Floridians experience environmental changes amid climate crisis

Local and UCF-student climate activists have discussed the state’s increase in major hurricanes, rising sea levels and drastic temperature shifts as the season begins to transition from winter to spring.

The Citizens’ Climate Lobby is a nonprofit organization that encourages everyday people to work together on climate policy. Jeff Dorian, co-chapter leader of the Orlando CCL branch, said the effects of climate change have caused significant environmental shifts in Florida.

“In the last fifty years, there’s increased hurricanes on average by 10 percent as far as their size and power,” Dorian said. “The ocean has risen in the last 100 years about a foot so far and is predicted to rise another 6 inches to a foot by 2050.”

According to the Florida Climate Center, scientists predict sea levels will continue rising in the coming decades, making Florida one of the most at-risk states due to more than 8,400 miles of shoreline.

Lexx Rines, senior interdisciplinary studies major with a concentration in urban and regional planning, is a member of the Orlando chapter of the CCL. Rines said erosion is an environmental consequence of climate change and she has witnessed its impact firsthand as a native of St. Augustine.

“I lived right on the beach and the area I lived on experienced insane levels of erosion,” Rines said. “Like half of the houses on the water were falling in. I know that’s happening all over Florida.”

According to a study conducted in August 2024 by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, several counties in Florida experiencing critically eroding beaches include Nassau, Duval, St. Johns, Flagler, Volusia, Brevard, Indian River and St. Lucie.

Tampa was struck by two major hurricanes in just 13 days, Helene on Sep. 26, 2024, and Milton on Oct. 9, 2024. The National Weather Service reported these hurricanes were among the most impactful storms to hit the West Coast of Florida in the past century.

“Tampa experienced some insane deterioration from the hurricane, and it was a pretty bad year for Tampa,” Rines said. “All over Florida we are seeing pretty bad effects.”

According to the United States Census Bureau, Hurricane Helene was the strongest hurricane on record to strike the Big Bend region of Florida and it devastated parts of the Southeastern United States. The Big Bend region includes Tallahassee, Apalachicola, Carrabelle, Cedar Key, Perry, Steinhatchee and St. Marks.

Rines said that trying to reduce waste is very important and individuals can fight the effects of climate change daily by making simple lifestyle changes, such as choosing sustainable transportation options and switching over to renewable energy sources.

As people go about their everyday lives, they emit greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. By reducing their carbon footprint, they can reduce their greenhouse gas emissions, according to Earth.Org.

“Electric vehicles are great, walking, riding bikes and using public transportation are things individuals can do to reduce waste,” Rines said. “Florida is a great place for solar energy, just because of how much sunlight we get.”

IDEAS for Us is a global nonprofit organization with a mission to develop, fund and scale solutions to solve the world’s most pressing environmental challenges.

Caroline Chomanics, chief operating officer of IDEAS for Us, said that one change individuals can make to reduce the country’s waste is to use clothing swap shops, instead of constantly buying into the ever-changing fashion trends.

“Instead of just consuming the different types of trends that are in our day-to-day lives, to instead opt to reuse clothes and swap them for each other instead of having this consumerism mentality when it comes to our clothing,” Chomanics said. 

Chomanics said that the US uses an estimated amount of 500 million plastic straws every single day, which amounts to about 182.5 billion straws annually. The rise in plastic pollution is extremely harmful to the planet’s biodiversity and contributes to climate change, according to the United Nations.

“Here in Florida in particular, we have certain landfills that are getting to capacity, which is a really scary thing,” Chomanics said. “So, a lot of businesses and organizations, shops, whatnot, they opt for a paper straw because that paper straw is not plastic and biodegrades.”

Conversely, President Trump signed an executive order directing the federal government to stop purchasing paper straws and ensure they are no longer provided within federal buildings on Feb. 10.

Chomanics said that paper straws present their own set of challenges because they are single-use and can become soggy when immersed in liquid, which many people find off-putting.

“It’s good to remember that paper straws are single use,” Chomanics said. “There is a better option, which is a reusable straw. There are so many different zero waste stores and businesses that sell really cute glass straws, silicon, or any other reusable material.”

Chomanics said that by making small switches like this, we can individually reduce the amount of waste we create each day.

“We don’t want to live in an environment where we are just constantly taking from nature,” Chomanics said.