In the aftermath of Milton’s rampage across Fort Myers Beach, the press has missed an important piece of the story.
Huge amounts of costly new sand were laying across Estero Boulevard, sand from the recent start of the latest taxpayer-funded beach renourishment project.
It’s the expensive ritual of putting back the sand the storms wash out. The ritual is mandated by the political argument that beach resorts must keep the shoreline wide and bleached to keep the crowds coming, supporting the resorts, bars, restaurants, hotels and condos and single home sales.
Cleanup and camaraderie are constant discussions after these storms. What isn’t being discussed, at Fort Myers Beach or at state and county government, are any plans to meet global warming’s increasing numbers of monster storms and what surely will become the soaring public costs of that reality.
Instead, denial seems to prevail.
At our state government, DeSantis has forbidden state employees from using the words climate change.