Page 4 - Florida Sentinel 11-12-21

Editorial
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Rep. Fentrice Driskell Selected As One Of Nation’s Outstanding Rising Leaders
Joins group of the most in- novative Democratic state and local officials working to solve America’s largest challenges
Washington, D. C. - Mon- day, Florida House Democratic Leader Designate, State Rep- resentative Fentrice Driskell (D-Tampa), was cho- sen as one of 20 leaders from across the country to join the NewDEAL (Developing Excep- tional American Leaders), a se- lective national network of the most talented, forward-looking state and local elected officials with Honorary Co-Chairs U. S. Senator Chris Coons, Con- gresswoman Marilyn Strickland, and Columbia, South Carolina Mayor Steve Benjamin.
Chosen from more than 1,750 nominations over NewDEAL’s decade-long his- tory, members of the nearly 200-person network are work- ing to enact pro-growth pro- gressive solutions in a diverse array of communities. Driskell joins the group at a time when state and local lead- ers are on the frontlines of re- sponding to the pandemic and as they take on a critical role in implementing the American Rescue Plan Act, recently signed by President Joe Biden, which is sending hun- dreds of billions of dollars to state and local governments.
NewDEALers are support- ing each other in addressing the many challenges created and exacerbated by COVID-19
REP. FENTRICE DRISKELL
by innovating, convening virtu- ally, and sharing good ideas. The NewDEAL is tracking how states, counties, and cities spend their pandemic recovery funds to help provide other leaders with policy recommen- dations for building back better from this crisis.
“We are in a unique mo- ment for state and local leaders as we must find solutions for the urgent challenges created by COVID-19 while not losing focus on longer-term issues that will continue to affect the economic security of Hillsbor- ough and other communities for decades to come,” said Driskell.
“The COVID-19 pandemic revealed problems within our education and electoral sys- tems that I wish to address Leader Designate for the Florida House Democratic Caucus. I look forward to shar- ing lessons with and learning from other leaders who are set-
ting the standard for effective governance, and I am excited to be part of NewDEAL’s efforts to expand opportunities for Americans in communities na- tionwide.”
First elected in 2018, Driskell was selected to join NewDEAL because of her ap- proach of bringing common sense solutions to Florida’s most pressing challenges re- lated to issues like public edu- cation, public safety, racial justice, and economic opportu- nity for all.
Driskell’s guiding princi- ple is to ensure that every Floridian has the freedom to be healthy, prosperous and safe. She previously sponsored a bill requiring any state contractors to certify that they provide equal pay for their men and women workers. During the 2021 legislative session, Rep. Driskell carried bipartisan legislation that passed unani- mously to enact police reform that will significantly improve transparency and accountabil- ity in law enforcement.
NewDEALers will gather later this month at one of the organization’s signature events, the annual Leaders Conference, which will take place Novem- ber 17-19 in Washington, D. C. About 50 NewDEAL Leaders will join other innovators from the public and private sectors.
Learn more about Driskell and the NewDEAL at http://www.newdealleaders.or g/leaders.
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Climate Change And Our Food Supply
oon human beings will be required to eat meat only once or twice a week because of a limit on the number of graz- ing animal population. No doubt, if drastic measures are
not taken soon to reduce methane and carbon dioxide emis- sions on planet earth, humans will be required to suddenly and drastically change our way of living.
Indeed, meat and crop production accounts for 18% of all global human induced greenhouse gas emissions. The use of cows, pigs, sheep, and other animals for food is responsible for 57% of all food production emissions. Of course, reducing meat production by half could reduce at least 9% of all green- house emissions from food production.
Scientists continuously warn the world that greenhouse gasses fuel global warming which stimulate increasingly se- vere weather conditions (hurricanes, Tsunamis, cyclones, wildfires, tornadoes, floods, monsoons, heatwaves, severe thunderstorms, and droughts), which negatively impact food production in the loss of land available for grazing and crops.
Moreover, rising temperatures force various animal species to migrate to cooler climates carrying insects and pests that attack crops and birds that help pollinate and fer- tilize plants, and carry seeds. Today, 30% of the world’s pop- ulation live in drought areas that cover more than 40% of the world’s land surface. The loss of land surface for growing crops has grown to an area equal to one half of the United States’ land mass.
These conditions caused a decrease in supply and an in- crease in the cost of food – meat, rice, wheat, sugar, flour, corn, cooking oil, orange juice, etc. The rising cost of chicken and pork production is exacerbated by an increase in the cost of seafood due to a decline in both salt water and freshwater fish. Crops that can grow in harsher sunlight will change what farmers grow, i.e., turnips, carrots, other root crops in- stead of cancer-fighting green leafy vegetables and tomatoes.
Other issues facing our food supply are food prices, food shortages, and distribution (rail, truckers, low water levels in rivers, yield, and quality of food). Scientists predict that the world must increase its food production by 100% by 2050 to feed the predicted 9.6 billion people who will be living by then.
We are only 29 years away from 2050. We cannot afford to wait any longer to make meaningful changes in our way of coping with global warming. Let us pray it is not too late to change.
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