1608"},"modified":"2026-05-24T12:36:25","modified_gmt":"2026-05-24T12:36:25","slug":"commentary-why-florida-has-to-lead-on-water-resilience-and-climate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=1608","title":{"rendered":"Commentary: Why Florida has to lead on water, resilience and climate"},"content":{"rendered":"
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In a state bordered on three sides by water, Floridians understand what our coastlines mean.<\/p>\n

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The ocean isn\u2019t scenery to us \u2014 it\u2019s identity, it\u2019s economy, it\u2019s livelihood. Protecting our waterways, wetlands, marine life and habitats isn\u2019t an environmental issue. It\u2019s a Florida issue. It\u2019s a tourism issue, a food security issue, an affordability issue and a survival issue.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s why I\u2019m proud of the bipartisan work we\u2019ve done in Tallahassee to fund water quality and conservation, and why I\u2019ll keep fighting to do more.<\/p>\n

In 2023, we crossed the aisle to secure $1.3 million in state funding for the St. Johns River Water Management District to develop a master plan to improve flood control and water quality for five interconnected lakes right here at home: Lakes Formosa, Rowena, Winyah, Estelle and Sue. Now, heading into this upcoming special legislative session on the state budget, my focus is on locking in funding for more local water projects \u2014 and for Resilient Florida.<\/p>\n

Resilient Florida has been\u00a0hailed\u00a0as \u201cone of the country\u2019s most robust climate adaptation programs,\u201d and it\u2019s a model the rest of the country should be copying. Florida has already committed\u00a0over a billion dollars\u00a0to hundreds of projects making our beaches, cities, shorelines, and inland communities more resilient. We did it by looking honestly at our history of devastating hurricanes, our deepening flooding crisis, and the math on\u00a0sea level rise\u00a0\u2014 and then finding ways to plan ahead, no matter the political environment around us.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s the truth: even in landlocked Orlando, we are not immune. Flooding is hitting our neighborhoods, properties, insurance bills and small businesses. And in a state already in the grip of an affordability crisis, resilience investment isn\u2019t optional, it\u2019s one of the most direct ways we can lower risk, stabilize home values, and protect families from being priced out by the next storm.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, at the federal level, communities are still cleaning up the damage from last year\u2019s reckless cuts. A court recently ordered the reinstatement of billions of dollars in disaster preparedness funding after ruling that the sweeping rollback of a federal resiliency program was illegal. That ruling was a win. But communities should never have had to fight in court just to get back the tools they need to protect human life. Extreme weather is here. Flash flooding, storm surge, wildfires and intensifying hurricanes are not partisan inventions \u2014 they are documented, measurable and accelerating.<\/p>\n

Slashed federal funding for coastal resilience means local governments have to step up \u2014 strategically, creatively and urgently. That means repairing seawalls and bolstering shorelines, restoring wetlands, improving stormwater management and drainage, ensuring clean lakes, hardening infrastructure, and keeping homes and roadways out of the water. Every dollar we invest on the front end is a dollar we don\u2019t pay later in property insurance hikes, emergency response or human tragedy.<\/p>\n

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Bipartisan consensus has made this progress possible. I\u2019ll keep showing up for that work. But let\u2019s be honest about where we need this conversation to go next.<\/p>\n

I need my colleagues to join me in\u00a0declaring a climate emergency. We need to stop the expansion of offshore drilling once and for all. And I want Florida to lead \u2014 not lag \u2014 on a just and equitable transition to renewable energy. Real energy independence doesn\u2019t come from drilling deeper; it comes from breaking our dependence on fossil fuels and the global market volatility that comes with it.<\/p>\n

While we\u2019re at it, we must protect outdoor workers and those who are housing insecure from extreme heat, and start centering non-industry voices \u2014 scientists, frontline communities, workers \u2014 in the rooms where Florida\u2019s energy and climate decisions get made.<\/p>\n

Because here\u2019s what\u2019s at stake: our agricultural jobs, our public parks and green spaces, coastal tourism, recreation economy and the Florida way of life itself. Call it whatever you want \u2014 climate change, extreme weather, \u201cunprecedented\u201d storms. The water doesn\u2019t care what we call it. It keeps rising.<\/p>\n

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The dollars we invest in preparedness today are how we protect lives, livelihoods and the coastline we love. That\u2019s the work. And Florida can\u2019t slow down.<\/p>\n

Anna V. Eskamani is a member of the Florida House of Representatives representing House District 42. She is a declared candidate for mayor of Orlando in the 2027 election.<\/em><\/p>\n

Read more Hurricane season 2026: Tropical rainfall brings flooding pain to Central Florida<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As Rep. Anna Eskamani writes, funding water quality and conservation is only the beginning to fulfill Florida’s climate needs.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1607,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[57,9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1608","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-commentary","category-opinion"],"yoast_head":"\nCommentary: Why Florida has to lead on water, resilience and climate - Orlando Relocation Report<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=1608\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Commentary: Why Florida has to lead on water, resilience and climate - Orlando Relocation Report\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"As Rep. 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