One of the funnier parody accounts on Twitter is “Florida Man” and its collection of tweets highlighting odd stories that involve people form Florida. For example:
Police Arrest Wanted Florida Man After He Butt-Dials 911 http://t.co/GRcIHU4f0s
— Florida Man (@_FloridaMan) October 16, 2015
And:
SWAT Team Forced to Wait Outside as Florida Man and Girlfriend Have Sex “One Last Time” http://t.co/OmtrOPggxm
— Florida Man (@_FloridaMan) October 16, 2015
Which brings us to John Podesta who called Marco Rubio a “Florida man” in response to a comment Rubio made about Hillary Clinton’s energy policies:
Florida man thinks his state's eroding coastline is just normal. https://t.co/nLPMq22GHy
— John Podesta (@johnpodesta) October 16, 2015
Here’s the tweet Podesta linked to:
Marco Rubio to say in speech that #Clinton "believes #energy policy is more about trying to change the weather than empowering our people"
— Ben Geman (@Ben_Geman) October 16, 2015
Nice try with the mocking, John, but no. Florida’s eroding coastline is “just normal.” That’s what ocean waves and storms do to beaches! Coastlines will always change, so stop denying the science:
Because ocean tidal waves going in and out over loose sand has zero ability to move said sand? https://t.co/rOP9avd5uG
— Ryan Strug (@ryanstrug) October 16, 2015
Recommended
https://twitter.com/LNCParker/status/655182668233990144
Well Florida is practically a sand bar so….. https://t.co/M5Z6wusZE5
— Daniel Snyder (@danmsnyder) October 18, 2015
.@johnpodesta Coastal erosion IS normal, Captain Science.
— Doug Powers (@ThePowersThatBe) October 17, 2015
https://twitter.com/NYCRepublican1/status/655156954256551940
https://twitter.com/Blue_Plus_Green/status/655438085728112640
@johnpodesta @HillaryClinton @Ben_Geman it is. Erosion is happens from ocean currents. When water moves, it erodes shoreline…try again
— noname (@Oneil1B) October 16, 2015
@johnpodesta @HillaryClinton Ever heard of NATURE?? Weather?
— Frank_78133 (@Frank_Dickinson) October 18, 2015
https://twitter.com/LNCParker/status/655413032126926852
Now, we fully expect Podesta’s answer to be that global warming makes the erosion worse. Well, that’s not true either. The problem in Florida with beach erosion — with or without global warming — is that there’s too much development too close to the beach. Here’s a good article from the AP on the battle in Florida between environmentalists and business/home owners:
“These beaches have been here for thousands of years and nobody renourished them. They just naturally kept themselves wide and beautiful,” said Christian Wagley, an environmentalist who lives on the Florida Panhandle. “The problem comes when we come and draw that line in the sand and put that building there that won’t move, next to a beach that has to move in order to survive and be healthy.”
And:
“They want to subsidize the risks of some of the riskiest development in the state of Florida. We believe that what is happening on St. Joseph Peninsula is perpetually subsidized beach replenishment. It’s the poster child of failed coastal management policy in Florida,” Appleson said.
Exactly. A healthy coastline is one that’s allowed to ebb and flow and to suggest otherwise is just wrong.
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