It’s Monday, October 21, and Miami Beach just declared a climate emergency.

Miami Beach passed a resolution declaring a climate emergency last week, thanks to young climate activists who rallied in front of City Hall in September as part of the global climate strike.

As South Florida faces the wrath of rising seas and stronger tropical storms, the resolution — which the activists handed over to city officials — calls on Miami Beach to push the state and the rest of the United States to issue an “emergency mobilization effort to restore a safe climate.” Miami Beach, an island off the coast of Miami, is one of more than 1,000 jurisdictions in 20 countries that have declared a climate emergency.

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The move comes as Florida is taking more and more climate-friendly measures. The state unveiled a plan earlier this month to invest $116.4 million in electric-powered buses. Florida Democrats adopted a provision about protecting the “inherent rights of nature” in their party platform, a national first. Talk of the climate crisis is also starting to make its way through the state legislature, and Florida Senate Republicans even used the words “sea level rise” during a recent hearing on the consequences of our overheating planet.

Meanwhile, the kids won’t rest: Miami Beach-based climate action groups — including 350.org, Fridays for Future, and Extinction Rebellion — vowed to attend more city meetings to hold leaders accountable and urge the city to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2025.

Rachel Ramirez

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The Smog

Need-to-know basis

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—  Miyo McGinn