Climate Point: A Florida state parks controversy

Welcome to Climate Point, your weekly guide to climate, energy and the environment. From sun-dappled southern California, I'm Janet Wilson.

When you think of state parks, do luxury golf course complexes come to mind? Likely not, and after proposals for multiple private courses in beloved Florida state parks were unearthed, including near legendary golfer and entrepreneur Jack Nicklaus' home, pushback was fierce and immediate from an outraged public and politicians of all parties.

On Wednesday, Gov. Ron DeSantis called the proposal from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection "half-baked" and said he "never saw" the plans before reports by the Palm Beach Post's Kimberly Miller and others ignited bipartisan backlash. But he also admitted that he'd been pitched by an outside nonprofit, Folds of Honor, about adding a golf course to a state park, that was aligned with a mystery group that wants to add three golf courses to Jonathan Dickinson State Park.

Habitat loss, heavy water use and wildlife harm from pesticides and runoff were among the concerns raised by angry environmentalists to adding commercial links to open space. The plans were originally pitched by the agency as part of a 2024-2025 "Great Outdoors Initiative" to increase public access to nine parks that would have also added disc golf, pickleball courts and 350-bed lodges.

As Miller reports, it wasn't the first time that adding golf to the Sunshine State's parks has been teed up. In 2011, legislators tried to add golf courses to state parks through bills that would have required the state Division of Recreation and Parks to hire a company to work with Nicklaus to build courses in state parks around the state. The idea was to create a “Jack Nicklaus Golf Trail of Florida.” Those plans were also quickly shelved after public outcry. A spokesman for Nicklaus did not return a request for comment.

It's complicated. Many prominent Republicans, led by former President Donald Trump, express outrage over the Biden administration's hefty spending programs on what they see as wasteful, job-killing renewables and electric vehicles. But some in the GOP see it differently. A pair of smart stories this week examine the political and business calculus behind unlikely supporters of green and renewable energy.

As USA TODAY's Elizabeth Weise writes, some proud conservatives love wind turbines, solar panels and nuclear power .

“Clean is right,” said John Szoka, smiling at the play on words. He’s the CEO of the Conservative Energy Network, which this month convened more than 200 people from around the country to discuss how best to champion "green" energy sources. The network is part of a new “eco-right” that's emerged to make a conservative case for carbon-neutral energy.

And that doesn't necessarily mean believing in climate change, event speakers said. Anyone who supports free markets can see that cheap, renewable energy is the future – and there's money to be made, the group believes. “The folks making money from renewable energy projects are conservative and Republican,” said Drew Christensen, senior director of public engagement at Apex Clean Energy in Virginia and a former Minnesota Republican representative.

Meanwhile, traditionally deep-red Republican Kentucky, currently led by Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear, is facing an identity crisis as conservatives both criticize and support the EV industry , report Connor Giffin and Olivia Evans for the Louisville Courier Journal.

Case in point: Republican state Sen. Damon Thayer disputes overwhelming scientific consensus on climate change and says he’ll “never own an electric vehicle.”

But he wants to see Kentucky's EV industry succeed. Minutes from his home, Toyota Motor is investing more than $1 billion to add EV production at its behemoth manufacturing plant, adding hundreds of new jobs. The company has hired former coal industry workers there, whose familiarity with mining equipment helps with auto manufacturing.

Thayer, who's not seeking reelection, co-sponsored legislation to subsidize EV industry investments in the state. In the last few years, Kentucky has made a generational bet on the electric vehicle industry and the jobs it promises. The Republican-led legislature has approved generous incentives, while Beshear declares the commonwealth the “EV capital of the United States.” Still, that has some Kentucky Republicans seething, and EV sales in the state are low.

Hot, hot, hot. More Americans died from heat in 2023 than any year in over two decades of records, according to findings published Monday. Last year was also the globe's hottest year on record, report USA TODAY's Eduardo Cuevas and Dinah Voyles Pulver, the latest grim milestone in a warming trend fueled by climate change. The study, published in the American Medical Association journal JAMA, found that 2,325 people died from heat in 2023. Researchers say that is likely an undercount.

Suffocating. Soaring temperatures and extreme weather are also posing a risk to outdoor concerts and attendees, writes USA TODAY's Alyssa Goldberg, noting venues unused to severe heat may lack protocols for handling evacuations. Some artists and managers are starting to hesitate before booking shows in the hottest cities. Fan experiences can be dangerous, as Goldberg chronicles.

When Emma Furrier arrived at Boston's Fenway Park on June 20 for a Lana Del Rey show, the last thing she expected was to spend half the night under the bleachers. But after three days of a blistering heat wave, when lightning struck, Fenway staff sent her and other fans to shelter in place in the stuffy concourse, where they remained for two hours with little to no water or airflow.

The safety precautions the venue had promised – free waters, cooling stations, electric fans – were nonexistent, Furrier said, and fans started feeling ill and “dropping like flies.”

Bugging out. Another hazard of late summer concerts and other festivities? Annoying insects for whom a combination of heavy rains and heat can provide perfect hatching grounds. Standing water left by Hurricane Debby has spawned swarms of blood-sucking mosquitoes at North Carolina country music shows, in Gainesville, Florida, and elsewhere.

"When those floodwater mosquitoes come ... they come ... in astronomical numbers," said Jeff Suggs, head of New Hanover County's mosquito control program.

And thanks to climate change, local biting seasons could go longer, reports Gareth McGrath with the Wilmington Star News, as spring and fall temperatures increase.

Squish this. Why do experts suggest you do that with pretty spotted lanternflies ? In late August and September, lanternflies reach full adulthood, with striking spotted wings and black and red coloring. But the invasive bugs are damaging plants and trees in several parts of the Northeast, as USA TODAY's Janet Loehrke explains in a gorgeous graphic piece.

Boring in . In the Pacific Northwest, the ash borer, one of the most destructive invasive insects in the United States has been detected in three more Oregon counties this summer, which could be bad news for the state’s ash trees.

Watch out. But be careful if you spray pesticides. Read warning labels carefully and follow all directions. And if you're using Dacthal, stop and return it to the place you bought it. The EPA has issued an emergency order to stop the use of pesticide dimethyl tetrachloroterephthalate, also known as Dacthal, for the risks it poses to unborn babies.

Read on for more, including why federal biologists want to gun down half a million barred owls. Some stories below may require a subscription. Sign up and get access to eNewspapers in the USA TODAY Network. If someone forwarded you this email and you'd like to receive Climate Point in your inbox for free once a week, sign up here .

This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Climate Point: A Florida state parks controversy